It is not a stretch to say that 2020 has been a tumultuous year for many. Amid a global pandemic that has infected over 82 million people globally and killed almost 1.8 million people around the world, with over 19 million cases in the U.S. and 336,000 deaths, 2020 has been chock-full of suffering and pain for many people. On this last day of the year, let’s take some time to reflect on some major events that occurred this year.
Let’s start by discussing the COVID-19 pandemic since it can’t easily be classified into a specific month. First discovered in Wuhan, China, back in December 2019, it quickly spread across the world, reaching the United States in March. Cases rose dramatically in the U.S. ever since the first case was diagnosed. While the reasons why the U.S. was so hard-hit by the pandemic vary dramatically, two key reasons as to why the U.S. mishandled the pandemic badly was due to a botched response from the federal government and the refusal of many people to follow disease-prevention measures, such as wearing masks. Though not all regions of the U.S. handled the pandemic equally as badly (the Northeast, for example, handled the pandemic extremely well), to this very day, more people die from the disease in a day than died in all of the 9/11 attacks.
Since the CARES Act passed back in March, partisan bickering and the inability to form a consensus has lead to a huge gap in relief until a new bill was just signed into law this week by President Trump, after lawmakers on Capitol Hill had finally reached a bipartisan consensus.
The wave of the virus the U.S. is currently in is its third virus peak, which is by far worse than the previous two. The “first wave” peaked in March, decreasing slightly over the spring, but in the early summer, cases picked up once again, causing a “second wave” to peak in July. Just as the country managed to reel in the effects of a devastating summer peak, in October, not long before the 2020 general elections, cases spiked once again, peaking in at over 225,000 new cases a day in early December. Cases are now decreasing once again, but could bounce back come 2021.
We will discuss the pandemic more in the later sections, but now, let’s break down all the events that happened by month.
January
In early January, bushfires ravaged 47 million acres throughout Australia, displacing thousands of people and killing 34. The 2019-20 summer fire season there was one of the most devastating on record. Over 500 million animals were estimated to be killed, and Australian troops had to be called in to evacuate people.
On Jan. 3, the U.S. conducted a drone strike in Baghdad International Airport, in Baghdad, Iraq, killing Iranian top-level general Qasem Soleimani. This caused Iran to attack U.S. bases a few days later, injuring 110 servicemen.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step down from the royal family on Jan. 8 and moved to Los Angeles, shocking people on both sides of the Atlantic.
Having started in the previous year, the impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins in the Senate on Jan. 16. He will later be acquitted on Feb. 5.
On Jan. 26, a helicopter crash kills basketball star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter in Calabasas, Calif.
On Jan. 30, the coronavirus pandemic is declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. The same day, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms the first case of human-to-human transmission in the U.S.
On the last day of January, the United Kingdom officially left the European Union. The Senate also votes on the same day, 51 to 49, against calling in witnesses in the presidential impeachment trial.
February
On Feb. 3, the 2020 election officially begins when the Iowa Caucuses take place. After a delay due to issues with a vote-counting app, Pete Buttigieg eventually won the caucus, despite Bernie Sanders winning the popular vote by a larger percentage. The same day, the San Francisco 49ers lost the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs 20 to 31.
Two days later, on Feb. 5, President Trump is officially acquitted by the Senate on both articles of impeachment. The first, and only, person to ever vote to impeach a president from his or her own party was Sen. Mitt Romney from Utah.
On Feb. 24, former Hollywood star Harvey Weinstein is officially found guilty of rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Concerns over the pandemic cause the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) to plunge by almost 1,191 points (4.4 percent) on Feb. 27, closing the day at 25,766 points, the largest one-day decline in history. This followed several days of large falls and was one of the Dow’s worst weeks since 2008. Two days later, the first U.S. coronavirus death is reported in Washington state.
March
The Super Tuesday primaries were held on Mar. 3, where Joe Biden made a stunning comeback by winning 10 state contests, propelling him to be the Democratic Party’s front-running presidential candidate. As we all know, he later wins the nomination and is elected president.
On Mar. 9, the DJIA continued to fall, plunging by more than 2,000 points, resulting in what is known now as “Black Monday 2020.” Oil also falls 30 percent after Saudi Arabia launches a price war. The Dow would continue to fall by over 2,300 points on Mar. 12 and by 2,997 points on Mar. 16, eventually closing that day at 20,188. These drops all break records for the largest single-day point drop.
COVID-19 is declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on Mar. 11.
COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the world and the U.S. in March, with a national emergency being declared on Mar. 13, causing most schools to close by Mar. 16, reaching all 50 states by Mar. 17, closing the U.S.–Canada border on Mar. 18 (which remains closed to nonessential travel to this day), the U.S. to record the most number of cases in the world by Mar. 26, and the CARES Act—a $2 trillion stimulus package—to be signed into law on Mar. 27. The month also sees record numbers in registrations for unemployment benefits. Throughout March, the pandemic is so bad in New York and the surrounding regions that the U.S. naval hospital ships are called in. The 2020 Olympics, which was scheduled to be held in Tokyo in July 2020, are also announced to be postponed to 2021 on Mar. 30.
April
By this point, the pandemic has taken up all the headlines on the media, and the U.S. continues to record a record-high number of cases and deaths per day. The CDC also begins to recommend Americans wear face masks on Apr. 3. All 50 states and D.C., as well as four U.S. overseas territories, have simultaneous disaster declarations by Apr. 11. 22 million Americans ultimately file for unemployment by Apr. 16.
Global coronavirus cases surpass 1 million on Apr. 2, with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson contracting it on Apr. 5.
On Apr. 8, Sen. Bernie Sanders announces a suspension of his presidential campaign and endorsed presumptive nominee Joe Biden, thereby practically ending the presidential primaries.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Apr. 14 that it expected the global economy to contract by three percent, the worst since the Great Depression.
Five days later, on Apr. 19, a killing spree in Portapique, Nova Scotia, leaves 23 people dead. It is the deadliest massacre in Canadian history.
Oil prices reach a record low amid a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia as well as a huge decrease in demand for oil due to the pandemic, reaching –$35 a barrel on Apr. 20.
May
On May 1, remdesivir is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used as an emergency treatment to treat COVID-19, the first treatment to receive FDA authorization. National unemployment reaches 15 percent this month, and Operation Warp Speed, the national vaccine development program, begins on May 15. The official death toll in the U.S. surpasses 100,000 on May 27.
On May 26, in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., protests against racial injustice break out across hundreds of cities across the U.S., causing rioting and looting to occur in some cities. A state of emergency is declared in the Twin Cities on May 28 and the National Guard is called in. The police officer who allegedly killed Floyd was charged on May 29.
China passes national security legislation in Hong Kong on May 27 to suppress the protests that took place in 2019, causing the U.S. government to declare that the city is no longer autonomous under the Hong Kong Policy Act.
The first manned spacecraft, a SpaceX Dragon 2, since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011 takes off from U.S. soil on May 30.
June
The protests in May in response to the killing of Floyd reignite the Black Lives Matter movement, bringing racial injustice to the forefront of many Americans across the country. Protests continue throughout June, with protestors occupying a large block in Seattle and declaring it an “autonomous zone” outside the city’s Capitol on June 8, which was only cleared on July 1. Following nationwide anger over racism, Mississippi officially retires its state flag on June 30, which has the Confederate battle flag incorporated in it. A new flag was approved by voters in the November general election.
On June 15, LGBTQ activists scored a major win in the Supreme Court case of Bostock v. Clayton County, which ruled the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also applied to LGBTQ individuals.
After suspending all campaign rallies for months due to the pandemic, President Trump holds his first 2020 rally in Tulsa, Okla. Lower-than-expected turnout draws media coverage.
In June, following a reversal in the downward trend of new coronavirus cases, cases spike again in the U.S., reaching a record high of 40,000 cases per day on June 25. This wave affects the South and West particularly badly. The U.S. finishes off the month with 2.5 million total cases in the country by June 28.
July
Mask-wearing becomes increasingly politicized in the country, with conservatives becoming more and more adverse to wearing them. The refusal of GOP leadership to wear masks and follow social distancing measures causes controversy, especially in blue cities in red states which imposed mask-wearing regulations.
Protests still continue nationwide, with Trump trying to send in federal troops to blue cities seeing rioting and protests, but local governments refusing to allow it. This causes a rift between the involved parties.
The Department of Justice executes Daniel Lee in Indiana on July 14, becoming the first federal execution since 2003.
On July 18, protests break out in Thailand, calling for democratic reform and drafting a new constitution. The protests continue on to this day.
August
On Aug. 4, a huge explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, caused by unsafely stored ammonium nitrate, kills over 220 people and injures thousands. The damage is estimated to be anywhere between $10 to 15 billion.
In a series of moves that angers China, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar visits Taiwan, becoming the highest U.S. official visit to Taiwan in 40 years on Aug. 5. The next day, President Trump signs an executive order sanctioning ByteDance, the parent company of popular social media app TikTok, and Tencent, a large Chinese company that owns the networking app WeChat.
A series of protests in the eastern European country of Belarus begins after the president won a reelection bid. The opposition party rejected the results and over 500,000 people took part in these protests which begun on Aug. 9.
On Aug. 11, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden selects Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) to be his Vice President. If elected, she will become the first Black woman to serve in that position. Two days later, outcry at the U.S. Postal Service begins as scandals release of the GOP administration trying to sabotage it to stop mail-in voting.
The Democratic National Convention is held between Aug. 17 and 20, affirming Joe Biden as the nominee for president, while the Republican National Convention was held between Aug. 24 to 27. Both conventions were held virtually for the first time in history due to the pandemic.
On Aug. 23, protests break out in Kenosha, Wis., over the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a police officer. Two people are fatally shot in unrest in the city on Aug. 26.
September
On Sept. 6, following a catastrophic wildfire season, California sets a new record for the area of land destroyed by wildfires. 2.1 million acres were burned to date. Wildfires also rage through much of the West, in states like Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, and more.
Investigative journalist Bob Woodward published a series of interviews on Sept. 9, revealing that the president knew the pandemic was serious and intentionally downplayed the pandemic’s severity.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87 on Sept. 18, causing a mad rush by the Republican administration to fill the seat.
On Sept. 27, The New York Times publishes over two decades of President Trump’s tax returns, showing that he paid just $750 in federal tax in 2016 and 2017, holds $421 million in debt, and could owe the Internal Revenue Service $100 million in penalties. The same day, deadly clashes erupt in a disputed area between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with forces being mobilized.
October
On Oct. 1, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump test positive for COVID-19. Other staffers, advisors, counselors, and GOP senators are also announced to have tested positive. The president is shipped off to Walter Reed Medical Center the next day, with him returning to the White House on Oct. 5.
The FBI announced on Oct. 8 that a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had been discovered and 13 militiamen are being charged.
On Oct. 10, a ceasefire in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is agreed upon.
The protests in Thailand take a turn for the worse on Oct. 15, after the Thai King returned from Germany. Military and riot police personnel were called in, and a severe state of emergency was declared in Bangkok, the nation’s capital and largest city.
The GOP crusade on mail-in voting takes a sharp downfall, as the Supreme Court declined to hear a case to limit mail voting in Pennsylvania on Oct. 19.
The Senate confirms, after a mad rush by the GOP, Judge Amy Coney Barrett onto the Supreme Court 52 to 48 after Justice Ginsburg’s death on Oct. 26.
The COVID-19 pandemic takes a turn for the worse in late October as cases spike. States set single-day virus records, and it is particularly bad in the Midwest, South, and West. On Oct. 30, 100,000 new cases were recorded in a single day for the first time.
November
The much-anticipated 2020 election takes place on Nov. 3. Shortly after midnight, President Trump claims he won the election, alleging voter fraud, and demands that votes counting stops. Joe Biden is declared the winner of the election on Nov. 7 and will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2021, as the 46th President of the United States. Kamala Harris becomes the first-ever Black woman to become Vice President. On the same ballot, four states voted to legalize marijuana and Oregon decriminalizes all drugs. Mississippi adopts a new state flag.
Pfizer and BioNTech jointly announce the completion of Phase III clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine. Their vaccine was 90 percent effective according to interim results published on Nov. 9. Nine days later, on Nov. 18, the two companies complete trials on their vaccine, with an effective rate of 95 percent. Moderna also announces their vaccine to be about 95 percent effective on Nov. 16.
After the election, President Trump and the GOP made continual efforts to get courts to overturn the election results, despite numerous officials saying that this election was the most secure in history. He has still not conceded the election to this day. The president maintains that the election was “rigged.” Also, Arizona and Georgia flip blue for the first time in decades. A Biden win in Georgia was affirmed on Nov. 19 after a full hand recount. The decision to start the presidential transition was only initiated on Nov. 24.
Throughout the month, COVID-19 cases continue spiking across the country. Even the Northeast isn’t spared—on Nov. 27, New York recorded its highest number of new cases since Apr. 24.
December
Heading into the last month of the year, on Dec. 2, Mark Kelly (D) is officially sworn in as a United States Senator from Arizona after defeating incumbent Sen. Martha McSally (R) in the Arizona special Senate election in November to fill the rest of the late Sen. John McCain’s term. This means Arizona now has two Democratic senators, compared to two Republican senators prior to the 2018 midterms.
The next day, on Dec. 3, the U.S. surpasses 14 million cases of coronavirus. A circuit court orders Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, arrested for fatally shooting two people at the Kenosha, Wis. protests in October, to stand trial on a number of charges, including first-degree homicide.
On Dec. 9, the U.S. government, along with a coalition of over 40 states, file suit in federal court claiming Facebook to be an illegal monopoly.
On Dec. 11, the Supreme Court rejects the Texas attorney general’s attempt to overturn the results in four battleground states in Texas v. Pennsylvania. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants emergency use authorization (EUA) to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed on this day, the first such vaccine to be authorized in the U.S.
The Electoral College officially votes for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next President and Vice President of the United States on Dec. 14, putting a lid onto the Trump campaign’s attempts to get the Electoral College to vote faithlessly for him. More GOP members accept Joe Biden as the next president. Early voting for the upcoming Georgia Senate runoffs also begins on this day.
On Dec. 18, Moderna’s vaccine becomes the second such vaccine to be granted a EUA by the FDA.
Two days later, on Dec. 20, Congress reaches a deal to pass new COVID-19 relief legislation worth $900 billion. Congress passes the bill the next day, tying it with a bill that funds the federal government for the next fiscal year. After some objections, President Trump signs the bill into law on Nov. 27, averting a federal government shutdown. Also on Dec. 20, a new strain of the novel coronavirus is detected in Europe and the U.K., prompting new shutdowns and lockdowns.
On Dec. 23, Trump pardons dozens of associates including Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, and Charles Kushner.
The next day, on Christmas Eve, it was announced that the U.K. and the E.U. had reached a post-Brexit deal, just before the end of the transition period.
On Christmas Day, a car bomb exploded in Nashville, Tenn., causing three people to be injured. As of writing, the bombing was concluded to be a suicide bombing by Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, white. He died in the explosion.
On Dec. 27, a total of 80 million COVID-19 cases have now been confirmed globally, with 19 million in the U.S.
The very next day, the House votes to override the previously-vetoed National Defense Authorization Act and to give all Americans a $2,000 stimulus check.
To round off the year, on Dec. 29, a congressman-elect from Louisiana, Luke Letlow, 41, dies due to complications surrounding COVID-19.
Looking back, it is quite unbelievable so much happened in just one short year. For many, 2020 has been full of miseries and tumultuous times. Let’s all hope that 2021 will bring better promises for us. Newshacker Blog thanks all readers for supporting us this past year, and we promise to continue bringing quality content to all readers continuing on into the new year.
Newshacker Blog wishes you a happy and healthy 2021.
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2020 was a tough and weird year 🙁
Hope everyone has a happy and healthy year 2021.
Thanks for the summary.