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Major Events
Chapter 42 · 2001–Present
September 11 terrorist attacks
2001
USA PATRIOT Act signed; war begins in Afghanistan
2001
Department of Homeland Security created
2002
U.S. invades Iraq
2003
Lehman Brothers collapses; financial crisis erupts
2008
Barack Obama elected first Black president
2008
Affordable Care Act signed into law
2010
Osama bin Laden killed in Pakistan
2011
U.S. combat troops withdraw from Iraq
2011
Obergefell v. Hodges legalizes same-sex marriage
2015
COVID-19 pandemic strikes the United States
2020
U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan; Taliban retakes control
2021