Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, as the year prepares to come to a close it’s time to review the OK WASSUP! Top 10 Stories of 2022.
Top News Today :
The year 2022 was filled with a number of big stories. Racism reared its ugly head when bigoted Americans lost their composure over the announcement that a Black woman (singer Halle Bailey) would star as “Ariel” in THE LITTLE MERMAID. Russia invaded Ukraine, Paul Pelosi (husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) was brutally attacked inside his own home, and the cryptocurrency craze went belly-up with the bankruptcy of FTX.
Also in 2022, Donald Trump announced he will once again run for president in 2024. Additionally, after a jealous Trump refused to allow Barack and Michelle Obama to receive the traditional recognition of having their portraits hung inside The White House, the first Black US president and his first lady finally received their flowers and their long-awaited portrait ceremony (hosted by President Biden).
Granted, these were all very big stories — but they were not the TOP stories. So, let’s take a look at the official OK WASSUP! Top 10 Stories of 2022 – a year in review:
10.) TRUMP STEALS CLASSIFIED FILES
In August, the FBI raided Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida in order to collect documents he stole during his exit from The White House. Interestingly, Trump stole (and stored inside a closet in the basement of his mansion) more than 300 highly-classified documents that were critical to America’s national security.
9.) KANYE + KYRIE = ANTI-SEMITISM
Sadly, anti-semitism within the entertainment industry took center stage in 2022.
Rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and NBA star Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets were both punished for having and/or supporting anti-semitic views.
As punishment, both men were vilified in the court of public opinion and lost their perspective shoe deals with Nike due to their bigoted positions.
8.) GUN VIOLENCE
As in previous years, gun violence was among one of the Top 10 Stories of 2022.
In May, a racist gunman entered a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, and began spraying bullets across a stunned crowd of predominately Black shoppers, killing 10 and injuring 4.
In Virginia, a Walmart manager opened fire inside his store and purposely killed several employees.
In Colorado Springs, CO, an AK-15 carrying Anderson Lee Aldrich entered an LGBTQ bar clad in body armor and began shooting, killing 5 people and wounding 17 others.
On May 24, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX, and embarked on a deadly shooting spree that killed 19 children and 2 teachers. Sadly, police officers stood outside the classrooms and refused to confront the shooter for 77 minutes as he used his AK-15 rifle to conduct a murderous melee.
7.) BLACK WOMEN MAKE HISTORY
The year 2022 was huge for Black women.
In May, Karine Jean-Pierre became the first Black woman (and first openly LGBTQ person) in history to serve as White House press secretary. In June, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson made history by becoming the first Black female US Supreme Court Justice.
6.) DEATHS
At the end of 2021, the world lost such notable names as South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, NFL great John Madden, former Democratic Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, and beloved GOLDEN GIRLS actress Betty White.
However, this year was also filled with sadness at the loss of some of our favorite names in the worlds of entertainment, sports, politics, and more.
Entertainment: Sidney Poitier, Bob Saget, Ronnie Spector (singer), Meatloaf (rock singer), Louie Anderson (comedian), Sally Kellerman (MASH), Johnny Brown (Good Times actor), William Hurt, Gilbert Gottfried (comedian), Naomi Judd, Ray Liotta, James Caan, Adam Wade (actor/ first Black game show host), Paul Sorvino, Tony Dow (Leave It To Beaver), Mary Alice (actress), Nichelle Nichols (original Star Trek), Roger Mosley (actor MAGNUM PI), Olivia Newton-John, Lamont Dozier (famed MOTOWN songwriter), Anne Heche, Ramsey Lewis (Jazz musician), Pharaoh Sanders (Jazz musician), Coolio (90s rapper), Loretta Lynn, Judy Tenuta (comedian), Angela Lansbury, Leslie Jordan (actor), Jerry Lee Lewis (Rock & Roll icon), Aaron Carter, Gallagher (comedian), Irene Cara (Flashdance/Fame), Bob McGrath (Sesame Street), Kirstie Alley, tWitch (Ellen DeGeneres Show DJ), Pele’ (soccer great), Barbara Walters.
Politics: Rep. Don Young (R-AK), Madeleine Albright (former US Secy of State), Former GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch, Mikhail Gorbachev (former Russian president), Ken Starr (Bill Clinton investigator), Ash Carter (Obama Defense Secretary).
Notables: Lani Guinier, Andre Leon Talley (Designer/Vogue editor), Bill Russell (NBA great), Bernard Shaw (former CNN anchor), Queen Elizabeth, Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts (NY Pastor and activist), Paul Silas (former NBA coach), Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (retired).
5.) THE SLAP
On March 27, 2022, during the 94th Academy Awards, actor Will Smith walked onstage and slapped host Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith. Ironically, Will Smith went on to win the Best Actor award that same evening.
Although Smith has since apologized, his career took a huge hit and has yet to recover.
4.) END OF COVID? MONKEYPOX
After a nearly 2-year shutdown due to a global pandemic, COVID is no longer considered a scary death sentence and life has pretty much returned to normal for most of the world.
Additionally, MPox (formerly known as Monkeypox), which frightened the gay male community in 2022 and all but halted intimate encounters, miraculously disappeared after an aggressive vaccination campaign.
3.) BRITTNEY GRINER
On December 8, WNBA superstar Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury was released from a Russian prison in a US/Russia prisoner exchange. Griner was condemned to a 9-year prison sentence for carrying a doctor-approved vape pen that contained CBD oil.
2.) SUPREME COURT KILLS ROE V WADE
In June, the US Supreme Court reversed Roe v Wade and effectively killed a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. The death of the landmark ruling means women will either have to cross state lines to obtain an abortion or return to the 1970s-era practice of back-alley procedures.
And, coming in at Number 1 of the Top 10 Stories of 2022:
1.) THE 2022 MIDTERM ELECTION
In November of 2022, the Republican Party was giddy with excitement over a “Red Wave” of victory they expected would hand them a huge majority over the US House of Representatives and US Senate. Not only did the red wave never happen, but Republicans only gained a handful of seats to control the House while Democrats increased their Senate majority by 1 additional seat. This was thanks to John Fetterman besting Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania and incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock defeating Herschel Walker in a Georgia runoff.
Deflated Republicans could only lick their wounds and blame Donald Trump for the losses after Trump forced several of his own (read: blindly loyal) candidates into the general election — despite his choices being poor or completely unqualified candidates.
Interestingly, the huge losses caused a rift within the Republican Party that has since spilled over into the House of Representatives. Current Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was expecting he’d be the next Speaker of the House — but disgruntled GOP members have other ideas and are preparing to block his ascension to the Speaker’s chair.
So, there you have it. The OK WASSUP! Top 10 Stories of 2022. Comment below and tell us your favorites or if you believe we missed any topics of merit.
OK WASSUP! discusses the Top News Today:
The Top 10 Stories of 2022.
This list was really well done. How many years have you been doing it?