Other Notable Events, February 3

In 1992, angry rhetoric escalated between the United States and Japan when Japanese Prime Minister Miyazawa accused U.S. workers of lacking a work ethic.

In 1994, the shuttle Discovery blasted off into space with the first Russian astronaut aboard a U.S. spacecraft.

Also in 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton announced the United States was lifting its trade embargo against Vietnam.

In 1998, Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, the first female inmate to be put to death by the state in 135 years.

Also in 1998, a U.S. Marine jetfighter, flying low over mountains in Italy, accidentally severed a ski lift cable, sending 20 people in a cable car plunging to their deaths.

In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush sent lawmakers a $2.23 trillion budget for 2004, including major new tax cuts and a big increase in defense spending, projecting a deficit of $307.4 billion.

In 2004, the discovery of the lethal poison ricin in the mailroom of U.S. Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., the Senate majority leader, forced the closing of three Senate office buildings in Washington.

In 2005, more than 50 people died when a train rammed a trailer carrying a wedding party at a railroad crossing in India.

In 2006, almost 200 people were reported dead with another 800 listed as missing after an Egyptian ferry sank in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt.

In 2007, a truck bomb exploded in a Baghdad market killing at least 135 and injuring more than 300.

In 2008, Serbian President Boris Tadic, a pro-Western leader who favors closer ties with the United States, won re-election over a hard-line Radical Party candidate.

In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama signed a bill expanding a popular health insurance program for children.

In 2010, self-help guru James Arthur Ray was charged in Flagstaff, Ariz., with manslaughter in three deaths during a two-hour spirit cleansing ceremony in a hot, packed sweat lodge.

In 2011, on the heels of uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, some 20,000 demonstrators took to the streets in Sanaa, Yemen, demanding a change in government. Arab Spring protests also targeted several other points, including Iraq, Libya, Jordan, Algeria and Bahrain.

Also in 2011, the New York City Council approved a measure banning smoking in 1,700 parks and along 14 miles of beaches.

In 2012, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent in January, lowest level since February of 2009, and there were 243,000 new jobs. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke cautioned against making too much of the positive signs, however, saying the job market was weak.

Also in 2012, Mitt Romney claimed victory in his race for the Republican presidential nomination after a big win in the bitterly contested Florida primary.