2010: The decade began with the largest oil spill in the nation’s history. The BP oil spill rendered the Gulf of Mexico unrecognizable, and the cascading environmental effects that ensued were unlike any that came before. On a lighter note, the release of Apples’ first iPad was met with glowing results and changed the trajectory the of tech conglomerate for the rest of the decade.
2011: One of the most significant events of the decade occurred near its beginning, with the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, marked one of the United States’ most triumphant victories in the war on terror, a recap of the decade would not be complete without it being included. In addition, the highest grossing movie series of the previous decade came to a thrilling conclusion with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
2012: Immediately following the the presidential election that saw Barack Obama’ take his second term in office, the Supreme court decided to uphold most of the core aspects of what would become known as Obamacare. The most important piece of news would probably be the Sandy Hook tragedy that occurred in Newton Connecticut, which helped spark the polarizing gun-rights debate that develops later on.
2013: The Boston Marathon Bombing was a negative that came of 2013, marking two straight years of Tragedy that received national attention and had cascading effects on the population. This year also saw the Supreme court uphold the legality of Gay marriage at the federal level.
2014: The terrorist group known as ISIS became widely known in the U.S for the first time, and the first ever landing on a comet in man-kinds history was achieved. The Net Neutrality internet controversy began to make national headlines, but laws were never passed due to the FCC’s inability to reach a verdict. The smart watch made its debut and became a fashion staple for the remainder of the decade.
2015: This year saw many positive moments for our nation including the visiting of pope Francis to the United States, what’s more, it was a tremendous year in sports including the Deflate Gate scandal, which captured the media for a significant period of time inevitably leading to the Malcom Butler goal line interception which is regarded as one of the greatest super bowl plays of all time and the fight of the decade between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao took place. And the legalization Gay Marriage in all 50 states, due to the ruling of the Supreme Court. This year also brought with is the release of the modern Star Wars that was met with a glowingly positive reception.
2016: The election of Donald Trump occurred this year as well as the increase in national media attention that the American Opioid Crisis received. This year also saw the greatest play of the decade in any sport, a superhuman block by Lebron James which helped Push the Cleveland to its first major sports title in 50 years, later that summer Kevin Durant signed with Golden State which changed the agendas of professional athletes across the nation.
2017: 45th president Donald Trump was sworn in at the beginning of the year and throughout the year political tension rose as the North Korean conflict became more serious and the #METOO movement was sweeping the nation, which accompanied by the Las Vegas shooting can be marked as a year of significant turmoil in the United States. We also saw the first total solar eclipse of the century, the greatest super bowl performance of all time in the 28-3 comeback by the New England Patriots and the beginning of the kneeling controversy that swept the headlines of the NFL.
2018: The Ravenous force of hurricane Michael brought what was categorized as the most catastrophic hurricane since Katrina. Meanwhile, the Parkland Tragedy shocked not just the entire state of Florida but the nation as a whole. One of the most devastating events of the decade comes near its tail end. This year also marked the ten-year anniversary of Ponte Vedra High School’s official opening.
2019: Last year’s top headlines would have to be the impeachment of President Donald Trump. The idea had been circling for quite some time but finally came to fruition in 2019. This year also brought the highest grossing movie of all time in the highly anticipated Avengers: Endgame.
