btw’s Year in Review: U.S. News
It’s that time of year again, time to take a break from the frantic pace of the holidays and reflect on the year behind us. Doing so not only reminds us what happened, but allows us to reflect on trends, learn from our successes and failures, and speculate on what might have lasting impact.
2013 was a big year for U.S. news. President Obama began his second term, negotiating with a divided Congress, trying to resolve big issues. Citizens came together to aid those across the country who were hurt by both man-made and nature-made catastrophe. The economy rebounded, although not as much as we had thought. And politicians continued to debate legislation, deal with a major national security leak, and look ahead to the future.
The TOP 5 U.S. News Stories
- The National Budget Lawmakers spent much of their time this year in debate and negotiation over passing a national budget. After successfully avoiding the “fiscal cliff,” enacting automatic budget cuts (called “sequestration”), and putting in place some temporary rules, the government still couldn’t compromise enough to pass an agreed-upon budget. This led to a sixteen-day government shutdown. The debt-ceiling crisis, however, still remains a issue in need of a permanent solution.
- Disaster This year our country saw fierce acts of nature (tornados in Oklahoma and continued recovery from Hurricane Sandy), horrible gun violence (Navy Yard shootings), and the last resort of an long-ailing city (Detroit Declares Bankruptcy). But one of the year’s biggest U.S. disasters in 2013 came at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three people were killed and more than 180 others sustained injuries, many of them serious.
- Economy The state of our national economy was less of a news story than recent years’ past, although many were still interested in the state of our recovery. Unemployment grew, but not as fast or as much as economists had expected. However, the stock market did experience some significant surges this year.
- Legislation In addition to maneuvering through national budget proceedings, Congress attempted to tackle other hot-button topics this year. The gun control debate was especially timely given the recent high-profile mass-shootings in the country over the past few years. The Senate passed an immigration bill that would remove the threat of deportation for undocumented workers. The House of Representatives passed a bill that would significantly cut food stamps. But the biggest legislative news story of the year was the Supreme Court ruling on two cases concerning same-sex marriage.
- Politics With the election behind them, politicians were busy dealing with issues both foreign and domestic. There were scandals involving government agencies as well as a high-level national security leak. The spotlight shown bright on our embassies abroad as nineteen embassies were closed and new testimony regarding Benghazi was heard. The biggest hurdle politicians faced this year was the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare). It is a huge undertaking, fraught with unprecedented hopes and challenges.
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