2012 Events

January 1

Chinese authorities arrest nearly 50 members of Beijing’s largest unregistered church after the congregation decides to continue meeting outdoors for Sunday worship services.

Iran says it has produced its first nuclear fuel rod.

January 2

Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram issues a warning to Christians in northern Nigeria to leave the region within three days.

January 3

The presidential primary season begins in Iowa, where Rick Santorum ekes out a 34-vote win.

January 5

President Obama announces a new defense strategy, cutting military spending dramatically.

January 11

The U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously that courts can’t intervene in church hiring decisions.

January 12

Police arrest 43 New York City pastors and lay people who were protesting the city’s ban on church use of public schools for worship services.

January 13

The cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground at the Isola del Giglio in the Mediterranean Sea with 11 deaths and 14 other casualties confirmed.

January 18

After President Obama announces he will reject TransCanada’s bid to build a crude oil pipeline from Canada to refineries near the Gulf Coast, Canada indicates it will expand its oil exports to China.

January 20

President Obama announces that most religious groups must provide full medical insurance coverage for contraceptives, including abortion-causing drugs like Plan B and Ella.

January 23

Security forces under the Syrian government kill at least 22 civilians. They kill 52 the next day, and another 100 die on Jan. 27.

January 28

Oakland, Calif., police arrest about 300 protesters during Occupy Oakland demonstrations.

January 31

Mitt Romney wins the GOP Florida primary.

February 1

TBN faces lawsuits alleging clandestine affairs, crimes, and cover-ups.

February 3

Susan G. Komen for the Cure retreats from its decision not to make future grants to Planned Parenthood.

February 4

China and Russia veto a UN Security Council vote on an Arab League peace proposal to resolve Syria’s crisis.

New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin launches his team on a winning streak that sparks “Linsanity.”

February 5

New York Giants win Super Bowl XLVI.

February 6

Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her ascension to the throne.

February 7

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns California’s Proposition 8, the 2008 referendum defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

February 10

CIA and Alabama state websites go down, with Anonymous claiming responsibility.

February 13

Greece passes austerity measures that earn it a bailout of 130 billion euros from the European Central Bank and other public sources.

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire signs a bill legalizing same-sex “marriage” in the state.

February 14

More than 200 protesters chant and wave signs outside the White House as Xi Jinping, a Communist official set to become China’s next president, visits the White House and President Obama tells him, “I’m sure the American people welcome you.”

A fire at a jail in Comayagua, Honduras, kills at least 350 inmates.

February 17

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoes a bill that would legalize same-sex “marriage” in his state.

February 21

After an Arab Spring uprising, Yemen undergoes a peaceful transfer of power with the election of Vice President Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi.

February 26

George Zimmerman allegedly shoots and kills Trayvon Martin, sparking protests and outrage.

February 27

Ohio student T.J. Lane allegedly shoots and kills three peers and injures two more in a rampage at Chardon High School.

March 1

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signs a law legalizing same-sex “marriage” in his state.

An Iraqi student shoots and kills American teacher Jeremiah Small as he begins to pray at the start of class.

March 2

Deadly tornadoes ravage the Midwest and the South.

March 4

Vladimir Putin claims victory in Russia’s presidential election.

March 6

Mitt Romney edges Rick Santorum in the GOP Ohio primary and, with other “Super Tuesday” victories, takes control of the Republican race.

March 8

Toyota recalls 700,000 cars over safety issues.

March 10

Militants kill 45 women and children in Homs, Syria, just hours after a UN visit to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

March 11

Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales allegedly kills 16 Afghan civilians near Kandahar.

March 12

For the first time since his arrest in 2009, Iran admits it convicted Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani of religious crimes.

March 14

The International Criminal Court in The Hague declares Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga guilty of war crimes. He is later sentenced to 14 years in prison.

March 16

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returns home after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba.

March 17

A Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in China, the latest in a series of similar incidents involving nearly 30 monks.

Pope Benedict XVI launches a probe into leaks of confidential papers alleging corruption, financial mismanagement, and power struggles among senior church officials.

Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III dies, adding to the uneasiness of Egypt’s Christian minority amidst growing political uncertainty and Islamist persecution.

March 17-18

Bombings in Syria strike Christian districts in Aleppo and Damascus, killing dozens and wounding over 100 people.

March 18

Gunmen shoot and kill American teacher Joel Shrum in Yemen.

March 24

Chinese officials allow imprisoned Christian attorney Gao Zhisheng to see relatives, the first such visit in nearly two years.

March 27

Following controversy over Bible translations in Muslim contexts, Wycliffe and its translation partner SIL agree to an independent review of their translation practices.

April 2

Alleged gunman One Goh opens fire at Oikos University in Oakland, Calif., killing seven people and injuring three.

April 4

A court sentences former New Orleans Police Department officers to jail for shooting civilians after Hurricane Katrina, and then covering it up.

A female suicide bomber walks into Somalia’s newly reopened National Theater, killing herself and 10 others as dignitaries meet to celebrate the first anniversary of the nation’s TV station.

April 8

A suicide bomber detonates explosives in Nigeria’s Kaduna state, killing 38 people in a blast apparently meant for nearby churches.

Golfer Bubba Watson wins the Masters.

Twelve Iranian Christians await a judge’s verdict after spending Easter Sunday on trial for “crimes against the order” of Iran.

April 10

Apple Inc. becomes the all-time most valuable company, with a market capitalization of more than $600 billion.

Rick Santorum suspends his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.

University of Arkansas officials fire head football coach Bobby Petrino for an inappropriate relationship with a female employee.

April 15

Islamic militants attack a Pakistan prison, freeing nearly 400 inmates.

April 22

Chen Guangcheng, a blind human rights lawyer, escapes captivity after 18 months of brutal house arrest in China.

April 26

The Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague convicts former Liberian President Charles Taylor of aiding and abetting war crimes.

May 1

President Obama visits Afghanistan and signs an agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai that outlines a continuing U.S. role in Afghanistan after 2014.

May 2

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, takes the oath of office to become a member of Burma’s lower house of parliament.

May 4

Mexico officials discover 23 bodies in Nuevo Laredo following a mass killing involving rival drug cartels.

May 5

A military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay arraigns accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants.

May 7

The CIA says it foiled a plot by Fahd al-Quso, a Yemeni affiliate of al-Qaeda, to blow up an American-bound airliner.

Vladimir Putin begins his third term as Russia’s president.

May 8

The New York Court of Appeals rules that viewing child pornography online is not a crime.

North Carolina bans same-sex “marriage.”

May 9

President Obama announces that he supports same-sex “marriage.”

May 13

The Falls Church Anglican congregation meets for the last worship service in its historic building.

May 15

François Hollande becomes France’s 24th president.

May 18

Facebook holds an initial public offering and shares plummet.

May 19

Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng arrives in the United States.

May 21

NATO heads of state agree to a framework for winding down the combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

May 31

A jury clears former Sen. John Edwards on one count of corruption, with a mistrial declared for the other counts.

June 2

An Egyptian court finds former President Hosni Mubarak complicit in the deaths of protesters and sentences him to life in prison.

June 3

A car explodes outside a Nigerian church, killing 15 people and injuring 42.

June 5

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker survives a recall election.

June 6

French President François Hollande announces that the government will lower the retirement age for many workers to 60 from 62.

June 10

Terror group Boko Haram claims responsibility for attacks against two Christian churches in Nigeria’s Jos and Borno states.

June 14

Chinese officials apologize to Feng Jaimei after a graphic photo of her lying next to her forcibly aborted 7-month-old preborn baby goes viral and sparks worldwide condemnation of the nation’s one-child policy.

June 15

President Obama announces that the United States will halt the deportation of some illegal immigrants.

June 17

Greece’s pro-bailout, pro-austerity New Democracy party wins national elections.

June 19

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange seeks refuge at Ecuador’s London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on charges of sexual misconduct.

June 21

Moody’s downgrades the credit rating of 15 major world banks.

WORLD reveals that the National Association of Evangelicals takes money from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, which promotes contraceptive use by the unwed.

The Miami Heat win the National Basketball Association championship.

June 22

A court convicts Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State University football coach, on 45 charges of child sex abuse.

June 23

The Waldo Canyon Fire begins, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing thousands of Colorado residents to flee.

June 25

The U.S. Supreme Court rules that most of Arizona’s immigration law is unconstitutional.

June 28

The U.S. Supreme Court upholds Obamacare.

The House of Representatives holds Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for obstructing the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious.

June 30

Mohamed Morsi becomes president of Egypt.

U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska issues a permanent injunction against New York City, calling its policy prohibiting church access to school property a violation of First Amendment rights.

July 1

Masked attackers kill at least 17 people in attacks on Kenyan churches.

July 3

The Obama administration files two cases with the Supreme Court that challenge the Defense of Marriage Act.

July 4

Physicists in Switzerland announce the long-awaited discovery of what they believe to be the “Higgs boson,” a subatomic particle first predicted in 1964.

July 6

Following a final recount, Enrique Peña Nieto wins Mexico’s presidential election.

July 7

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., “marries” his longtime partner Jim Ready.

July 8

Gunmen kill dozens of people in northern Nigeria’s Christian villages.

July 18

Wheaton College joins other Catholic and Protestant institutions fighting the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate.

A bombing at the National Security Building in Damascus kills several senior Syrian officials.

July 20

Alleged gunman James Holmes opens fire at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater, killing 12 people and injuring 58 more.

July 27-August 12

The Summer Olympics in London draws 10,500 athletes from around the world.

August 1

Customers flood Chick-fil-A restaurants around the nation in support of CEO Dan Cathy, attacked for defending the biblical definition of marriage.

A federal appeals court blocks Arizona’s ban on most late-term abortions, one day before it was to take effect.

August 5

NASA’s Curiosity rover lands on Mars.

August 6

Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab defects to Jordan.

August 11

Mitt Romney chooses Paul Ryan as his running mate.

August 15

Alleged gunman Floyd Lee Corkins II opens fire at the Family Research Council, shooting a security guard.

An outbreak of West Nile virus kills at least 17 people, spurring Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings to declare a state of emergency.

August 19

Missouri Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin sparks controversy by saying women’s bodies have ways of preventing pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape.”

August 20

UN observers leave Syria as their mandate expires.

August 24

A Norway court deems Anders Behring Breivik sane and sentences him to 21 years in prison for killing 77 people in July 2011.

August 28

Hurricane Isaac makes landfall in the United States.

September 4

The UN says 100,000 Syrians fled to another country during August, the highest monthly figure in the 18-month conflict.

September 5

During the Democratic National Convention, Democrats reinstate in the party platform a reference to God and a declaration that “undivided” Jerusalem is Israel’s capital.

Scientists announce that “junk DNA” plays a vital role in how cells, organs, and diseases behave.

September 8

Iranian authorities acquit condemned pastor Youcef Nadarkhani of apostasy charges and release him from a Tehran prison.

September 10

Chicago teachers go on strike.

September 11

Moody’s says the United States may face a credit rating downgrade if its debt problems continue.

Gunmen storm the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, killing Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others.

September 12

Craft chain Hobby Lobby becomes the largest business to sue the federal government over its healthcare contraceptive mandate.

September 13

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says the Fed plans to buy $85 billion in mortgage-backed securities each month for the rest of the year, and $40 billion worth each month thereafter.

September 15

The United States orders all non-essential staff to evacuate the Sudan and Tunisia embassies and urges citizens to avoid traveling there.

September 23

Syrian opposition figures meet in government-controlled Damascus and try to position themselves as an alternative both to the Assad dictatorship and the armed rebellion.

September 25

A new report, Untold Atrocities: The Stories of Syria’s Children, details suffering and devastation during the civil war in Syria.

September 26

The New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts recalls painkiller medication linked to a national outbreak of meningitis. By Nov. 26, fungus-tainted steroid injections had sickened 510 people in 19 states and killed 36.

October 1

California becomes the first state to ban “conversion therapy” for gay teens.

October 6

A Vatican court finds Pope Benedict XVI’s former butler Paolo Gabriele guilty of stealing and leaking confidential documents, and sentences him to 18 months in prison.

October 9

Taliban gunmen shoot Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year-old Pakistani advocate for women’s education rights.

October 14

Felix Baumgartner dives out of a helium-filled balloon and becomes the first person to eclipse the speed of sound without traveling in a jet or spacecraft.

October 22

The International Cycling Union strips cycling champion Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles, banning him from the sport for life.

October 26

China blocks access to The New York Times website after the paper publishes an investigation into the finances of Premier Wen Jiabao.

October 28

San Francisco Giants win the World Series.

October 29

Superstorm Sandy strikes, bringing havoc to the Northeast.

November 1

Iranian aircraft fire on an unmanned U.S. Predator drone in international airspace.

November 6

President Barack Obama wins reelection.

Voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington approve same-sex “marriage,” while Minnesota rejects an amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

November 9

CIA Director David Petraeus submits his resignation, citing an extramarital affair.

November 14

Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a treason law that opponents believe he will use to silence critics and those who associate with foreigners.

Following numerous rocket attacks from Gaza, an Israeli airstrike kills Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari. More attacks follow.

November 20

A Pakistani court dismisses the blasphemy case against Rimsha Masih, a Christian girl arrested in August on allegations she burned portions of the Quran.

November 21

Israel and Hamas reach a cease-fire.

November 22

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi passes a decree granting himself extensive new powers.

November 24

A fire erupts at a clothing factory in Bangladesh, killing more than 115 workers.

November 26

The U.S. Supreme Court orders a federal appeals court to review Liberty University’s lawsuit against Obamacare, including whether the healthcare mandate violates religious freedom.

November 28

The first ruling from a circuit court on the healthcare law’s contraceptive mandate goes against the Obama administration.

November 29

Egyptian Islamists unilaterally pass a draft constitution.

Photo credits: CHRISTIE: Associated Press/Photo by Carolyn Kaster; SMALL: Handout; SOMALIA: Associated Press/Photo by Farah Abdi Warsameh; OBAMA & KARZAI: Associated Press/Photo by Charles Dharapak; JAMES, WADE, & BOSH: Issac Bal Dizon/NBAE/Getty Images; MARS ROVER: NASA; AURORA, COLO.: Associated Press/Photo by Ted S. Warren; OLYMPICS: Peter MacDiarmid/Getty Images; CHICAGO: Associated Press/Photo by Sitthixay Ditthavong; ROMO: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images; LIBERTY UNIVERSITY: Caroline Groussain/AFP/Getty Images