Other Notable Events, September 24

In 2003, a Gallup poll indicated that 67 percent of Baghdad residents polled said the removal of Saddam Hussein was worth the hardships they had endured.

In 2005, less than a month after Hurricane Katrina devastated wide areas of the Gulf Coast, Hurricane Rita came ashore near the Texas-Louisiana state line with another destructive blow.

In 2006, a U.S. intelligence report said the war in Iraq had fueled global terrorism by fanning Islamic radicalism and creating new types of lethal terror methods.

In 2007, some 73,000 United Auto Workers went on strike against General Motors when contract negotiations bogged down over wages and benefits. The walkout lasted less than two days.

Also in 2007, mass protests against the Myanmar military junta culminated in a march by about 100,000 people, led by an estimated 20,000 Buddhist monks and nuns, in Yangon.

In 2008, the FBI opened investigations into possible fraud at four entities involved in the turmoil in U.S. financial markets. The inclusion of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and American International Group brought to 26 the number linked into an inquiry involving the mortgage crisis.

In 2009, after a reported successful test in Thailand, scientists said they created an HIV vaccine that seemed to reduce the risk of contracting the AIDS virus.

Also in 2009, the discovery of a treasure trove of more than 1,500 finely crafted gold, silver and copper artifacts, found with a metal detector and believed buried by seventh-century Anglo-Saxon rulers, was termed one of most important in British archaeological history.

In 2010, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway held on to the top spots on Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest in the United States. Gates' wealth was set at $54 billion and Buffet's at $45 billion.

In 2011, government forces killed at least 40 protesters in Yemen in a live ammunition and mortar shell attack, one day after President Ali Abdullah Saleh returned from Saudi Arabia and called for a cease-fire.

Also in 2011, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev revealed plans to step aside in 2012 to allow Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to again run for the presidency. Putin was head of state from 2000-08 but was barred constitutionally from seeking a third consecutive term.