Janssen - The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2018

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Senior Editor: Sarah Janssen

Editor: M. L. Liu Associate Editor: S. Ross

Index Editor: Nan Badgett

Contributors: Emily J. Dolbear, Jennifer Dunham, Robert Famighetti, Marshall Gerometta, Jacqueline Laks Gorman, Richard Hantula, Marc Kissel, Donhae Koo, Laurence A. Marschall, John Mastroberardino, William A. McGeveran Jr., Janet M. Olson, John Rosenthal, Helene Salmon, Peter J. Schmidtke, George W. Smith, Edward A. Thomas, Valerie J. Weber, Lori P. Wiesenfeld, Dale Williams

Production: Newgen North America

Design and Production, Year in Pictures: QBS Learning

Design, Cover: Takeshi Takahashi

Photo Research: Edward A. Thomas

For Infobase:

Editorial Director: Laurie E. Likoff

Project Editor: Edward A. Thomas

Front cover: Shutterstock (unless otherwise noted); Westbrook: AP Images, Matt York; inauguration: Newscom, Anthony Behar/Sipa USA. Back cover: Shutterstock (unless otherwise noted); eclipse: AP Images, Jeff Roberson; Texas flooding: Newscom, Corinne Zilnick/ZUMA Press. Trump (tab): U.S. Marine Corps, Sgt. Samuel Guerra; star cluster (tab): NASA, ESA, and M. Livio (STScI).
Interior pages: Photos are AP Images unless otherwise noted. Jimmy Carter Library and Museum: Carter, 496. Everett Collection: Allman, Brian Hagiwara, 814; Berry, Mary Evans/Ronald Grant, 814; Fisher, Lucas Films, 814; Gregory, 814; Mary Tyler Moore, Roger Moore, Peters, Rickles, West, 815; Shepard, TriStar, 815. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum: Ford, 496. Jean-Jacques Hublin, MPI EVA Leipzig: oldest fossil, 816. Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum: Johnson, 495. Library of Congress: slave laws, 436; 437; 438; 439; 441; 470; 471; U.S. presidents, unless otherwise noted, 489498; 648; 661. National Archives and Records Administration: 442; 456; 474; Grant, 492; 648; 659; 661; 662; 664; 665; Mandela and Clinton, William J. Clinton Presidential Library, 669. NASA: eclipse, Aubrey Gemignani, 193, 816; 666; Glenn, 814; new planets, JPL-Caltech, 816; glacier, Goddard/UMBC JCET, Christopher A. Shuman, 816. Newscom: presidents staff, Pete Marovich/dpa/picture-alliance, 193, 198; Kim Jong Un, Yonhap News/YNA, 193, 195; Charlottesville, Zach D. Roberts/NurPhoto/Sipa USA, 199; Grenfell Tower, Andrew Parsons/i-Images/Polaris, 322; Trail of Tears, Picture History, 436; McCarthy, LGjr-RG, PacificCoastNews, 812; Manning, Erik McGregor/Sipa USA, 813; Campbell, Roger Bamber News Syndication, 814; Gabor, Avalon/ZUMA Press, 814; Hefner, Lee Roth/STAR MAX, Inc., 814; Lewis, Beitia Archives Digital Press Photos, 814; Liu Xiaobo, Kyodo, 814; Michael, Piero/Giino/Ropi/ZUMA Press, 815; Mirzakhani, Lee Young Ho/Sipa US, 815; Petty, Aaron Rapoport/Retna Ltd., 815; Reynolds, T.C.D/ZUMA Press, 815. Richard Nixon Library and Museum: 445. Oakland Public Library: 440. Ronald Wilson Reagan Library and Museum: 446. Reuters: Rohingya, Danish Siddiqui, 194; Syria, Ammar Abdullah, 194; Mexico earthquake, Edgard Garrido, 197. City of St. Petersburg/Flickr: 453. Shutterstock: 650, 651, 653, 656, 674. Smithsonian Institution: 647. Texas Army National Guard: Hurricane Harvey, Lt. Zachary West, 193, 200. Twitter: Grenfell fire, @Natalie_Oxford, 197. U.S. Army: Mosul, Cpl. Rachel Diehm, 196; Spc. Mary L. Gonzalez, CJTF-101 Public Affairs, 671. U.S. Coast Guard: 450. Univ. of Virginia: Jefferson, 434. VA Boston Healthcare System: brain scans, CTE Center at Boston University, Ann McKee MD, 809. White House: 443; Pete Souza, 451; George W. Bush, Eric Draper, 497; Obama, Pete Souza, 498; Trump, 498. White House Historical Society: Madison, 489.

Copyright 2018 by Infobase

The World Almanac and The World Almanac and Book of Facts are registered trademarks of Infobase. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, contact:

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Hardcover

ISBN-13: 978-1-60057-211-1

ISBN-10: 1-60057-211-1

Paperback

ISBN-13: 978-1-60057-213-5

ISBN-10: 1-60057-213-8

eBook

ISBN-13: 978-1-60057-212-8 (eBook)

International Standard Serial Number

0084-1382

The World Almanac and Book of Facts is distributed to the trade by Simon & Schuster, and to schools and libraries at special discounts by Infobase. For further information, contact (800) 322-8755 or www.Infobase.com.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2018

Book printed and bound by LSC Communications, Crawfordsville, IN

Date printed: November 2017

Printed in the United States of America

LSC

1. Trump Implements Policy Shifts. Inaugurated Jan. 20, Pres. Donald Trump followed up on campaign themes and reversed policies of his predecessor, Barack Obama. Trump signed an executive action, Jan. 23, to withdraw the U.S. from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, completed in 2016. After two controversial temporary travel bans, Jan. 27 and Mar. 6, Pres. Trump signed an executive action, Sept. 24challenged in courtindefinitely barring virtually all people from six largely Muslim nations plus North Korea from admission to the U.S. On Apr. 7, the Senate confirmed Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch; the Court seat had been vacant for 14 months. Trump announced, June 1, his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Paris agreement, intended to slow climate change. On Sept. 5, the Trump administration announced an end, effective Mar. 5, 2018, to the so-called DACA program, begun in 2012 to protect undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children; Trump urged Congress to pass replacement legislation. In an Oct. 13 speech, Trump said he would not certify Irans compliance with the seven-nation 2015 agreement to restrict Irans nuclear program; he called on Congress to pass legislation demanding amendments to the agreement.

2. North Koreas Nuclear Program Advances, Raising Tensions. North Korea launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) July 4. A second ICBM, tested July 28, was thought capable of reaching U.S. targets as far as Chicago. North Koreas sixth, and largest to date, nuclear-device test occurred Sept. 3. As concern increased over North Koreas intentions, Pres. Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un whom Trump called Rocket Mantraded threats and insults. Trump said, Aug. 8, that a North Korean threat to the U.S. would be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. Kim, who called Trump mentally deranged, briefly threatened the U.S. territory of Guam with an enveloping fire.

3. Russian Election Meddling, Possible Trump Campaign Collusion Probed. Then-FBI Dir. James Comey publicly confirmed, Mar. 20, that the bureau was investigating possible coordination between officials in Donald Trumps campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. U.S. security agency reports in Oct. and Dec. 2016 had concluded that Russian intelligence services were behind cyberattacks apparently intended to assist Trumps candidacy. Pres. Trump fired Comey May 9. Deputy Attorney Gen. Rod Rosenstein, May 17, appointed former FBI Dir. Robert S. Mueller III as special counsel to head the continuing investigation. Donald Trump Jr. acknowledged in July 2017 that he and other campaign officials met, June 9, 2016, with a Russian lawyer after he was told by email she wished to convey damaging information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty, Oct. 5, to lying to the FBI; court documents made public Oct. 30 indicated he had numerous contacts in 2016 with people said to have Russian government connections and had been told that Russia had obtained hacked emails related to the Clinton campaign. Tech giants Facebook, Google, and Twitter all reported in 2017 that their online platforms had been used by Russian political operatives targeting the U.S.