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See also:	History of the United States (2008–present) Timeline of United States history (2010–present) List of years in the United States

Events in the year 2015 in the United States.

Incumbents

Federal government

• President: Barack Obama (Democratic)
• Vice President: Joe Biden (Democratic)
• Chief Justice: John Roberts
• Speaker of the House of Representatives: John Boehner (Republican)
• Senate Majority Leader: Harry Reid (Democratic) (until January 6); Mitch McConnell (Republican) (starting January 6)
• Congress: 113th (until January 3, 2015); 114th (starting January 3, 2015)^[1]

Governors and Lieutenant governors
Governors See also: List of current United States governors 2 Lieutenant governors See also: List of current United States lieutenant governors 2

Events

January

• January 1
  • New laws that go into effect on January 1.
    • Under Provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services begins using the Medicare fee schedule to give larger payments to physicians who provide high-quality care compared with cost.^[2]
    • California's law requiring chickens to be raised in spacious quarters goes into effect.^{[citation needed]}
    • California's affirmative consent law goes into effect.^{[citation needed]}
    • California bans revenge porn.^[3]
    • Louisiana's law allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to register to vote.^[4]
    • New York bans photography with big cats.^[5]
    • Nevada schools can now deny driver's licenses to students who skip classes.^[6]
    • Illinois requires e-cigarettes to be sold behind-the-counter.^[7]
    • Several states raise their minimum wages; Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
  • U.S. fast-food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A warns that a security breach may have leaked credit card details of 9,000 customers in five states.^[8]
• January 3 – The 114th Congress begins, and, as per the 2014 elections, the Republican Party holds majority control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.^[9]
• January 5 – Groundbreaking and construction begin on the $68 billion California High Speed Rail System, with the new transportation line planning to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2029, reaching speeds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h).^{[citation needed]}
• January 6
  • A federal judge sentences former Governor of Virginia Robert F. McDonnell to two years in prison on federal corruption charges.^[10]
  • A gunman fatally shoots a doctor at a VA hospital in El Paso, Texas, before committing suicide.^[11]
• January 12
  • The Ohio State Buckeyes defeat the Oregon Ducks to win the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas by a score of 42–20.^[12]
  • A federal judge rules that South Dakota's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, and immediately stays the ruling.^[13]
• January 14
  • The FBI arrests an Ohioan man for threatening to stage an ISIS-inspired attack on the United States Capitol.^[14]
  • A collision between a train and a prison transport bus near Penwell, Texas leaves at least eight prisoners and two corrections officers dead.^[15]
• January 15 – The nominations for the 87th Academy Awards are announced at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California. The nominees for Best Picture are American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash.^[16]
• January 16 – The Supreme Court announces it will hear four appellate rulings whether there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Oral arguments will take place in April and a ruling may occur by June.^[17][18]
• January 20 – The President of the United States Barack Obama delivers a State of the Union Address to the United States Congress.^[19][20][21]
• January 23
  • The U.S. Southern District of Alabama strikes down the state ban on same-sex marriage in Alabama, saying it has violated equal protection and due process rights.^[22]
  • The Supreme Court announces it will review the lethal injection protocol used by Oklahoma, which inmates suggest violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.^[23]
• January 26–27 – A blizzard hits the Northeast shutting down major cities including New York City and Boston, with up to 60 million people affected.^[24]

February

• February 1 – Amid controversies and accusations of cheating, the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.^[25]
• February 3
  • A collision between a commuter train and a passenger vehicle kills six in Valhalla, New York.^[26][27]
  • The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals refuses to stay a judge's ruling overturning the banning of same-sex marriage in Alabama, but Alabama federal judge Roy Moore states the next day that the state is not required to issue same-sex marriage licenses.^[28][29]
• February 5 – American electronics retail store franchise RadioShack files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after 11 consecutive quarterly losses.^[30]
• February 10
  • U.S. officials announce that, in light of the Houthi takeover of the Yemeni capital city of Sana'a and the resignation of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, that the United States will be closing its embassy in Yemen. All American diplomats working in Yemen are advised to evacuate.^[31]
  • NBC announces that NBC Nightly News host Brian Williams has been suspended for six months due to revelations that he greatly embellished stories of his role in a helicopter incident in Iraq on the air.^[32]
• February 11
  • Police arrest a suspected shooter Craig Stephen Hicks for killing a Muslim family of three in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Police state that the shooting was motivated by a long-standing neighbor dispute over parking.^[33][34]
  • The New England Journal of Medicine publishes research from the American Cancer Society that mortality due to cigarette smoking in the United States may be substantially greater than previously thought when adding in associations with diseases that have not been formally established as caused by smoking.^[35][36]
• February 13 – The Governor of Oregon John Kitzhaber resigns amid allegations his fiancee used taxpayer resources to aid her green-energy consulting business. Kate Brown moves up to Governor from being the Secretary of State.^[37][38][39]
• February 14 – The NYPD reports no murders in New York City over a 12-day period for the first time in the city's history, citing the recent storms and extreme weather events as the possible reason.^[40]
• February 16
  • A Moscow-based security software company, the Kaspersky Lab, discovers the NSA's ability to hide spying software in hard drives made by several top manufacturers in the computers of users from 30 different countries.^[41]
  • A federal district court judge in Brownsville, Texas temporarily halts President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration, allowing Texas and 25 other states to file a lawsuit opposing the orders.^[42]
• February 17 – Ashton Carter is sworn in as the 25th Secretary of Defense, replacing Chuck Hagel.^[43]
• February 19 – Despite its ban on same-sex marriages, the state of Texas, in a one-time court order, allows a lesbian couple to marry legally in the state because one of the women is terminally ill with cancer.^[44]
• February 22 – The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences hold the 87th Academy Awards in the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.^[45]
  • Birdman wins four awards, including the awards for Best Picture and its director Alejandro González Iñárritu for Best Director.
  • Eddie Redmayne wins the award for Best Actor for his performance in The Theory of Everything.
  • Julianne Moore wins the award for Best Actress for her performance in Still Alice.
• February 24 – Alaska's law legalizing the private use, but not sale of, recreational marijuana goes into effect.^[46]
• February 26
  • The FCC rules in favor of net neutrality by applying Title II (common carrier) of the Communications Act of 1934 and Section 706 of the Telecommunications act of 1996 to the Internet.^{[47][48][49][50]}
  • The voter-elected legalization of possession and private use of recreational marijuana is put into effect in Washington, D.C..^[51]
  • A gunman kills seven people then himself in a series of shootings in Tyrone, Missouri.^[52]

March

• March 2 – A federal judge strikes down Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriage, pending an appeal by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.^[53][54]
• March 3
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech in front of Congress attempting to deter the Obama administration from the current negotiated deal for a nuclear program for Iran.^[55][56]
  • Former CIA director and U.S. Army officer David Petraeus pleads guilty in federal court to a charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified information.^[57]
• March 6 – The Dawn spacecraft enters orbit around Ceres, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit a dwarf planet.^[58]
• March 9 – President Barack Obama signs an executive order declaring Venezuela a national security threat to the U.S.^[59]

Predicted and scheduled events

July

• July 14 – NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is expected to fly by Pluto and Charon and explore the area for five months, until the distance becomes too great. New Horizons will then enter the Kuiper belt and eventually leave the Solar System.^[60]
• July 25 – The 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games will open at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum located in Los Angeles, California.

September

• 2015 United States federal budget will expire on September 30. It will cover less than a third of the approximate $3.5 trillion, the likely amount of money that will be spent.^[61]
• Pope Francis has announced his intention to visit the United States this year and attend the Catholic Church's sponsored World Meeting of Families event being held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[62]

November

• November 3 – Election Day (See section)

TBA

• Tesla Motors plans to introduce a $40,000 Tesla Model 3 electric car.^[63][64]
• The Grand Texas Sports and Entertainment District in Houston, Texas is scheduled to open.^[65]
• The University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley is founded in Brownsville, Texas.
• The United States and South Korea will dissolve the post-Korean War Combined Forces Command.^[66]
• David Letterman, longtime host of The Late Show, has announced his intention to retire.^[67]
• Elio Motors will begin selling vehicles to the public.

Elections

April

• The current mayor Rahm Emanuel is seeking re-election. The Chicago mayoral election, 2015 occured on February 24.^[68] As no candidate received a majority of the vote, the runoff will occur on April 7, 2015.

November

• 2015 United States elections will be held on November 3. By-elections to the United States Congress will appear.^[69]
• United States gubernatorial elections, 2015 will occur on November 3.

Kentucky,^[70] Louisiana,^[71] and Mississippi^[72] will have gubernatorial elections.

• Indianapolis mayoral election, 2015 will take place on November 3. A new mayor will be elected.^[73]
• Philadelphia mayoral election, 2015 will take place on November 3. A new mayor will be elected.^[74]

Deaths

January

• January 1
  • Mario Cuomo, 52nd Governor of New York and father of Andrew Cuomo (b. 1932)
  • Donna Douglas, actress (b. 1933)
  • Jeff Golub, guitarist (b. 1955)
  • Miller Williams, poet (b. 1930)
• January 2
  • Little Jimmy Dickens, singer (b. 1920)
  • Arthur A. Neu, 40th Lieutenant Governor of Iowa (b. 1933)
• January 3
  • Edward Brooke, United States Senator from Massachusetts (b. 1919)
  • Maher Hathout, Egyptian-born American Islamic leader (b. 1936)
• January 4
  • Hank Peters, American baseball executive (b. 1924)
  • Stuart Scott, sports broadcaster (b. 1965)
• January 5 – Bernard Joseph McLaughlin, Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1912)
• January 8 – Andraé Crouch, musician and pastor (b. 1942)
• January 9 – Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., film producer (b. 1926)
• January 10
  • George Dickerson, actor, writer, and poet (b. 1933)
  • Taylor Negron, actor, comedian, painter, and playwright (b. 1957)
• January 12 – A. J. Masters, country musician (b. ca. 1950)
• January 22 – Wendell H. Ford, 53rd Governor of Kentucky (b. 1924)
• January 23 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player (b. 1931)
• January 27 – Charles Hard Townes, Nobel physicist (b. 1915)
• January 31 – Lizabeth Scott, actress (b. 1922)

February

• February 3 – Charlie Sifford, golfer and first African American to play on the PGA Tour (b. 1922)
• February 5 – Val Logsdon Fitch, Nobel physicist (b. 1923)
• February 7
  • Billy Casper, golfer (b. 1931)
  • Marshall Rosenberg, psychologist and author (b. 1934)
  • Dean Smith, American basketball player and coach (b. 1931)
• February 9 – Ed Sabol, American football filmmaker (b. 1916)
• February 10
  • Bill Enyart, American football player (b. 1947)
  • Dane A. Miller, businessman (b. 1946)
• February 11
  • Bob Simon, journalist and television news correspondent (b. 1941)
  • Jerry Tarkanian, American basketball coach (b. 1930)
• February 12
  • David Carr, writer (b. 1956)
  • Movita Castaneda, actress and wife of Marlon Brando (b. 1916)
  • Gary Owens, disc jockey, actor, and announcer (b. 1936)
• February 14 – Philip Levine, poet (b. 1928)
• February 15 – Arnaud de Borchgrave, Belgian-born American journalist and executive (b. 1925)
• February 16 – Lesley Gore, singer, songwriter, and activist (b.1946)
• February 19 – Harris Wittels, actor, comedian, writer, and producer (b. 1984)
• February 21
  • Robert O. Marshall, convicted murderer (b. 1939)
  • Bruce Sinofsky, documentary filmmaker (b. 1956)
  • Clark Terry, musician and composer (b. 1920)
• February 24
  • Irving Kahn, businessman and investor (b. 1905)
  • Donald Keough, business executive (b. 1926)
• February 25 – Eugenie Clark, zoologist (b. 1922)
• February 26 – Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and first African American in the NBA (b. 1928)
• February 27 – Leonard Nimoy, actor and director (b. 1931)
• February 28
  • Alex Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1942)
  • Ezra Laderman, composer (b. 1924)
  • Thomas J. Stanley, writer and academic (b. 1944)

March

• March 1
  • Joshua Fishman, linguist (b. 1926)
  • Orrin Keepnews, writer and record producer (b. 1923)
  • Minnie Miñoso, Cuban-born American baseball player (b. 1922)
  • Daniel von Bargen, actor (b. 1950)
• March 2 – Dean Hess, minister and U.S. Air Force officer (b. 1917)
• March 4 – Harve Bennett, television and film producer and screenwriter (b. 1930)
• March 5
  • Edward Egan, Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1932)
  • Albert Maysles, documentary filmmaker and brother of David Maysles (b. 1926)
• March 7
  • F. Ray Keyser, Jr., 72nd Governor of Vermont (b. 1927)
  • Lew Soloff, musician and composer (b. 1944)
• March 8 – Sam Simon, television producer, director, and screenwriter and husband of Jennifer Tilly (b. 1955)
• March 10
  • Windell Middlebrooks, actor (b. 1979)
  • Claude Sitton, newspaper reporter and editor (b. 1925)
• March 11 – Jimmy Greenspoon, musician and composer (b. 1948)

See also

References

External links

• Media related to 2015 in the United States at Wikimedia Commons