Kobe Bryant’s Death
On January 26th, one of basketball most beloved figure, former Laker Kobe Bryant along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers were killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas California. The helicopter did not have a terrain awareness and warning system, which is recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board. According to an ABC news article by Kelly McCarthy and Alex Stone, “newly released information shows the pilot appears to be have been disoriented by the weather conditions, even telling air traffic control he was climbing in altitude when he was actually descending.”
Beirut Explosion
A devastating blast occurred at a Beirut port August 4th, when there was a detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate. Lebanese authorities impounded the ammonium nitrate from a Russian-owned vessel, Rhosus back in 2013 due to not paying the port fees and fine. The World Health Organization states “the blast killed more than 178 people, left more than 6,500 injured, 300,000 people homeless, and severely damaged health infrastructure and medical supplies.” Lebanon is in a dire circumstances due to renewed civil unrest, an economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chadwick Boseman’s Death
Actor Chadwick Boseman succumb to his private 4 year battle with colon cancer at the age of 43 on August 28th. He died surrounded by his wife and family at his home in Los Angeles. His death was a shock to both the comic and film world. Some of his most prominent roles such as Jackie Robinson in 42 (2013), James Brown in Get On Up (2014), Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017) and of course T’Challa/ the Black Panther in Marvel’s Black Panther (2018). Black Panther is the first superhero movie to earn a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at the age of 87 from pancreatic cancer on September 18th. In 1993, she became the second-ever woman appointed to the high court due to President Clinton’s nomination. Ginsburg has been a trailblazer fighting for gender equality: being a key vote in granting same-sex marriages in the 2015 case Obergefell v. Hodges, her presence helped to preserve a woman’s right to choose, arguing to protect pregnant women from being excluded from the workforce and strides toward equal pay. Her death leaves a massive void in the fight for social justice in an already conservative court. President Trump would announce his nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett on September 26th. The Senate confirmed Barrett by a vote of 52-48 with every Republican except Susan Collins voting yes while the Democrats voted unified in opposition.
President-elect Joe Biden
On November 7th, Joe Biden defeated President Trump to become the 46th President of the United States. The 2020 election saw a record high turnout with at least 159.8 million votes casted. Turnout rate being 66.8% out of the 239.2 million eligible voters. Biden will be the second ever Catholic President since JFK. His running mate, Kamala Harris makes history by being the first woman and woman of color as Vice President.
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