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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 30, 2019)
DECADE IN REVIEW 23C — THE OBSERVER MONDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2019 Global look: The world’s top stories during the last decade The Observer scanned ma- jor news outlets, such as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guard- ian and MSN to compile a list of top national and international news stories of the last decade. 2010 HAITI EARTHQUAKE A catastrophic 7.0-magni- tude earthquake the after- noon of Jan. 12 struck Haiti. The quake collapsed some 250,000 homes and another 30,000 commercial buildings. The quake reportedly killed between 100,00 and 316,000 people, depending on the source of the data. Apple co-founder and com- pany frontman Steve Jobs on Jan. 27 introduced the iPad, the tablet computer. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded April 20, killing 11 people. Some 4.9 million barrels of oil flowed from the damaged pipe for 87 days before crews could cap it. The spill damaged Gulf ecosystems and fishing and tourism industries. FINANCIAL REFORM TOHOKU QUAKE Congress on July 15 passed the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Con- sumer Protection Act, more plainly known as Dodd- Frank. The changes the new law made to financial regulations affected most Americans. A record 9.0 earthquake on March 11 struck off the coast of Tohoku, Japan. The quake was the most powerful recorded in Japan and caused a massive tsunami, killed nearly 20,000 people and damaged nuclear power plants. “OBAMACARE” BECOMES LAW President Barak Obama on March 23 signed the Af- fordable Care Act into law. DEEPWATER HORIZON DISASTER WIKILEAKS REVEALS CLASSIFIED CABLES WikiLeaks — the nonprofit organization that publishes whistle-blower submissions — on Nov. 28 began releasing more than 250,000 classified cables between the U.S. State Department and its embas- sies, consulates and diplomats. The documents revealed a trove of sensitive international situations, including the U.S. spying on United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan leading up to the 2003 inva- sion of Iraq. 2011 ARAB SPRING Anti-government upris- ings spread across the Arabic world in beginning in Janu- ary in Tunisia, where the 2010— Toy Story 3 ($1.1 billion) 2011— Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 ($1.3 billion) 2012— The Avengers ($1.5 billion) 2013— Frozen ($1.3 billion) 2014— Transformers: Age of Extinction ($1.1 billion) 2015— Star Wars: 2014 GM RECALLS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF VEHICLES GM in February recalled almost 777,000 older-model Chevrolet Cobalt and Ponti- ac G5 compact cars in North America because ignition problems could turn off air bags and other components. MALAYSIA AIRLINES JET GOES MISSING Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 left Kuala Lumpur on March 8 for Beijing but never landed. The missing airliner had 227 passengers and 12 crew onboard. 2013 BLACK LIVES MATTER LAUNCHES Observer file photo Kelly McGee, owner of Marie Josephine, A Mercantile, left, and Carole Halvorson of Zion Lutheran Church’s women’s group are collecting shoes in March 2010 for Haiti earthquake victims. A jury in Florida on Oct. 13 acquitted neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman of the 2012 shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, an African American. The Black Lives Matter movement began in the wake of the verdict with the hashtag BlackLivesMat- ter. The movement would continue to grow with street protests and demonstrations over police and others killing African Americans. THE ANNEXATION OF CRIMEA Citizens of Kiev in Ukraine protested their gov- ernment accepting help from Russia. The people ousted the pro-Russian president, but before a pro-Western in- terim government could take charge, Russia in March used military force to annex the Crimean Peninsula. THE RISE OF ISIS The terrorist organiza- tion ISIS — Islamic State of Iraq and Syria — gained worldwide attention for its public executions, behead- ings, rapes and more, and for posting the crimes online. ISIS kidnapped and killed journalists and international aid workers and often broad- casted the slayings on You- Tube. ISIS set up an Islamic state in Iraq and Syria and imposed the strict religious code of sharia law. THE NEW POPE Pope Benedict XVI re- signed Feb. 28, and on March 13 the Papal conclave elected Pope Francis. The election process did not follow Catho- lic tradition. BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING Steve Jobs died on Oct. 5. He was 56. The Apple co- founder revolutionized com- puter technology and media and built one of the world’s most valuable companies. NORTH KOREAN LEADER DIES Episode VII - The Force Awakens ($2.1 billion) 2016— Captain America: Civil War ($1.2 billion) 2017— Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi ($1.3 billion) 2018— Avengers: Infinity War ($2 billion) 2019— Avengers: End- game ($2.8 billion) The Guardian on June 8 published top-secret docu- ments showing the U.S. Na- tional Security Agency used a data mining tool to collect volumes of information from computer and telephone net- works. The next day, Edward Snowden revealed he was the source of the leak. A shooter on Dec. 14 killed 26 people — 20 of them children 6-7 years old — at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. APPLE CO-FOUNDER DIES — according to Box Office Mojo An angry mob on Sept. 11 and 12 attacked the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, setting fac- ulties aflame and killing four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. The initial report was the attack was a response to an American video that mocked Islam and the Prophet Mo- hammed. The investigation, however, revealed it was a terrorist attack. SANDY HOOK MASSACRE U.S. Special Forces on May 2 killed Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 ter- rorists attack, in an assault on a compound in Pakistan. Top grossing films each year of the decade NSA LEAKS HIT THE MEDIA President Barack Obama on Nov. 6 won a second term. TAKING OUT BIN LADEN Kim Jong Il died Dec. 17 from a heart attack at age 69. The North Korean dicta- tor had isolated the county, ruined its economy and starved its people. His death, however, also caused uncer- tainty on the international front during the transition to a new leader. BENGHAZI CONSULATE ATTACK OBAMA WINS SECOND TERM President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stand with President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump at the White House Jan. 20, 2017. people ousted the president. Social media and smart- phones played key roles in the movement. The Arab Spring led to a violent civil war in Libya and the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Opposition forces on Oct. 20 dragged the dicta- tor through the streets and executed him. Libya’s civil war continues to rage and contributed to the worldwide refugee crisis with more than 5.6 million Syrians fleeing the country. Thousands seeking refuge have died in the Mediter- ranean while trying to enter Europe. which housed five garment factories, collapsed April 24, killing more than 1,100 people and injuring at least 2,500. Observer file photo U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, discusses the opi- oid crisis in September 2018 with Wallowa County law enforcement. Walden authored key legislation to help fight the epidemic of opioid addiction. 2012 SANDY ROCKS EAST COAST Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast on Oct. 29, causing enough flooding to float cars in streets of Lower Manhattan. The storm killed Two homemade bombs detonated in a terrorist at- tack April 15 near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring hundreds more, including 16 who lost limbs. A massive police manhunt ensued to capture two sus- pects. One died in a shootout with police, and the other ended up in federal prison on 30 charges, including the use of a weapon of mass destruc- tion resulting in death. DEATH OF UNARMED AFRICAN AMERICAN TEEN SPARKS PROTESTS Police officer Darren Wil- son, who is white, in August in Ferguson, Missouri, shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African American. The local prosecutor did not charge Wilson with any crime. That decision set off protests, some violent. DEADLY RANA PLAZA BUILDING COLLAPSE The Rana Plaza build- ing in Dhaka, Bangladesh, NPR’s top 25 songs of the decade — based on listener nominations 1. Bon Iver: “Holocene” from Bon Iver 2. Robyn: “Dancing On My Own” from Body Talk Pt. 1 3. Sufjan Stevens: “Fourth of July” from Carrie & Lowell 4. Lorde: “Royals” from Pure Heroine 5. Kanye West: “Runaway” from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 6. Beyoncé: “Formation” from Lem- onade 7. M83: “Midnight City” from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming 8. LCD Soundsystem: “Dance Yrself Clean” from This is Happening 9. Kendrick Lamar: “Alright” from To Pimp a Butterfly 10. Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars: “Uptown Funk” from Uptown Special 11. Childish Gambino: “This is America” (Single) 12. Adele: “Rolling in the Deep” from 21 13. Taylor Swift: “All Too Well” from Red 14. Lucy Dacus: “Night Shift” from Historian 15. Carly Rae Jepsen: “Run Away with Me” from E.MO.TION 16. Mitski: “Your Best American Girl” from Puberty 2 17. Frank Ocean: “Self Control” from Blonde 18. Hozier: “Take Me to Church” from Keeping your body in shape for 2020 Hozier 19. Alabama Shakes: “Hold On” from Boys & Girls 20. Janelle Monáe: “Make Me Feel” from Dirty Computer 21. Lana Del Rey: “Video Games” from Born to Die 22. Brandi Carlile: “The Joke” from By the Way, I Forgive You 23. Radiohead: “Daydreaming” from A Moon Shaped Pool 24. Courtney Barnett: “Depreston” from Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit 25. Fleet Foxes: “Helplessness Blues” from Helplessness Blues ‘ TABLET COMPUTERS BECOME REALITY AP file photo 85 people in the U.S. Sandy would be the deadliest, most destructive and strongest hurricane of the 2012 Atlan- tic hurricane season. When You Want It Done Right! 1606 Cove Ave, La Grande Quality Auto Body Repair Since 1985 (541) 963-7002 shawsautobody.com
