On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2005, the world population was approximately 6,586,970,132 people[†]
2005IShowSpeed, American YouTuber[†]
Darren Jason Watkins Jr., known online as IShowSpeed or Speed, is an American YouTuber, online personality and online streamer. He is known for his dramatic and energetic behavior showcased in his variety live streams, as well as his in-real-life (IRL) streams in worldwide locations. He has been viewed as a cultural ambassador as his visits to countries often showcase their cultures and inventions to both domestic and international audiences.
2005Theun de Vries, Dutch author and poet (born 1907)[†]
Theunis Uilke (Theun) de Vries, was a Dutch writer and poet.
2005John L. Hess, American journalist and critic (born 1917)[†]
John L. Hess was a prominent American investigative journalist who worked for many years at The New York Times. He left the Times in 1978 and wrote a memoir about his years there, My Times: A Memoir of Dissent.
2005Kaljo Raid, Estonian cellist, composer, and pastor (born 1921)[†]
Kaljo Raid was an Estonian composer, cellist and pastor.
2005In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.[†]
Belmopan is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. Belmopan is the smallest capital city in the continental Americas and the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and San Ignacio. Founded as a planned community in 1970, it is one of the newest national capital cities in the world. Since 2000, Belmopan has been one of two settlements in Belize to hold official city status, along with Belize City.
Article on day trip to Ossining, NY, home of Sing Sing Correctional Facility; photos; map (M)
Floyd Norris comment on investors who are buying corporate bonds with high yields despite low ratings companies are receiving for their bonds; David T Hamilton, director of corporate bond default research for Moody's Investors Service, says he worries that defaults in coming years could alarm investors and hurt owners of better-quality junk bonds; graph (M)
Walt Disney Co president Robert A Iger appears to be front-runner to succeed Michael D Eisner as chief executive; company will let Iger take center stage and highlight Disney's turnaround at its annual meeting on Feb 11 in Minneapolis; is expected to delay contacting potential outside candidates for job until after annual meeting; chart; photo (M)
Russia's $15.5 billion Trans-Alaska Pipeline is meeting opposition from China, Japan and environmentalists; China and Japan, which both rely on Middle East for about 85 percent of their oil imports, competed fiercely over what could be world's longest and most expensive oil pipeline; Japan, trumpeting China with more generous financing offer, hopes that pipe with bind it to Russia, world's second-largest oil exporter; there are no guarantees there will be enough oil to fill pipe, although Russia has 67 billion barrels of untapped oil reserves along pipeline route; when oil reaches Sea of Japan, there are no public commitments binding Russia to sell it to Japan; Russia's last-minute switch of Pacific terminal site from existing oil port to Perevoznaya Bay is already putting Japanese banks in middle of growing global environmental protest movement; pipeline is expected to come under rigorous international scrutiny; environmental groups say oil pipeline across Siberia to Sea of Japan would force animals to flee; maps; photos (M)
Ivan Wright, 69, is released from New York State prison after serving 19 years of 25-years-to-life sentence for selling three ounces of cocaine, first inmate to have sentence set aside following overhaul of Rockefeller drug laws; photos; Justice Lewis L Douglass, who had sentenced Wright in 1987, orders release, with support of Brooklyn district attorney (M)
Richard Kreimer, whose earlier lawsuits broke new ground in extending civil rights of fellow homeless people, returns to New Jersey after giving officials respite of few years, and opens complaint to ACLU about New Jersey Transit's treatment of vagrants; Kreimer, Morristown native, arranges interview at Secaucus Transfer train station, where he appears in layers of clothing, carrying 18 medications; photo (M)
A G.O.P. TOWN -- The inauguration drew hundreds of the Republican Party's largest donors and fund-raisers to Washington. PAGE A15 LEAVING THE STAGE -- Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, in what may be one of his last public appearances, administered the oath. PAGE A11 PROTESTS VISIBLE -- Demonstrators opposed to the inauguration got their message out on the street and on television. PAGE A12
Eric S Langan, who runs Rick's Cabaret chain of strip clubs in Houston and elsewhere, buys shuttered Paradise Club to be flagship operation in New York; photos (M)
News Analysis: Pres Bush's inaugural address seeks to cast crises and controversies of his first four years as seamless struggle in defense of nation's founding creed: freedom; his tone is proud, unapologetic, even defiant, and his emphasis on foreign policy muffles his outline of domestic agenda that he and aides say is so important to success of his second term; his speech's loftiness and its missionary zeal amount to tacit acknowledgment that he believes much of world and many of his fellow citizens have misunderstood his actions in invading Iraq and threatening authoritarian governments in Iran and North Korea; he uses words 'free' or 'freedom' more than 25 times in his 20-minute speech (M)
William C Rhoden Sports of The Times column discusses Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who is preparing to face Philadelphia Eagles in NFC championship game; photo (M)
Repr Anthony Weiner collected more money orders in last six months than any other Democrat in New York City mayoral race; all were turned in by Girish Soni, New Jersey pharmacist who has raised thousands of dollars for Weiner's Congressional campaigns since 1998; each contribution, 29 for $250 each, is in different name but 25 include no identifying information as required by law and two of people say they do not recall making donations; Campaign Finance Board takes dim view of money orders, which hard to trace; Soni, of Livingston, New Jersey, has raised money from Indian-Americans who operate drugstores and newstands (M)