Page 13 - Leisure Living Spring 2016

AP’s Biggest Stories
Of 2015
By Justice Paul Pfeifer, Ohio Supreme Court
As it has done every year since 1936, the Asso- ciated Press conducted a vote to select the top ten news stories of the previous 12 months. Looking back over previous lists, you notice that some sto- ries linger from year to year, moving up and down the list in importance. This year, a number of sto- ries that were listed separately were actually relat- ed to one another – as was the case with stories one, three, six and ten, which were all linked to terrorism.
For 2015, the editors and news directors who cast the votes decided that the widespread attacks by the Islamic State (ISIS) was the top story of the year. Last year, the rise of ISIS was voted the third biggest story. Unfortunately, ISIS is still go- ing strong and will likely be somewhere on the list again next year.
Story number three was “the terrorist attacks in Paris.” During the first attack, in January, terrorists shot up the offices of the satiric newspaper Charlie Hebdo, and also hit a Jewish market. In all, 17 peo- ple were killed. Then, in mid-November, ISIS dealt a far-deadlier blow when its members conducted a coordinated attack at Paris restaurants, bars and a concert hall. Before that night was over, 130 peo- ple had been killed and hundreds more wounded.
Story number six on the AP list was also related to ISIS, and was sim-
ply dubbed “terror-
ism worries.” The AP
Middle East and Africa, much of it caused by ISIS and other terrorist organizations.
The second biggest story of 2015 according to AP was the United States Supreme Court ruling in July making same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. Stories about same-sex marriage have ap- peared on the list since at least 2012. Last year, story number nine was about same-sex marriage because 19 more states had begun allowing it, and there was speculation that the United States Supreme Court would take up the issue.
The fourth biggest story of 2015 encom- passed several events: it was the mass shootings that continued to plague the country again this year. Those stories included the shooting at an Oregon community college, and the shooting at the Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado. It also included the San Bernardino terrorist attack and the killing of four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga.
2015’s number nine story was about a specif- ic mass shooting: the one at the Emanuel Afri- can Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where a young white man walked in and gunned down nine black parishioners tak- ing part in a Bible Study. The shooting led to the eventual removal of Civil War symbols across the
said that fears over terrorism surged in the United States following the attacks in Paris and San Ber- nardino, where 14 people were killed at a Christmas party.
The tenth story also had ties to ter- rorism: “Europe’s migrant crisis.” The people streaming into Europe are flee- ing violence in the
Story number ten in 2009 was a feel-good story, “Miracle on the Hudson” with Capt. Chesley Sullenburger
South, including the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds.
The fifth biggest story of 2015 had to do with the death of young black men in their encounters with police officers. It so happens that last year’s top story was “police killings” – specifically the killing of Michael
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