Tashfeen Malik, right, and Syed Farook, the San Bernardino attackers expressed support for martyrdom using "private direct messages" according to FBI Director James Comey. Photo Credit: FBI
The Kansas City Royals win their first World Series in 30 years. Photo Credit: CNN
Finally, it’s happening, at long last. 2015 is nearing its end.
And what a bloodbath it was.
If it wasn’t suicide bombings at a mosque in Kuwait, a market in Cameroon, or the killing of at least 100 people at a peace rally in Ankara, Turkey in October, it was 62 school shootings in the United States alone, leaving 30 people dead.
Taken together, the U.S. witnessed 353 mass shootings with 12, 223 people killed in gun incidents during the year.
Internationally, one of the most shocking incidents of the year took place in the heart of Paris in November, when three suicide bombers struck near the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, followed by suicide bombings and mass shootings at cafés, restaurants and a music venue, leaving 130 dead in the City of Light. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took responsibility for the ruthless acts.
Back on U.S. soil, the most highly publicized mass shootings of the year centered on the three killed and nine wounded at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs in November, and another 16 killed during a bloody shooting rampage at a health center in San Bernardino, California on December 2nd. Sixteen people died during the ISIS inspired attack, including the assailants with 17 more wounded.
In addition, questionable police shootings of unarmed minority suspects have cast a dark shadow over a number of law enforcement officials across the nation.
According to the Washington Post, of the thousands of police shootings that have occurred since 2005, just 54 officers were charged—an average of about five officers a year. In the final weeks of 2015, however, that number has climbed to 17.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom in 2015.
On September 9th, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning British monarch and longest-serving Queen in history.
After a 10,962-day title drought, the Kansas City Royals out-hustled and out-pitched the New York Mets in five games to claim their first World Series in 30 years.
Finally, in entertainment news, Donald Trump, the real estate mogul, launched a new reality TV show in which he spits out the most insulting, bigoted, and xenophobic attacks against enemy combatants in his quest for the U.S. Presidency.
The Donald’s reality show, so far, has met with rave reviews.
To give you a better idea of what stories and events attracted reader’s attention in 2015, I asked a number of news organizations what story generated the most page views for the year.
Here, then, are some of the most heavily trafficked online stories of the year.
CNN
Celebrities turning the BIG FIVE O, generated 94 million page views for the year, according to a CNN spokesperson. http://tinyurl.com/paq6c87
The New York Times
The Upshot: Ari Isaacman Astles, Samarth Bhaskar, and Danny DeBelius took a close look at the Times' stories which held reader’s attention the longest; including a mix of investigative projects, big breaking news, and features, among others. http://tinyurl.com/hcuaoau
The Atlantic
Graeme Wood, a contributing editor at The Atlantic and an Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in ``What ISIS Really Wants'' describes how he tracked down the world’s most influential recruiters for the Islamic State—and how they reacted after his article was published. http://goo.gl/l5oXof
New York Magazine
A chilling narrative authored by Noreen Malone and Amanda Demme in which 35 women divulge their private accounts about being assaulted by Bill Cosby. http://tinyurl.com/pwj5h6p
ProPublica
The Red Cross received an outpouring of donations, nearly half a billion dollars, after an earthquake struck Haiti. Today, according to a ProPublica investigation, the actual number of permanent homes the group built in all of Haiti stands at six, not the 130,000 people it claims to have provided for. http://tinyurl.com/pl6txrz
Time.com
Chris Wilson creates an interactive feature in which he traces the popularity of names dating back to 1890. According to a Time spokesperson, this is the third year in a row in which Wilson has authored (or co-authored) the most read story. http://tinyurl.com/zgpej36
FBI.gov
The FBI, in partnership with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), executed ``Operation Cross Country,'' in which they recovered 149 sexually exploited children, including the arrests of more than 150 pimps and other individuals. http://tinyurl.com/jv6xboa
Weather.com: Top 5 posts of the year
1.) World’s Weirdest Bridges (PHOTOS) http://tinyurl.com/pqcn3f6
2.) No Vacancies: Abandoned Hotels and Resorts (PHOTOS) http://tinyurl.com/pn4d7q4
3.) Wild Photos of Spring Break Partiers Through the Decades http://tinyurl.com/zgrvz9e
4.) The World’s Deepest Snow (PHOTOS) http://tinyurl.com/nuf42ft
5.) The World’s Weirdest Hotels (PHOTOS) http://tinyurl.com/zgdc3pe
BuzzFeed
Lively Debate: What Colors Are This Dress? http://goo.gl/8wYvDb
MLB.com
- Melissa Mayeux, a shortstop on the French U-18 junior national team, became the first known female baseball player to be added to MLB's international registration list, making her eligible to be signed by a Major League club. http://tinyurl.com/q2kwe8o
- AL, NL All-Star Game Starters Unveiled. http://tinyurl.com/ogs4vm4
Social Media
Twitter: Year in Review: http://tinyurl.com/j62a9cb
Facebook: Year in Review: http://tinyurl.com/zlmlse9
Tumblr: Year in Review: http://tinyurl.com/qbnzrj9
Instagram: Year in Review: http://tinyurl.com/gvnlftu
Vimeo (Video sharing website) Year in Review: http://tinyurl.com/zzhvblh
YouTube: Celebrating the videos, people, music and moves that made 2015 http://tinyurl.com/o25ws9y
Search Engines
Google: A Year in Searches: http://tinyurl.com/jllabxj
Yahoo: A Year on Yahoo 2015 http://tinyurl.com/jqlbvbe
-Bill Lucey
December 17, 2015
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