DailyNewsGems: December 2022

People walk near a destroyed tank and damaged buildings in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine

Photo Credit: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

***

Floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II are seen in Green Park in London on Sept. 10, 2022, two days after she died at the age of 96.

Photo Credit: AFP

***

Lionel Messi holds up the World Cup trophy after Argentina defeated France in the tournament final on Sunday, December 18^th

^{Photo Credit: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images}

^***

Thankfully, 2022 is almost in the books.

It was a harsh year for the U.S. economy: inflation reached a 40-year high, gas prices shot up to over $5 a gallon in mid-June; similarly, other countries around the globe endured some of their highest inflation rates in years.

The war in Ukraine (the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II), sparked a worldwide energy crisis, this along with strict Covid policies in China, heightened fears of a global recession.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine additionally triggered the displacement of 15.7 million Ukrainians, including 7.7 million refugees.

To combat the financial headwinds, the world's central banks, for the first time in years, raised interest rates.

The political divisiveness and hostility in the country became all the more pronounced in June when the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the landmark Roe v. Wade (1973), asserting that the constitutional right to abortion, in place for nearly 50 years, is now prohibited.

After 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II, 96, died at Balmoral Castle on September 8. She was the world’s second longest ever reigning monarch. The queen was succeeded by her son, Charles, who assumed the title: King Charles III.

Still tainted by the sign stealing scandal in 2017, the Houston Astros redeemed themselves, at least to some, by winning the World Series, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.

With 25 years as a big-league manager, Astros manager Dusty Baker finally won his first World Series, becoming the seventh person in Major League history to win a World Series championship as both a player (1981 with the L.A. Dodgers) and as manager.

Many argue Argentina’s electrifying win over France in the World Cup final in Doha, Qatar, was the greatest match in its 92-year history, as the second largest country in South America (after Brazil) claimed its third World Cup by beating France on penalty kicks, 4-2, an extraordinary match, that was heightened by Lionel Messi of France scoring twice, catapulting him to rock-star status.

Business magnate and investor, Elon Musk, who bought Twitter for a staggering $44 billion in October, turned the social media tech giant on its head when the new CEO laid off about half of its 7,500 staff and reinstated the Twitter account of Donald Trump who was previously banned by Twitter for “inciting violence.”

In 2022, according to the United Nations, the world population increased to over eight billion; an increase of one billion in global population since 2010 and two billion since 1998. The world reached its first landmark of one billion people in 1803.

To get an idea of some other big stories of the year, I checked in with editors at other news sites to see which stories received the most page views on their home pages.

CNN

Live blog on February 24 covering the war in Ukraine which drew 16 million unique visitors.

Another widely read feature at CNN, centered on Matthew Chance putting on gear in front of a live audience to report the latest drama taking place in Ukraine.

FOX News

Actor Johnny Depp winning his defamation suit against Amber Heard.

Los Angeles Times

Instagram post of rapper PnB Rock at Roscoe’s may have led to killing

Here’s the complete list of top stories of the year from the Times, which includes actor Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Academy Awards ceremony.

Most popular column of Camilla Tominey from The Telegraph (UK)

Duke and Duchess of Sussex find ‘new role’ is to be left in the cold.

The Marshall Project

Prison Money Diaries: What People Really Make (and Spend) Behind Bars.

ProPublica

White Parents Rallied to Chase a Black Educator Out of Town

Open Secrets

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis breaks gubernatorial fundraising record

FBI: Most Popular News Item

FBI Denver Provides Final Investigative Update on Gabrielle Petito Case

Non-News Item at FBI.gov: Ten Most Wanted Fugitives

New York Magazine: Top 5 Features