January:

Just a few days after ringing in the new year, on January 4th, Genesee County responded to the call to action by declaring a state of emergency in Flint, Michigan and began water and filter distribution to the citizens of Flint by the 5th.

Later on, on January 10th the world lost a music icon with the death of David Bowie, when he lost his battle with cancer at age 69, just two days after releasing his final album Blackstar. According to BBC News he “died peacefully, surrounded by his family.”

February:

Leonardo DiCaprio won his first Oscar. DiCaprio won Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in The Revenant. His Oscar speech was a memorable one for sure. According to The Oscars DiCaprio stated “Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.” After years of hard work DiCaprio finally got the credit he deserved for his hard work.

March:

On the morning of March 22 three bombs struck in Brussels leaving 35 people killed (Including the three bombers) and over 300 wounded. In the coordinated tragedies that occurred, suicide bombers carrying large explosives detonated themselves at the Brussels Airport in Zaventem. One more blast struck at the Maelbeek Metro Station leaving many more in harm and in great danger. The overwhelming grief and sorrow caused by the horrifying attacks were felt around the world.

REUTERS/Charles Platiau

April:

On Thursday April 21st, we lost a musical legend. Prince.  He will be forever missed. #RIPPrince. Stevie Wonder said, “If Michael Was the King of Pop, Prince Should Be the Emperor.” Another big event was Kobe’s last game. Kobe’s career was an outstanding one. Rings upon rings for the veteran basketball player. He finished his career with an amazing 60 point game! Since retirement, he has had a third child and started Kobe Studios.

May:

On May 28th, a 3 year old boy found his way into a gorilla exhibit. Zookeepers called all the gorillas to the cage and all came but Harambe. Harambe was then seen straddling the baby and “playing” around with it. Through all the yelling Harambe became anxious and confused and started to act a little more roughly with the boy. The zookeepers saw these actions as a threat. Zookeepers claim that due to the position the gorilla was in, tranquilizers were not an option. To this day, the internet still holds memes and hashtags about Harambe. #Freeharambe

June:

On the morning of June 12th, the world woke up to the horrible news of the worst terror attack since 9/11. 49 people were killed and 53 were injured in the mass shooting that took place in one of the most popular gay clubs in Orlando.  As the gunman started to fill the place with terror some people were able to escape and look for help from the police, the survivors described a scene of panic made more confusing by the loud music and darkness.

June 23rd is the day Brexit became infamous (Britain Exit). A referendum was held to decide if England should “leave or stay” the European Union. The results were 52% leave, 48% stay. It will take 2 years for the exit talks to be completed once England “formally notifies the bloc of its wish to leave” according to the United Kingdom’s news paper Express.

July:

On July 5th, African American male Alton Sterling was shot several times while being held on the ground by two white police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Only one day later, on July 6th, African American male Philando Castile was shot seven times and killed by police after being pulled over in his car in Minnesota.  There were many protests, riots, and a collective outrage at these deaths. The hashtag #blacklivesmatter was trending on Twitter (again); by the date of Sterling’s death, 215 African Americans had already been killed by police in 2016.

Pokémon Go became the only thing to do for three weeks. It forced players to venture outside and get active, in the most simplest ways. That’s because the app uses the phone’s GPS and camera to help search and find Pokemon characters in the real world.

August:

The 2016 Summer Olympics kicked off in Rio de Janeiro! The United States claimed the most medals of any country competing, collecting 121 total medals. China and Great Britain came in second and third place, collecting 70 and 67 total medals. Michael Phelps won 5 gold medals this year, breaking the record for most total gold medals at 23. Look back at the highlights here!

September:

On September 7th,  Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the newest addition to the iPhone family. With the controversial removal of the headphone jack, and other improvements, Apple is really trying to make moves to become a powerhouse in the electronic world again.

September  gave us the first of 3 Presidential debates on the 26th at Hofstra University. With President-elect Trump and Hillary Clinton not holding anything back and instantly going at each other, the outcome of this first debate was predictable.

October:

Throughout the first few weeks of October, the Nobel Peace Prize recipients were announced. Though many people won awards for their tireless work, research, and effort one of the most interesting was *Bob Dylan, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his “poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”

In 2014, Boko Haram attacked a government boarding school in Chibok. A lot of girls from the neighboring area were in the school at the time taking their exams, and were abducted by the militant group. In order to arrange the release of the girls a “handsome ransom” had to paid, according to BBC, and the alleged release of 4 Boko Haram commanders, though the government denies that they were ever released. Nonetheless, on October 21st the remaining girls were finally released and returned to their families.

November:

November 8th was a long night for America. Trump won the election by 58 electoral votes. The outcome shocked a lot of America, leaving some devastated and some jumping with joy. The next four years will truly be a journey for the United States. In Sports news, coming from a 3-1 deficit, the Cubs made a magnificent comeback to win the World Series and break a 108 year curse. It shocked the world.

December: 

In December, Syria’s government took back control of Aleppo. The final group of rebels and their families were rescued after being held prisoner in eastern Aleppo from a deal that gives the Army and it’s allies total control over the city. The christians in Aleppo who make up 10% of the population had a religious Christmas ceremony for the first time since 2011. Tons of Aleppo residents went back and looked a their homes and they were either badly damaged or destroyed. About 400,00 people were killed, 4.8 million Syrians were forced to leave the country, and 6.1 million are homeless and the whole city is destroyed.

*CORRECTION: In a previously released version of this article, The Chieftain erroneously said David Bowie won the Nobel Prize for Literature. It was Bob Dylan.