On This Day: May 17th

A military plane crash in northern Laos kills 17 people.

Pamir Airways Flight 112 crashes in Afghanistan's Shakardara District, killing 44.

Trains from North and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test-run agreed by both governments. This is the first time that trains have crossed the Demilitarized Zone since 1953.

The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef.

The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. are performed in the state of Massachusetts.

Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen.

Troops of Laurent-Désiré Kabila march into Kinshasa. Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Shawn Nelson steals an M60 tank from the California Army National Guard Armory in San Diego and proceeds to go on a rampage.

Malawi holds its first multi-party elections.

Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in Bangkok, leading to a military crackdown that results in 52 officially confirmed deaths, hundreds of injuries, many disappearances, and more than 3,500 arrests.