The biggest stories of 2016 that you likely missed
News moves pretty fast sometimes. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.
As post-election political coverage continues, so does every other kind of news. Between work, family and that inbox full of unread “breaking news” alerts, it can be hard to stay up to date on the latest world events. And while learning of the biggest and most-covered stories is usually easy, there are always a few lesser-known headlines that fall through the cracks.
Here are the biggest headlines from 2016 that might’ve snuck by you:
Manafort accused of helping Ukraine party secretly pay US lobbyists
In August 2016, The Associated Press reported that Donald Trump‘s campaign chairman Paul Manafort had helped a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine secretly funnel more than $2 million to two lobbying organizations in Washington. Manafort was then ousted from the campaign when the FBI announced a preliminary inquiry into the former campaign spokesman’s dealings. Since Donald Trump’s upset victory, Manafort has resurfaced as part of the Trump team.
RELATED: Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort through the years
British banker guilty of killing two Indonesian women
31-year-old Rurik Jetting was convicted and sentenced to serve two concurrent life sentences after he killed two Indonesian women in Hong Kong. The murders came after three days of cocaine- and alcohol-fueled torture and rape. A Cambridge-educated employee at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Jetting killed Sumarti Ningsih and Seneng Mujiasih in 2014 after meeting them at bars in the city’s red-light district, a jury found unanimously.
SpaceX successfully fired the engine that will take humans to Mars
In September 2016, SpaceX conducted its first firing test of its Raptor engine — the powerful propulsion system that the company aims to use to take humans to Mars. The Interplanetary Transport System is a set of giant rockets designed to haul astronauts to Mars in relative comfort. Each stage of the rocket will land like SpaceX’s Falcon boosters: right on its engines. Inversely, SpaceX suffered a set back when an explosion destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket during cargo preparations.
RELATED: Explosion rocks SpaceX launch site at Cape Canaveral
National Geographic’s ‘Afghan Girl’ was deported
Sharbat Gula, the woman photographed in an iconic 1984 National Geographic magazine cover was arrested in Pakistan for alleged phony ID paperwork. Gula then served 15 days in jail and was deported, only to be warmly greeted by Afghan president Ashraf Ghani in Kabul.
Nearly 600,000 children die annually from breathing toxic air
According to a report published by the United Nations Children’s Fund, about 300 million kids around the world are breathing highly toxic air. Nearly 600,000 children under the age of 5 die every year from diseases caused by air pollution, and millions more live in places where they could easily meet the same fate.
RELATED: Shocking photos of air pollution in China and India
The Pentagon raised its estimate for the number of civilians killed in U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, admitting there were an additional 54 deaths that occurred between March 31 and Oct. 22, 2016.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called Colin Kaepernick’s protest ‘dumb and disrespectful’ — and then apologized
In an interview with Katie Couric, the Supreme Court justice was asked her thoughts on Kaepernick’s national anthem protest. The justice responded, saying she thought it was “dumb and disrespectful” for refusing to stand during the national anthem before games. Ginsburg did however end up backtracking her statement, saying she “should have declined to respond.”
RELATED: Colin Kaepernick and more pro athletes protesting during the national anthem
D.C. council passes bill allowing assisted suicide for the terminally ill
The D.C. Council approved 11-2 a “Death With Dignity” bill that allows terminally ill patients the ability to obtain medication to end their own lives. In November, Colorado became the fifth state in the country to allow physician-aided death.
errick Rose acquitted at $21 million rape trial
A Los Angeles civil jury cleared New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose in a case involving an alleged gang rape from 2013 and dismissed a woman’s $21.5 million lawsuit filed against the player. The jury deliberated for three hours before reaching its verdict. Rose’s two co-defendants were also found not liable.
The British Pound fell to its lowest value level in history
After the initial coverage of Britain’s exit from the European Union rocked the world, the British pound suffered a “flash crash” in October, dropping to its lowest value level in history when compared against other foreign currency. While Brexit’s impact continues to raise questions about market strength, the pound eventually evened out in value after its sudden plummet.
RELATED: Supporters react in favor of the Brexit vote
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