January 1 Rose Bowl, USC Trojans beat Michigan Wolverines 28 - 14 January 3 Flash Airlines flight 604 crashes near Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, killing 148 February 1 At least 250 Muslim pilgrims crushed to death during the annual stoning of Satan ritual in the Mena Valley, Saudi Arabia February 1 Super Bowl XXXVIII, Reliant Stadium, Houston, New England Patriots beat Carolina Panthers 32-29 February 8 46th Grammy Awards, Coldplay, Outkast, Richard Marx, Luther Vandross, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake win major awards February 29 76th Academy Awards Oscar Ceremony, Billy Crystal hosts, Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King sweeps all eleven nominations, including Best Picture, Sean Penn and Charlize Theron win lead acting awards March 11 At least 170 die in train bombings in Madrid April 22 Train fire and explosion in Ryongchon, North Korea kills at least 160 and levels several buildings May 22 Stanley Cup Finals, Tampa Bay Lightnings beat Calgary Flames 4 games to 3 June 6 Tony Awards, Avenue Q, I Am My Own Wife, Henry IV revival and Assassins revival won major awards June 12 Former President George H. W. Bush celebrates his 80th birthday by skydiving June 15 NBA Finals, Detroit Pistons beat Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 July 3 Wimbledon Women's Finals, Maria Sharapova beat Serena Williams July 4 Wimbledon Men's Doubles Finals, Todd Woodbridge and Jonas Bjorkman beat Julian Knowles and Nenad Zimonjic July 4 Wimbledon Men's Finals, Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick July 4 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Finals, Cara Black and her brother Wayne Black beat Todd Woodbridge and Alicia Molik July 4 Wimbledon Women's Doubles Finals, Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs beat Ai Sugiyama and Liezel Huber July 28 Democrats nominate John Kerry as their Presidential candidate August 1 Paraguay supermarket fire kills at least 300 August 2 Former President Gerald Ford suffers a stroke during the Republican National Convention August 31 The Republican party nominates George W. Bush as its presidential candidate September 3 After a 2-day standoff, Islamist terrorists murder about 340 held inside a school in Beslan, Russia September 4 Hurricane Frances hits Florida, causing $40 billion in damage. September 6 Former President Bill Clinton undergoes a quadruple bypass operation September 7 American military deaths in the Iraq War reach 1,000 September 15 Hurricane Ivan hits Alabama and Florida killing nearly 30 September 20 Tropical Storm Jeanne kills more than 550 during flooding in Haiti September 29 Yemeni judge sentences two Islamists death for the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, that killed 17 sailors October 12 WNBA Championships, Seattle Storm beat Connecticut Sun 2 games to 1 October 25 World Series, Florida Marlins beat the New York Yankees 4 games to 2 October 27 World Series, Boston Red Sox beat Saint Louis Cardinals 4 games to 0 November 2 George W. Bush wins a second term as U.S. president, winning 51% of the popular vote November 8 U.S. troops launch offensive on Falluja November 18 Clinton Library opens in Little Rock Arkansas, containing 2 million photographs and 80 million documents November 21 Ukraine re-elects Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich. but the election results were thrown out after large protests about the way the election was conducted December 7 After popularizing the PC in the '80s, IBM sells its PC business to a Chinese company December 17 President Bush signs the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Act of 2004 which reorganizes intelligence agencies and creates position of national security director December 26 Earthquake, greatest in over 40 years, strikes the Pacific Ocean near Sumatra, triggering a massive Indian Ocean tsunami, killing as many as 266,000 in coastal regions of Asia and Africa
