PRINCE DIES
Prince, the pop icon known for his flamboyant style and diverse music, died April 21 at his home in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He was 57.
According to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Minnesota, Prince died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid pain reliever that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The drug is generally prescribed for late-stage cancer patients dealing with chronic pain. How Prince obtained the prescription painkiller is not known.
Prince often produced, arranged, composed and performed his music. He won seven Grammys, an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. He sold more than 100 million records, and his music spanned generations.
ORLANDO NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING
Forty-nine people were killed and at least 53 were wounded June 12 in a shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. This was the worst mass shooting in United States history.
The gunman was Omar Mateen, 29, of Fort Pierce, Florida, who officials said had pledged allegiance to ISIS. Mateen was in a standoff for three hours with police before police crashed into the building with an armored vehicle and killed Mateen.
The FBI interviewed Mateen in 2013 and 2014 after he expressed sympathy for a suicide bomber, officials said, but the interviews were inconclusive and the investigation was closed.
The shooting resulted in large public response, and many people turned out in hordes to donate blood. OneBlood, a blood donation center in Orlando, was so overwhelmed with donors at one point that it asked people to stop coming, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
BLACK LIVES MATTER AND POLICE SHOOTINGS
Two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were killed by police officers in early July.
Sterling, 37, was killed by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after authorities received a call involving a black male in a red shirt who was selling CDs outside of a gas station and acting threatening with a gun. Videos show Sterling being tackled and shot as two cops pin him to the ground before he is killed.
Castile, 32, was shot by a police officer in St. Paul, Minnesota, following a traffic stop. The aftermath was recorded by Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds. Reynolds says in the video that Castile had been pulled over for a broken taillight and informed the officer that he was licensed to carry a weapon he in the car. As Castile went to reach for his wallet to retrieve his ID, Reynolds says the officer told Castile not to move, then shot him when he was putting his hands back up.
Following these shootings, Black Lives Matter movements took place across the country. Five Dallas officers were killed at one protest against the fatal police shootings, and seven officers and two civilians were also injured in what authorities said was a sniper ambush.
Officers cornered the suspect, Micah Johnson, and tried to negotiate with him for several hours before talks broke down. After an exchange of gunfire, officers attached explosives to a bomb robot and detonated them near Johnson, killing him.
POKEMON GO
This summer saw the launch of Pokemon Go, a mobile app that allows users to catch pokemon in “real life” by using their phones’ GPS signal. The game, developed by Niantic, requires users to walk around to find pokemon and catch them.
Some applaud the app for getting people to be active while others are frustrated with people staring at their phones. The app has made headlines for both problems, with some users being mugged while playing the game, and solutions, with places like the Muncie Animal Shelter using the app to encourage people to walk dogs at the shelter.
Pokemon Go is now facing a class action lawsuit from a Michigan couple. Scott and Jayme Dodich of St. Clair Shores said players have trampled their lawns, peered into their windows and cussed at them. They are now suing Niantic, Nintendo, which owns 32 percent in the Pokemon company and receives a percentage of all Pokémon Go revenues, and Pokemon Co., which is headquartered in Tokyo. Similar complaints have come from places like the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., where three pokestops were located, and cemeteries.
HILLARY CLINTON’S EMAILS
FBI Director James Comey announced July 5 that Hillary Clinton had been “extremely careless” during her time as secretary of state with her use of private email servers but did not recommend that charges be brought against her.
Comey said 110 emails in 52 email chains were determined to have contained classified information “at the time they were sent or received,” and eight email chains were determined to be “top secret,” after the FBI combed through every bit of Clinton's multiple servers — though one serve had had its software wiped — and mobile devices that they could from her four-year tenure as secretary of state.
The FBI also found “thousands” of work-related emails that had been deleted and not given to the State Department, Comey said. He also said three of those were classified at the time.
ATTACKS IN EUROPE
Eighty-four people were killed and about 100 more injured when an armed terrorist drove a truck at high speeds through a crowd of people gathering to watch the Bastille Day fireworks display in Nice, France on July 14. The driver continued to drive through the crowds for more than a mile, turning France’s national day of celebration into a nightmare.
The suspect, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, was a 31-year-old French-Tunisian delivery driver who ISIS claims was one of its soldiers. Police shot and killed the driver and found firearms, explosives and grenades in the truck.
Just over a week later, nine people were killed at a busy shopping district in Munich, Germany, on July 22. The attacker was 18-year-old Ali Sonboly, who police said had researched school shootings and used Facebook to lure his victims to a McDonald’s. Sonboly has not been linked to ISIS, and it is thought that he was seeking revenge on bullies.
CLINTON AND TRUMP ANNOUNCED AS PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEES
As Americans head to their polling places this November, they will have Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to choose from as their major political party candidates.
Trump was announced as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee on July 19 at the Republican National Convention, where earned the 1,237 delegates needed to capture the nomination. Previously, he had been campaigning against Ted Cruz and John Kasich, who withdrew from the race in May, Marco Rubio and Ben Carson, who withdrew in March, and other candidates who made the primaries but withdrew shortly after the Iowa caucuses in February.
Clinton made history July 26 by becoming the first female nominee of a major political party. At the Democratic National Convention, Clinton earned the 2,382 delegates required to receive the nomination. She campaigned against Bernie Sanders, who announced on June 24 that he would be voting for Clinton after poll results suggested it was unlikely he would win the nomination.
In the Indiana primary May 3, Trump won with 53.3 percent of the Republican vote, according to the Associated Press. The next highest Republican candidate with Ted Cruz, with 36.6 percent. Bernie Sanders won the Democratic vote with 52.5 percent, with Clinton coming in at 47.5 percent.
SUMMER OLYMPICS
The United States took home 121 medals from the 2016 Olympics this August, with 46 gold, 37 silver and 38 bronze winners. In addition to the medals, some American athletes broke historical records in their own events.
Michael Phelps, 31, became the most decorated Olympian in history while in Rio, ending his career with 28 medals (23 of them gold). Phelps made Olympic history by winning 13 individual titles, breaking an ancient, 2,168-year old Olympic record for 12 individual titles — a record held by a Greek, Leonidas of Rhodes.
Simone Biles, 19, is now the fourth gymnast to win four gold medals in a single Olympic Games. Biles placed first in women's vault, women's team all-around, women's floor exercise and women's individual all-around. She also won bronze in women’s beam, meaning she medaled in each of her events.
Katie Ledecky, 19, set world records in winning the 400-meter freestyle (3:56.46) and the 800-meter freestyle (8:12.86). She took home four gold medals from Rio — women's 200m freestyle, women's 400m freestyle, women's 800m freestyle and women's 4x200m freestyle relay — and one silver medal in women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. Ledecky is the first woman to sweep the Olympic 200, 400 and 800 freestyle events in 48 years.
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