Events in the year 2013 in the United States.
Incumbents Federal government President: Barack Obama (D-Illinois) Vice President: Joe Biden (D-Delaware) Chief Justice: John Roberts (Maryland) Speaker of the House of Representatives: John Boehner (R-Ohio) Senate Majority Leader: Harry Reid (D-Nevada) Congress: 112th (until January 3), 113th (starting January 3)
State governments Governors and lieutenant governors Governors
Lieutenant governors
Events January
January 1 New laws that go into effect on January 1: Maryland's voter-approved same-sex marriage law goes into effect. Performing a "wheelie" on a motorcycle is banned in Illinois. Illinois bans the sale of shark fins. The Senate approves a deal to avert general tax hikes and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff". January 2 – President Barack Obama signs the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, intended to prevent the "fiscal cliff". January 3 – Subaru issues a recall for nearly 634,000 vehicles in the U.S. due to a lighting problem. January 4 – Congress officially declares President Obama the winner of the 2012 presidential election. January 6 – In ice hockey, the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association reach an agreement that ends the 113-day lockout and averts the cancellation of the 2012–13 season. January 7 For $8.5 billion, ten banks settle to stop mortgage foreclosure process audits. The United States government regulators had been engaged in a loan-by-loan review of home loan practices during the Great Recession. Bank of America, Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo & Co, MetLife Bank, Aurora Bank FSB, PNC Financial Services Group Inc, Sovereign Bank NA, SunTrust Banks Inc, and U.S. Bancorp settle with regulators to pay out cash up to $125,000 to homeowners whose homes were being foreclosed when the paperwork problems emerged. Further, Bank of America agrees to pay $11.6 billion to government mortgage finance company Fannie Mae.Bank of America, other banks move closer to ending mortgage mess 2013 BCS National Championship Game: Number one ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish plays number two ranked Alabama Crimson Tide at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Alabama defeats Notre Dame, 42–14. January 9 In baseball, no living candidates are elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time since 1996. Some candidates, such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, receive few votes due to allegations of steroid use. Retired British businessman Christopher Tappin is sentenced to 33 months in prison by a U.S. court after pleading guilty to selling weapon parts to Iran. January 10 – 85th Academy Awards: Nominations are announced at Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The Best Picture nominees are Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Les Misérables, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero Dark Thirty. January 12 – Mallory Hagan, Miss New York 2012, wins the 86th Miss America pageant. January 14 – Mike Pence is sworn in as the 50th governor of Indiana, replacing Mitch Daniels. January 15 New York becomes the first state to pass a law relating to guns since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The new law bans possession of high-capacity magazines, requires a state-registry for assault-class weapons, and requires background checks. The Associated Press reports that the road cyclist Lance Armstrong has admitted to doping in his career during his interview with Oprah Winfrey. January 16 – Boeing 787 aircraft are grounded worldwide over concerns about the safety of their lithium-ion batteries. January 18 – Ray Nagin, who was the Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, when Hurricane Katrina killed 1,577 Louisianan people (most of whom drowned), is indicted on 21 different counts including fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, bribery, and tax evasion. January 20 – President Barack Obama begins his second term, being sworn in to office in the Blue Room of the White House.Vice President Joe Biden begins his second term, being sworn into office at his official residence. January 21 – Second inaugural address: The public portion of President Obama's and Vice President Biden's second inaugural takes place in Washington, D.C., a day after they were officially sworn into office. January 23 – Previously valued $2 billion video game company THQ sells most of its assets for $72 million after last month filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. January 24 Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifts the ban upon women serving in combat. Congress will have a month to review the decision before it goes into effect, and could block lifting the rule. David Headley is sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. January 24–August 14 – The North Korea crisis begins. There is extreme escalation of rhetoric by the new North Korean Kim Jong-un regime, and actions strongly implying imminent warfare against South Korea and the United States with nuclear weapons. January 29 Hermilo Moralez, an illegal immigrant to the United States from Belize is convicted of the 2010 murder of Joshua Wilkerson and sentenced to life imprisonment in Texas. The Alabama bunker hostage crisis occurs after Vietnam War era veteran, Jimmy Lee Dykes, shoots and kills school bus driver Charles Albert Poland Jr. January 31 – A judge sentences Russell Wasendorf, a founder of Peregrine Financial Group, to 50 years in prison for stealing $215.5 million from investors over 20 years.
February
February – The historic 1748 Terry Homestead building in Bristol, Connecticut, is demolished. February 1 – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton submits her resignation. She is replaced by John Kerry after his confirmation by the Congress. February 3 – After a 34-minute delay in the game's second half caused by a power outage, the Baltimore Ravens defeat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans by a score of 34–31. February 4 – Seven people are killed and thirty others are injured after a bus is struck by two vehicles and flips over in Yucaipa, California. February 5 Dell announces it will go private after a $24 billion leveraged buyout deal with a consortium led by founder Michael Dell. Standard & Poor's is hit with a $5 billion lawsuit by the US government over its assessment of mortgage bonds prior to the subprime mortgage crisis. February 6 The United States Postal Service announces that it will no longer deliver first-class mail on Saturdays as of August 5. Authorities in the United States and United Kingdom fine The Royal Bank of Scotland more than $610 million for its role in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor. February 7 – February 9 – The death toll from a nor'easter across the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada is 18, with 40 inches of snow reported from Hamden, Connecticut. More than 900,000 customers lost power at the height of the storm, while airports in the region cancelled over 5,300 flights.Reuters February 10–14 – A Carnival Triumph Cruise Liner docks in Mobile, Alabama, after an engine room fire caused the ship to lose power and propulsion at sea. The standard rated capacity of passengers is 3,143 and of crew is 1,100. February 12 An assailant believed to be Christopher Jordan Dorner kills a sheriff's deputy and injures another in and around Big Bear Lake, California. He then barricades himself in a cabin, which catches on fire during a police assault. It is believed that Dorner dies in the fire, however this is later dismissed by law enforcement officials. Ultimately he is named as a suspect wanted in connection to a series of shootings that occurred throughout Southern California that killed four people and wounded three others. On February 14, it is announced by the San Bernardino Sheriff's Office that the body discovered in the cabin had been positively identified by medical examiners as that of Dorner. President Barack Obama delivers his fourth State of the Union Address. February 14 US Airways and the bankrupt American Airlines announce a merger to form the world's largest air carrier trading as American Airlines. Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital announce that they are allying to buy H.J. Heinz for $28 billion. February 20 – A federal grand jury in Georgia indicts four employees of bankrupt Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America for the 2009 salmonella outbreak that killed nine people and infected hundreds. The 75–count indictment describes contaminated or misbranded food by company owner Stewart Parnell, his brother and company vice president Michael Parnell, and two company managers. The charges are conspiracy, wire fraud, and obstruction of justice. This infection triggered the most extensive food recall ever in United States history. February 21 Retired police sergeant Drew Peterson, whose fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, disappeared in 2007, is sentenced by the state of Illinois to 38 years incarceration for the 2004 murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. A watchdog group releases a report that details write-downs of $19 billion on more than 168,000 properties by five United States banks. Under terms of a federal and state settlement of foreclosure-processing violations reached one year ago in March, Bank of America lost the most and had $13.5 billion in homeowner debts written off. The other banks are Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo & Co, and Ally Financial Inc.U.S. Banks Write Down $19 Billion Under Settlement February 23 The Air Force grounds its entire $400 billion fleet of 51 F-35 jets due to a major engine technical issue. During a routine inspection of the aircraft, maintenance personnel detected a cracked engine blade. On February 28, the Defense Department lifts the grounding after an investigation concludes that the cracks in that particular engine resulted from stressful testing, including excessive heat for a prolonged period during flight, and did not reflect a fleetwide problem. A crash during the final lap of the NASCAR DRIVE4COPD 300 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Florida, sends debris flying into the stands, injuring 33 spectators. February 24 In stock car racing, Jimmie Johnson wins the Daytona 500. Danica Patrick finishes eighth, marking the highest ever finish by a woman. 85th Academy Awards: The ceremony, hosted by Seth MacFarlane, is held at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, with Ben Affleck's Argo winning Best Picture. With his portrayal of the title character in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, Daniel Day-Lewis becomes the only actor to have won the Academy Award for Best Actor three times. Ang Lee's Life of Pi wins four awards, including Lee's second for Best Director, while Lincoln leads in nominations with 12. The telecast garners nearly 40.4 million viewers. February 25 – A study from Spain published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that following a Mediterranean diet high in olive oil, nuts, fish and fresh fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of heart disease. Patients were followed with either a Mediterranean or standard low-fat diet for five years. The study is later retracted. February 26 – Pediatric clinical trials of Amgen's Sensipar, used to treat various hyperparathyroidism problems which result in abnormal levels of serum calcium, are halted in the United States after a 14-year-old patient dies. February 27 – Chuck Hagel is sworn in as Secretary of Defense, replacing Leon Panetta. February 28 Jack Lew is sworn in as the new Secretary of Treasury, succeeding Timothy Geithner. United States v. Manning: Private First Class Chelsea Manning pleads guilty to 10 counts out of 22 against her for leaking classified material in the WikiLeaks case.