Kerby Anderson

As 2018 is winding down, it is worth taking a moment to look back over the year and consider some of the top stories. We often find that stories that start in one year continue to the next. Sometimes new stories in the coming year remind us of stories of the previous year. Of course, 2018 was an election year. Coverage of the congressional campaigns dominated much of the news coverage, especially in the fall. Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives and we should expect conflict and gridlock this next year. One of the other major political events of 2018 was the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Brett Kavanaugh in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Confirmation hearings are always full of conflict and political theater. This time the conflict reached a new level with the testimony by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller continued his investigation that already cost more than $25 million. We should get a final report in 2019. Earlier in the year were the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. The medal winners and the political intrigue made them worth watching each night. Finally we had a number of natural disasters that destroyed large sections of land and killed so many people. Hurricane Florence devastated the Carolinas and surrounding regions, with up to 40 inches of rain, severe flooding, and winds up to 90 mph. More than 40 people died. In November, multiple wildfires burned in both northern and southern California. The Camp Fire was the deadliest American fire in 100 years. It burned over 150,000 acres and killed 85 people. The Woolsey Fire burned over 96,000 acres in Southern California. As 2018 comes to a close, it is worth remembering some of these and other news stories that made this year one to remember.