News Highlights of 1990

• The Saturn range of cars are launched by GM
  
  
• The most complete skeleton of a T-Rex is found in South Dakota
  
  
• The US Enters a Major Recession
  
  
• A fire at an unlicensed social club called "Happy Land" in New York City kills 87
  
• President George Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign a historic agreement to end production of chemical weapons
  Boris N. Yeltsin becomes president of the Russian republic.
  
  • The First Known Case of AIDS is traced back to 1959
  
  • German Reunification After the wall fell, the push towards reuniting the two Germany's was set, October 3, 1990.
  
  • Margaret Thatcher Resigns After passing a flat tax called the "poll tax" which lead to rioting, and trying to block the EC's plan for a common currency, her rivals began calling for her resignation. She resigned in November and was replaced by John Major.
  
  • Contraceptive Implant Approved by FDANorplant is the first implant contraceptive approved by the FDA.
  
  • Smoking on Domestic Airplane Flights is Banned
  
  • Spotted Owl Added to the threatened species list The timber industry was of course quite outraged, since this would protect the old growth forests of the Pacific Northwest and cost jobs.
  
  • Iraq invades Kuwait Saddam Hussein accuses Kuwait of undercutting Iraq's petroleum revenues and of stealing from a border oil field. Kuwait's offers concessions considered inadequate to Hussein, so he sends in 100,000 troops. Kuwait's army flees along with the king. Iraq is then condemned by the Arab League, the Soviets and especially the US who sends in 500,000 troops to defend Saudi Arabia and prepare for an invasion.
  
  • The Hubble space telescope is launched into orbit At a cost of $1.5 million, the telescope was launched with a lot of expectations of success. Once in orbit however, one of the mirrors was discovered to be incorrectly ground, resulting in blurred pictures. In 1993 it was repaired by a Space Shuttle mission.
  
  • Africanized Honey Bees first enter U. S.
  
  The Africanized Honey Bees, the aggressive honey bees which escaped from Brazil in 1957, were first discovered in the United States at the border town of Hidalgo, Texas in October of 1990. They later would spread throughout all of the Southwest U. S.
  
  • Mayor Busted! Mayor of Washington, D.C. Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. is arrested by the FBI in a drug "sting" operation and later convicted of misdemeanor drug possession. Barry served 6 months in prison.
  
  • Roseanne Barr Sings The National Anthem
  Comedian and sitcom actress Roseanne Barr sing the national anthem in front of thousands at a baseball stadium. She sing horribly, grabbed her privates, and spits on the field. She is later labeled "Enemy Of The Flag"
  
  • AT&T Security Glitch
  Programming error in software for the AT&T electronic switching systems causes a nine-hour outage, blocking an estimated 5 million calls.
  • Philippines: Mt Pinatubo Erupts
  The once dormant Mt. Pinatubo between the Province of Pampanga and Zambales finally erupts spewing millions and millions of tons of lava, leveling hundreds of rice fields barrios and driving the aetas (Philippine aborigines) down to the lowlands, and dusts scattered all over the world lowers global temperature.
  
  • Hate Crimes Statistics Act Is Passed
  This Act, passed in 1990, was the result of a variety of concerned groups who argued for the need to gather national statistics on hate crimes that occur nationwide. The Act requires that the Attorney General acquire information every year about crimes that show prejudice based upon race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. The Attorney General is also required to publish this information in an annual summary report.
  
  • Nelson Mandela Relased from Prison
  Nelson Mandela is finally released from prison after twenty-seven years. The release of the prominent political prisoner was ordered by Frederick W. de Klerk, the new president of South Africa. Mandela’s release is applauded by political and human rights leaders around the world including the United States.

 

Sports Highlights of 1990

• Super Bowl XXIV - San Francisco 49ers won 55-10 over the Denver Broncos
• Grey Cup – Winnipeg Blue Bombers 50-11 over the Edmonton Eskimos\
• The Cincinnati Reds sweep the Oakland A's in the World Series.
• Boxing – Buster Douglas defeated Mike Tyson by a knockout in round 10 to win the world's unified Heavyweight title, in what many consider boxing's biggest upset ever.
• Stanley Cup – Edmonton Oilers won 4 games to 1 over the Boston Bruins
• Derrike Cope won the Daytona 500
• NASCAR Championship - Dale Earnhardt
• CART Racing - Al Unser, Jr. won the season championship
  Formula One Championship - Ayrton Senna of Brazil

Top Movies of 1990
• Home Alone
• Ghost
• Dances with Wolves
• Pretty Woman
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• The Hunt for Red October
• Total Recall
• Die Hard 2
• Dick Tracy
• Edward Scissorhands,
• The Godfather Part III

Top TV Shows of 1990
1 )Cheers
2 )60 Minutes
3 )Roseanne
4 )A Different World
5 )The Cosby Show
6 )America's Funniest Home Videos
7 )Murphy Brown
8 )Murder She Wrote
9 )Home Improvement
10 )Designing Women

Top Songs of 1990
1. Hold On , Wilson Phillips
2. It Must Have Been Love , Roxette
3. Nothing Compares 2 U , Sinead O'Connor
4. Poison , Bell Biv Devoe
5. Vogue , Madonna
6. Vision of Love , Mariah Carey
7. Another Day In Paradise , Phil Collins
8. Hold On , En Vogue
9. Cradle of Love , Billy Idol
10. Blaze of Glory , Jon Bon Jovi

Top Musicians of 1990
• Tears For Fears
• Kylie Minogue
• Janet Jackson with " Black Cat "
• Jon Bon Jovi with " Blaze of Glory "
• Erasure
• Maxi Priest
• Rod Stewart
• Depeche Mode
• The Blues Brothers
• Garth Brooks
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Billy Joel
• Phil Collins
• Vanilla Ice with " Ice Ice Baby "
• Whitney Houston
• Aerosmith
• Cher
• Dannii Minogue
• Mariah Carey
• The B-52's