Here are the top stories for 2017:
• The Donald’s first year of office. The Donald was sworn in as President in January, and his achievements include the Tax Cut Plan, rolling back regulations (e.g. regulations that the EPA instituted during the Obama Administration), withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, and moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem, thus recognizing it as the capital of Israel. The day after Trump was sworn, the Women’s March took place in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere across the globe, particularly in response to Trump becoming President.
• Scandals. There were many accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Those accused of such misconduct range from politicians (e.g. Roy Moore, Al Franken) to those in the entertainment industry (e.g. Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey). It is unclear just how many of these allegations are valid. Meanwhile, the allegations against Hillary Clinton and her allies (especially within the FBI) continued to pile up while she accused the Russians of meddling in the 2016 Presidential Election.
• Chaos in Charlottesville. White Nationalists held a demonstration to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Such a demonstration resulted in a counter-demonstration by Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and other leftists, which in turn led to violent clashes and several fatalities, particularly when one of the white nationalists ran a car through a crowd, killing one person and injuring nineteen others. The fallout from the chaos resulted in the debate over whether statues that are deemed offensive to some should be removed, the Donald being criticized by some for his choice of words in condemning the violence, and the Democrats cashing in on the violence in the Virginia state elections (especially by running a scare-tactic advertisement showing minority children being pursued by a pickup truck with a “Don’t Tread on Me” license plate- i.e. claiming conservatism and racism were linked). Meanwhile, Antifa became notorious for its violent reputation, particularly in Berkley, California.
• Las Vegas Shooting. On October 1, a man named Stephen Paddock carried out a mass shooting from his room at the Mandalay Bay hotel near the Las Vegas Strip just as the Route 91 Harvest music festival was ending. He killed 58 people and wounded 546 before taking his own life. His motive is yet to be determined.
• Terrorism. Terrorist attacks continued across the globe, the most notorious attacks being a bombing at an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, jihadists driving their vehicles into crowds in several cities worldwide, and a convert to Islam shooting several people at the Fort Lauderdale Airport in January.
• Deaths. Many famous people died in 2017, including Mary Tyler Moore, Omar Abdel-Rahman, Bill Paxton, David Rockefeller, Powers Boothe, Roger Moore, Zbiginiew Brzezinski, Manuel Noriega, Adam West, Martin Landau, Sam Shepard, Robert Hardy, Jerry Lewis, Harry Dean Stanton, Hugh Hefner, Tom Petty, Robert Guillaume, Charles Manson, Terry Glenn, and Jim Nabors.
• Natural disasters. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria did catastrophic damage within the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, resulting in over 300 deaths and over $300 billion in damage. Meanwhile, Mexico suffered two massive earthquakes, which killed over 400 people. In addition, California suffered the most destructive wildfire season in years, which cost over $13 billion in damage.
• In Super Bowl LI, the New England Patriots rally from a 28-3 deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime. It was the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, as well as the first Super Bowl to go into overtime. Meanwhile, the 2017 NFL season has been plagued with incidents of various players choosing to kneel or lock arms instead of standing for the national anthem, which in turn has led to boycotts, low ratings, etc.
• Star Wars: Episode VIII- the Last Jedi opened in theaters on December 15, and so far has made $843 million worldwide.
So Happy New Year to everyone out there, and may 2018 be a year of happiness and prosperity.
Image: Excerpted from: CC0 Public Domain: http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=181119&picture=2017-calendar
