2021 News of the Year

From left: Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images; zz/STRF/STAR MAX/IPx via ap; Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images; Allen J. Schaben/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Heran Abebe, 6, reacts while her father, Alebel Belay, receives a COVID-19 vaccine in Washington, D.C., on May 6. By mid-December, 61 percent of eligible people in the United States had received two vaccine doses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Doctors treat a COVID-19 patient inside a mobile intensive care unit in Bucharest, Romania, on Oct. 7. Bucharest faced shortages of hospital beds when spikes in severe COVID-19 cases occurred in 2021. Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images

Healthcare worker Nazir Ahmed carries a cooler with vaccines for Kashmiri shepherds on a hillock in Tosamaidan in Indian-controlled Kashmir. At least 300,000 Indians died in a spring COVID-19 outbreak. Dar Yasin/AP

Volunteers bury the body of a woman who died of COVID-19 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, on Aug. 12. Burial teams worked around the clock during a wave of deaths from the Delta variant of the coronavirus in 2021. Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images

Demonstrators protest school mask mandates in Broward County, Fla., in May. Schools and school boards became COVID-19 battlegrounds in some states when education officials in some communities sought mask mandates but faced opposition. Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP

A mob swarms the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying results of the 2020 presidential election. Federal authorities arrested more than 700 people in the weeks after the violence. Lev Radin/Sipa USA via AP

Supporters of then-President Donald Trump erect fake gallows on the grounds of the Capitol on Jan. 6. Shay Horse/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Rioters clash with Capitol Police officers. More than 140 officers from the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police departments suffered injuries in the attacks. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Capitol police draw their pistols and barricade doors as rioters try to force their way into the House of Representatives Chamber on Jan. 6. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Rioters wander through the halls of the Capitol on Jan. 6. Among them is Jake Angeli, also known as Q Shaman, wearing a horned hat. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Following the riot on Jan. 6, D.C. National Guard troops reinforce security near the Capitol on Jan. 17, days before the inauguration of President Joe Biden. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Fireworks explode on Oct. 1 over Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom as part of celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP

Worshipers gather for an Easter sunrise service hosted by Hope Community Church of Manasquan (New Jersey) on April 4. After celebrating Easter with virtual services in 2020 due to COVID-19, many churches gathered in person again in 2021. John Minchillo/AP

Democrats Jon Ossoff (left) and Raphael Warnock bump elbows during a rally with President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 4, a day before they beat Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in runoff elections for Georgia’s two Senate seats. The victories gave Democrats effective control of the U.S. Senate. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Bystanders carry an injured man after skirmishes following a military coup in Myanmar. Since the military toppled the government in February, it has killed more than 1,300 people in clashes. AP

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel feeds Australian lorikeets in Marlow, Germany. Merkel left office on Dec. 8 after serving 16 years as chancellor. Georg Wendt/DPA via AP

A firefighter places his hands on engravings along the south pool of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. John Minchillo/AP

Pro-lifers pray in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 1. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments that day in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, a Mississippi case that could upend abortion law in the United States. Andrew Harnik/AP

Katherine Morgan drinks water and cools off in front of a box fan in her apartment in Portland, Ore., during a sweltering summer heatwave in the Pacific Northwest. Nathan Howard/AP

Residents huddle as Hurricane Ida blows through LaPlace, La., on Aug. 30, as a category 4 storm. It then marched into the Northeast United States, causing flooding and sparking tornadoes in six states. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon stands on his kitchen counter to warm his feet over his stove on Feb. 16 in Austin. Thousands of Texans went days without electricity after temperatures dropped into the single digits. Ashley Landis/AP

Republican Glenn Youngkin speaks at a rally before winning Virginia’s gubernatorial election on Nov. 2. He won in part thanks to more Hispanic voters supporting Republicans, a trend that looks to continue into 2022. Carlos Bernate/The New York Times/redux

Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson and second baseman Ozzie Albies celebrate after the Atlanta Braves won the World Series on Nov. 2, beating the Houston Astros in Game 6. Kevin M. Cox/The Galveston County Daily News via AP

A father carries his child to shore after crossing the Rio Grande in a dinghy at the U.S.-Mexico border on April 9 near Roma, Texas. Record numbers of immigrants attempted to cross the border in 2021. John Moore/Getty Images

A police car’s lights shine on a family apprehended at the U.S. border near Mission, Texas, on Feb. 10. Sergio Flores for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Haitian immigrants cross the Rio Grande and head back into Mexico on Sept. 20. A large caravan of Haitians attempted to gain entry into the United States. John Moore/Getty Images

Vilma Iris Peraza, 28, from Honduras, cries with her two children in Cuidad Juárez, Mexico, after U.S. authorities deported them on March 18. Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times/redux

A U.S. Border Patrol agent tries to stop a Haitian immigrant in September. The photo sparked controversy after a reporter misidentified the horse reins as a whip. The Biden administration stopped the Border Patrol’s use of horses in the area as a result. Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images

Joe and Jill Biden arrive at the White House on Jan. 20 after Joe Biden was inaugurated the 46th president of the United States. Jim Watson//AFP via Getty Images

The lights on Broadway were dim for a full 18 months due to the coronavirus. Shows didn’t reopen until Sept. 14, when Wicked, Chicago, Hamilton, and The Lion King reopened simultaneously. Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Migrants and refugees from different African nations wait for assistance aboard an overcrowded wooden boat off the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean Sea in February. Bruno Thevenin/AP

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., rushes back to closed-door negotiations with other senators in June. Manchin became the ire of progressives after keeping Democrats from enacting several pieces of legislation in the closely divided Senate. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Aug. 14’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Les Cayes, Haiti, killed at least 2,248 people and damaged or destroyed 137,500 buildings. But this wasn’t Haiti’s first disaster in 2021. President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7. The Caribbean nation’s infrastructure is still in disrepair from its 2010 earthquake, and gangs rule the streets. Jonathan Alpeyrie/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Panamanian-flagged container ship Ever Given became wedged in the Suez Canal on March 23 and blocked canal traffic for six days. More than 200 cargo ships were delayed. Samuel Mohsen/Picture-Alliance/DPA/AP

Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, died April 9 at age 99 at Windsor Castle. The Duke of Edinburgh, the longest-serving royal consort in British history, was at the Queen’s side for more than six decades of her reign. The royal family, including the 95-year-old queen, follow Philip’s coffin through Windsor Castle. Leon Neal/Pool via AP

Hamas forces in the northern Gaza Strip fire rockets (right) toward southern Israel on May 14, while Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system (left) in Beit Lahia seeks to shoot down the rockets. The two exchanged fire for 12 days in May, leaving more than 200 people dead. Anas Baba/AFP via Getty Images

M.J. Eberhart, 83, of Flagg Mountain, Ala., became the oldest hiker to complete the 2,193-mile Appalachian Trail in November. “Nimblewill Nomad,” his trail name, is a retired optometrist. Robert F. Bukaty/AP

One of the most dominant gymnasts of all time, Simone Biles, 24, holds seven Olympic medals and led the U.S. team to gold in 2016 and silver in 2021. Biles competed in the women’s balance beam final at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Aug. 3 but withdrew from several events, citing mental blocks. Jeff Pachoud/AFP via Getty Images

American swimmer Katie Ledecky competes in the final of the women’s 1500m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympic Games, postponed since 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ledecky won two gold medals and two silver medals in Tokyo. Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

Team Great Britain’s Declan Brooks rides during a training session for the Cycling BMX Freestyle ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Gold medal winner Flora Duffy from Bermuda (center), bronze medalist Katie Zaferes from the U.S. (top), and silver medalist Georgia Taylor-Brown from Great Britain (right) react after completing the women’s individual triathlon. Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images

Matt Stutzman of the United States competes during an archery event at the Tokyo Paralympic Games in August. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

The United States’ two decade-long occupation of Afghanistan culminated in a hastily organized airlift in August in which more than 124,000 civilians—including Americans, Afghans, and others—evacuated as the Taliban took over. But thousands of other U.S.-allied Afghans at risk of Taliban persecution were left behind. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images

After U.S. troops pulled out on Aug. 31, Taliban fighters gather in the streets of Kabul to celebrate. Hoshang Hashimi/AFP via Getty Images

In an image that became an icon of their plight, Afghans desperate to escape the Taliban hand a baby to a U.S. Marine outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 19. Courtesy of Omar Haidiri/AFP via Getty Images

An Afghan girl plays in a poor neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan, after the Taliban took control of the city. Hundreds of internally displaced people from eastern Afghanistan have lived there. Felipe Dana/AP

A tornado leveled buildings in Mayfield, Ky., on Dec. 11, part of a storm outbreak across several U.S. states that killed dozens. Liam Kennedy/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Lisa Robinson celebrates the April guilty verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of killing George Floyd in May 2020. The event set off months of racial and anti-police protests across the country. Alex Brandon/AP

Petty Officer 2nd Class Zack Greeley hugs his wife, Emma, after returning from deployment aboard the USS Minnesota submarine the day after Thanksgiving. Sean D. Elliot/The Day via AP

Not all votes came this easy during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in June. Politicking around the vote for president was fierce with Ed Litton, a little-known pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Ala., edging Georgia pastor Mike Stone by 556 votes in a runoff. Mark Humphrey/AP

A chairlift at Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort sits surrounded by the Caldor Fire on Aug. 30. Over 8,000 wildfires in California burned more than 2 million acres in 2021. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

William Shatner (second from left) finally got a chance to go to space after playing Capt. James T. Kirk in the Star Trek TV show and movies. He, Audrey Powers, Chris Boshuizen, and Glen de Vries traveled 66.5 miles above the earth in October. LM Otero/AP

Trucks line up to enter a Port of Oakland shipping terminal on Nov. 10 in California. Intense demand and backed-up supply lines left some consumers without the goods they sought in 2021. Noah Berger/AP

Lava flows destroyed houses in La Laguna on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain, on Nov. 28, after the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted. Some residents were able to return to their homes by mid-December, when the volcano eruptions appeared to have ended. Emilio Morenatti/AP

Protesters demonstrate in Manhattan on March 21 following weeks of increased violence against Asian Americans. On March 16, a shooter in the Atlanta area killed eight people at spas—including six Asian women—though police said race wasn’t a motive. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP

The Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees take the field for a game at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, set of the 1989 feature film. Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Ten people died and hundreds more were injured as crowds rushed the stage to hear rapper Travis Scott perform at the Astroworld Music Festival in Houston on Nov. 5. The youngest person to die was 9 years old. Amy Harris/Invision/AP

Environmental response crews clean up an oil spill on Oct. 4 in Huntington Beach, Calif. Days before, a pipeline offshore ruptured, releasing tens of thousands of gallons of oil along a 3-mile oil slick. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Police arrest a protester in Havana, Cuba, on July 11. Thousands of Cubans protested the communist government, shouting, “Down with the dictatorship” and “We want liberty,” before the government cut off internet and electricity. Adalberto Roque/AFP via Getty Images

Parents and students comfort each other on Nov. 30 after a shooter killed four students and wounded seven others at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich. Both the shooter and his parents face charges after prosecutors say the boy’s parents could have stopped him. Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press via AP

Search and rescue workers comb the remains of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Fla., on June 27, three days after it collapsed, killing 98 people. Degraded structural support caused the 12-story building to collapse. Giorgio Viera/AFP via Getty Images

Kyle Rittenhouse waits for his attorneys during his homicide trial in November. A jury acquitted Rittenhouse of all charges stemming from the August 2020 incident in which he shot three people, killing two, during an anti-police riot in Kenosha, Wis. Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during an event in April, months before he resigned as governor amid a series of sexual harassment scandals. Timothy A. Clary/Pool via AP

Tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) and quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 31-9 Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7. Brady has quarterbacked his teams (the Buccaneers and the New England Patriots) to seven Super Bowl victories. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Stranded travelers wait out delays or canceled flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, N.Y., on Christmas Eve. A wave of the Omicron strain of the coronavirus halted travel as airline crews and would-be flyers tested positive. Dave Sanders/The New York Time​s/redux