~Flashback - The Year 2000~

Economics

Federal spending: $1,788.83 billion
Federal debt: $5,674.2 billion
Consumer Price Index: 172.2
Unemployment: 4.0%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.34

U.S. Events

U.S. Statistics

President: William J. Clinton
Vice President: Albert Gore, Jr
Population: 281,421,906

More U.S. Statistics...

• Wary investors bring stock plunge; beginning of the end of the Internet stock boom (Feb. 25).
  
  
• Cuban boy Elián González, 6, at center of international dispute, reunited with his father after federal raid of Miami relatives' home (April 22).
  
  
• U.S. presidential election closest in decades; Bush's slim lead in Florida leads to automatic recount in that state (Nov. 7-8). Republicans file federal suit to block manual recount of Florida presidential election ballots sought by Democrats (Nov. 11). Florida Supreme Court rules election hand count may continue (Nov. 21). U.S. Supreme Court orders halt to manual recount of Florida votes (Dec. 9). Supreme Court seals Bush victory by 5-4; rules there can be no further recounting (Dec. 12). See 2000 election chronology.

Entertainment

Charles Schulz, the cartoonist who created the "Peanuts" comic strip, dies in his sleep after a battle with colon cancer. In a career that spanned nearly 50 years, Schulz drew more than 18,250 "Peanuts" comic strips, which expressed a droll philosophy through the precocious children. The "Peanuts" debuted in 1950 and went on to be the most widely read comic strip in the world, with an audience of 355 million in 75 countries. It ran in 2,600 newspapers and was published in 21 languages, including Serbo-Croatian, Chinese, and Tlingit (Feb. 12).

Richard Hatch, the overweight "Island Machiavelli," outwits and outlasts the other Survivor cast members and walks off the island in the South China Sea with $1 million. Rounding out the final four were river guide Kelly Wigelsworth, former U.S. Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch, and truck driver Susan Hawk. An estimated 51 million viewers tune into the final episode of the summer phenomenon (Aug. 23).

Oprah Winfrey debuts O magazine. The Queen of All Media graces the cover and plans to be front and center on all issues "for the foreseeable future." Winfrey labels her latest endeavor "a personal growth guide" that's targeted to the 25-to-49 demographic (April 19).

Movies

• Chocolat
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Erin Brockovich
• Gladiator
• Traffic