Against the backdrop of an unprecedented pandemic, Americans marched and protested, held a historic presidential election and paid tribute and said goodbye to beloved personalities.
Here are the top national stories of 2020.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Coronavirus
The new normal. Social distancing. Dr. Fauci. Unprecedented. These are just some words associated with the biggest story that dominated the year. The U.S. has surpassed more than 300,000 deaths from COVID-19.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose again earlier in December to 885,000, the highest weekly total since September, as the U.S. faces a resurgence of coronavirus cases that threaten the economy’s recovery from its springtime collapse.
Americans who still had their jobs worked from home, while essential workers remained on-the-job, risking infection. In March, students never returned to campus from spring break, as many switched to virtual learning.
The U.S. recently added a second COVID-19 vaccine to its arsenal, developed by Moderna Inc. and the National Institutes of Health. The vaccine is very similar to one from Pfizer Inc. and Germany’s BioNTech that’s now being dispensed to millions of health care workers and nursing home residents as the biggest vaccination drive in U.S. history starts to ramp up.
George Floyd’s death sparks protests and calls for police reform
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody sparked nationwide protests and calls for police reform.
On May 25, police arrested Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, after a convenience store employee called 911 and reported that Floyd had paid for cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill.
Four officers were charged in Floyd’s death with the most serious against Derek Chauvin, who was caught on video pressing his knee to Floyd’s neck. All of the officers have been fired. Video showed that Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd for at least eight minutes and 15 seconds, despite Floyd pleading, “I can’t breathe,” several times.
Protests erupted across the U.S. and worldwide, demanding racial justice and calling for police reform. Protesters pushed to “defund the police” over Floyd’s death and the death of other Black Americans, including Breonna Taylor, killed by law enforcement.
Supporters of the movement said it is not about eliminating or stripping agencies of money. They said it is time for the country to address systemic problems in policing in America and spend more on what communities across the U.S. need, like housing and education.
3/12
U.S. presidential election
Even without the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 was going to be a big year because of the election.
After narrowing the field of several candidates, Joe Biden emerged as the Democratic Party’s candidate, confirmed during a virtual Democratic National Convention in August.
A week later, a very different Republican National Convention took place. The GOP had more live speakers giving speeches to a mostly empty room. President Donald Trump accepted his party’s nomination from the White House Lawn. First lady Melania Trump gave a speech from the renovated Rose Garden. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a prerecorded speech during an official foreign trip. And, Trump even conducted a naturalization ceremony.
Then came the cringeworthy first debate, where constant interruptions rendered the whole thing unwatchable. The second scheduled debate never took place, as Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19.
States prepared for an influx of mail-in ballots in the middle of the pandemic, but Trump acknowledged in an interview with Fox Business Network in August that he’s starving the U.S. Postal Service of money in order to make it harder to process an expected surge of mail-in ballots, which he worried could cost him the election.
Facing mounting public pressure and a crush of state lawsuits, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said he would “suspend” several of his initiatives — including the removal of the distinctive blue mailboxes that prompted an outcry — until after the election “to avoid even the appearance of impact on election mail.”
With an increase in mail-in ballots, the election was not called on Election Day or soon after. Biden addressed the country on election night, urging his supporters to be patient and wait until all the ballots were counted.
On Nov. 7, CNN called the election for Biden and several news outlets followed suit.
On Dec. 14, the Electoral College met and officially elected Biden. Trump has yet to concede his loss, and he continues to claim massive election fraud but has not yet shown any proof to his allegations.
The 2020 election shattered early-voting records. It also shattered the record for most votes for a candidate — more than 80 million for Biden. Trump, got the second-most votes of any candidate at more than 74 million.
Kamala Harris also set history by becoming the first woman and woman of color elected as vice president.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a towering women’s rights champion who became the court’s second female justice, died Sept. 18 at her home in D.C. She was 87.
Ginsburg had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment for lesions on her liver, the latest of her several battles with cancer.
Ginsburg spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court’s liberal wing and became something of a rock star to her admirers.
Her appointment by President Bill Clinton in 1993 was the first by a Democrat in 26 years.
5/12
Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis dies
John Lewis, a lion of the civil rights movement whose bloody beating by Alabama state troopers in 1965 helped galvanize opposition to racial segregation, and who went on to a long and celebrated career in Congress, died on July 17. He was 80.
Lewis was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, a group led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. He was best known for leading some 600 protesters in the Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.
Senate acquits Trump on impeachment charges
On Feb. 6, President Donald Trump won impeachment acquittal in the U.S. Senate, bringing to a close only the third presidential trial in American history.
What started as Trump’s request for Ukraine to “do us a favor” spun into a far-reaching, 28,000-page report compiled by House investigators accusing an American president of engaging in shadow diplomacy that threatened U.S. foreign relations for personal, political gain as he pressured the ally to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden ahead of the election.
Harvey Weinstein convicted of rapes
Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault against two women and led off to prison in handcuffs on Feb. 24 in what his foes hailed as a landmark moment for the legal system and a long-overdue reckoning for the man vilified as the biggest monster of the #MeToo era.
Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash
NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi and seven others were killed on Jan. 26 when their helicopter plunged into a steep hillside in dense morning fog in Southern California. He was 41 years old.
Bryant inspired a generation of basketball players worldwide with sublime skills and an unquenchable competitive fire.
He earned Los Angeles’ eternal adoration during his two decades as the fierce soul of the beloved Lakers.
Murder hornets
A roughly 2-inch long insect known as the “murder hornet” made its way to the U.S. for the first time ever in 2020.
The Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, has been known to kill up to 50 people a year in Japan, according to The New York Times. And it has an appetite for honeybees. It was first found in Washington state.
The hornet can sting through most beekeeper suits, deliver nearly seven times the amount of venom as a honey bee, and sting multiple times.
Hurricanes
A record-setting Atlantic hurricane season that saw the highest number of named storms came to a close in November.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season set multiple records while producing a record 30 named storms. There were so many that the list of 21 conventional names was exhausted and the Greek alphabet was used for only the second time.
Some other facts about this hurricane season:
‘Black Panther’ actor Chadwick Boseman dies
Chadwick Boseman, who played Black American icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown before inspiring audiences worldwide as the regal Black Panther in Marvel’s blockbuster movie franchise, died at his home in Los Angeles on Aug. 28 of cancer. He was 43. Boseman had been diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago.
Boseman graduated from Howard University and had small roles before landing the role of Jackie Robinson in 2013’s “42.”
‘Jeopardy!’ host Alex Trebek dies
Alex Trebek, who presided over the beloved TV quiz show “Jeopardy!” for more than 30 years, died Nov. 8. He was 80.
Trebek, who announced in 2019 that he had advanced pancreatic cancer, died at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by family and friends.
