Train Wreck (Jan. 4): A 12-car Amtrak passenger train collides with three Conrail engines near Chevy Chase, Md., killing 15 and injuring more than 175. It is the worst accident in Amtrak's history.

	Bakker

Bakker Tryst (March 19): Jim Bakker resigns from his ministry and says that he had an extramarital "sexual encounter" with a church secretary, later identified as Jessica Hahn.

Baby M Battle (March 31): After a grueling legal fight, custody of Baby M, a child born to a surrogate mother, is awarded to the biological father. Saying he is creating law, the judge upholds the legality of such an agreement and strips the mother of all parental rights. The dispute will work its way through the courts in the coming year.

The Hart Affair (May 8): Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado, a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, drops out of the race after The Miami Herald discloses that he had an affair with model Donna Rice.

AIDS Advances: To help stop the AIDS epidemic, condom commercials are allowed on television. AZT, a promising drug designed to treat but not cure AIDS, wins FDA approval. And in a victory for children with AIDS, the New Jersey Supreme Court requires schools to admit students who suffer from the disease.

Dead Air (Sept. 11): Anchorman Dan Rather walks off the set of the "CBS Evening News" over a disagreement with management. The screen stays blank for five minutes.

Trapped Toddler: An 18-month-old girl tumbles into a 22-foot-deep well in her back yard in Midland, Texas. Jessica McClure remains trapped for 58 hours. Baby Jessica captures the hearts of worried Americans -- crying for her mother and singing Winnie-the-Pooh songs -- until paramedic Steve Forbes emerges with the tiny bundle in his arms.

Market Bust (Oct. 19): On a day that will become known as "Black Monday," the Dow Jones industrial average plummets 508 points and closes at 1738.34. The 22.6 percent decline is the worst in U.S. history, double that of the 1929 crash that ushered in the Great Depression. The collapse wipes out an estimated $870 billion in stock values and signals an end to the freewheeling 1980s.