CASSIUS takes a look back at some of the biggest news stories that lit up our timelines in 2017.
1. Donald Trump Is Sworn in As 45th President of the United States
Former U.S. President Barack Obama (R) congratulates U.S. President Donald Trump after he took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
2. Boko Haram Releases 82 Girls
Relatives meet with abducted girls after the releasing 82 school girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in Chibok back in 2014, at Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria on May 20, 2017. (Photo by Sodiq Adelakun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
3. Gucci Mane Has the Best Year Ever
Keyshia Ka’oir (L) and Gucci Mane attend 2017 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 25, 2017 in Los Angeles, Calif. In September, Gucci released his autobiography. In October, he married his longtime ride-or-die, Keyshia Ka’oir amid the premiere of their reality show, ‘The Mane Event.’ (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
4. Comey Testifies in Front of US Senate Intelligence Committee
On a large television screen, former FBI Director James Comey, left, answers questions posed by US Senator Jack Reed, (D), R.I., right, during Comey’s testimony June 8, 2017 in front of the US Senate’s Intelligence Committee in Washington, DC. Comey stated that he believed President Donald Trump attempted to halt the FBI’s investigations into General Michael Flynn and to whether there was collusion between the 2016 Republican presidential campaign committee and the Russian government. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
5. Beyoncé’s Water Breaks, and So Does the Internet
Jay-Z and Beyonce leave ABC Kitchen on September 29, 2017 in New York City. Three months prior, she and Jay welcomed twins Sir and Rumi, and the TL hasn’t stopped talking since. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images)
6. Alt Right and Neo Nazis Hold Torch Rally at UVA
Neo Nazis, Alt-Right, and White Supremacists take part the night before the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Va. Supremacists march with tiki torches through the University of Virginia campus. (Photo by Shay Horse/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
7. Earthquake Strikes Mexico City
Rescuers and residents look for victims amid the ruins of a building knocked down by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that jolted central Mexico damaging buildings, knocking out power and causing alarm throughout the capital on September 19, 2017 in Mexico City, Mexico. The earthquake comes 32 years after a magnitude-8.0 earthquake hit on September 19, 1985. (Photo by Christian Palma/Getty Images)
8. Missy Elliott Makes a Comeback
Missy Elliott performs onstage during day 1 of FYF Fest 2017 on July 21, 2017 at Exposition Park in Los Angeles, Calif. In May, she dropped a surprise remix of “I’m Better” featuring Lil Kim, Eve and Trina. She also hinted at her finishing her forthcoming documentary. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for FYF)
9. Charlottesville Mourns the Death of Heather Heyer
A woman leaves a note on the ground as people gather at a memorial for Heather Heyer after her funeral service on Wednesday, August 116, 2017, in Charlottesville, Va. Heyer was killed after a car rammed into a group of people during a planned United the Right rally. (Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
10. Transgender Murder Rates Climb
People gather at a vigil for slain transgender woman Islan Nettles at Jackie Robinson Park in Harlem on August 27, 2013 in New York City. Nettles was severely beaten two weeks ago after being approached on the street by a group of men and later died of her injuries. Advocates say past the three years have been recorded as the “deadliest on record” in violence against transgender women. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
11. Students Protest Against Betsy DeVos Nationwide
Protestors demonstrate as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on ‘A Conversation On Empowering Parents’ moderated by Paul Peterson on September 28, 2017 in Cambridge, Mass. DeVos was met by protestors both outside the venue and inside during her remarks in one of multiple protests that took place during the year. Notably, over 200 Black professors penned an open letter to the courageous 2017 graduates of Bethune-Cookman College, who defied her presence as she attempted to complete her speech at their commencement ceremony in May. (Photo by Paul Marotta/Getty Images)
12. Aaron Hernandez Commits Suicide
Stacks of Daily News and New York Post newspapers sit on a sidewalk in New York City. The headline refers to the results of an autopsy on former NFL football player and convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez which revealed he suffered from brain damage, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Hernandez committed suicide in his jail cell on April 19, 2017. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
13. Mourners Say Goodbye to Slain Bowie University Student Second Lt. Richard Collins III
Mourners embrace during a funeral service for 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III, on May 26, 2017 in Upper Marlboro, Md. Collins was a Bowie State University student who was stabbed and killed on May 20th on the campus of the University of Maryland. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
14. Jay-Z Stops the World with ‘4:44’
In this photo taken June 26, 2017, a New York City bus with an advertisement for Jay-Z’s anticipated new album ‘4:44’ turns a corner in midtown New York City. Earlier that week, Jay announced that official listening parties would take place across the US on June 29. Guest hosts played the album in specific Sprint stores located in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and more ahead of its June 30 release. On June 30, hip-hop wasn’t the same. (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
15. Ariana Holds One Love Manchester Benefit Concert
Ariana Grande performs at the One Love Manchester benefit concert for the families of the victims of the May 22 Manchester terror attack, at Emirates Old Trafford in Greater Manchester on June 4, 2017. The concert raised $2.6 million in its first three hours. (Photo by Getty Images/Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester)
16. Jim DeRogatis Pushes R. Kelly’s Disgusting Behavior Back into the Spotlight
A shocking Buzzfeed report found several sets of parents stepping forward to claim their daughters were being held against their will by R. Kelly in an alleged abusive sex cult. While one alleged victim claimed she was “in a happy place” at the time the story was published, other accusers have since stepped forward. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
17. Hurricane Harvey Slams into Texas Gulf Coast
People use an air mattress to float down a flooded street as they evacuate their homes after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017 in Houston, Tex. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
18. Rihanna Launches Fenty Beauty
Rihanna launches Fenty Beauty at Sephora Times Square on September 7, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Fenty Beauty)
19. NFL Protests Spark a National Conversation
A Seahawks fan holds a sign referencing a comment made by Houston Texans owner Bob McNair before the game between the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on October 29, 2017 in Seattle, Wash. During a meeting of NFL owners earlier in October, McNair said ‘we can’t have the inmates running the prison’, referring to player demonstrations during the national anthem. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images)
20. Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Shooting Devastates the Nation
People set up a memorial near Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on October 28, 2017 after the shooting in Las Vegas, Nev. that took 58 lives. On the night of October 1, 2017, gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada, leaving 58 people dead and 546 injured. (Photo by Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
21. O.J. Simpson Released from Jail
In this handout photo provided by the Nevada Department of Corrections, O.J. Simpson signs paperwork before his release from Lovelock Correctional Center September 30, 2017 in Lovelock, Nev. Simpson had served nine years for armed robbery, kidnapping, and other charges. (Photo by Brooke Keast/Nevada Department of Corrections via Getty Images)
22. Former Trump Adviser Michael Flynn Pleads Guilty
Michael Flynn, former national security advisor to President Donald Trump, leaves following his plea hearing at the Prettyman Federal Courthouse December 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged Flynn with one count of making a false statement to the FBI. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
23. Puerto Rico Faces Extensive Damage After Hurricane Maria
Maria Chiclano, who has no running water or power in her home, washes clothes with her sons in the Espiritu Santo river during heavy rains more than two weeks after Hurricane Maria hit the island, on October 8, 2017 in Palmer, Puerto Rico. Only 11.7 percent of Puerto Rico’s electricity had been restored, leaving residents to rely on the river to wash clothes, gather water, cool off, or bathe. The area borders the El Yunque National Forest, the United States’ only tropical rainforest, which was heavily damaged by the hurricane. Puerto Rico experienced widespread damage including most of the electrical, gas and water grid as well as agriculture after Hurricane Maria, a category 4 hurricane, swept through. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
24. #BlackPantherSoLit
The first two-minute trailer of Marvel’s ‘Black Panther’ dropped on October 16, and no one was ready. February 16, 2018 can’t come soon enough. (Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
25. North Korea Launches Missiles
This photo taken on November 29, 2017 and released on November 30, 2017 by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un looking at the launch of the Hwasong-15 missile which is capable of reaching all parts of the US. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS/AFP/Getty Images)
26. Hollywood Shows Its True Colors
Sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein sparked a surge of allegations throughout Hollywood and the entertainment industry. Since The New York Times broke the story of multiple women accusing the fallen producer of sexual harassment, Kevin Spacey, Russell Simmons, and many other famous male figures have been accused of sexual assault and/or harassment. Tarana Burke’s #MeToo movement, though inaccurately credited to Rose McGowan, became a trending topic on Twitter. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)
27. Wildfires Ravage California
Firefighters battle a wildfire as it burns along a hillside near homes in Santa Paula, Calif., on December 5, 2017. Fast-moving, wind-fueled brush fire exploded to about 10,000 acres in Ventura County, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes, officials said. California was devastated by multiple wildfires in 2017. / AFP PHOTO / RINGO CHIU (Photo credit should read RINGO CHIU/AFP/Getty Images)
28. Cosby Case Ends in Mistrial
Bill Cosby speaks to the media as he and his attorney leave Allegheny County Courthouse after the third day of jury selection in his sexual assault trial on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. After six days of deliberation, Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case ended in a mistrial in June. A retrial was announced for 2018. (Photo by DONALD EMMERT,NATE SMALLWOOD/AFP/Getty Images)
