Thursday, December 27, 2012

It’s the End of the Year as We Know It!



I’m always a bit nostalgic towards the end of the year, and what a year 2012 has been! We saw a lot of things that made us smile, broke our hearts, and made history. Here’s a highlight reel of all things 2012…
January: Hailey Yancy was the first baby born in St. Louis for 2012. Many new babies arrived at the St. Louis Zoo in the first few days of 2012 – Studebaker the Bangteng Calf, a King Penguin Chick, and Tundra the Mountain Bongo.
February: Giants beat Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.  Whitney Houston passes away, after her success as one of the greatest pop divas of all time.
March: “Hunger Games” comes out in theaters, making $155 million at the box office on its first weekend.
April: Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill You” tops Billboard charts. Chen Guangcheng, a Chinese government dissident, seeks asylum in the US after speaking out against his government.
May: Mitt Romney of Massachusetts captures the Republican nomination.
June: Wildfires in Colorado and New Mexico burn through 200,000 acres and cause thousands to flee their homes.
July: A gunman opens fire in a movie theater for “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing 12 and injuring 58. Stars of the movie visit victims in the hospital.  
August: The Summer Olympics kick off in London, and the US brings home the gold for gymnastics. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, passes away at the age of 82.
September: An attack at the US Consulate in Libya kills 4 people. This becomes a major issue for the Presidential election.
October: Hurricane Sandy devastates the Northeast with over $50 billion in damages. Jerry Sandusky is sentenced to 30-60 years in prison for his part in the scandal at Pennsylvania State University.
November: Obama wins Presidential election against Mitt Romney. Later in the month he pardons turkeys Cobbler and Gobbler.
December: “The Hobbit” makes $84 million on its first weekend. A tragic school shooting in Newton, CT claims 26 lives.

To find out more about what happened in 2012 and any year, check out “Year by Year” or “World News Digest.” Happy New Year!

---Anna H., Jamestown Bluffs