Morgan Drake

Another year has come and gone, leaving many memories and events behind. Here’s the Knight Writer’s top ten list of the biggest news events of 2014!

                                                                    Image courtesy of: forbes.com (fair use)

10. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Over the course of the summer, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was the craze of social media. Friends nominated each other to perform the challenge, which included donating money to help find treatments for ALS and dumping a bucket of ice-cold water on themselves. The challenge has raised $115 million in donations since July 29, 2014.

9. Domestic Violence in the NFL

A viral video of the Baltimore Ravens’ running back, Ray Rice punching his wife (then fiancée) in the face caused many to question NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, as his initial punishment was to suspend Rice for only two games. With the controversial topic of domestic violence brought up and a lot of public criticism, Goodell indefinitely suspended Rice from the NFL. Rice later appealed and won, bringing him back into the league.

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8. Malaysian Airlines

In March, Malaysian Airline flight 370 vanished during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There were 239 passengers and crew aboard. Even after months of air and sea searches, the plane was never found. Later, in July, another Malaysian Airlines plane, flight 17, was shot down over Ukraine. All 298 people aboard were killed.

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7. Sony Hack

North Korea was not too happy about the movie, The Interview, a comedy about two men assassinating the country's’ leader, Kim Jong Un. They viewed it as an “act of war”, so therefore they hacked into Sony and released several movies and personal data from the company. They also threatened attacks on America if The Interview was to be released (America released it anyways).

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6. Leaked Celebrity Photos

The internet went crazy after hundreds of personal celebrity photos were stolen and posted on several websites. Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton’s pictures were among those that were proven authentic. It is believed that the photos were obtained through hacking Apple’s iCloud.

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5. Shocking Celebrity Deaths

2014 saw many famous faces go, including Joan Rivers, who died at the age of 81 after an operation. However, what could be considered the most shocking of them all was actor Robin Williams, who died at the age of 63. After battling depression and substance abuse for a great part of his life, the comic genius committed suicide, leaving fans heartbroken.

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4.  Midterm Elections

The midterm elections left the Senate under Republican control and helped advance their lead in the elections. It also made clear the majority of the country’s dislike towards Obama and his plans.

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3. ISIS

Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is a terrorist group that has been violently gaining control over regions of Iraq and Syria. They’ve killed thousands in order to do so and even post gruesome videos of beheadings. Two of the beheadings happened to American journalists. The US has since gotten involved by sending air strikes out on ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

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2. Ferguson

Riots have taken over the city of Ferguson, Missouri after Officer Darren Wilson was left charge free after shooting and killing Michael Brown, and African American boy. The riots have spread across America and even in other countries as people protest modern day racism and the importance of black lives.