Just like last year, I am back with another wrapped article, talking about all of the things that happened in this crazy year. I can’t believe it’s been a year and a half since this newspaper first started, we’ve already grown so much. To view last year’s 2020 Wrapped, click here.

If you would like to read more about a certain topic, some of the topics have links to our other articles about things that happened during this year. Click on them to read the article!

2021 was a truly interesting year, so let’s go over some of the highlights!

January: 

• January 6th: 6 days into the year, we started on a violent note, having the capital riots by Trump supporters and others at the capitol building due to arguments over who won the election.
• January 7th: Donald Trump began facing social media bans from different social platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook.
• January 8th: The final episode of Jeopardy! aired following the death of Alex Trebek last November.
• January 13th: Trump became the first president to ever be impeached twice (yet not kicked out of office) during a presidency. 
• January 20th: Joe Biden was sworn into office as the 46th president of the United States. Kamala Harris became the first female, Black, and South Asian Vice President.
• January 26th: COVID-19 cases finally surpassed 100 million. 

February:

• February 2nd: Jeff Bezos announced that he would be stepping down as CEO for Amazon.
• February 7th: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl, allowing MVP Tom Brady to receive his 7th Super Bowl Trophy.
• February 22nd: The US surpassed 500,000 deaths of COVID-19.
• February 27th: The FDA approved the third COVID-19 vaccine option, a single shot of Johnson and Johnson. 

March:

• March 2nd: It was announced that six Dr. Seuss books (an infamous children’s book author) were to be no longer published due to racist drawings and words in the books. 
• March 14th: The 63rd Grammys take place, facing much backlash as people felt artists like the Weeknd and BTS were not rightfully recognized. 
• March 29th: The Derek Chauvin trial begins to examine if he was guilty of murdering George Floyd. 
• March 30th: The French Senate votes to ban hijabs and other religious clothing. 

April:

• April 2nd: Somebody rammed their car into the Capitol building.
• April 5th: Governor Greg Abbott bans vaccine passport mandates. 
• April 9th: Prince Phillip, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband for 73 years, died at 99 years of age. 
• April 11th: Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine was set to a halt after six people who received the dose obtained severe blood clots and a loss of platelets (a condition called thrombocytopenia).
• April 11th: Daunte Wright, a black man, was accidentally killed in resistance to an arrest, in which an officer meant to taser him but instead fired a bullet from a gun. 
• April 20th: Derek Chauvin, the officer who killed George Floyd, was found guilty of murder on three accounts, promoting a win for the BLM community.
• April 20th: Ma’Khia Bryant was killed instead of receiving mental help for some threats that she made.

May:

• May 8th: Elon Musk hosts a slightly awkward Saturday Night Live for his first time.
• May 10th: The USA approves the Pfizer vaccine for 12-15-year-olds.
• May 17th: Deadly conflicts continue between Jews and Palestinians in Jerusalem.
• May 20th: The first traces of the Delta COVID-19 variant become evident.
• May 25th: It is declared by the US CDC that over half of Americans have received at least their first dose of one of the approved COVID-19 vaccines (61%).
• May 25th: The day marks the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death, a black man who was innocently killed, sparking angry protests and the BLM movement.
• May 26th: Amazon decides to buy the film studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer.
• May 26th: A super blood moon is visible from the Pacific.
• May 27th: The iconic TV show Friends hosts their reunion.

June:

• June 2nd: Israel forms their new government.
• June 10th: Lin Manuel Miranda’s 2nd amazing broadway musical, In the Heights, comes out with their film version.
• June 11th: Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden meet with Queen Elizabeth II, making Biden her 13th US President she has met.
• June 17th: Governor Greg Abbott signs seven new laws regarding gun ownership into effect.
• June 19th: Iran elects a new president, Ebrahim Raisi.
• June 25th: Two people died following a knife attack in a German town.
• June 28th: The Swedish prime minister resigns from his spot.

July:

• July 4th: At least 47 people died from a plane crash by the Philippines’ air force.
• July 7th: Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated in his home.
• July 7th: Former President Donald Trump sued Google, Twitter, and Facebook due to his claims of censorship of free speech.
• July 20th: Baghdad faced an unexpected suicide attack from ISIS, killing 30 and injuring 50.
• July 23rd: The Summer Olympics begin in Tokyo.
• July 26th: Large, crazy sandstorm occurs in Utah, causing a 20 car pile-up and killing at least seven.
• July 27th: Olympic gold medalist and gymnast Simone Biles pulls out of a competition and several other events to focus on her mental health.

August:

• August 2nd: Around 70% of Americans had been vaccinated with at least one shot for COVID-19.
• August 6th: At least 10 people were injured in a deadly knife attack on a train in Tokyo.
• August 9th: About 800 people died in Nigeria due to a Cholera outbreak.
• August 15th: Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, was finally captured by the Taliban, wreaking havoc among the citizens that live there.
• August 22nd: President Biden announces changes that will allow them to evacuate more Afghan and American allies as quickly as possible from Afghanistan.
• August 23rd: Governor Cuomo of New York officially stepped down from office after being accused of sexual misconduct on multiple accounts.
• August 24th: Kathy Hochul becomes New York’s very first female governor, taking over after Governor Cuomo’s resignation.
• August 27th: About 100 children who were kidnapped in Nigeria were finally released after being held for three months.

September:

• September 1st: Governor Abbott passed a law called the heartbeat bill, banning women from getting abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy, also allowing citizens to sue for up to $10,000 for witnessing or suspecting somebody getting an abortion, regardless of rape or incest.
• September 7th: Governor Abbott signs a new controversial voting law banning drive-thru and 24-hour voting, making it harder for people to vote.
• September 8th: A confederate statue of Robert E. Lee is taken down in Richmond, Virginia.
• September 11th: President Joe Biden makes the executive decision to withdraw all of the troops from Afghanistan following the capturing of it by the Taliban. This decision strikes a lot of pushback and anger towards the president.
• September 14th: Statistics say about 1 in 500 Americans have died from COVID-19.
• September 17th: One of the most ground-breaking and popular shows, Squid Game, premiers.
• September 18th: After beating cancer, Hayley Arceneaux heads to space as the youngest astronaut ever on Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
• September 20th: The second Sustainable Development Goals Movement of the Decade of Action was held virtually with notable speakers, including BTS. 

October:

• October 1st: COVID-19 US death toll surpassed 700,000.
• October 4th: North Korea and South Korea, two countries with high tensions, open communication again.
• October 13th: William Shatner goes to space for 10 minutes, making him the oldest to ever go to space at 90 years.
• October 20th: Barbados elects their first-ever president, Sandra Mason, in a process of becoming a republic separate from Queen Elizabeth’s ruling.
• October 28th: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces that Facebook will officially be known as Meta from now on.

November:

• November 1st: Although estimated to be higher, the global COVID-19 death toll passes 5 million.
• November 2nd: The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine becomes available for 5-11-year-olds.
• November 5th: Travis Scott hosts his Astroworld concert, where things went crazy, killing at least ten and hospitalizing at least thirteen.
• November 8th: The US reopens its borders for vaccinated non-US citizens after being closed because of COVID-19.
• November 12th: Taylor Swift releases her short film: All Too Well along with her re-recording of her album, creating Red: Taylor’s Version.
• November 12th: Finally, after 13 years, Britney Spears was officially declared free from her father’s conservatorship over her.
• November 15th: President Joe Biden signs a massive 1 trillion dollar infrastructure law.
• November 19th: The COVID-19 booster shots became approved, recommended for everyone 18 and older.
• November 24th: The 3 men who killed Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 were all found guilty of murder.
• November 27th: Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, announces that he will be stepping down.
• November 28th: Barbados is declared as an official republic with president Sandra Mason.

December:

• December 7th: Chile becomes the world’s 31st country to legalize same-sex marriage.
• December 13th: The CDC says that about 1 in 100 American citizens over 65 have died from COVID-19.
• December 13th: Elon Musk is declared as Time’s person of the year.
• December 14th: The COVID-19 death toll in the US surpasses 800,000.

Works Cited:

Frias, Lauren. “April 10 Marked 100 Days into 2021. Here Are 38 Shocking Things That Have Happened so Far.” Insider, 10 Apr. 2021, www.insider.com/shocking-major-news-events-this-year-first-100-days-2021-4#april-9-prince-philip-the-husband-of-queen-elizabeth-ii-of-73-years-died-at-99-38. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

“Historical Events in August 2021.” OnThisDay.com, www.onthisday.com/events/date/2021/august. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

“Historical Events in December 2021.” OnThisDay.com, www.onthisday.com/events/date/2021/december. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

“Historical Events in November 2021.” OnThisDay.com, www.onthisday.com/events/date/2021/november.

“Historical Events in October 2021.” OnThisDay.com, www.onthisday.com/events/date/2021/october. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

“Historical Events in September 2021.” OnThisDay.com, www.onthisday.com/events/date/2021/september. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

Maass, Harold. “10 Things You Need to Know Today: June 14, 2021.” The Week, 14 June 2021, theweek.com/briefing/daily-briefing/1001487/10-things-you-need-to-know-today-june-14-2021. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

Staff, Infoplease. “April 2021 Current Events: US News | Infoplease.” Www.infoplease.com, 3 Apr. 2021, www.infoplease.com/april-2021-current-events-us-news. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

—. “August 2021 Current Events: World News | Infoplease.” Www.infoplease.com, 7 Aug. 2021, www.infoplease.com/current-events/2021/august-world-news. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

—. “February 2021 Current Events: US News | Infoplease.” Www.infoplease.com, 6 Feb. 2021, www.infoplease.com/february-2021-current-events-us-news. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

—. “July 2021 Current Events: US News | Infoplease.” Www.infoplease.com, 7 July 2021, www.infoplease.com/july-2021-current-events-us-news. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

—. “July 2021 Current Events: World News | Infoplease.” Www.infoplease.com, 7 July 2021, www.infoplease.com/july-2021-current-events-world-news.

—. “June 2021 Current Events: World News | Infoplease.” Www.infoplease.com, 5 June 2021, www.infoplease.com/june-2021-current-events-world-news.

—. “May 2021 Current Events: World News | Infoplease.” Www.infoplease.com, 7 May 2021, www.infoplease.com/may-2021-current-events-world-news. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.

—. “September 2021 Current Events: US News.” InfoPlease, 4 Sept. 2021, www.infoplease.com/current-events/2021/september-us-news.

“What Happened in May 2021.” OnThisDay.com, www.onthisday.com/date/2021/may. Accessed 26 Dec. 2021.]

Myburgh, Tarryn. “Celebrating 2021 with Sparklers.” Unsplash, 1 Jan. 2021, https://unsplash.com/photos/nXXXgGHyfdw. Accessed 31 Dec. 2021.