With the year swiftly coming to a close, it’s time for the annual OK WASSUP! Top 10 Stories of 2023: a year in review.
Top News Today :
Just as in previous years, 2023 was loaded with stories involving politics, entertainment, life, death, and of course, Donald Trump. The year saw more gun violence, the SpaceX explosion, the beating of (husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) Paul Pelosi, the banning of drag shows in Tennessee, advancements in Artificial Intelligence, as well as the Beyonce Renaissance tour — which is now the highest-grossing tour by a female artist in history and the 7th-highest-grossing tour ever.
However, these are not the Top 10 Stories of 2023. So, let’s dive in and take a look at the biggest stories of the year.
10.) COVID Is Declared Over
In May of 2023, the World Health Organization declared the COVID crisis officially over.
Although the disease will remain a part of our lives for infinity and some people will continue to get sick, the threat of almost certain death that the world experienced in 2020 has ended.
9.) DeSantis vs Disney
Also in May of 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis went to war against The Disney Company after the famed entertainment conglomerate disagreed with his stance against sexual orientation and gender identity.
“If Disney wants to pick a fight, they chose the wrong guy,” the grand-standing DeSantis wrote in a fund-raising email to supporters.
Too bad for him, but DeSantis found out the hard way that he’d picked the wrong mouse to battle. After months of embarrassment and political decline, he was forced to tone down his rhetoric against Disney and hoped that the public would soon forget the fight ever happened.
8.) Writers Guild/Screen Actors Guild Strikes
From May 2 to September 27, 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) — representing 11,500 screenwriters — went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
As if that wasn’t enough, from July 14 to November 9, 2023, the American actors’ union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) also went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
The dual strikes froze television and film production for months and left writers and actors struggling financially. Fortunately, the disputes were separately settled in time for the fall season.
7.) Mysterious Spy Balloon?
From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a high-altitude device resembling a large balloon flew across North American airspace, including Alaska, western Canada, and the contiguous United States. On February 4th, the US Air Force shot it down over waters off the coast of South Carolina.
An official government announcement concluded that the device was a spy balloon launched by China. However, the public deduced that the real explanation was far more sinister and was possibly of extra-terrestrial origin.
6.) Titan Sub Explodes
In June of 2023, Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, took a makeshift/homemade submersible on an undersea voyage to view the wreckage of the Titanic. The 4 passengers paid $250,000 each for the risky adventure.
Sadly, the sub experienced a catastrophic event about an hour into the dive, killing Rush; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French deep-sea explorer and Titanic expert; Hamish Harding, a British businessman; Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani-British businessman; and Dawood’s son, Suleman.
5.) Deaths
Remembering those lives we lost in late 2022 and in 2023.
LATE 2022:
Pele’, Barbara Walters, Pope Emeritus Benedict (retired)
2023
ENTERTAINMENT:
Anita Pointer ( The Pointer Sisters), Adam Rich (8 Is Enough), Jeff Beck (guitarist), Lisa Marie Presley, Gina Lollobrigida (actress), David Crosby (singer), Lisa Loring (original ADAMS FAMILY), Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley), Burt Bacharach, Raquel Welch, Stella Stevens, Richard Belzer (Law & Order SVU), Tom Sizemore (actor), Robert Blake (“Baretta”), Bobby Caldwell (singer), Lance Reddick (actor), Len Goodman (Dancing With The Stars), Harry Belafonte, Jerry Springer, Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Brown, Tina Turner, Treat Williams (actor), Glenda Jackson (actor), Alan Arkin, Tony Bennett, Sinead O’Connor, Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman), Clarence Avant (The “Black Godfather” of music), Bob Barker, Jimmy Buffet, Rudolph Isley (The Isley Brothers), Suzanne Somers, Richard Roundtree (Shaft), Matthew Perry, Norman Lear, Ryan O’Neal, Andre Braugher (actor).
POLITICS:
Lynnette Hardaway (Donald Trump’s ‘Diamond & Silk’), Bill Richardson (former New Mexico governor and US diplomat), Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Rosalynn Carter, Henry Kissinger, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
NEWSWORTHY:
Joe Pepitone (former Yankee baseball player), Willis Reed (NBA great), Tori Bowie (Olympic sprinter), Pat Robertson (televangelist), Ted Kaczynski (Unibomber), Christine King Farris (MLK sister), Bobby Knight (famed IU basketball coach), Frank Borman (Apollo 8 astronaut).
4.) Israel vs Hamas
In October of 2023, a bombing by Hamas led to an Israeli–Palestinian conflict that many predict could elevate into World War III.
Since the bombing began, hundreds of men, women, and children have been killed, dozens held hostage, and ordinary citizens have fought and argued over which side was wrong or right. To date, the conflict continues.
3.) George Santos Expelled From Congress
On December 1st, former drag queen turned Republican congressman George Santos of New York was expelled from the US House of Representatives.
The members voted 311-114 to remove Santos after months of lies and deceit, including the fabrication of parts of his resume to get elected, a scathing House ethics investigation, as well as a 23-count federal indictment charging him with crimes including wire fraud and money laundering.
Interestingly, this was only the 3rd congressman in history to be kicked out of office.
2.) Trump Indicted
Donald Trump became the first former US president in history to be indicted a whopping 4 times. Additionally, 18 others in Trump’s orbit were charged alongside him, although several have since accepted plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against ‘The Donald.’
The Trump trials are ongoing. However, if he is found guilty, his dream of returning to The White House in 2024 could be in jeopardy.
~ and… Number 1 of the Top 10 Stories of 2023 ~
1.) MAGA Hires/Fires Kevin McCarthy
In early 2023, GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy made a deal with the devil to fulfill his lifelong dream to become Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Republicans fought among each other for a full week before agreeing to hand McCarthy the job (only after he agreed to huge concessions in order to gain power).
However, only months later, the Donald Trump MAGA movement (led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida) introduced a motion to oust McCarthy from the speaker’s chair. The vote from the full body was successful and McCarthy was fired.
Gaetz and his MAGA cronies never thought about a viable replacement or what would happen if the vote to remove McCarthy was successful. This grave lapse in judgment left the House without an official speaker for 2 weeks, which effectively brought the US government and its business to a grinding halt.
Republicans then ran through multiple names and several unsuccessful votes before finally deciding on Mike Johnson of Louisiana as the new Speaker of the House.
So, did we get the list right? Are the stories in the correct order? Did we leave anything out? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
OK WASSUP! discusses the Top News Today:
The Top 10 Stories of 2023.
Great summary DJ, you nailed it!
The only thing I would change is switch the George Santos story to #4 and move the Israel vs Hamas (the Palestinians) story to #3. But I won’t quibble with you about that. 😀