From George and Barbara Bush to Sen. John McCain, Aretha Franklin and Hollywood heartthrob Tab Hunter to television evangelist Rev. Billy Graham, it was a horrible year for tearful goodbyes.
The mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school — which killed 17 students and staff, and sparked nationwide student-led marches for gun control — was the top news story of 2018, according to The Associated Press’ annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors.
The No. 2 story was the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into whether Donald Trump’s election campaign coordinated with Russia. It was one of several major stories — in a year jam-packed with dramatic developments — in which the U.S. president played a role.
A year ago, the surge of #MeToo sexual misconduct allegations that toppled many powerful men was voted the top news story of 2017. The continuing momentum of #MeToo in 2018 was this year’s No. 3 story.
Here are 2018′s top five stories, in order:
1. Parkland school shooting: It happened on Valentine’s Day — an act of senseless hate by a gunman with a semi-automatic rifle who killed 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Previous mass shootings had prompted passionate calls for tighter gun-control laws, but this time was different. A group of student survivors at the school, soon joined by allies nationwide, launched the March for Our Lives movement that organized massive walkouts and peaceful protests at schools across the country. The movement remains active, and has helped energize the broader campaign for tougher gun laws.
2. Trump-Russia probe: Throughout 2018, Mueller’s team investigated whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia ahead of the 2016 election and whether the president obstructed the investigation. The evidence so far shows a broad range of Trump associates had Russia-related contacts during the campaign and transition period; some former Trump aides have been indicted for lying. In a separate case in New York, prosecutors say Trump directed his personal lawyer Michael Cohen to make illegal hush money payments to two women in a bid to quash potential sex scandals during the campaign.
3. MeToo: The #MeToo movement, which surfaced late in 2017, maintained its momentum throughout 2018 as many more powerful men were forced to account for past instances of sexual assault and misconduct. Once-revered comedian Bill Cosby was sentenced to prison; so was Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State and USA Gymnastics sports doctor convicted of molesting hundreds of young women. Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was charged with rape. And Les Moonves was ousted as top executive at CBS after a dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct.
4. Mass shootings: When a Marine combat veteran shot dead 12 people at a country music bar in California in November, it was a grim “Not again” moment for many Americans — the fifth mass shooting of the year in the U.S. that produced nationwide shock and sorrow. In May, two months after the Parkland shooting, eight students and two teachers were killed at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas. In June, a gunman shot dead five employees at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland. And in October, 11 people were killed at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh during Shabbat morning services.
5. U.S. midterm elections: With Donald Trump on the minds of many voters, Democrats managed to flip about 40 seats in the House of Representatives to seize control of that chamber from Republicans. Democrats also flipped several governorships around the country. But the GOP boosted its slim majority in the Senate and will have a 53-47 edge in the next session of Congress.
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