Janssen - The world almanac and book of facts, 2020

Senior Editor: Sarah Janssen

Editor: M. L. Liu

Index Editor: Nan Badgett

Contributors: Emily J. Dolbear, Robert Famighetti, Marshall Gerometta, Jacqueline Laks Gorman, Richard Hantula, Laurence A. Marschall, John Mastroberardino, William A. McGeveran Jr., Janet M. Olson, John Rosenthal, S. Ross, Helene Salmon, Peter J. Schmidtke, George W. Smith IV, Edward A. Thomas, 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); Ariana Grande, AP Images: Chris Pizzello/Invision; Megan Rapinoe, AP Images: Francisco Seco; Mars Rover, NASA. Back cover: Shutterstock (unless otherwise noted); Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, AP Images: Dominic Lipinski; Notre-Dame Cathedral, AP Images: Thierry Mallet; Border wall, AP Images: Eduardo Verdugo; Simone Biles, AP Images: Charlie Riedel.

Interior pages: Photos are AP Images unless otherwise noted. Photos on pages 435-673 in public domain unless otherwise noted. Alaska Resources Library and Information Services:Exxon Valdez oil spill, 446. Jimmy Carter Library and Museum: Carter, 495. William J. Clinton Presidential Library: 669. Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration: Black hole, 816. Everett Collection: Carroll and Harper, 814; Lagerfeld: Gregorio T. Binuya, 814; Roberts, 815. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum: Ford, 495. Getty Images: Lil Nas X: Kevin Mazur/WireImage, 193, 812; Jamal Khashoggi: Jim Watson/AFP, 195; Brexit: Dan Kitwood, 196; Hurricane Dorian: Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service, 197; Global climate strike: Rajesh Jantilal/AFP, 197; Abortion bans: Julie Bennett, 198; Government shutdown: Justin Sullivan, 198; 116th Congress: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call, 198; Sit-in: Bettmann, 442; White nationalists: Anadolu Agency, 452; Gandhi: Hulton Archive, 663; Korean summits: Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps/Pool/Anadolu Agency, 673; Michelle Obama: Scott Olson, 812; Jeopardy!: Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI, 813; Channing: Ron Galella Collection, 814; Marshall: Harry Langdon, 814; Robinson and Starr: Bettmann, 815; Pei: Jack Mitchell, 815; Boeing 737 Max: Stephen Brashear, 816; Homo luzonensis: Noel Celis/AFP, 816; Storm: Ulises Ruiz/AFP, 816. Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum: Johnson, 494. Library of Congress: 325; 432; 436; 439; 440; U.S. presidents, unless otherwise noted, 488-498; 657; 659; 661. NASA: 443. National Archives and Records Administration: 445; 473; Grant, 491; 664. National Park Service: 434. Newscom: Mt. Everest: Christian Kober/Robert Harding, 197; Epstein survivors: Emily Michot/TNS, 200; 2000 election: Chris Corder UPI Photo Service, 447; CFB National Championship: Terry Schmitt/UPI, 809; Torn: KH1/Nikki Nelson/WENN, 815; Perot: Frances M. Roberts, 815. Nixon Presidential Library & Museum: 444. Photofest:Game of Thrones: HBO, 812; Avengers: Endgame: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 812; Iacocca, 814; Mayhew: Lucasfilm Ltd./Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 815. Reuters: Trump and Xi: Kevin Lamarque, 193, 196; Julian Assange: Henry Nicholls, 194; Democratic candidates: Jonathan Bachman, 200; ISIS: Stringer, 672; Greta Thunberg: Vatican Media Handout, 813. Shutterstock: 652; 656; 662; 671; Fonda, 814; Singleton, 815. U.S. Coast Guard: 448. U.S. Congress: Cummings, 814. U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Border wall, 453. U.S.Dept. of Defense: Oklahoma City bombing: Staff Sgt. Preston Chasteen, 446. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General: Immigration facility, 199. U.S. Navy: 670. U.S. Supreme Court: Stevens, 815. White House: George W. Bush: Eric Draper, 496; Obama: Pete Souza, 497; Trump: Shealah Craighead, 497; George H. W. Bush, 814. White House Historical Society: Madison, 488.

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Hardcover

ISBN-13: 978-1-60057-228-9

ISBN-10: 1-60057-228-6

International Standard Serial Number

0084-1382

Paperback

ISBN-13: 978-1-60057-230-2

ISBN-10: 1-60057-230-8

ISBN-13: 978-1-60057-229-6 (eBook)

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The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2020

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Date printed: November 2019

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1. House Inquiry Focuses on Possible Impeachment of Pres. Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, CA) announced, Sept. 24, that the House of Representatives would initiate a formal impeachment inquiry against Pres. Donald Trump after a federal whistleblower complaint, centered on a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky, came to light. Shortly before the July 25 call, Trump had frozen almost $400 mil in military aid to Ukraine, which was fighting Russian-backed separatists. Notes of the call, released by the White House Sept. 25, showed Zelensky expressing interest in buying weaponry and Trump requesting a favor; later in the call, Trump asked Zelensky to look into Ukraine-related activities of former Vice Pres. Joe Biden, a potential Trump opponent in the 2020 election, and Bidens son Hunter. In a declassified version of the complaint, released by the House Intelligence Committee Sept. 26, the whistleblower expressed concern that Trump was using the presidency to pressure another country to help his 2020 campaign.

Barred by Justice Dept. policy from indicting a sitting president, special counsel Robert Mueller, in his 2019 report on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, reached no conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed justice.

2. U.S. Confronts Iran, Pulls Back From Syria and Other Conflicts. Following the 2018 U.S. withdrawal from the multinational Iran nuclear agreement and the reimposition of U.S. sanctions, Iran was blamed for attacks on oil tankers, May-July 2019, and violated some nuclear agreement provisions from July on. The U.S. and Iran downed each others drones, June-July. Iran continued support for Houthi rebels fighting Saudi-backed forces in Yemens civil war; Houthis claimed responsibility for drone and missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities, Sept. 14. The U.S., Saudi Arabia, and other nations blamed Iran, and the U.S. sent troops and military equipment to Saudi Arabia.