⏱2020: A year in review
Everything important that happened in 2020, and then some
Good morning everyone, and happy new year! Here’s to 2021 being special!
Today, we have a special edition of 90 Second News coming at you — it’s a recap of the highs and lows of 2020! It’s a bit longer than 90 Seconds, but the year seemed long (it still feels like March) so we thought it was appropriate.
January
1/1 This was some foreshadowing for the year, as one of the largest fires in Australian history burned millions of acres.
1/13 LSU wins the college football playoff National Championship.
1/15 President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives.
1/20 The first Covid-19 case was reported in China.
1/26 Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others die in a helicopter crash on the same day that Billie Eilish hit a cycle at the Grammys (song, record, album, and new artist.)
1/30 The World Health Organization declares Covid a public health emergency, and a day later President Trump bans travel from China.
February
2/2 The Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl.
2/5 President Trump is acquitted by the Senate.
2/9 “Parasite” wins four academy awards at the Oscars, including best picture.
2/23 Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, was shot and killed while jogging in Florida.
2/29 The US records its first Covid-19 death (although upon investigation, earlier deaths did occur.)
March (Buckle in, this is an eventful one)
3/3 Biden takes a convincing lead in the Democratic primary race, sweeping 10 states on Super Tuesday.
3/9 Italy goes into a countrywide lockdown, and the stock market crashes as the Dow Jones Industrial Average loses more than 2,000 points.
3/11 WHO declares the coronavirus a pandemic, Tom Hanks tests positive for Covid, the NBA suspends its season after Rudy Gobert tests positive, and colleges across the nation begin to go virtual.
3/12 The NFL, MLB, NHL, and MLS suspend their seasons, the NCAA cancels March Madness and all other winter championships.
3/13 President Trump declares the coronavirus a national emergency on the same day that Breonna Taylor is shot and killed in her home.
3/16 The stock market has its worst day ever, with the DJIA losing 2,997.10 points.
3/24 The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics are cancelled.
3/26 British PM Boris Johnson tests positive, global cases top 500k, the US passes 1,000 deaths, and more than 3.28M Americans filed for unemployment in the past week.
3/27 The US government issues a $2Tn stimulus package.
April
4/2 Covid cases worldwide pass 1M, and more than 6.6M Americans file for unemployment.
4/3 The CDC issues the first recommendations for masks.
4/10 The US becomes the first country to report 2k deaths in one day.
4/19 The Last Dance miniseries premiered — it would later win an Emmy.
4/27 US case count surpasses 1M, and the global case count breaks through 3M.
May
5/3 The first “murder hornets” are spotted in the US.
5/8 US unemployment rate reaches 14.7%, as more than 33M unemployment claims have been processed.
5/15 The Trump administration develops “Operation Warp Speed” as a partnership with private companies to help speed up vaccine progression.
5/25 George Floyd is killed by a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on his neck, and the video of his death goes viral. The officers responsible are fired the next day.
5/28 Minneapolis declares a state of emergency as protests over the death of George Floyd begin to spread nationwide.
5/30 SpaceX becomes the first commercial company to launch astronauts into space.
June
6/5 16th Street NW in Washington D.C. (the street leading to the White House) is painted with the words, “Black Lives Matter.” The NBA also votes to restart their season in a “bubble” at Disney World.
6/10 The Supreme Court rules that employers can no longer discriminate on the basis of someone’s sexual orientation, as covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
6/25 The daily case count in the US hits a new high of more than 40k cases.
July
7/2 The FBI arrests Jeffery Epstein’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, on the charge that she helped lure underage girls to him.
7/18 Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum files a lawsuit accusing the federal government of unlawfully detaining protestors in Portland.
7/22 President Trump declares that he will send a “surge” of federal officers into Democratic run cities.
7/23 The MLB begins their shortened 60 game season.
7/27 An outbreak on the Miami Marlins cancels several games in the MLB.
7/30 In the bubble at Disney World, the NBA season resumes.
August
8/11 Joe Biden announces Senator Kamala Harris as his VP. The Big Ten and Pac-12 announce that they’ve canceled all fall sports. A day later, after the ACC and SEC announce their intention to still play, the Pac-12 reverses its decision.
8/16 The August Complex fire in California begins, as it starts its path to becoming the largest fire in California history. It's not alone as thunderstorms around the state trigger various fires. Death Valley also hits 130ºF, the hottest temp on Earth in more than a century.
8/19 Apple’s valuation reaches $2Tn, making it the largest company in the United States, ever.
8/23 After the killing of Jacob Blake at the hands of a police officer, protests spark in Kenosha, WI.
8/28 Actor Chadwick Boseman, best known for his role as Black Panther in the MCU, dies after a battle with colon cancer.
September
9/6 More than 2.1 million acres burn concurrently in California.
9/10 As fires also rage in Oregon, more than 10% of the state has evacuated their homes in an effort to escape from the fires.
9/16 The Big Ten reverses its decision, and announces that it will play a football season.
9/18 Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a long standing Supreme Court Justice, dies at age 87.
9/26 President Trump nominates Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court. Her nomination ceremony sparks a series of Covid cases at the White House.
9/29 The first presidential debate occurs between President Trump and Joe Biden.
October
10/1 President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump test positive for Covid.
10/6 Eddie Van Halen, 65, dies following a battle with cancer.
10/8 The FBI charges 13 men in Michigan connected to a plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
10/11 The LA Lakers win their 17th NBA title over the Miami Heat.
10/16 US Covid case count tops 8M.
10/26 Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed as a US Supreme Court Justice following a vote along party lines in the Senate.
10/27 The LA Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, winning the first title for the city of Los Angeles in 16 days, and their first since 1988. Oh, and 90 Second News is created :)
November
11/3 Election day occurs, and with mail in votes still needing to be counted, no major news source calls the election. However, in a press conference that night, President Trump declares himself the victor, pointing to voter fraud.
11/4 The US breaks 100k daily cases for the first time.
11/7 Joe Biden is declared the winner of the US election by multiple news sources.
11/8 Long time Jeparday! host, Alex Trebek, dies after a long fight with pancreatic cancer.
11/19 As cases rise rapidly in California, Governor Gavin Newsom implements a mandatory overnight stay at home order.
11/23 The Dow closes above 30k for the first time.
11/27 Iran’s prominent nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi is assassinated.
December
12/1 Attorney General William Barr issues a statement that the Justice Department has not found any evidence of voter fraud in the US that would change the outcome of the election.
12/11 The US becomes the second western country to authorize use of a vaccine after the FDA issues an EUA for Pfizer’s vaccine.
12/14 The first Covid vaccine is given in the US, and the electoral college votes for Joe Biden, confirming his victory.
12/17 Southern California announces that there are no ICU beds left.
12/31 There have been 19.7M Covid cases, and 342,557 Covid deaths in the US this year.
Thank you all for following along with us during this crazy year. We hope 2021 is a much better experience, and we’re excited to see you every morning!
Have a great rest of your day, and we’ll see you tomorrow bright and early!
-The 90 Second News Team
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