Major news events of the year

March 2003

Khalid Shaikh Monammed shortly after his capture. AP Photo

Mar. 1 - Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was arrested in Pakistan by FBI, CIA and Pakistani agents.

Mar. 1 - Turkey's parliament failed to approve the deployment of U.S. combat troops; giving preparations for a possible war with Iraq a major setback.

Mar. 1 - Indiana has mobilized 1,320 Army National Guard troops for a possible war with Iraq, more than any other reserve command in the nation.

Mar. 1 - Lloyd Ward, CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee, became the seventh committee official to resign following months of turmoil and a conflict-of-interest investigation.

Mar. 2 - Statistics, tallied properly for the first time in decades, showed serious crime in Indianapolis' suburbs to be up significantly. In 2002, there was a 61 percent increase over the previous year in the areas patrolled by the Marion County Sheriff's Department.

Mar. 3 - Statewide results for the ISTEP-Plus test were released and showed that, although based on tougher standards, nearly 60 percent of the students passed.

Mar. 3 - Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and Indiana Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan met with officials of United Airlines at their Illinois headquarters, but no answers about the future of the maintenance hub at Indianapolis International Airport were forthcoming.

The Rex parade Jesters float turns onto Canal St. during the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans on March 4. AP Photo

Mar. 4 - It was revealed that two other major terrorism suspects were arrested. Mohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman, operations chief of al-Qaida was arrested in Pakistan in February and Sheik Mohammad Ali Hassan al Moayad of Yemen, who allegedly raised money and recruited operatives for al-Qaida, was arrested in January in Germany.

Mar. 4 - A study found that at some point during 2001-02, because of the economy and rising heath costs, there were 75 million uninsured people. In Indiana, the number was 1.4 million.

Mar. 4 - A terrorist attack in the Philippines killed at least 21 people and injured 145, when a bomb inside a backpack went off at Davao airport on Mindanao island.

Mar. 5 - Pending approval, Conseco Finance, a subsidiary of bankrupt Conseco Inc., was sold for over $1 billion.

Mar. 5 - Two Iraqi diplomats were expelled by the U.S., which also asked 60 countries to expel alleged Iraqi agents who posed a threat to American interests overseas.

Mar. 7 - The United States and Britain asked the U.N. Security Council to impose a firm deadline of March 17 for Iraq to demonstrate "full, unconditional, immediate and active cooperation" in disarming, or face war.

Mar. 7 - The nation's unemployment rate rose to 5.8 percent for February, with more jobs being cut in that month than at any time since the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Mar. 8 - The championship teams in the Indiana high school girls basketball state finals were crowned. Winners were: Kokomo High School (Class 4A), Beech Grove High School (Class 3A), Shenandoah High School (Class 2A) and Tri-Central High School (Class A).

Mar. 10 - The Indianapolis Children's Museum announced plans for a $31.25 million expansion project with a 950-space parking garage. Completion of the museum's Dinosphere in June 2004, should bring an additional 200,000 visitors to the museum a year, necessitating the additional parking.

Mar. 10 - Bob Knight said he would not accept his $250,000 salary as coach of the Texas Tech basketball team because neither he nor the team lived up to his expectations.

Mar. 11 - Conseco Inc. abruptly fired Liz Georgakopoulos, president of Conseco Insurance Group. Georgakopoulos, who one month earlier was called one of Conseco's most valuable assets, was one of four company officials let go in a reorganization designed to make the firm more viable after bankruptcy.

Mar. 11 - IUPUI received its first-ever NCAA basketball tournament bid with a 66-64 last second defeat of Valparaiso to win the Mid-Continent Conference.

Elizabeth Smart and her parents shortly after her rescue. AP Photo

Mar. 12 - Zoran Djindjic, the Serbian prime minister who spearheaded the revolt that toppled Slobodan Milosevic, was assassinated in an ambush outside his offices in Belgrade.

Mar. 12 - Elizabeth Smart, 15, who vanished from her Salt Lake City home in June 2002, was found alive in a Salt Lake suburb. She was with Brian Mitchell, who had done some work for the Smart family and had been named as a suspect in the kidnapping, and his wife Wanda Barzee, both of whom were arrested.

Mar. 13 - Bones found Mar. 9 in Morgan County were identifed as belonging to Jill Behrman, missing since May, 31, 2000.

Mar. 13 - Time ran out for the person holding the winning $51.7 million Powerball ticket, sold Sept. 14, 2002, in Indianapolis, to claim the jackpot. It was the first unclaimed price in Powerball history.

Mar. 14 - Hu Jintao, 60, the head of China's Communist Party, was selected to replace Jiang Zemin as president.

Mar. 15 - The World Health Organization issued a worldwide health alert because of the threat of a severe acute respiratory syndrome that apparently originated in the far east and was not responding to existing drugs.

Mar. 16 - The Indianapolis Star began a series of stories in which the decades-long decline of INDIANA'S ECONOMY was studied.

Mar 17 - In a speech televised worldwide, President Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to flee Iraq or face war and warned Americans about the possibility of retaliatory terrorist attacks. Earlier in the day, a last-ditch effort to gain support for the use of force died when an American-sponsored United Nations resolution was withdrawn. In Indianapolis, amid the shouting of dozens of angry anti-war protesters, the City-County Council voted 15-13 to support the president.

Mar. 18 - Louis Jones Jr. was executed at the federal penitentiary at Terre Haute, Ind., for the 1995 abduction, rape and murder of Pvt. Tracie Joy McBride. Jones, a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, had claimed that exposure to nerve gas damaged his brain and sparked uncontrollable violence.

Mar. 19 -- The U.S. launched precision-guided cruise missiles against "targets of military opportunity" as the first strike against Baghdad began. Across the U.S., the attacks meant a heightened terror alert and increased security.

Mar. 19 - Portions of Colorado and Wyoming were inundated with several feet of snow. In Denver, the worst blizzard in more than 20 years shut down the city and left many travelers stranded.

Mar. 19 - Michael Shannon was sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus 100 years, for the murder of Deputy Jason Baker who was KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY in September 2001.

Mar. 20 - United Airlines put all 1,100 mechanics at its Indianapolis maintenance hub on temporary, unpaid, leave. The move was blamed on a downturn in the airline industry due to the war.

Mar. 20 - In Iraq, the ground assault began as allied forces crossed into southern Iraq and began traveling north in armored vehicles.

Mar. 21 - U.S.-led forces began a massive aerial bombardment of Baghdad - dubbed "shock and awe."

Buildings in Baghdad burn during heavy bombardment by U.S.-led forces. AP Photo/Newsday Mioses Saman

Mar. 21 - Wall Street reacted to the escalating war in Iraq by finishing the week with the Dow Jones average up 235 points. It was the strongest weekly gain since 1982.

Mar. 23 - Iraqi television showed interrogators questioning five U.S. soldiers, including one woman, who were captured in southern Iraq. And in Kuwait City, a soldier at the 101st Airborne Division command center was in custody following an incident in which grenades were thrown into tents killing two soldiers and wounding several others.

Mar. 23 - "Chicago" became the first musical to receive an Academy Award for best picture since "Oliver" in 1968. Nicole Kidman was named best actress for her role in "The Hours" and Adrien Brody was the surprise choice for best actor in "The Pianist".

Mar. 23 - Butler University defeated Louisville 79-71 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 41 years. Notre Dame also advanced, Indiana University and Purdue University did not.

Mar. 24 - Convicted Indiana murderer Terry Drake, 56, and Lindsey Ryan, the 14-year-old Michigan girl with whom he absconded on March 1, were taken into custody in California.

Mar. 24 - President Bush asked Congress for $75 billion to pay for the war in Iraq.

Mar. 24 - On the heels of its best week in two decades, the Dow Jones industrials average had its worst day of the year falling more than 300 points.

Mar. 24 - In the fourth quarter of 2002, Indiana again led the nation in mortgage foreclosures with 2.41 percent of all home loans ending in foreclosure. The U.S. average was 1.18 percent.

Mar. 25 - Army Spc. Greg Sanders of Hobart, Ind., and Marine Lance Cpl. David Fribley formerly of Atwood, Ind., became the first Hoosiers to die since combat began in Iraq.

Mar. 26 - Sam Jones, long-time president of the Indianapolis Urban League, died of leukemia at the age of 74.

Mar. 26 - A thousand paratroopers landed in northern Iraq, opening a new front line in the war. Meanwhile, the first truck convoys bringing food and other humanitarian aid for the Iraqi people arrived.

Mar. 27 - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ordered 120,000 additional troops to be deployed to the war zone in Iraq.

Mar. 29 - The Indiana state high school basketball champions were determined. Winners were: Pike High School, Class 4A; Bishop Chatard High School, Class 4B; Cass High School, Class 2A and Lafayette Central Catholic High School, Class A.

Passengers arriving in Taiwan from China are given leaflets warning about the outbreak of a mysterious respiratory illness. AP Photo

Mar. 30 - The mysterious illness known as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), continued to spread. The majority of the 57 deaths attributed to the disease occured in Asia, but a health emergency was declared in Toronto after 100 cases were reported and four people died.

Mar. 30 - Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and top U.S. generals defended their strategy in the Iraqi war as criticism mounted that Iraqi forces were underestimated and too few American troops were sent to fight the war.

Mar. 31 - The number of U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf region reached 300,000. Civilian casualties continued to mount, including seven women and children in a van that failed to stop at a checkpoint manned by U.S. soldiers. And in Indiana, Congressman Steve Buyer, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, who said he would be taking a leave of absence to serve in the war, announced his high-profile status could jeopardize those he was assigned to serve with, therefore he would not be deployed.