September 16, 1999

That fall of 1999, gas ran $1.17 a gallon and Clinton was in the White House — the U.S. Senate had just rejected the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, dealing the Clinton administration one of its sharpest foreign policy defeats of the decade. On television, audiences were tuning into "The Sopranos" and "ER," while Mariah Carey and Jay-Z held the top spot on the charts with "Heartbreaker." The New York Yankees wrapped up the World Series against the Atlanta Braves for their 25th championship, and on November 20, China launched its first Shenzhou spacecraft, marking the opening move in what would become a major national space program.