2020: A Year to Remember
A closer look at some of the major events that shaped this memorable year in history within the United States.
By: Rachel B Mannix, reporter
A closer look at some of the major events that shaped this memorable year in history within the United States.
By: Rachel B Mannix, reporter
2020 was a whirlwind of a year. It threw so many things at us, both within and outside the country. Here we look at the top 10 news stories of this year, not necessarily in order. Keep in mind that these are not all the top news stories, but 10 of the most important.
Pandemic
This is quite obvious to many of us. On March 13, 2020, we got the notification in Queensbury that school would be shutting down. At this time, everyone was certain it would only last a couple of weeks and we would be back in school in no time. Little did we know that this pandemic of global proportions would take us all the way into 2021, when we finally got a vaccine approved by the FDA. This pandemic, in the US alone, has cost an estimated 373,167 deaths, according to the CDC. It has forced us into lockdowns and mask wearing has become a common practice. This was likely the biggest event of 2020 that forced many out of their jobs, schooling to be done at home and has reckoned with our ability as Americans to bounce back from hardships.
2020 Election
The 2020 election was one of the most exciting elections most of us have experienced. After a year of COVID and protests, it was inevitable that people wanted change. To enact this change, the people elected former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris in an election that dragged on for a week or so. It has been hotly contested by many people who claim widespread voter fraud influenced the election results, however no evidence has been presented to back this claim. In fact, this past week several senators offered up objections to the certification of these results. While this objection has been highly publicized, objections have been offered for previous elections as well. After all of this, it has still been certified that the Biden-Harris administration will be taking over on inauguration day 2021. It should also be noted that this election was important to many people due to it being the first time a black, female of Indian descent was elected to be Vice President of the United States.
George Floyd
George Floyd has become a name known by nearly every American since his death in Minneapolis in May of 2020. He was killed after an officer kneeled on his neck for around nine minutes, after using a counterfeit $20 bill. Two autopsies were conducted on Floyd, one by the county medical examiner and the other by independent pathologists who were commissioned by Floyd’s family. The independent autopsy ruled the cause of death to be mechanical asphyxiation. While the county medical examiner’s autopsy ruled that Floyd died due to “‘cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression.’” An autopsy report also showed that Floyd had 11g of fentanyl in his system at the time of death. Both autopsies did attribute Floyd’s death to homicide, which eventually resulted in Derek Chauvin (the officer) being charged with “third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.” The video that captured Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck caused widespread outrage throughout the world, and renewed the Black Lives Matter movement in a fight against police brutality.
Black Lives Matter Movement
Jump started by George Floyd’s death, the Black Lives Matter protests shook the nation to its core as people took to the streets, chanting “No justice, no peace.” These protestors marched, many with their fists raised, in solidarity against police brutality and the unjust killing of black people. Many people also supported the idea of defunding the police and, in New York, repealing “50-a” in order to allow for more transparency with police records. In fact, Mayor Bill DeBlasio shifted some funding from the NYPD to “youth and social services'' and New York lawmakers signed a bill to repeal 50-a. This is the case with many other cities across the US, with a lot of them reviewing and enacting police reform policies, including the banning of the chokehold restraint. Studies have revealed that 93% of protests were peaceful, with people simply marching and chanting for justice. However, there were also many instances of protests turning into riots as people looted stores and burned buildings. In fact, within the first two weeks after George Floyd’s death, there was an estimated $1-2 billion in damages. In Minneapolis alone, the heart of the movement, there has been an estimated minimum of $55 million in damages. Therefore it is no question that this movement brought about its fair share of controversy, with “All Lives Matter” supporters often clashing with “Black Lives Matter” supporters. No matter which view people find more favorable, the movement, without a doubt, has sparked large conversations regarding race and racial issues within the US.
Impeachment trial for Trump
Back in January and early February, Congress launched an impeachment trial for President Donald Trump. The trial was a long time coming, after a few years of accusations that he colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. He was also accused of trying to bribe Ukraine to do probes into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. He was charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Although he was impeached by the House of Representatives, he was ultimately acquitted of both charges by the Senate, keeping him in office. This makes Trump the third president to be impeached.
Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s deaths
In late January of 2020, the US was shocked by news of 41-year old Kobe Bryant’s death after his helicopter crashed into Calabasas Hills. His 13-year old daughter, Gianna, and seven others were also killed in the crash, including the pilot. They were on their way to a youth basketball tournament in Orange County when it happened. It was determined that the pilot was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol, but there was a lot of fog that clouded his vision, ultimately resulting in the fatal event. If nothing else, autopsy reports suggest that all nine died within an instant of the crash.
Murder Hornets
Just when Americans thought that 2020 couldn’t get any more bizarre, a species of hornets known as “murder hornets” showed up in the western US. Their official name is “Asian Giant Hornets,” as they are originally from Asia, specifically Japan. They can grow up to two inches long and, although they are not extremely deadly to humans (around 50 die per year in Japan due to them), they are very deadly to bees as they use them as food. There haven’t been many developments in their spread, but scientists have launched a large-scale effort to keep them out of North America.
Wildfires in the West
This year started with horrible wildfires in Australia, but then in August and September, severe thunderstorms started giant wildfires along the West Coast, notably California. These fires forced thousands out of their homes and killed around 30 people. Although these fires are primarily linked to thunderstorms and droughts, a recent study found that people “were responsible for 97 percent” of major wildfires (those that threatened homes and wildland-urban interface), so it is highly likely that some of these fires were started by human activity. Their intensity has been linked to climate change by scientists such as wildfire scientist and paleoecologist Philip Higuera and fire ecologist Jennifer Balch. The fires were so large that plumes of smoke even reached Europe.
Chadwick Boseman and Ruth Bader Ginsburg die
This year brought with it many tragic deaths, including Kobe and Gianna Bryant, as aforementioned. Two other important figures we lost this year were Chadwick Boseman and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died of colon and pancreatic cancer, respectively. Boseman never revealed his struggle with colon cancer, even filming and scheduling movies up until his death. This made it a tragic surprise when the world learned of his death in August. He is remembered as a great role model and important figure within the African American community, playing revolutionary roles such as the Black Panther. Ruth Bader Ginsburg had struggled for many years with pancreatic cancer before finally dying at the age of 87. She was only the second female ever to be on the Supreme Court and played an important role in shaping policy and legal matters during her tenure as a SCOTUS justice. She is remembered as the “notorious RBG” and served as an icon to many women, both young and old.
Amy Coney Barrett gets confirmed to SCOTUS
After Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, President Trump was given the opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court Justice. This brought a lot of controversy because many people thought that Trump shouldn’t nominate anyone so close to the election (this took place in October). This controversy was fueled by the late Ginsburg’s supposed dying wish to not be replaced before the next president came into office. However, Amy Coney Barrett was nominated and confirmed in record time, at the behest of many Congressional Democrats. Her confirmation cemented a 6-4 conservative majority on the Supreme Court. However, Barrett has stated that she will stick to legal precedent and make her decisions based on the Constitution.
Works Cited
“2020: The Year in Pictures.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Dec. 2020, www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/specials/year-in-pictures/.
Ankel, Sophia. “30 Days That Shook America: Since the Death of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter Movement Has Already Changed the Country.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 24 June 2020, www.businessinsider.com/13-concrete-changes-sparked-by-george-floyd-protests-so-far-2020-6#officials-in-washington-dc-and-states-including-california-nevada-and-texas-have-also-banned-chokeholds-and-reviewed-police-reforms-6.
Baker, Mike. “'Murder Hornets' in the U.S.: The Rush to Stop the Asian Giant Hornet.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 May 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/us/asian-giant-hornet-washington.html.
Borunda, Alejandra. “The Science Connecting Wildfires to Climate Change.” Science, 18 Sept. 2020, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/09/climate-change-increases-risk-fires-western-us/#close.
Buchanan, Larry, et al. “Black Lives Matter May Be the Largest Movement in U.S. History.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 July 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html.
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Caldera, Camille. “Fact Check: Portland, New York, Minneapolis and Chicago Are Not Bankrupt after Protests.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 28 Aug. 2020, www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/08/28/fact-check-protests-didnt-drive-chicago-new-york-portland-minneapolis-bankruptcy/5604929002/.
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Donaghue, Erin. “Two Autopsies Both Find George Floyd Died by Homicide, but Differ on Some Key Details.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 4 June 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/george-floyd-death-autopsies-homicide-axphyxiation-details/.
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Kingson, Jennifer A. “Exclusive: $1 Billion-plus Riot Damage Is Most Expensive in Insurance History.” Axios, 16 Sept. 2020, www.axios.com/riots-cost-property-damage-276c9bcc-a455-4067-b06a-66f9db4cea9c.html.
Mansoor, Sanya. “93% Of Black Lives Matter Protests Have Been Peaceful: Report.” Time, Time, 5 Sept. 2020, time.com/5886348/report-peaceful-protests/.
Press, Associated. “Kobe Bryant, All Others Aboard Helicopter Died Immediately in Crash, Autopsies Show.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 15 May 2020, www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29180785/kobe-bryant-helicopter-pilot-had-no-drugs-alcohol-system-autopsy-shows.
Raguse, Author: Lou. “New Court Docs Say George Floyd Had ‘Fatal Level’ of Fentanyl in His System.” kare11.Com, 26 Aug. 2020, www.kare11.com/article/news/local/george-floyd/new-court-docs-say-george-floyd-had-fatal-level-of-fentanyl-in-his-system/89-ed69d09d-a9ec-481c-90fe-7acd4ead3d04.
Reynolds, Kristin. “U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies of Pancreatic Cancer.” Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, PanCAN, 25 Sept. 2020, www.pancan.org/news/u-s-supreme-court-justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-dies-of-complications-from-pancreatic-cancer/.
Sprunt, Barbara. “Here Are The Republicans Who Objected To The Electoral College Count.” NPR, NPR, 7 Jan. 2021, www.npr.org/sections/congress-electoral-college-tally-live-updates/2021/01/07/954380156/here-are-the-republicans-who-objected-to-the-electoral-college-count.
The New York Times. “What We Know About the Death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Sept. 2020, www.nytimes.com/article/george-floyd.html.
The Visual and Data Journalism Team. “California and Oregon 2020 Wildfires in Maps, Graphics and Images.” BBC News, BBC, 17 Sept. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54180049.