The Mirror takes a look at some of the top political, sports, and pop culture highlights in the national and worldwide newsscape of 2022.

January: After a long year of “unprecedented times” in 2021, the year of 2022 started off with the Supreme Court upholding the Circuit Court decision to block President Biden’s vaccine mandate on January 14th. My Chemical Romance got back together in the same month, so many could have an outlet for their angst. 

February: The story that persisted throughout the year: Russia invades and occupies Ukraine. On the 24th of February, 2022, Putin ordered a “military operation” in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Putin did this claiming Russia did not want to occupy Ukraine, but that Russia wanted to “de-Nazify” the country. Ukraine has fought back over the course of 2022, supported by the vast majority of the rest of the world going into 2023. 

The Winter Olympics were held in Beijing, China; Shaun White completed his fifth and final Olympic snowboard run and earned fourth place. Nathan Chen, a US figure skater, took home a gold medal, adding to the final total of the US’s eight gold medals and 25 total medals at this year’s Olympic Games.

The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl LVI.

March: On March 9th researchers discovered the shipwreck of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance. It was discovered at a depth of nearly 10,000 feet in the Weddell sea. Ernest Shackleton was famous for his legendary Arctic expedition in 1914 where the ship was crushed by a pack of ice. However, the real news was when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards on March 27th. 

Lia Thomas from Penn State is the first official transgender NCAA Division 1 swimming champion, in the 500 freestyle on March 17th, sparking controversy throughout the nation.

April: The 64th annual Grammy Awards took place on April 3rd: winners included Jon Batiste, Silk Sonic, Jazmine Sullivan, Olivia Rodrigo, and the Foo Fighters.

The COVID-19 pandemic expanded in China, with numbers reaching a record high for cases in one day since its outbreak in February 2020. The worst mass shooting in Sacramento, CA’s history occurred on April 3rd, leaving 6 dead and 12 others injured. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and acquaintances receive punishment in the form of large fines for violating national COVID-19 restrictions, dubbed “Partygate.”

May: The Uvalde Elementary school shooting became America’s third deadliest shooting with a total of 21 deaths. Many people believe that some fatalities could have been prevented if the police would have responded on their own accord rather than wait for orders. The 148th Kentucky Derby was held on May 7th, in which Rich Strike and jockey Sonny Leon won.

Britteny Griner, a WNBA basketball player, was confirmed in May as being wrongfully detained in Russia for drug charges. She had been held as a criminal since February, had her case classified by the US government as innocent on May 3rd, and was returned home safely in December.

June:  Roe v. Wade was overturned, this amendment had declared abortion as a constitutional right. Consequently, the decision of banning abortion was turned over to the individual states, which effectively banned it in at least 11 states in the country.  

July: “Stranger Things” Season 4 was released, which catapulted Kate Bush‘s 1985 song, “Running Up That Hill,” into the spotlight, and everyone’s TikTok feeds. This season has the most hours watched across the whole series, garnering around 1.3 million views on the first 28 days it was released and about 1.4 billion hours watched. 

Former Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe was assassinated two days before the preliminary elections in Japan. Many world leaders mourned his death. 

August: Vin Scully, beloved announcer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, died Aug 3rd at the age of 67. 

The war in Afghanistan raged on, and in August 2022, one year and four months after Biden called the US troops out of the war-torn country, it was announced that Ayman al-Zawahiri, a known leader of the 9/11 attacks, had been killed. Also in August, the count of Afghan refugees brought to the US reached about 76 thousand people.

The FDA confirmed its approval for updated COVID-19 booster shots by Pfizer and Moderna.

September: Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 in Scotland, leaving the throne to her son, now King Charles. 

October: The University of Tennessee’s football fans tore down the goalposts and continued the celebration by throwing them in the nearby river, after their team secured a win over Alabama on October 15th. 

Elon Musk bought Twitter and continued his juvenile antics in view of all site users on October 27th. Heidi Klum, dressed as a horrifyingly realistic and colossal worm, was the star of the show (and social media) at her own annual Halloween party in New York. To top off the autumn month, Ross Chastain made NASCAR history and went viral by performing an astounding maneuver, riding the wall at full throttle to pass five opponents and advance to the next race. 

November: The midterm elections expected a red wave with Republicans wanting to take back the Senate and House of Representatives after losing the Presidency; however, the Democrats won the Senate and were five seats away from winning the House. 

Taylor Swift fans battled against Ticketmaster and its technical difficulties in an attempt to purchase tickets for her upcoming sellout tour.

The World Cup began lavishly in Qatar, amidst controversy within the hosting country. The main social issue was that immigrant deaths reached shocking numbers, but other controversies of varying degrees were uncovered. LGBT symbols were banned, and an announcement of alcohol sales bans within the stadium came only two days before the start of the tournament.

Tragedy ravaged the nation, as news broke of the University of Idaho murders and the shooting at the University of Virginia. Things continued to look bleak, as famous pop star Kanye West praised Adolf Hitler and embraced anti-semitic speech in front of a global audience.

December: Argentina won the World Cup after a nail-biting championship game against France on December 18th. This was Lionel Messi’s final World Cup, and he was the one to shoot the game-winning penalty kick.

Self-proclaimed “alpha male” Andrew Tate made a gross appearance in the national news on December 27th, after instigating against young environmentalist Greta Thunberg, who put him on blast for owning many flashy fuel-powered vehicles. This interaction, which left a digital footprint, led to the Romanian police finding him hidden away two days later, after his criminal allegations surfaced.

The Idaho killings murder suspect, Bryan Kohberger, is arrested on December 30th. He was tried and found guilty in 2023.

Article by Rebecca Dixon, Gisele Ortega and Sophie Meek