2001 in the United States
Events from the year 2001 in the United States. Incumbents Federal government President: Bill Clinton (D-Arkansas) (until January 20), George W. Bush (R-Texas) (starting January 20) Vice President: Al Gore (D-Tennessee) (until January 20), Dick Cheney (R-Wyoming) (starting January 20) Chief Justice: William Rehnquist (Wisconsin) Speaker of the House of Representatives: Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) Senate Majority Leader: until January 3: Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) January 3–January 20: Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) January 20–June 6: Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) starting June 6: Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) Congress: 106th (until January 3), 107th (starting January 3) Events January January 1 – A black monolith measuring tall appears in Seattle's Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous artist in reference to the monolith from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. January 2 – Sila Calderón becomes the first female governor of US territory Puerto Rico. January 10 – Nevada County shootings: In Nevada County, California, 40-year-old Scott Harlan Thorpe kills three people in a shooting spree. He is later found incompetent to stand trial and declared not guilty by reason of insanity. January 11 – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission approves the merger of America Online and Time Warner to form AOL Time Warner. January 15