February

• Chiefs win Super Bowl LIV over 49ers February 2, 2020 — The Kansas City Chiefs came back from a 20-10 third-quarter deficit to beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV, scoring 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Patrick Mahomes, then 24, became the youngest quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP. Pro-Football-Reference.com ↗ (opens in new tab)
• Parasite wins Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards 2020-02-09 — Parasite won Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards, honoring films released in 2019.

  Annual Entertainment anchor event for the America Since 2000 timeline, sourced to the Academy’s official ceremony archive.

  Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ↗ (opens in new tab)
• Senate acquits President Trump in first impeachment trial 2020-02-05 — The Senate voted not guilty on both articles of impeachment. On Article I, the vote was 48 guilty to 52 not guilty; the two-thirds threshold for conviction was not met. U.S. Senate ↗ (opens in new tab)

March

• CARES Act becomes law 2020-03-27 — Public Law 116-136, the CARES Act, was approved on March 27, 2020 as a major federal response to the COVID-19 emergency. GovInfo / U.S. Government Publishing Office ↗ (opens in new tab)
• Federal Reserve lowers target rate to 1–1-1/4% 2020-03-03 — The Federal Open Market Committee lowered its target for the federal funds rate to 1–1-1/4 percent. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ↗ (opens in new tab)
• Federal Reserve lowers target rate to 0–1/4% 2020-03-15 — The Federal Open Market Committee lowered its target for the federal funds rate to 0–1/4 percent. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ↗ (opens in new tab)

May

• SpaceX launches first crewed Demo-2 mission for NASA May 30, 2020 — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Crew Dragon spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center on May 30, 2020, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station. It was the first crewed orbital launch from US soil since the Space Shuttle's retirement in 2011, and the first ever by a privately built spacecraft. NASA ↗ (opens in new tab)
• The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead wins the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction May 4, 2020 — The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead the 2020 prize for Fiction. The Pulitzer Prizes ↗ (opens in new tab)
• A Strange Loop, by Michael R. Jackson wins the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama May 4, 2020 — The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded A Strange Loop, by Michael R. Jackson the 2020 prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prizes ↗ (opens in new tab)

June

• Large Black Lives Matter protest held in Washington, D.C. 2020-06-06 — A major Black Lives Matter protest took place in Washington, D.C. on June 6, 2020. The Library of Congress preserves photographs documenting the event. Library of Congress ↗ (opens in new tab)
• Supreme Court decides Bostock v. Clayton County 2020-06-15 — The Court held that an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Supreme Court of the United States ↗ (opens in new tab)

July

• Taylor Swift surprise-releases folklore July 24, 2020 — Taylor Swift released her eighth studio album, folklore, as a surprise on July 24, 2020, announcing it less than 24 hours ahead of release after that year's planned tour was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its indie-folk sound marked a deliberate departure from the pop production of her prior albums. Forbes ↗ (opens in new tab)
• Rep. John Lewis dies 2020-07-17 — Representative John Lewis, a longtime member of Congress and a prominent civil-rights leader, died on July 17, 2020. He later lay in state at the U.S. Capitol. U.S. House of Representatives ↗ (opens in new tab)

August

• Chadwick Boseman dies at age 43 August 28, 2020 — Chadwick Boseman, best known for playing T'Challa in Black Panther, died August 28, 2020 of colon cancer at age 43, a diagnosis he had kept private since 2016. Britannica ↗ (opens in new tab)

September

• Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies 2020-09-18 — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020 at age 87 after serving on the Court since 1993. Supreme Court of the United States ↗ (opens in new tab)

October

• Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court 2020-10-26 — The Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by a 52-48 vote on October 26, 2020. U.S. Senate ↗ (opens in new tab)

November

• PlayStation 5 launches in the United States November 12, 2020 — Sony's PlayStation 5 launched in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea on November 12, 2020, priced at $399 for the Digital Edition and $499 for the disc-drive model, with the rest of the world following a week later. Sony Interactive Entertainment ↗ (opens in new tab)
• 2020 presidential election is held 2020-11-03 — The 2020 presidential election produced an Electoral College result of 306 votes for Joseph R. Biden Jr. and 232 for Donald J. Trump, according to the official National Archives record. National Archives and Records Administration ↗ (opens in new tab)

Date within this year unknown

• Los Angeles Lakers win the 2020 NBA championship 2020 NBA Finals — Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 4-2 in the NBA Finals to win the 2020 championship. LeBron James was named Finals MVP.

  Annual Sports anchor event for the America Since 2000 timeline. The championship, runner-up, series result, and Finals MVP are sourced from NBA.com history archives.

  NBA.com ↗ (opens in new tab) NBA.com ↗ (opens in new tab)
• Los Angeles Dodgers win 2020 World Series over Rays in COVID-shortened season 2020 World Series — The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4 games to 2 to win the franchise's first championship since 1988, in a pandemic-shortened 60-game season played at a neutral-site bubble. MLB.com ↗ (opens in new tab)