January:

• Kevin McCarthy
  • In a historic 15 rounds of voting, Kevin McCarthy scraped by with one vote to claim the gavel in the House of Representatives, only to lose it nine months later. This goes to show the disarray of the House. When McCarthy was ousted, ironically by the republicans who were the deciding vote in his election, in frustration with failed promises, in September it took another three weeks to elect current speaker Mike Johnson.

February:

• Chinese Spy Balloon
  • In early February, Montanan photographer Chase Doak spotted the infamous balloon from his driveway. Word spread and after a day or two, the whole country knew about the flying car sized camera. After inspection with a spy plane, the Biden administration ordered it shot down as soon as it crossed over the Atlantic Ocean. “It may have been a demonstration by China of their capability without risking escalation,” suggested Summit sophomore Kevin Walder. After further investigation it was determined that the onboard sensor package was never activated, leaving Americans to question: what was the true motive? 

March:

• Taylor Swift Eras Tour Begins
  • On March 17 2023, Taylor Swift set out on what would be the highest grossing music tour ever: “The Eras Tour.” Set to cover five continents over 151 shows, the tour is designed to cover all of the “Eras,” symbolizing her albums, of her music career. As of now, it has brought over one billion to the box office in just 60 shows. The Eras Tour is on a whole other level both in revenue and global recognition. 

April:

• US Airman Leaks Classified Documents
  • April brought classified documents to the public eye, via 21 year old Jack Teixeira and the chat room software Discord. To date, no significant clarity has been provided by the Pentagon other than that the leaked documents were classified defense information. He was E3 Airman First Class, with a Top Security Clearance issued by an FBI Special Agent. Upon his arrest many weapons were found in a gun locker “two feet from his bed,” and a computer confirmed to belong to him in the dumpster behind his house. Teixeira is looking at up to 15 years in prison. 

May:

• Hollywood goes on strike
  • Starting with the script writers in May and joined a month later by the actors union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), over 76,000 Hollywood artists went on strike, creating the first entertainment industry wide strike since 1980. They are demanding a reworked contract that has better pay standards, and equity clauses adapted to the changing times. On Tuesday September 26, the strike broke with a definite victory for both actors and screenwriters. A tentative 3 year contract has been drawn up and has undergone ratification. Hollywood is back in motion.  

June:

• OceanGate Implosion
  • After years of skepticism from critics and experts alike, the experimental Titan submersible met a watery end only on June 18 2023, 500 ft from the Titanic.  This dive was intended to be the first commercial trip to the Titanic, which generated much public attention for being the first potential operation for the mass public to see the infamous Titanic up close and personal. This rapid innovation came at its costs. On June 18, 2023, a Canadian sub hunter aircraft detected the sub’s implosion, which was likely caused by a defect in the carbon fiber shell of the sub. “If it is classified as an experimental machine, then it shouldn’t be used commercially. The whole ordeal was very unfortunate and I think it could’ve been prevented with higher safety standards,” said Summit sophomore Emily Kraybill. All six people onboard including OceanGate CEO and cofounder Stockton Rush were confirmed dead. 

July:

• Barbenheimer
  • Box office records were shattered in July with the consecutive releases of “Barbie,” starring Margot Robbie, and “Oppenheimer,” starring Cillian Murphy. The showdown began with a date: July 21. The two movies collectively brought in over 235 million dollars in the opening weekend alone. Summit Junior Theilsen Wardlow attributed their collective successes to their being novel films, and not part of a franchise. “People liked seeing something new, not another DC or Marvel film,” said Wardlow. Ultimately Barbie took the win, with 70.8 million dollars in the box office compared to Oppenheimer’s 33 million on opening Friday alone. 

August:

• Maui Fires
  • August brought more records, but uncelebrated ones. 100 people were killed when the town of Lahaina, on Maui, was devastated by historic wildfires. The wildfires, thought to be caused by a damaged power management system run by the local electric company, nearly leveled the town. An estimated 2000 buildings, mostly homes, were burned down. In interviews with CBS, residents said their hometown was “unrecognizable.” The historic community has pulled together in this difficult time and the town is slowly building back up. West Maui reopened to tourists on November 1.

September:

• 2023 declared the hottest on record
  • 2023 has been confirmed as the hottest year on record, a 0.17 degrees celsius increase since 2016, and over 1.5 degrees celsius since 1900. The numbers may sound small, but they mean a lot for the global environment. Many nations all over the world had an average of a 6 degree C temperature anomaly per 1991 data, meaning that much of the world has had 6 degree C spikes and drops, exaggerating previous averages. 

October:

• Gaza
  • October brought more saddening news. On October 7 2023, 1500 Hamas militants stormed into Israel from the Gaza Strip and killed over 1400 civilians and kidnapped about 275 others, mostly women, children and the elderly. Israel immediately responded with a blockade of Gaza. As of December 2, 130 hostages remain in captivity, with global negotiations attempting to figure out how to end this in the fastest and most effective way possible.  This has not only rocked the governments of the world but also Jewish and Palestinian civilians all over the world. The public is caught in a moral dilemma: supporting Israel in their efforts to rid the world of Hamas, and activism for the Palestinian people. 

November:

• Texas Rangers win World Series
  • The Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 to claim their first World Series title in their 52 year history. This dream season wrapped up the team’s three worst seasons consecutively. This came out to be one of the best playoff runs in baseball history. With a young and strong team, fans look forward to seeing more of this new success to follow in the coming seasons. 

December:

• UN Climate Conference ​
  • To end the year on a positive note, nearly 200 nations at the UN climate conference voted to transition away from fossil fuels. Within the opening minutes of the Wednesday session, the COP28 president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber gaveled approval of the central document, which outlines how off track from our zero emission goal we are, and the basic outline of how we get back to a stable environment. There is some significance to Al Jaber being the president of the conference, seeing as he is the CEO of the UAE’s oil company. The fact that oil companies are on board is a huge step in the right direction, towards a path of stopping or slowing fossil fuel use. There is definitely some controversy but this was ultimately one of the most positive climate discussions yet.