The Turkish parliament vetoes U.S. troop access to airbases in Turkey in order to attack Iraq from the north. The Bush administration starts working on Plan B, namely attacking Iraq from the south, through the Persian Gulf.
About $1 billion is taken from Iraq's Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family, just hours before the United States begins bombing Iraq.[6]
March 19 – The first American bombs drop on Baghdad after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons do not comply with U.S. President George W. Bush's 48-hour mandate demanding their exit from Iraq.
May 4–10 – A major severe weather outbreak spawns more tornadoes than any week in U.S. history; 393 tornadoes are reported in 19 states.[citation needed]
May 25 – After docking in Miami at 05:00, the SS Norway (old SS France) is severely damaged by a boiler explosion at 06:30, killing seven and injuring 17 crew members. A few weeks later it is announced by Norwegian Cruise Line that she will never sail again as a commercial ocean liner.
May 28 – President George W. Bush authorizes $350 billion worth of tax cuts over 10 years.[2]
June – As a result of the early 2000s recession, as well as the jobless recovery that followed, unemployment peaks at 6.3%, the highest since April 1994.
June 4 – Martha Stewart and her broker are indicted for using privileged investment information and then obstructing a federal investigation. Stewart also resigns as chairperson and chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living.
June 14 – Ennis shooting: A gunman goes on a shooting spree in Madison County, Montana. The gunman kills one man and injures six others, before being involved in a chase and shootout with responding police. He is sentenced to 11 life terms, the longest prison sentence in Montana state history.
July 26 – The electorate of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma approves a new constitution re-designating the tribe "Cherokee Nation" without "of Oklahoma" and specifically disenfranchising the Cherokee Freedmen.
August 28 – Brian Douglas Wells, a pizza delivery man in Erie, Pennsylvania, is killed after a bomb fastened around his neck explodes. Wells was forced to rob a bank with the bomb collar on before it was detonated remotely.
September 18 – Hurricane Isabel makes landfall as a Category 2 Hurricane on North Carolina's Outer Banks. It directly kills 16 people in the Mid–Atlantic area.
October 9 – A redesigned $20 bill is first released, containing many new security features not found in older bills.
October 10 – Facing an investigation surrounding allegations of illegal drug use, American right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh publicly admits that he is addicted to prescription pain killers, and will seek treatment.
Michael Jackson is arrested on charges of child molestation. The singer faced similar charges in 1993 that were dropped after an out-of-court financial settlement was reached with the family of a boy. In light of the new accusations, the television network CBS chooses to pull the scheduled November 26 airing of a one-hour television special intended to promote Jackson's new greatest hits album, Number Ones.
December 22 – The 6.6 MwSan Simeon earthquake shook the central coast of California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving two dead and 40 injured, and causing $250–300 million in damage.
ABSE (mad cow disease) outbreak in Washington state is announced. Several countries including Brazil, Australia, and Taiwan ban the import of beef from the United States.
^Krausman, Paul R.; Cain, James W. (2013). Wildlife Management and Conservation: Contemporary Principles and Practices. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 222. ISBN978-1-42140-987-0.
Media related to 2003 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons
