August 2000 News and Events

Updated July 10, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

World

Queen Mother Turns 100 (Aug. 4): Elizabeth celebrates with three generations of royal family.
UN Peacekeepers Reach Lebanon (Aug. 5): Troops fan out along border with Israel after weeks of argument over exact location of border and 22 years after presence of United Nations forces was authorized.
Free Press Bill Killed in Iran (Aug. 6): Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sides with conservatives and blocks legislation vaunted by President Khatami.
Anwar Ibrahim Convicted of Sodomy (Aug. 8): Former deputy prime minister sentenced to nine years in jail; currently serving six years for suspect corruption charge. International condemnation swift.
Pinochet Stripped of Immunity (Aug. 8): Chilean Supreme Court lifts senatorial privileges, removing major legal barrier to trial of former dictator.
Iran Closes Last Reformist Newspaper (Aug. 8): Hard-line judiciary shutters popular daily, Bahar.
Russian Submarine Sinks, 118 Dead (Aug. 12 et seq.): Entire crew aboard nuclear-powered Kursk perish on floor of Barents Sea. Russian seamen fail to dock rescue capsule.
Protestants Parade in Ulster (Aug. 12): Thousands march in Londonderry to celebrate 1689 victory over Roman Catholic forces.
Nicholas II and Family Canonized (Aug. 14): Russian Orthodox Church honors last czar and kin, imprisoned and executed by Bolsheviks in 1908.
Budget Cuts Blamed in Kursk Disaster (Aug. 21): Russian defense minister blames reduction in military funds for failure to rescue crew of doomed submarine. (Aug. 22): President Putin pledges families of victims will receive payment equal to 10 years of an officer's salary.
British Arrest Protestant Leader (Aug. 22): Arrest of infamous Ulster militant Johnny Adair follows recent surge of Protestant paramilitary violence.
Clinton Visits Colombia (Aug. 30): In one-day stop, he insists $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid is to fight drugs, not rebels.

Nation

U.S. Offers New Tactic on Global Warming (Aug. 1): Proposes that countries get credit for using forests and farmers' fields to absorb carbon dioxide. Proposal an alternative to curbing the burning of coal and oil.
Republicans Pick Candidates (Aug. 2 et seq.): Philadelphia convention nominates Texas governor George W. Bush as presidential candidate for 2000 election. Delegates chose Dick Cheney, a former congressman and secretary of defense, as Bush's running mate.
Clinton Vetoes Marriage Tax Relief (Aug. 5): Terms proposal too costly. Measure had been centerpiece of Republican efforts for tax reduction.
Gore Chooses Running Mate (Aug. 7): Designates Conn. senator Joseph I. Lieberman as candidate for vice president; first Jew on the ticket of a major party.
Dangerous Tires Recalled (Aug. 9): Bridgestone/Firestone admits the treads on millions of tires it produced since 1991 are prone to shredding. Ford Explorer especially vulnerable. Death toll set at 46.
Democrats Nominate Gore for Presidency (Aug. 14 et seq.): Los Angeles convention picks vice president to head ticket. Delegates select Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Conn. as vice presidential candidate; Gore gains slight edge over Gov. George W. Bush in post-convention bounce.
Clinton Addresses Convention (Aug. 14): President calls on nation to protect his achievements by electing Vice President Gore to succeed him. He focuses on the successes of his administration and makes no mention of scandals.
Gore Leads Bush in Six Polls (Aug. 21): Vice president gains slight edge over Republican nominee in post-convention bounce.
Work on Embryonic Cells Approved (Aug. 23): National Institutes of Health releases rules allowing federally financed work on stem cells, derived from very early embryo. Scientists see promise for treating many diseases, especially aging disorders.
Clinton Vetoes Estate Tax Repeal (Aug. 31): President rejects Republican measure, saying it “fails the test of fairness and fiscal responsibility.”

Business/Science/Society

Evolution Foes Defeated in Kansas Primaries (Aug. 2): Voters oust state school-board candidates who supported removing evolution from state curriculum.
Inhaled Steroids Cut Asthma Deaths (Aug. 2): Scientists report use of breathing device lowers fatalities.
Nuclear Sites' Toxicity Called Permanent (Aug. 7): National Academy of Sciences reports that facilities where bombs developed will remain contaminated in perpetuity.
New Wetlands Rules Proposed (Aug. 10): Administration seeks to close loophole that has allowed the broad devastation of environmentally sensitive areas.
British Ground Concorde Fleet (Aug. 15): Cancel airworthiness certificate after Air France Concorde crash.
North Pole Icecap Melting (Aug. 18): Arctic visitors report about a mile-wide swath of ice-free ocean. Global warming link suggested.
Senator McCain Undergoes Cancer Surgery (Aug. 19): Operation successfully removes two malignant melanomas. No evidence that cancer has spread.
Accord Reached in Phone Walkout (Aug. 20): Strike ends as unions reach contract agreement at Verizon Communications, nation's largest telecommunications employer, after 15-day tie-up.
Mitsubishi Admits to Defect Cover-up (Aug. 22): Japanese auto company says it concealed thousands of customer complaints about defective cars. Recall affects more than 600,000 vehicles.
Jet Crash Kills 143 off Bahrain (Aug. 23): All aboard Gulf Air Airbus perish in Persian Gulf.
Fire in Russian Broadcast Tower (Aug. 28): Firemen extinguish blaze in 1,772-foot Ostankino tower, Moscow's communications center and Europe's tallest structure. Several deaths reported.
Wildfires Rage across West (Aug. 30): Cost of fighting them expected to exceed $1 billion, federal officials estimate. Fires have devastated vast areas from Montana to New Mexico. Daily cost set at $18 million.