TOP 10 STORIES OF 2009

10.)  T.V. GOES DIGITAL – After years of an air wave analog signal, television finally went high tech, ditched the old analog signal, and embranced the 21st Century by going fully digital.  No more of the infamous rabbit ear antennas — it’s cable, or a converter box, or nothing!

9.)   GOV. BLAGOJEVICH – The former Governor of Illinois saw a gold mine when Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was elected President of the United States.  Gov. Blago was responsible for selecting a replacement Senator for Mr. Obama and tried to capitalize on the opportunity by selling the seat to the highest bidder.  Amid a mountain of scandal, the coiffed haired Gov. Blago sold appointed the Senate seat to Roland Burris, only to be impeached and run out of office.

8.)    OPRAH ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT – After nearly a quarter of a century as the Queen of Daytime and a daily visitor into our living rooms, OPRAH WINFREY decided to call it quits.  She gave a huge head start, saying her last show will air in 2011.

7.)    MIRACLE LANDING ON THE HUDSON – Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger became a modern day hero after successfully landing troubled US Airways Flight 1549 safely on New York’s Hudson River.  The plane lost the use of both engines shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport, leaving Capt. Sully and his crew with the Hudson River as its one and only option.  Every single passenger survived the miracle crash landing and escaped with only minor cuts and bruises.

6.)    BALLOON BOY HOAX – Richard and Mayumi Heene were once contestants on the reality television show Wife Swap.  Bitten by the reality bug, the Heene’s concocted a fictitious story that their youngest son, Falcon, was trapped inside a makeshift homemade balloon that was floating uncontrollably over the mountainous plains of Colorado.  In a live televised interview on CNN, young Falcon let it slip that the balloon story was all a hoax, prompting the parents into an admission and plea bargain with police only days later.  So much for their reality television hopes!

5.)    TED KENNEDY PASSAGE – He battled a severe case of brain cancer for months longer than even his own doctors believed possible.  He promised Barack Obama that he would attend the Democratic Convention and his presidential inauguration — and he kept both promises.  But on August 25th, the “LION OF THE SENATE” lost his battle with cancer and succumed to eternal sleep.

4.)   SONIA SOTOMAYOR JOINS SUPREME COURT – Hispanics around the country danced in the streets on September 9th, when NY Judge SONIA SOTOMAYOR was sworn-in as the first ever Hispanic Supreme Court Justice. 

3.)   TIGER WOODS – It came late in the year, but hijacked the news with a vengeance.  Late Thanksgiving night, Pro Golfer and seemingly good guy TIGER WOODS was caught in the middle of a multitude of adulterous affairs, which put a dent in his lucrative financial endorsements, jeopardized his marriage, and could potentially be the end of his storied golf career.

2.)   CELEBRITY DEATHS – King of Pop Michael Jackson was perhaps the biggest loss of 2009.  But other notable passings of the year include actors Farrah Fawcett, Bea Arthur, Ricardo Montalban, Dom DeLuise, 107 year old Ann Nixon Cooper, former Tonight Show sidekick Ed McMahon, former CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite, famed movie actor and dancer Patrick Swayze, and the recent death of actress Brittany Murphy.

1.)   BARACK OBAMA – There once was a time when a black man in America was considered 3/5ths of a person.  In 1901, it was unheard of for a black man to even be able to dine at the White House.  But 100 years later, the United States lept forward with the historic inaguration of BARACK OBAMA as the very first African-American President of the United States. 

As the year winds down, what other memorable stories from 2009 can you think of?
Post your thoughts and YOUR biggest stories of the year below!