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Thursday, December 31, 2015

2015 IN REVIEW: The Year In News

It's time for the next edition of the year 2015 in Review, just in time for the final day of the year!



This time, we're going to be taking a look back at the biggest news stories of the year.  It's safe to say that 2015 has been one tumultuous year filled with lots of horror stories and bad news.  But it's important to note that 2015 had its share of feel good tales as well.

Before we get to that, let us pause to remember some of the celebrities we lost in 2015.

January 1 - MARIO CUOMO, 82, politician
January 19 - ANNE KIRKBRIDE, 60, actress



February 16 - LESLEY GORE, 68, singer



February 27 - LEONARD NIMOY, 83, actor/director
March 8 - SAM SIMON, 59, television producer
March 21 - ALBERTA WATSON, 60, actress
April 6 - JAMES BEST, 88, actor
April 7 - GEOFFREY LEWIS, 79, actor



April 14 - PERCY SLEDGE, 74, singer



April 30 - BEN E. KING, 76, singer



May 14 - B.B. KING, 86, singer/guitarist
May 23 - ANNE MEARA, 85, actress/comedienne
May 29 - BETSY PALMER, 89, actress
June 7 - CHRISTOPHER LEE, 93, actor
June 11 - DUSTY RHODES, 69, wrestler



June 23 - DICK VAN PATTEN, 86, actor
July 10 - OMAR SHARIF, 83, actor
July 10 - ROGER REES, 71, actor
July 18 - ALEX ROCCO, 79, actor



July 30 - LYNN ANDERSON, 67, country singer
July 31 - RODDY PIPER, 61, wrestler



August 1 - CILLA BLACK, 72, singer
August 30 - WES CRAVEN, 76, director/writer



September 1 - DEAN JONES, 84, actor
September 13 - MOSES MALONE, 60, basketball player
September 19 - JACKIE COLLINS, 77, author



September 22 - YOGI BERRA, 90, baseball player
October 24 - MAUREEN O'HARA, 95, actress
November 4 - MELISSA MATHISON, 65, screenwriter
November 11 - PHIL TAYLOR, 61, drummer
November 11 - NATHANIEL MARSTON, 40, actor
November 16 - DAVID CANARY, 77, actor



December 3 - SCOTT WEILAND, 48, singer/musician
December 27 - MEADOWLARK LEMON, 83, basketball player



December 28 - LEMMY KILMISTER, 70, singer/guitarist
December 31 - WAYNE ROGERS, 82, actor

Next, we'll take a look at some of the biggest news events of the year.

JANUARY
1 - The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect



7 - Twelve people are killed by Islamic gunmen inside the offices of Paris based magazine "Charlie Hebdo"

FEBRUARY
10 - NBC News anchor Brian Williams steps down from his position following his misrepresenting himself during an incident in Iraq back in 2003 where he claimed a helicopter he was in was forced to land due to being hit
16 - The Egyptian military starts conducting airstrikes against a branch of militant group ISIL in Libya in retaliation over the group beheading a dozen Egyptian Christians

MARCH



24 - An Airbus A320-211 operated by Germanwings crashes in the French Alps, killing all 150 on board - reports later surface that the plane was deliberately steered into the mountains by the co-pilot

APRIL
2 - The militant terrorist organization Al-Shabaab claim responsibility for a mass shooting at the Garissa University College in Kenya, killing 148 people
25 - Over eight thousand lose their lives when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal
29 - The World Health Organization announces that rubella has been eradicated from the Americas

MAY



2 - Prince William and Princess Kate announce the birth of their daughter, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge
12 - Another earthquake strikes Nepal just a couple of weeks after the first one, killing another 153 in the country alone
23 - Ireland votes to legalize same-sex marriage


JUNE



1 - Caitlyn Jenner makes her official debut on the cover of Vanity Fair
2 - FIFA President Sepp Blatter announces his intention of resigning from his post following an FBI-led corruption investigation
15 - NAACP President Rachel Dolezal resigns amid accusations that she was actually a Caucasian



16 - Donald Trump offically announces that he is running for President of the United States of America for the 2016 elections
26 - ISIL claim responsibility for three attacks around the world during Ramadan

JULY
1 - Greece becomes the first advanced economy to miss a payment to the International Monetary Fund in the IMF's 71 year history
2 - People around the world are outraged when word breaks that an American dentist has killed Cecil the Lion - a lion from Hwange National Park



7 - Police raid the home of Subway spokesman Jared Fogle on charges of child pornography possession
20 - The United States and Cuba reestablish full diplomatic relations after a period of hostile relations lasting almost five and a half decades
27 - New York Magazine releases a cover that features many of the women who accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault

AUGUST
5 - Debris that washed up along the shores of Reunion Island are confirmed to be from Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, missing since March 2014
17 - Twenty are dead and another 125 are injured following a bombing inside the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand



26 - Viewers in Virginia are shocked when a former employee of a television station interrupts a live broadcast and shoots and kills reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward on the air - the gunman later takes his own life

SEPTEMBER
10 - Scientists announce that they have discovered a previously unknown species of early human in South Africa known as Homo naledi



18 - Volkswagen is accused of worldwide rigging of diesel emissions tests, which affect around eleven million vehicles all over the world
28 - NASA announces that they have discovered liquid water on the surface of Mars
30 - Russia begins air strikes against ISIL in support of Syria, as Syrian refugees seek out shelter in other nations

OCTOBER
10 - A suicide bomb kills 100 at a peace rally in Ankara, Turkey



19 - Justin Trudeau is elected the next Prime Minister of Canada
23 - Hurricane Patricia becomes the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere, with winds reaching 200 mph

NOVEMBER
12 - In Lebanon, several suicide bombings take place, killing 43 and injuring over 250.  ISIS takes responsibility for the attacks



13 - ISIS also takes responsibility for several terrorist attacks inside of Paris, France, which sees 130 lose their lives, and which sees France close their borders to outside nations for a while
19 - Jared Fogle is given a fifteen year, eight month sentence for possession of child pornography
30 - The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Paris, attended by leaders representing 147 different nations

DECEMBER
2 - A mass shooting at a San Bernardino, California holiday party leaves fourteen dead and another 22 injured - the husband and wife shooters later took their own lives
20 - At the Miss Universe Pageant, Steve Harvey accidentally announces the wrong winner, which leads to Miss Colombia awkwardly having to give up the crown to Miss Philippines...which can only lead to a...



Sorry.  I had to go there.
30 - An arrest warrant is issued against Bill Cosby after a woman in Pennsylvania files charges for an alleged sexual assault taking place eleven years earlier

There's obviously a lot more news to share, but I'll wait until we do the blogs for television and music to reveal a little bit more.

Now, let's take a look at how your favourite sports teams did, and we'll see who won what championship.

SUPER BOWL XLIX - New England Patriots
2015 WORLD SERIES - Kansas City Royals
2015 STANLEY CUP - Chicago Blackhawks
2015 FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP - United States

Congratulations to all teams for winning!

Now, to end off this look back on the news...a few of the more...wackier things that went on in the world.



Starting with Super Bowl XLIX where Katy Perry was the halftime performer.  Nothing was wrong with Katy's performance, but viewers noticed that a person in a shark costume on her left hand side was having trouble keeping up with the dance moves.  What?  They don't teach choreography under the sea?



Or, how about an incident that took place on June 4 in an Indiana Walmart where two women made a mockery of themselves as well as the health and beauty section.  The fact that they're fighting in front of a child who seems to egg them on is one thing...but the fact that spectators stood around and filmed it while doing nothing to stop it?  I don't know what to be more appalled by.



Then there was the skateboarding dog named Otto who broke a world record in Peru by skating under the legs of thirty people.  Quite an impressive dog, don't you think?

Finally, how about these wacky unseasonable temps we had during the Christmas season?  Summer like weather on Christmas Eve?  Don't get me wrong, I'll take it.  But given how 2015 has been affected by the phenomenon known as El Nino, this could be the reason why.

So, those are a few of the news stories that shaped our world.  I'm taking a break for New Years' Day (on account of the New Archies), but I'll be back on January 2 to talk about the television moments that had everybody talking.


Happy New Year, everyone.  Party safely.

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