Outdoor portions of the Reagan/Bush inauguration were canceled due to extremely cold weather. The bitter cold wave was responsible for at least 40 deaths, with record-breaking low temperatures near -25°F from the east coast to the midwest.
13 people were charged with spying against the U.S. in the course of the year. Most were past or present members of the CIA, FBI or U.S. Navy.
William Brock was nominated to replace Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan. Ed Meece became the Attorney General.
Newport, Rhode Island millionaire Claus Von Bulow was found not guilty of attempting to murder his wife.
Coca Cola outraged its customers by introducing a reformulated version of the long-popular soft drink. 20 weeks later, the company announced it would bring back the old recipe under the name Coke Classic.
3 died and 300,000 were evacuated when hurricane Gloria ripped through coastal communities from North Carolina to Rhode Island.
Hurricane Juan killed 7 and created a billion dollars worth of damage along the Gulf Coast.
President Reagan and Communist Party Leader Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to work on a plan for strategic arms limitations at a summit meeting in Geneva.
After a long period of denial, Rock Hudson announced he was suffering from AIDS and died October 2nd. Mother Teresa dedicated an AIDS hospice in New York City on Christmas Eve.
Hit movies included Back To The Future and Cocoon. Out Of Africa received Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.
The Cosby Show became America's #1 TV show.
Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie co-wrote We Are The World, which became an all-star performance under the direction of Quincy Jones. Featuring vocals by artists as diverse as Bob Dylan and Cyndi Lauper — under the name USA For Africa — the song and its video helped raise millions of dollars for starving children in famine-stricken Africa.
