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Year in Review
2020-2021

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dies
(September 18, 2020)

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passes away (September 18, 2020): Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and an ardent pioneer for women’s rights, died at age 87 from pancreatic cancer. However, her death sparked a partisan battle between Democrats and Republicans over who would succeed her position. Nonetheless, her legacy as a champion for gender equality in court remains an inspiration for many women in the US today. 

NASA's Osiris-Rex
(October 20, 2020)

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx collects asteroid samples: (October 20, 2020) NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was able to extract rocks from a 4.5 billion year-old asteroid named Bennu, marking the first time the space agency has reached out and touched an asteroid. Instead of landing on the asteroid’s surface—which proved to be too rocky—the spacecraft used a robotic arm known as the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism to gather particles. The sampling will arrive in 2023, and experts believe that it may contain water and prebiotic material, which could offer clues about how life on Earth began.

COVID-19 Vaccine
(December 14, 2020)

Nurse Sandra Lindsay was the first American to receive the coronavirus vaccine outside a clinical trial, representing a huge leap in efforts to combat the virus. With that, vaccinations began being administered across the country, prioritizing front-line health-care workers and gradually making their way to allowing people as young as age 12 to receive the vaccine. As more people are receiving the two necessary doses, hope for returning back to normal life is beginning to come into fruition.

US Capitol Riot
(January 6, 2021)

Trump supporters storm US Capitol (January 6, 2021): In response to the election of US President Biden and Vice President Harris, a mob of Trump supporters attempted to overturn Trump’s defeat by rioting near the US Capitol against Congress. On the false claim that the 2020 election had been “stolen” from former president Trump, the rioters demanded that Congress reject Biden’s victory. Several buildings in the Capitol Complex were locked down and more than 140 people were injured in the event.

Presidential Inauguration
(January 20, 2021)

After Vice President Joe Biden claimed the Democratic nomination for the 2020 election and chose Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, both clinched victory as the successors of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. Harris is the first Vice President of both African American and South Asian descent, and their inauguration has ushered in a new line of diverse members into the White House cabinet. After years of bitter partisan conflict, President Biden has tasked himself with attempting to rebuild a divided nation.

Myanmar Coup D'Etat
(February 1, 2021)

Coup d’etat in Myanmar leads to nationwide protests (February 1, 2021): Democratically elected members of Myanmar’s ruling party including leader Aung San Suu Kyi were deposed by the nation’s military, which assumed power and turned the country into a stratocracy. The armed forces declared that the election of 2020 was a fraud, even though the nation’s majority supported the pro-democracy elected leader. Protests over the coup have resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths, and numerous countries have condemned the military takeover.

Landing on Mars
(February 18, 2021)

After being launched on July 30, 2020, and travelling nearly 300 million miles, NASA’s “Perseverance” landed inside Mars’ Jezero Crater. It will study the crater’s geology, search for traces of water on the surface, and map a composition of rocks that may be preserving the crater’s history. NASA hopes that, through such work, they may discover past activity of living organisms native to the red planet.

Tokyo Olympics Continues
(April 10, 2021)

Tokyo Olympics commit to games despite COVID (April 16, 2021): Tokyo’s Olympics chief announced that Japan would continue to host the Games in summer of 2021 despite the surge in COVID-19 cases. On the promise that the games would not be canceled, a postponement announcement from March 2020 will thus be upheld. Japan’s government planned to expand quasi-emergency measures as infections continued to spread, but their decision did not receive the support they had hoped for, with many skeptical about the potential risks.

Beomhee Kim Art

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