August 3, 2004 (Tuesday)
- Saddam Hussein's daughter Raghad reveals her willingness to hire an American lawyer as long as her father gets a fair trial. (Times Of India) Archived 2012-08-13 at the Wayback Machine
- Two 'high-value' al-Qaida targets are arrested in Pakistan. (Tampa Bay Online)
- A U.S. court martial hears allegations by the lead criminal investigator that Iraqi prisoners were abused 'for fun' at Abu Ghraib. (Reuters)
- The truce between Muqtada al-Sadr's militia and occupation troops ends as US troops surround his house in Najaf to arrest him. (BBC)
- Reports state that information that led the US to raise the terror alert for five financial centers in New York City, northern New Jersey and Washington, D.C. was mainly three or four years old but had been updated as recently as January. Administration officials note, too, that al Qaeda is known for its planning, and that this information became available following the apprehension of a Pakistani member of the organization. (CNN) (Xinhuanet)
- NASA launches its MESSENGER spacecraft. It is due to reach the planet Mercury in 2011. (JHUAPL)
- The Statue of Liberty opens to the public for the first time since the September 11, 2001, attacks. (BBC)
- Missouri votes to ban same-sex marriage through a state constitutional amendment. The amendment passes with 72% of the vote. Louisiana will vote on the same issue September 18, followed by Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah on November 2. (CBS) Meanwhile, in Washington, a state judge rules that its recently enacted ban on same-sex marriage violates the state constitution. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
- Tropical Storm Alex strengthens into the first hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season, and skirts North Carolina's Outer Banks without making landfall. (CNN)
- The People's Republic of China says it may delay talks on a free trade agreement with Singapore following a recent visit to Taiwan by Singapore's deputy prime minister Lee Hsien Loong. (AtOL) Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (StraitsTimes)
- The death toll in the market fire in Asunción, Paraguay rises to 464. Six people, including the co-owner, are arrested for manslaughter on charges that they locked the doors after the fire started, in order to prevent looting. (The Scotsman) (ABC News)