George W. Bush was officially sworn in for his second term as president on Inauguration Day, January 20. After taking the following oath, “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States”, the president, his family, friends, and invited guests enjoyed the over $40 million festivities of Inauguration Day.

Supreme Court Rules No Execution of Juveniles

On March 1, 2005, in the Roper v. Simmons case, the Supreme Court held that executing people who commit crimes before they turn eighteen constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of the Eighth Amendment. Writing the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy pointed out that since the United States is the only country in the world that officially allows the execution of juveniles, it should be considered unusual punishment.

Terrorism in London

On July 7, 2005, London was hit by Islamic terrorist bombings that struck London's public transport system, killing 52 people, as well as the 4 suicide bombers, and wounding about 700. It was Britain's worst attack since World War II.

Terry Schiavo and the Right to Die

On March 31, 2005, Terry Schiavo, a forty-one-year-old brain-damaged woman, died in the State of Florida nearly two weeks after doctors removed a feeding tube that had been keeping her alive for more than a decade. Terry Schiavo became the focal point of an ugly, and in many people's opinions, ighly inappropriate and self-serving political battle over right to life and right to die.

On March 21, three days after Schiavo's feeding tube was removed at the instruction of Terry's husband, Michael Schiavo, Congress passed a bill transferring jurisdiction of the case from Florida's state court to a district court, for a federal judge to review. President Bush signed it into law the next day. But federal courts refused to overturn the state courts' decision to allow her to die.

Hurricane Katrina

On August 25, 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage on the Gulf Coast, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths and leaving millions homeless. Americans were shaken not simply by the magnitude of the disaster but also by how ill prepared all levels of government were in its aftermath. Within the federal government it appeared that “the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing.” FEMA's director, Michael Brown, testified that he informed White House officials on August 29 that the levees had breached and the city was flooding, but the Bush administration stated that they did not hear of the breach until August 30. Even when a Senate committee requested documents during an investigation of the government's response to the disaster, the White House refused, claiming confidentiality.

Chief Justice Dies

After having served on the Supreme Court for thirty-three years, nineteen of those as chief justice and fourteen as an associate justice (Nixon appointee), Chief Justice William Rehnquist died on September 3, 2005. He was succeeded by John Roberts, who became the seventeenth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.