2013 In Review Fast Facts (CNN) -- Here is a look back at the events of 2013. Notable U.S. Events: January 1 - Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Maryland. January 2 - President Barack Obama signs a bill that averts the "fiscal cliff." January 21 - President Barack Obama is inaugurated for a second term. Obama was sworn-in to office the previous day, but because the date fell on a Sunday, the public festivities were postponed one day. February 1 - John Kerry is sworn in as Secretary of State. February 12 - President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address. March 1 - Forced cuts to the federal budget, also known as sequestration, kick in. April 15 - Twin bombs at the finish line of the Boston marathon kill three people and injure more than 250. April 17 - An explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas kills 15 people. April 19 - Boston Marathon bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are involved in a confrontation with police. Tamerlan is killed and Dzhokhar escapes. After an all day manhunt, Dzhokhar is captured by police. May 2 - Maryland governor Martin O'Malley signs a law repealing the state's death penalty. The law takes effect October 1. May 6 - Three young women and a six-year-old girl are rescued from a house in Cleveland, Ohio. The three women had been held captive in the house by Ariel Castro for between nine and 11 years and endured rape and brutal physical abuse. May 8 - Jodi Arias is found guilty of the 2008 murder of ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. May 20 - An EF5 tornado hits Moore, Oklahoma and surrounding areas. There are 25 confirmed fatalities. June 9 - The Guardian and Washington Post disclose former Booz Allen contract employee Edward Snowden as their source for the intelligence related information recently published. Both published stories revealing the existence of PRISM, a program they say allows the NSA to extract the details of customer activities -- including "audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents" and other materials -- from computers at Microsoft, Google, Apple and other Internet companies. June 26 - The Supreme Court rejects parts of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in a 5-4 decision, dismissing an appeal over same-sex marriage on jurisdictional grounds and ruling same-sex spouses legally married in a state may receive federal benefits. It also rules that private parties do not have standing to defend California's voter-approved ballot measure barring gay and lesbian couples from state-sanctioned wedlock. The ruling clears the way for same-sex marriages in California to resume. June 21 - The U.S. government charges fugitive leaker Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property. June 30 - Nineteen elite firefighters are killed in a wildfire in Arizona. July 1 - Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Delaware. July 13 - George Zimmerman is found not guilty in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. July 30 - Pfc. Bradley Manning, on trial for leaking military information to the WikiLeaks website, is acquitted of aiding the enemy, but found guilty on 20 other counts, including violations of the Espionage Act. In August, he is sentenced to 35 years in prison. August 1 - Cleveland kidnappings suspect Ariel Castro pleads guilty to the charges against him and is sentenced to life in prison plus 1,000 years. Just over one month later, he commits suicide in his prison cell. August 1 - Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Rhode Island and Minnesota. August 12 - Gangster James "Whitey" Bulger is convicted of multiple counts of racketeering. August 17 - A wildfire breaks out at Yosemite National Park. The blaze, known as the Rim Fire, is one of the largest wildfires in California's history. August 23 - Army Maj. Nidal Hasan is convicted of 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder for a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in 2009. On August 28, Hasan is sentenced to death. August 31 - President Barack Obama announces that he will seek congressional approval for a U.S. strike on Syria, in retaliation for the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's use of chemical weapons on his own people. September 10 - In a speech before the U.S. public, President Obama says he will not, "put American boots on the ground in Syria" but does not rule out other military options. September 12 - Flooding in Colorado leaves eight people dead, and more than 2,000 homes destroyed. September 16 - Twelve people are killed inside the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington, DC. The shooter, identified as Aaron Alexis, 34, is also killed. October 1 - A federal government shutdown goes into effect at midnight, as the new fiscal year officially begins without an agreement on legislation to keep the government funded. October 1 - As part of the rollout of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, health insurance exchanges open online. Technical problems plague the sites. October 17 - The U.S. government reopens after President Obama signs a bill ending the government shutdown. November 1 - TSA officer Gerardo Hernandez is killed at Los Angeles International Airport, allegedly by 23-year-old Paul Ciancia. November 13 - Hawaii governor Neil Abercrombie signs into law a bill making same-sex marriage legal. The law will take effect in December 2013. November 20 - Illinois governor Pat Quinn signs a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. The law will take effect June 1, 2014. Notable International Events: January 11 - France carries out air strikes in Mali, to aid in that country's battle against Islamic militants in the north. January 27 - More than 200 people are killed in a nightclub fire in Santa Maria, Brazil. February 11 - Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation due to age and declining health. He is the first pope to resign in almost 600 years. February 12 - North Korea conducts its third nuclear test. March 13 - Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is elected the 266th pope. His papal name is Pope Francis. March 25 - Cyprus and European leaders agree to a bailout worth 10 billion euros, to prevent the collapse of Cyprus' banking system. April 14 - Nicolas Maduro is elected president of Venezuela. He replaces longtime leader Hugo Chavez, who died on March 5th. April 24 - In Savar, Bangladesh, a building housing several garment factories collapses, killing more than 1,000 people. April 28 - Enrico Letta is sworn in as Italy's new prime minister. June 5 - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif again is elected prime minister. July 3 - Egyptian president Mohamed Morsy is ousted in a military coup. July 22 - Duchess Catherine and Prince William welcome their first child, a son weighing 8 lbs, 6 oz. The baby is named Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge. August 1 - Russia grants one-year of asylum to leaker Edward Snowden, who had been living in a Moscow airport since June 23rd. August 20 - Former Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf is indicted in the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. August 21 - The U.S. and other countries allege that on this day, a chemical weapons strike by Syrian forces kills more than 1,400 people in a Damascus suburb. August 22 - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is sworn in for another term. September 7 - Tony Abbott wins election as prime minister of Australia. September 9 - Syria agrees to a Russian proposal to give up control of its chemical weapons. September 16 - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon releases the report from chemical weapons inspectors who investigated the August 21 event. The inspectors say there is "clear and convincing evidence" that sarin was used. September 21 - Somalian terrorist group Al-Shabaab launches an attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. More than 60 civilians are killed during a four-day battle between Kenyan security officers and the militants. September 24 - A magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes Balochistan province in Pakistan. More than 300 people are killed. October 3 - A boat capsizes off the Italian island of Lampedusa, killing more than 350 people. The boat was filled with migrants from the African country of Eritrea. October 5 - Abu Anas al Libi , an al Qaeda operative wanted for his role in the bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 is captured in a U.S. special operations forces raid in Tripoli, Libya. November 8 - Typhoon Haiyan strikes the Philippines, killing more than 5,000 people. Haiyan, aka Yolanda, is the possibly the strongest recorded storm to make landfall. November 24, 2013 - Six world powers and Iran reach an agreement over Iran's nuclear program. The deal calls on Iran to limit its nuclear activities in return for lighter sanctions. December 5, 2013 - Former South African president Nelson Mandela dies at the age of 95. Awards and Winners: January 7 - The BCS College Football Championship takes place. January 13 - The 70th annual Golden Globes are presented. January 14-27 - The Australian Open is played. February 3 - Super Bowl XLVII is played in New Orleans. February 10 - The 55th annual Grammy Awards are presented. February 24 - The 85th annual Academy Awards are presented. April 8-14 - The 77th Masters Tournament is played in Augusta, Georgia. April 15 - The Pulitzer Prizes are announced. May 4 - The 139th Kentucky Derby is run. May 21-June 9 - The French Open is played. May 26 - The 97th Indianapolis 500 is run. June 6-20 - The NBA Championship is played. June 9 - The Tony Awards are presented. June 10-16 - The 113th U.S. Open (golf) takes place in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. June 12-24 - The Stanley Cup is played. June 24-July 7 - The Wimbledon tennis tournament takes place. June 29-July 21 - The Tour de France takes place. July 18-21 - The 142nd British Open takes place. August 26-September 9 - The U.S. Open (tennis) is played. October 7-14 - The winners of Nobel Prizes are announced. October 23-30 - The World Series is played. Notable Deaths in 2013: Chinua Achebe - March 21 Bud Adams - October 21 Chrissy Amphlett - April 21 Patty Andrews - March 6 Conrad Bain - January 14 Karen Black - August 8 Bobby "Blue" Bland - June 23 Lindy Boggs - July 27 Eileen Brennan - July 28 Joyce Brothers - May 13 Sylvia Browne - November 20 Jerry Buss - February 18 Donald Byrd - February 4 Harry Byrd, Jr. - July 30 JJ Cale - July 26 Scott Carpenter - October 10 Frank Castillo - July 28 Hugo Chavez - March 5 Tom Clancy - October 1 Van Cliburn - February 27 Jeanne Cooper - May 8 Art Donovan - August 4 Deanna Durbin - April 20 Roger Ebert - April 4 Bill Eppridge - October 3 Dennis Farina - July 22 Vince Flynn - June 19 Tom Foley - October 18 Bonnie Franklin - March 1 Annette Funicello - April 8 James Gandolfini - June 19 Jack Germond - August 14 William Ginsburg - April 1 Gary David Goldberg - June 22 Rena Golden - March 20 Eydie Gorme - August 10 Julie Harris - August 24 Michael Hastings - June 18 Richie Havens- April 22 Seamus Heaney - August 30 Jane Henson - April 2 Oscar Hijuelos - October 12 Virginia Johnson - July 24 Deacon Jones - June 3 George Jones - April 26 Chris Kelly - May 1 Ed Koch - February 1 C. Everett Koop - February 25 Kidd Kraddick - July 27 Frank Lautenberg - June 3 Alvin Lee - March 6 Elmore Leonard - August 20 Doris Lessing - November 17 Nelson Mandela - December 5 Ray Manzarek - May 20 Mindy McCready - February 17 Cory Monteith - July 13 Tommy Morrison - September 1 Stan Musial - January 19 Al Neuharth - April 19 Ken Norton - September 18 Patti Page - January 1 John Palmer - August 3 Pauline Phillips (Dear Abby) - January 16 Lilly Pulitzer Rousseau - April 7 Phil Ramone - March 30 Lou Reed - October 27 Marc Rich - June 26 Frederick Sanger - November 19 William Scranton - July 28 Muriel Siebert - August 24 Jean Stapleton - May 31 Pat Summerall - April 16 Aaron Swartz - January 11 Gilbert Taylor - August 23 Margaret Thatcher - April 8 Mary Thom - April 26 Helen Thomas - July 20 Paul Walker - November 30 Marcia Wallace - October 25 Slim Whitman - June 19 Esther Williams - June 6 Jonathan Winters - April 11