May 1 –
Nicktoons TV (renamed
Nicktoons in 2003, then in 2009) launches in the United States.
May 3 –
Spider-Man is released in theaters as the first film in the Spider-Man trilogy.
May 10 –
FBI agent
Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of
parole for selling American secrets to
Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
May 12 – Former U.S. President
Jimmy Carter arrives in
Cuba for a five-day visit with
Fidel Castro, becoming the first U.S. president, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's 1959
revolution.
July 15 – In
Washington, D.C., "American
Taliban"
John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to aiding the enemy and possession of explosives during the commission of a
felony; Lindh agrees to serve 10 years in prison for each charge.
September 7 – The Fox Network's
Fox Kids block (which had been on the air since 1990) airs for the final time. It was replaced the following week (on September 14) by the 4Kids-programmed
FoxBox.[5]
September 11 – Thousands of people in
New York City and across the nation attend ceremonies as the United States commemorates the first anniversary of the
9/11 attacks.
September 12 –
Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President
George W. Bush addresses the U.N., and challenges its members to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of
Iraq, or stand aside as the United States and likeminded nations act.[3]
October 24 – The
Beltway sniper attacks end with the arrest of
John Allen Muhammad and
Lee Boyd Malvo. The pair killed 10 people and wounded three others in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area in this series of attacks; they had killed seven other people in prior attacks.
November 12 – Toxicologist
Kristin Rossum is convicted of the 2000 murder of her husband Gregory de Viller in
San Diego. Rossum had poisoned her victim using
fentanyl, passing off the crime as a suicide.[7]
December 13 – President
George W. Bush announces a
smallpox vaccination program for military personnel, as well as for civilian healthcare and emergency workers to protect against
bioterrorism risks. He announces that the public will not be called up for shots until 2004 at the earliest.[9]
December 21 – President Bush receives his smallpox vaccine.[10]
^"Galen H. Schlosser, 90, architect". Intelligencer Journal Lancaster, PA. December 10, 2002. Archived from
the original on 2012-11-05. This newspaper article incorrectly identifies Schlosser as the designer of the Salk Institute
May 1 –
Nicktoons TV (renamed
Nicktoons in 2003, then in 2009) launches in the United States.
May 3 –
Spider-Man is released in theaters as the first film in the Spider-Man trilogy.
May 10 –
FBI agent
Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of
parole for selling American secrets to
Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
May 12 – Former U.S. President
Jimmy Carter arrives in
Cuba for a five-day visit with
Fidel Castro, becoming the first U.S. president, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's 1959
revolution.
July 15 – In
Washington, D.C., "American
Taliban"
John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to aiding the enemy and possession of explosives during the commission of a
felony; Lindh agrees to serve 10 years in prison for each charge.
September 7 – The Fox Network's
Fox Kids block (which had been on the air since 1990) airs for the final time. It was replaced the following week (on September 14) by the 4Kids-programmed
FoxBox.[5]
September 11 – Thousands of people in
New York City and across the nation attend ceremonies as the United States commemorates the first anniversary of the
9/11 attacks.
September 12 –
Iraq disarmament crisis: U.S. President
George W. Bush addresses the U.N., and challenges its members to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of
Iraq, or stand aside as the United States and likeminded nations act.[3]
October 24 – The
Beltway sniper attacks end with the arrest of
John Allen Muhammad and
Lee Boyd Malvo. The pair killed 10 people and wounded three others in the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area in this series of attacks; they had killed seven other people in prior attacks.
November 12 – Toxicologist
Kristin Rossum is convicted of the 2000 murder of her husband Gregory de Viller in
San Diego. Rossum had poisoned her victim using
fentanyl, passing off the crime as a suicide.[7]
December 13 – President
George W. Bush announces a
smallpox vaccination program for military personnel, as well as for civilian healthcare and emergency workers to protect against
bioterrorism risks. He announces that the public will not be called up for shots until 2004 at the earliest.[9]
December 21 – President Bush receives his smallpox vaccine.[10]
^"Galen H. Schlosser, 90, architect". Intelligencer Journal Lancaster, PA. December 10, 2002. Archived from
the original on 2012-11-05. This newspaper article incorrectly identifies Schlosser as the designer of the Salk Institute