September 2009 Current Events: U.S. News

World News | Business/Science News

Here are the key events in United States news for the month of September 2009.

• Federal Ruling: New York Discriminated Against Mentally Ill (Sept. 8): New York state violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by using more than two dozen adult homes to shelter 4,300 mentally ill patients instead of smaller apartments and buildings. The ruling, by Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis, called the homes "segregated settings" that kept patients from interacting with the larger community.
• Pres. Obama Tells Students to Work Hard, Stay in School (Sept. 8): In a back-to-school address to millions of American students, broadcast online, President Obama tells children to work hard, stay in school, and take personal responsibility. The speech followed days of controversy over the president's supposed political agenda in making the speech. Schools were given the choice to show students the speech or not.
• U.S. Giving More Rights to Detainees in Afghanistan (Sept. 12): The Obama administration is issuing new guidelines for detainees' rights in the prison at Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Detainees will have the ability to challenge their custody; each detainee will have access to a military official, who is allowed to acquire witnesses and evidence to build a defense.
• U.S. Military Chief Suggests More Troops Needed in Afghanistan (Sept. 15): U.S. military chief, Adm. Mike Mullen, suggests that the U.S. will need to send more troops into Afghanistan, despite disagreement from Democrats in Congress. Mullen did not officially request more troops, however.
• Congress Votes to Rebuke Rep. Joe Wilson (Sept. 15): The House of Representatives votes 240–179 to officially rebuke outspoken Republican representative Joe Wilson (South Carolina) for yelling, "You lie!" during President Obama's speech on health care.
• Kennedy's Temporary Senate Replacement Named (Sept. 24): Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick names Paul Kirk, former Democratic National Committee chairman and friend of the late Ted Kennedy, as Kennedy's temporary replacement in the Senate. Voters in Massachusetts will elect a permanent replacement in January.