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  3. 21st Century

21st Century

The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.

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COVID-19

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COVID-19 Pandemic

The 2020 outbreak of the infectious respiratory disease known as COVID-19 triggered one of the deadliest pandemics in modern history.

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9/11 Attacks (September 11, 2001)

9/11 Timeline

On September 11, 2001—a clear, sunny, late summer day—al Qaeda terrorists aboard three hijacked passenger planes carried out coordinated suicide attacks against the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing everyone on board the planes and nearly 3,000 people on the ground. A fourth plane crashed into a […]

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Job seekers attend a career fair at the Toyota Center in HouUNITED STATES - AUGUST 05: Job seekers attend a career fair at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009. The pace of U.S. job losses slowed more than expected last month and the unemployment rate dropped for the first time since April 2008, the clearest signs yet that the worst recession since the Great Depression is easing. (Photo by Scott Dalton/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Great Recession

What Is A Recession? A recession is a decline or stagnation in economic growth, but the economic indicators used to define the term “recession” have changed over time. Since the Great Recession, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has described a “global recession” as a decline in real per-capita world gross domestic product (GDP), as supported […]

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A Timeline of the U.S.-Led War on Terror

America Responds to 9/11 • Sept. 11, 2001: Terrorists hijack four U.S. planes, crashing two into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, while a third hits the U.S. Pentagon minutes later. The fourth plane, targeted to hit the White House, crashes in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attacked the […]

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How Decades of Instability Gave Rise to Al-Qaeda and the 9/11 Attacks

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3:13 minTV-PG
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September 11th: Why We Remember

Volunteers from the 9/11 Tribute Center reflect on the importance of sharing their stories of 9/11 with future generations.

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5:03 minTV-PG

Here’s Why the Patriot Act Is So Controversial

Passed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Patriot Act has created new rules on surveillance and national security in the U.S. See why some believe it has kept the country safer, while others believe it violates Americans’ constitutional rights.

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2:05 minTV-PG

World Trade Center

New Yorkers reflect on what the symbol of the Twin Towers meant to them and to the world.

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4:53 minTV-PG

The 9/11 Flag: Lost and Found

Shirley Dreifus, owner of the now-iconic flag raised at Ground Zero on September 11, 2001, tells the incredible story of the flag’s role in the recovery, its disappearance, and the search to find it again.

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Lehman Brothers

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The 2008 Crash: What Happened to All That Money?

A look at what caused the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

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8 Facts About the Hideout Where Osama bin Lived and Died

8 Facts About Osama bin Laden’s Final Hideout

Before the 9/11 mastermind was killed in a SEAL Team raid in his Abbottabad, Pakistan compound, he and his family lived isolated, austere lives there.

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5 Ways September 11 Changed America

5 Ways September 11 Changed America

The attacks of 9/11 shocked the nation—and led to changes that altered U.S. government, travel and culture.

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How U.S. Intelligence Misjudged the Growing Threat Behind 9/11

Among the missteps: lack of intel-sharing between agencies, tepid responses to earlier attacks and a failure to grasp the magnitude of the terrorists’ ambitions.

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This Day in History

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2018

Prince Harry weds Meghan Markle

21st Century
2001

Wikipedia launches

21st Century
2019

Wuhan government confirms dozens of cases of virus later ID’d as COVID-19

21st Century
2006

649-day tree sit-in at the University of California, Berkeley begins

21st Century
2021

William Shatner goes to space

21st Century
2021

U.S. withdraws from Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan

21st Century
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