The year in news in review

The year in news in review

By Marcos Duran Posted December 16, 2015

2015. Undoubtedly an eventful year in the history of the world. Many ups and downs happened this year, both nationally and worldwide.

Donald Trump’s candidacy
In a surprise announcement, multi-millionaire Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the 2016 US Presidential elections for the Republican ticket. Since then, his campaign has been surrounded in much controversy, such as when he referred to illegal Mexican immigrants as “rapists and criminals”, promised to build a massive wall on the Mexican-American border, forcibly ejected respected Univision reporter Jorge Ramos from a press conference, and referred to women he doesn’t like as “fat pigs, slobs, and disgusting animals” on his personal Twitter account. Trump quickly rose to the top of the polls, beating out then-top candidate Jeb Bush, but recently he has been overtaken by Dr. Ben Carson, another presidential candidate. There is still a long way to go to get to the elections, so it will be interesting to see what Trump does to stay ahead in the polls.

Umpqua Community College Shooting
On October 1, at Umpqua Community College near Roseburg, Oregon, gunman Christopher Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old enrolled at the school, opened fire on the students and faculty on campus, killing 8 students and an assistant professor, and injuring several others. Before doing so, he allegedly asked the students what their religion was before promptly shooting them. Harper-Mercer then proceeded to kill himself when police arrived on the scene to neutralize him. This shooting led to the rise of more debate on gun control, with Congress still at a stalemate on the issue.

US wins Women’s FIFA World Cup
The FIFA Women’s World Cup, held every four years, was held this year in Canada, to much jubilation. All of the qualifying teams gave their all in the sweltering heat and the new artificial turf, but in the end, the United States emerged victorious with a victory over Japan in the finals. As we bring the Cup home, the world eagerly waits for another chance to hoist the Cup for their country.

Je suis Charlie
Earlier this year, on January 7, French satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” was attacked by two Islamic extremists armed with assault rifles and other weapons for publishing a cartoon of Muhammad, whose depiction is forbidden in Islam. The two gunmen charged the building, screaming threats in French before shooting several staff members and escaping. A massive manhunt went underway to track down the two extremists, which eventually led to them being gunned down in a shootout on January 9.

Afterward, the remaining staff of “Charlie Hebdo” continued their weekly publication, with the following issue having a run of 7.95 million copies in six languages, compared to its normal run of 60,000 per issue. Demonstrations rose up all over France, with the phrase “Je suis Charlie” (I am Charlie) rising as an international sign of solidarity against the attacks.

Attack on Paris
On November 13, another terrorist attack on Paris developed when several groups of ISIS members simultaneously attacked the Stade de France, the Bataclan Theatre, the Rue Bichat, and the Rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi, among others. There were three explosions outside of the Stade de France, during a soccer match between France and Germany.

In Rues, several armed gunmen opened fire in the streets, and in the Bataclan Theatre, more armed gunmen stormed the place and took all of the concert-goers hostage, causing the French RAID team to intervene and liberate the hostages. The hostage-takers committed suicide by blowing up their explosive vest when it became clear that they had lost. In these tragedies, a total of 130 people died, including an American.

US reopens relations with Cuba
Since the Cold War, the Bay of Pigs incident, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, relations between Cuba and the United States have been nonexistent. However, on July 20, relations with Cuba were officially restored in an effort to heal old wounds. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Cuba Friday, August 14 to reopen the US embassy, with the ceremony being attended by a large crowd to people. Tensions still remain, but this historical event is the first step in reconnecting with a country we have not had any relations for more than 50 years.

Pope Francis visits the US
Pope Francis visited the US for the first time since he became the head of the Catholic Church. He was greeted by cheering crowds when his plane landed in Washington D.C., where he proceeded to meet with President Obama. He also delivered a heartfelt message to a joint Congress and canonized Junipero Serra. His visit was followed by many people of all religions, and his messages touched many hearts across the nation.