Year in Review
2014 was quite an memorable year. We’ve compiled a list of a highlights (and lowlights) of past year.
Same-Sex Marriages Blocked in Utah
January. The United States Supreme Court blocks any further same-sex marriages while Utah officials appeal the decision made by Judge Shelby in December 2013. The block creates legal limbo for the 1,300 same-sex couples that have received marriage licenses since Judge Shelby’s ruling. Later that month, the Obama administration announces that the federal government will recognize the marriages of the 1,300 same-sex couples in Utah even though the state government has currently decided not to do so.
The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Begin
February. Despite threats of terrorist attacks, complaints about poor preparations and the international condemnation over their anti-gay law, Russia kicks off the costliest Olympic Games in history with an opening ceremony filled with music, floats and a light show using the most advanced technology available. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends and officially announces the start of the games during the ceremony.
Malaysia Airlines Flight Disappears
March. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, carrying 239 people, loses contact en route to Beijing, China. The plane disappears between Malaysia and Vietnam. While rescue crews continue to search for the missing plane, officials report that two passengers on board MH370 had used stolen passports and booked their tickets at the same time. All causes for what happened to the jetliner were investigated, including hijacking. After days of searching, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak announces that satellite data confirms that the plane went down in the southern Indian Ocean a remote location far off course.
Iraq Shuts Down Abu Ghraib Prison
April. Iraq announces the “complete closure” of Abu Ghraib, the infamous prison in which members of the U.S. military physically and sexually abused Iraqi prisoners. The Iraqi government cites security concerns as the reason for the closure due to the Sunni insurgency over the last year.
Two More States Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
May. Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Oregon when a U.S. federal district judge rules that the state’s 2004 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage violates the Equal Protection clause in the U.S. Constitution. A judge strikes down the same-sex marriage ban in Pennsylvania, making the state the 18th to legalize gay marriage. The judge rules that Pennsylvania’s 1996 ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
King Juan Carlos Abdicates
June. In Spain King Juan Carlos announces that he will abdicate after 39 years at the throne. His son, Felipe, 46, will succeed him. Carlos has been praised for guiding Spain during its transition from dictatorship to democracy and for thwarting a military coup in 1981. Recently, however, he has lost the confidence of Spaniards who consider him out of touch because he and his family have lived lavishly, particularly during the recession of 2012, and have been prone to scandal.
Ebola Outbreak Hits West African Countries
July. According to the World Health Organization, the death toll from the Ebola virus in West Africa is 672, with the total number of confirmed, infected patients at 1,323, making this outbreak the worst since the virus was first identified almost forty years ago. U.S. health officials have issued an advisory for Americans to avoid nonessential travel to Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia because of the outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Level 3 warning, its most urgent travel notice.
ISIS Members Kill American Journalist
August. Members of ISIS behead American journalist James Foley, 40, in apparent retaliation for U.S. airstrikes against the group. Foley, who worked for GlobalPost, went missing in Syria in November 2012. ISIS releases a graphic video of his killing. President Obama refers to ISIS as a “cancer.” “The United States of America will continue to do what we must do to protect our people,” he says. “We will be vigilant, and we will be relentless.” The U.S. steps up its airstrikes against the militants following Foley’s murder.
Scotland Votes to Remain with UK
September. In an independence referendum, Scottish voters opt, 55% to 45%, to remain part of the United Kingdom. More than 4.2 million voters (86% turnout) take to the polls in record numbers to vote on the referendum question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” When the votes are tallied, it is 2,001,926 (55.3%) for No to 1,617,989 (44.7%) for Yes. Moving forward, the Westminster powers that be will have to take a hard look at the very structure of the United Kingdom. A margin of victory of 10% is decisive; however, British leaders have promised to listen to the 1.6 million who voted for independence.
Virgin Galactic Spaceship Two Crashes
October. A Virgin Galactic space plane, known as Spaceship Two, breaks apart over the Mojave Desert soon after takeoff. Co-pilot Michael Alsbury is killed. Pilot Peter Siebold parachutes out of the plane and survives. Later, during a news conference, investigators explain that the crash happened because the plane shifted too quickly into a mode designed to slow it down.
Spacecraft Lands on Comet and Makes History
November. For the first time ever, a spacecraft lands on a comet. After leaving the mother ship Rosetta, a probe named Philae lands on Comet 67P, located 310 million miles from Earth. Later, scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA) report that Philae isn’t secure because the probe’s anchoring harpoons failed to launch and hook into the comet’s surface. Still ESA celebrates the milestone. “Our ambitious Rosetta mission has secured a place in the history books”, Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA’s director general, says in a post on the agency’s website.
Holder Announces Plan to Address Racial Profiling
December. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announces a Justice Department plan to end racial profiling. Holder makes the announcement while speaking in Atlanta at the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached. Holder has been asked to set up the meetings by President Barak Obama in light of the tense situation in Ferguson Missouri after the Aug. 9 fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown. Meanwhile, Obama asks Congress for a $263 million spending package to improve police and community relations. Included in the package are cameras for police to wear in order to capture their interactions with civilians. Also, demonstrations continue with protests in more than 30 cities, organized mostly by students through social media.
We are always looking for ways to improve and make our lives easier. Here are 5 Technology Breakthroughs that occurred in 2014 that will hopefully help do just that.
Microscale 3-D Printing
With inks made from different types of materials and precisely applied, 3-D printing can create objects such as biological tissue with blood vessels.
Brain Mapping
A new map, a decade in the making, shows structures of the brain in far greater detail than ever before, providing neuroscientists with a guide to its immense complexity.
Agile Robots
Computer scientists have created machines that have the balance and agility to walk and run across rough and uneven terrain, making them far more useful in navigating human environments.
Smart Wind and Solar Power
Big data and artificial intelligence are producing ultra accurate forecasts that will make it feasible to integrate much more renewable energy into the grid.
Ultra-private Smartphones
As concerns over personal privacy grows, a Maryland-based company seeks to provide an alternative. Silent Circle, encrypts clients’ voice calls, text messages, and file attachments. Encryption prevents potential eavesdroppers from listening in on phone calls and protects metadata.
Who’s Out?
Deciding to come out is a major step for many. The more LGBT celebrities that come out the more visibility we will have. Their coming out will give hope and courage to those who live in fear and the confines of the closet. We applaud those who took the proverbial leap out of the closet in 2014.
Michael Sam Football Player
Billy Gilman Country Music Singer
Kristian Nairn Actor
Sam Smith Singer
Ian Thorpe Olympic Swimmer
Ellen Page Actress
Derrick Gordon College Basketball Player
Ian Matos Champion Brazilian Diver
Ty Herndon Country Music Singer
Djuan Trent Former Miss Kentucky
Tim Cook CEO Apple Inc.
Pat Patterson Former WWE Champion
Daniel Franzese Actor
Thomas Hitzlsperger Pro Soccer Player
Raven-Symone Actress
