2017 in Review - The News

2018 is finally upon us, and a happy new year to all of you reading this right now!

I can honestly state that 2018 is a year that I am really looking forward to.  After all, eighteen is a lucky number for me, and after all of the crazy stuff that happened in 2017, I think most of us can agree that it's a relief that it is over.

I mean, just looking at some of the news stories of 2017, it's a miracle the majority of us have survived it!

All right, maybe I'm being melodramatic here, but 2017 was a really scary year.  It may have been designated at the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly, but it was also a year in which we thought it would be the end of the world as we knew it.  In a way, it has been with all the natural disasters, terror attacks (both domestically and internationally), and overall bad news.

But there has been some moments of brilliance in a year of unrest and uncertainty, and I'm hoping that I cover those as well.

First things first though...not all of us made it through 2017 alive.  Many of us have lost loved ones throughout the year (myself included), and I want to pay tribute to those who passed away this year.  So to start this look back at 2017, let us honour those pop culture icons of the past that we lost last year.
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January 12 - WILLIAM PETER BLATTY, director, 89

January 23 - GORDEN KAYE, actor, 75

January 25 - JOHN HURT, actor, 77

January 25 - MARY TYLER MOORE, actress, 80

January 26 - MIKE CONNOR, actor, 91

January 26 - BARBARA HALE, actress, 94

February 7 - RICHARD HATCH, actor, 71

February 12 - AL JARREAU, singer, 76

February 16 - GEORGE "THE ANIMAL" STEELE, wrestler, 79

March 18 - CHUCK BERRY, singer/musician, 90

March 23 - LOLA ALBRIGHT, actress, 92

April 6 - DON RICKLES, actor/comedian, 90

April 22 - ERIN MORAN, actress, 56

April 26 - JONATHAN DEMME, director, 73

May 9 - MICHAEL PARKS, actor, 73

May 14 - POWERS BOOTHE, actor, 68

May 18 - CHRIS CORNELL, singer/musician, 52

May 22 - NICKY HAYDEN, motorcycle racer, 35

May 23 - ROGER MOORE, actor, 89

May 27 - GREGG ALLMAN, musician, 69

June 9 - ADAM WEST, actor, 88

June 19 - OTTO WARMBLER, college student, 22

June 20 - PRODIGY, rapper, 42

July 15 - MARTIN LANDAU, actor, 89

July 16 - GEORGE A. ROMERO, director, 77

July 20 - CHESTER BENNINGTON, musician, 41

July 21 - JOHN HEARD, actor, 76

July 26 - JUNE FORAY, voice actress, 99

July 31 - JEANNE MOREAU, actress, 89

August 3 - TY HARDIN, actor, 87

August 3 - ROBERT HARDY, actor, 91

August 8 - GLEN CAMPBELL, singer, 81

August 19 - DICK GREGORY, comedian/activist, 84

August 20 - JERRY LEWIS, comedian/actor, 91

August 24 - JAY THOMAS, comedian/actor, 69

September 8 - DON WILLIAMS, singer, 78

September 13 - FRANK VINCENT, actor, 80

September 15 - HARRY DEAN STANTON, actor, 91

September 19 - JAKE LAMOTTA, boxer, 95

September 27 - HUGH HEFNER, Playboy magazine founder, 91

September 30 - MONTY HALL, game show host, 96

October 2 - TOM PETTY, musician, 67

October 17 - GORD DOWNIE, musician/activist, 53

October 24 - FATS DOMINO, singer, 89

October 24 - ROBERT GUILLAUME, actor, 89

November 7 - ROY HALLIDAY, baseball player, 40

November 9 - JOHN HILLERMAN, actor, 84

November 15 - LIL PEEP, rapper, 21

November 18 - MALCOLM YOUNG, musician, 64

November 19 - DELLA REESE, singer/actress, 86

November 19 - MEL TILLIS, singer, 85

November 21 - DAVID CASSIDY, singer/actor, 67

November 25 - RANCE HOWARD, actor, 89

November 30 - JIM NABORS, actor, 87

November 30 - HEATHER NORTH, voice actress, 71

December 4 - CHRISTINE KEELER, model/showgirl, 75

December 23 - KENT BLACKWELDER, Big Brother 2 contestant, 62
December 24 - HEATHER MENZIES, actress, 68

December 26 - JOHNNY BOWER, hockey player, 93

December 28 - SUE GRAFTON, author, 77

December 28 - ROSE MARIE, actress, 94

Certainly a lot of famous names there...names that will never be forgotten.

Now, 2017 in the news has been a rather tumultuous year in the world.  And as we go through the list of events that happened month by month, you will see what I mean.

The year began with the swearing in of the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, on January 20.  And it has been a wild ride ever since.  In just one year in office, Trump's war of words on both Twitter and in his presidential addresses have caused a lot of fury.  When he's not poking the bear with his constant jabs towards North Korea, he's causing a lot of tension amongst minority groups and women with his comments - which actually lead to the January 21 Women's March that took place in 168 different countries in protest.  As well, his decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Treaty on June 1, and his declaration on December 6 that Jerusalem would be recognized as Israel's capital has caused a lot of tension which I am sure won't go away in 2018.

In fact, Trump's feuds with practically everybody who is not on his side seem to be overshadowing any political decisions that he has made.  It's hard to say what 2018 will bring, but at least I can say that it won't be anything but boring.  It will also likely be unpredictable with the rotating door of White House staffers fired by Trump.  Sean Spicer, Anthony Scaramucci (after only a few days), and Omarosa can attest to that.  And given the tension between Trump and Kim Jong-un (leading to North Korea firing a ballistic missile over the Sea of Japan on February 11 - as well as its most powerful nuclear test on September 3), 2018 appears to be a very pivotal year.

Cyberterror was definitely a concern for the world when ransomware viruses started infecting millions of computers all over the world beginning on May 12.  With reports of Yahoo Mail being compromised as well as the hacking of the Ashley Madison website back in 2016, it was definitely a reminder to update your antivirus software.

Of course, terror attacks were sadly a huge part of what shaped 2017.  The first indicator happened on May 18, when a man crashed a car through Times Square in New York City, killing one and injuring twenty.  A more devastating event took place four days later when a bomb exploded in the lobby of Manchester Arena on May 22 following an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people.  On June 7, an ISIL attack on the Iranian Parliament Building and the Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini killed 17 people.  

August 11 saw racial tensions erupt in Charlottesville, Virginia which saw white supremacists show their ugly colours and saw the death of a woman after she was struck and killed by a car.  Even Canada wasn't spared when an attack on September 30 in Edmonton which saw a man deliberately crash into and stab a police constable before striking four other pedestrians.

Domestic terrorism reared its ugly head on October 1 when a man shot and killed fifty-eight people at the Route 91 Country Music Festival from his hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.  October 31 saw a terror attack in New York City when a man mowed down people along a bike path in a rented truck.  And I'm sure the whole world weeped when the news of the church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas on November 5 broke.  26 people lost their lives, and it remains the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history.

Natural disasters were also a major factor in 2017, and with so much devastation in the world, it certainly has triggered discussion about climate change.  In the last week of 2017, frigid cold temperatures and record snowfall dominated the headlines for most of Canada and half of the United States with Nova Scotia bearing the worst of it with a December 25 wind storm that knocked out power for thousands of customers.  Meanwhile in California, a series of wildfires charred homes and forests in the southern part of the state.  As of January 1, those fires are still active.

Hurricanes were also a devastating source of pain for the Southeastern United States and the Caribbean islands.  Beginning with Hurricane Harvey on August 25, Houston was devastated by heavy flooding.  Parts of Florida were completely destroyed when Hurricane Irma struck the state on September 10.  And Puerto Rico is still recovering from damage caused by Hurricane Maria, which saw widespread destruction when it made landfall on September 20.  And earthquakes also shook up lives all over the world.  On September 19, a powerful 7.1 earthquake strikes on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 Mexico City quake, killing 300 people.  And on November 12, an earthquake strikes the Iraq-Iran border leaving 530 dead and 70,000 homeless.  

And it wasn't just natural disasters that struck.  Who could forget the fire at Grenfell Tower in London on June 14 which destroyed the whole building and killed 71 people?  Or, the Ohio State Fair disaster on July 26 when a ride called the Fireball broke apart, killing one rider and injuring seven?

So with so much bad news going on in the world, could there possibly be any good news?  As a matter of fact, there was.

Now, I mentioned the bombing at Manchester Arena in May...but what followed was a massive concert event known as One Love Manchester, which took place at the same arena on June 4.  Ariana Grande returned to perform along with Coldplay, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Liam Gallagher, Niall Horan, Robbie Williams, Justin Bieber, the Black Eyed Peas, and many others put on a show to benefit the families of those who died, and it was recently ranked as the number one concert of 2017.

On October 5, the first news broke out about Harvey Weinstein, and over the next three months, it has exploded into a major clean-up of the Hollywood industry.  More and more women found the courage to stand up for themselves and declare "Me Too", and as I mentioned in my movie blog, I am sure that there will be more cleaning up to do in 2018.

2017 also saw the old adage of "Cheaters Never Win" come true when Russia was formally banned from competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics on December 5 following an investigation into doping at the 2014 Sochi Games.  And on September 13, the Olympic Committee announced that Paris and Los Angeles would be the host cities for the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympic Games.

We also received good news in the Royal Family, as Prince William announced that Princess Kate was pregnant with their third child and Prince Harry announced his engagement to actress Meghan Markle.  The wedding date is set for May 19, 2018.

And finally, on August 21, many people in the United States and Canada were treated to a rarity - a total solar eclipse.  Here in my area, we only had a partial eclipse, but it was still cool to view - through special lenses, of course.

So that's a wrap for the news of 2017.  What will 2018 bring?  It's hard to tell, as we're only fifteen hours into it.  But I'll be back next year at this time to do a recap.

Tomorrow, what did 2017 mean to me?  Well, I'll tell you.  It isn't going to be all hearts and flowers, but it did change me as a person.