Hard to believe but 2014 is over. It’s been a year. And as we’re bidding it farewell, let’s take a look back. Once again, these are the top news stories as voted on by the monkeys in my head. They look forward to this every year.
Here’s to 2014!
10. Malaysian Airlines Flight 370
On March 8th, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia, bound for Beijing Capital International Airport. It never arrived. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane as it crossed from Malaysian airspace into Vietnamese airspace over the South China sea. When the plane’s crew failed to answer a hail from Ho Chi Minh, they asked a nearby plane to try to send a call. Nothing. The plane’s transponder was also no longer functioning, alarming officials.
As Malaysian Airlines announced the disappearance of the plane, many countries offered assistance in locating it—including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Pouring through the known data, it appeared the flight changed course and crossed across Indonesia before flying over the Indian Ocean. Any trace of the plane was lost off the coast of Australia. To this date, the plane has not been found though a massive search is being conducted by the Australians and Malaysians. Until the plane’s black boxes are found, what happened on Flight 370 is a mystery.
9. Donald Sterling
Donald Sterling started 2014 as the owner of the LA Clippers. He's ending 2014 without the Clippers and with everyone calling him a racist. At first, I wasn't going to include him but I changed my mind because I feel he also sets the tone for the rest of the year.
So what happened? Good question! Here's a refresher: In late April, TMZ released a recording of Sterling talking with his girlfriend V. Stiviano about a picture of herself and Magic Johnson she had put on her Instagram. He tells her that he's not comfortable with her broadcasting the fact she hangs out with black people and he doesn't want her to bring any black people to his games. You know, games in a sport played predominately by African-Americans. The Sterling family tried to discredit Striviano, saying that she had released the tape to "get even" with the family due to a lawsuit Sterling's wife had against Striviano, asking her to return the gifts Sterling had given her. Striviano denied it. Either way, the damage had been done. The Clippers turned their jerseys inside out in protest and the Miami Heat joined them in solidarity. The NBA was quick, banning Sterling and fining him the maximum amount allowed. He was then forced to sell the team and his wife tried to buy it. The league squashed her bid and the team was sold to Steve Ballmer. Since then, Sterling and Striviano have faded from public view and things seem settled for now.
8. Two Popes/Two Saints
This past April, the Catholic Church added two new saints to the growing list of holy men and women. Pope Paul XXIII, who called Vatican II and brought the Church into the 20th century, was canonized though he might have been eclipsed by the other saint--Pope John Paul II. His path to sainthood was a quick one, especially with changes implemented by Pope Benedict XVI. It was appropriate that they were canonized together: both changed the Church greatly.
7. POW swap
This past May, it was announced that the US would be swapping five Taliban prisoners of war for an American captive. But as Bowe Bergdahl's family was celebrating his return, a different picture of the soldier emerged. Fellow soldiers claimed that he was actually deserting at the time he was captured. Others grew suspicious of his father, who had grown a beard and learned the language of his son's captors. And then there were others, especially government officials, who didn't like the precedent this exchange set. Bergdahl is under military care and the last reports were positive, with him finally seeing his parents and supposedly going back on active duty.
6. Gaza/Israel
Over the summer, things came to a boiling point in the Gaza strip. In early July, three Israeli boys were found killed and Hamas was blamed. The next day, several Hamas tunnels collapsed due to missiles. Hamas blamed Israel while Israel insisted Hamas' own missiles malfunctioned. But Hamas fired missles into Gaza and Israel responded. They began an assault on Hamas in Gaza, saying they wanted to destroy all the tunnels leading into Israel. Their main onslaught lasted most of the summer. A few times, Israel and Hamas agreed to ceasefires for humanitarian reasons. But it seemed everyone was violated and ended earlier than expected each time. But once Israel was certain Hamas' tunnels were destroyed, they pulled out. There have been a few exchanges since then and tensions remain high in the region.
5. Snow, Snow, Snow! + Polar Vortex
Things got arctic last winter. The polar vortex ended up being pushed south, causing frigid conditions across America and Canada. Here in New York, we saw temperatures reach 4 degrees Fahrenheit. Some places in America were colder than Siberia. And with the cold weather, we got walloped with a lot of snow as well. It felt like I didn't grass for months. Hopefully, winter isn't as cold.
4. ISIS
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) emerged to dominate the news this year. The group had started to form in the wake of the unrest in the area but managed to grab enough power to capture the West's attention. They began taking over cities and other territories, forcing everyone to convert to Islam. Christians had to flee for their lives and begged for help from the West. The West answered as ISIS began to behead Western captives and release the videos. The US led a coalition against ISIS and judging by the events in Australia, we will still be hearing about them in 2015.
3. Crimea/Ukraine
The Cold War has been over since 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. But we are close to resurrecting it as 2014 ends due to strife in the Ukraine. The country had an election and the two main factions were split into those who were Pro-West—strengthening ties to Europe and America—and those who were Pro-Russia—strengthening ties to Moscow. When the Pro-West faction one, riots occurred in different areas. The one that got the most attention, though, was Crimea. The people held an election and voted to join Russia. Putin and Russia welcomed them despite the elections being condemned by the Ukraine and the United Nations.
Russian forces then entered Ukraine and the world seemed on the brink of war. Another Malaysian Airline flight, MH17, was shot down as it crossed over the Ukraine. Everyone board was killed and The Netherlands, where most of the passengers were from, began mourning the dead. It’s still not clear if rebels or Russians shot down the plane but tensions grew worse. Western countries—with the United Nations’ support—imposed harsh economic sanctions against Russia and kicked the country out of the G8. Russia has retaliated economically as well but the economy is in a sharp decline. The people though support Putin, so we’ll have to see what 2015 brings.
(Hopefully not World War III)
2. Ebola
For most of the summer and fall, this dominated the news cycle. But it started before this when a young boy fell ill in Guinea. He died and his relatives began to display the same symptoms before they too died. More and more people succumbed to the disease, which the medical community identified as Ebola. The virus causes fever, sore throat, muscle pain and headaches. Vomiting, diarrhea and rashes soon follow before the patient begins bleeding both internally and externally. Death usually occurs due to dehydration and blood loss. Ebola has a high death rate and is spread through contact with an infect person’s fluids. So relatives and medical professionals were at the most risk.
Medical professionals did start to get sick and two Americans were flown back to Georgia for treatment. They managed to defeat the disease. Others were not so lucky as one man in Texas was misdiagnosed and sent home before he returned. Then the hospital realized he had Ebola but it was too late. He died. Panic swept the country as people were afraid they’d get Ebola. But soon, it was clear the cases were isolated to those who had been to West Africa and the pandemic was not going to take over America. It no longer dominates the news but it’s important to remember people are still dying from the disease in Africa.
1. Racial unrest
From Donald Sterling to Ferguson, Missouri. On August 9th, teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by police officers. The officers claimed he had attacked the office but several eyewitnesses said he had had his hands up when shot. Autopsy results also said he had been shot from a good distance. Then officers said he had stolen from a nearby store. The owners denied it. The people of Ferguson rose up and scenes we associated with places like North Korea, China and the Ukraine were being broadcast from the United States.
Rewind to July, when Eric Garner died during an arrest for selling loosies (loose cigarettes). Video taken showed an officer using a chokehold (against NYPD procedures) on Garner, who suffered from asthma. The father of 6 told cops he couldn’t breathe as he was handcuffed. Cops and EMTs did nothing and Garner was declared dead at the hospital. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.
Within two weeks, both cops were not indicted by the respective grand juries called in regards to the cases. There were known issues with the Ferguson grand jury (namely a sympathetic prosecutor) and the Staten Island DA is still trying to get the grand jury proceedings released to the public. Protests filled major cities and still continue to this day. They serve as a reminder that America is not as far from our racial problems as we like to believe.
Now, a final farewell to those we lost in 2014:
James Avery--Actor/Uncle Phil
Phil Everly--Singer
Ariel Sharon--Israel Prime Minister
Dave Madden--Actor
William Russell--Actor/The Professor
Roger Lloyd-Pack--Actor
Justin "JewWario" Carmichael--Internet vlogger
Pete Seeger--Singer and Activist
Arthur Rankin, Jr--Animator/All those Christmas specials you watched as a child
Philip Seymour Hoffman--Actor
Shirley Temple Black—Actress/Diplomat
Sid Caesar--Actor
Harold Ramis--Actor/Director/Writer
George Donaldson--Celtic Thunder soloist/musician
James Rebhorn--Actor
Mickey Rooney--Actor/Legend
Maya Angelou--Author/actor
Ann B. Davis--Actress/Alice
Ruby Dee--Actress/Activist
Casey Kasem--Radio DJ/Actor/Norville "Shaggy" Rogers
Eli Wallach--Actor
Mary Rodgers--Playwright/Author
Meshach Taylor--Actor
Elaine Stritch--Broadway Legend/Lady Who Lunched
James Garner--Actor
James Brady--Reagan press Secretary/advocate
Robin Williams--Actor
Lauren Bacall--Actress
Don Pardo--Voice of NBC/SNL
Richard Attenborough--Actor/Director
Joan Rivers--Comedienne
Fr. Benedict Groeshel--Priest/Theologian
Marian Seldes--Actress
Jan Hooks--Comedienne/Actress
Elizabeth Pena--Actress
Oscar de la Renta--Fashion designer
Gerald Parkes--Actor
Ben Bradlee--Washington Post editor
Marsha Strassman--actress
Carol Ann Susi--actress/Mrs. Wolowitz
Mike Nichols--director/EGOT winner
Marion Barry--politician
Joe Crocker--singer
Christine Cavanaugh--voice actress/Chuckie/Babe the Pig
Edward Herrmann—actor
So farewell, 2014.
Hello, 2015.
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