2018 In Review Fast Facts

Notable US Events:
January 4 - The Dow closes at 25,075.13, the first ever close above 25,000.

January 11 - During a White House meeting on immigration reform, President Donald Trump reportedly refers to Haiti and African nations as "shithole countries." He reportedly says that the United States should get more people from countries like Norway.

January 12 - The Wall Street Journal reports that President Donald Trump had an alleged affair with a porn star named Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels. The newspaper states that Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, arranged a $130,000 payment for a nondisclosure agreement weeks before Election Day in 2016. Cohen denies that Trump had a relationship with Clifford.

January 13 - In Hawaii, a state emergency management worker pushes the wrong button in the emergency operation center, sending out a false warning during a ballistic missile alert drill. The employee thought the attack was real when he sent out the warning, according to a Federal Communications Commission report.

January 17 - The Dow closes at 26,115.65, the first time it has closed above 26,000.

January 23 - A 15-year-old male student opens fire at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky, killing two and injuring at least 14 others. The suspect is arrested at the scene, and later charged with two counts of murder and 14 counts of first-degree assault.

January 24 - Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor, is sentenced to up to 175 years in prison, after more than 150 women and girls said in court that he sexually abused them over the past two decades.

February 5 - The Dow suffers its worst intra-day trading loss, plummeting 1,597 points.

February 12 - The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery unveils the official portraits of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama. The portraits were painted by African-American artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, a first in the history of presidential portraits.

February 14 - A former student opens fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people. Nikolas Cruz, 19, is later charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

March 2-20 - Five package bombs explode killing two people and wounding five in Austin, Texas. The suspect, Mark Anthony Conditt, kills himself with his last explosive device after he is stopped by the police on March 21.

March 13 - President Donald Trump announces in a tweet that he has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and will nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo as Tillerson's replacement.

April 26 - Comedian Bill Cosby is convicted on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in a Philadelphia suburb in 2004. Later, he is sentenced to 3-10 years in state prison.

May 3 - Hawaii's Kilauea volcano begins erupting, sending a smoldering flow of lava into residential areas on the Big Island.

May 7 - US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announces a "zero tolerance" policy for illegal border crossings. Sessions says that individuals who violate immigration law will be criminally prosecuted and warns that parents could be separated from children.

May 9 - Three American detainees are released from North Korea. The Americans -- Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim -- were freed while US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on a visit to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang to discuss President Donald Trump's upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

May 17 - Gina Haspel is confirmed as the first female director of the CIA.

May 18 - Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, allegedly opens fire killing 10 and injuring 13 at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas. Pagourtzis is arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant.

May 22 - Stacey Abrams wins the Georgia Democratic primary election for governor. She is the first black woman in the US to win a major party's nomination for the office.

May 25 - Film producer Harvey Weinstein is arraigned on charges of first- and third-degree rape and committing a criminal sexual act in the first degree, seven months after women began to come forward with stories alleging sexual misconduct by the famed Hollywood producer. The charges filed stem from incidents with two separate women in 2004 and 2013.

June 15 - The US Department of Homeland Security confirms that the US government has separated almost 2,000 children from parents at the border since implementing a policy that results in such family separations.

June 19 - Antwon Rose II, an unarmed 17-year-old, is shot and killed by police officer Michael Rosfeld in East Pittsburgh. Rose had been a passenger in a car that was stopped by police because it matched the description of a car that was involved in an earlier shooting. Rose and another passenger "bolted" from the vehicle, and Rosfeld opened fire, striking Rose three times, Allegheny County police says. On June 27, the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, district attorney charges Rosfeld with criminal homicide in the shooting death of Rose.

June 27 - Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy sends a letter to President Donald Trump announcing his retirement from the Supreme Court effective July 31, 2018.

June 28 - Five people are killed and two are injured when a gunman opens fire on the newsroom of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland.

July 5 - Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt resigns after months of ethics controversies.

July 9 - President Donald Trump announces Brett Kavanaugh as his nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by Justice Kennedy's decision to retire.

July 13 - The Justice Department announces indictments against 12 Russian nationals as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, accusing them of engaging in a "sustained effort" to hack Democrats' emails and computer networks.

July 16 - During a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, President Donald Trump declines to endorse the US government's assessment that Russia interfered in the election, saying he doesn't "see any reason why" Russia would be responsible. The next day, Trump clarifies his remark, "The sentence should have been, 'I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be Russia." He says he accepts the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia meddled in the election but adds, "It could be other people also."

August 14 - Christine Hallquist wins the Democratic primary in the Vermont governor's race, becoming the first openly transgender gubernatorial candidate for a major party.

August 14 - A grand jury report is published documenting credible allegations of abuse by more than 300 "predator priests" in six Pennsylvania dioceses. According to the report, more than 1,000 children were victims of clergy sexual abuse dating back to 1947.

August 21 - President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen pleads guilty to eight federal charges, including two campaign finance violations. In court, he says that he orchestrated payments to silence women "in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office." On the same day, Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort is convicted on eight counts of federal financial crimes.

August 28 - The Puerto Rican government raises its official death toll from Hurricane Maria to 2,975 after a report on storm fatalities is published by researchers at George Washington University.

September 14 - Hurricane Florence makes landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph. The death toll from the storm is at least 51, including 39 fatalities in North Carolina, nine deaths in South Carolina and three fatalities in Virginia.

September 16 - The Washington Post publishes an article about a California professor accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of attempting to rape her when they were both teenagers in the early 1980s. Christine Blasey Ford says she initially sent a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein about the incident when Kavanaugh's name was included on a shortlist for the Supreme Court. Ford tells the newspaper she initially did not want to go public, but she decided to talk on the record because her letter to Feinstein had been leaked to the media. Kavanaugh denies that such an incident ever took place.

September 27 - Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testify during an all-day hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

October 5 - Officer Jason Van Dyke is found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

October 6 - The Senate confirms Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh with a 50-48 vote. He is sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts during a private ceremony at the Supreme Court. The vote takes place amid public protests for and against Kavanaugh's confirmation.

October 10 - Hurricane Michael makes landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in the Florida panhandle. With winds of approximately 155 mph, Michael becomes the strongest storm to hit the continental US since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The death toll from Michael is 46 people across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

October 26 - Cesar Sayoc, the man suspected of sending 14 pipe bombs to prominent Democrats around the country, is arrested.

October 27 - Eleven people are killed at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh when a gunman opens fire.

November 6 - A record 102 women win seats in the House of Representatives.

November 7 - Twelve people are killed in a shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California. Officials say, the gunman, Ian David Long, shot an unarmed security guard outside the bar, then went in and continued shooting, injuring other security workers, employees and patrons.

November 8 - A fire breaks out, burning through the town of Paradise, California. It's the most destructive wildfire in California history, and the deadliest.

December 7 - Beth Kimber becomes the first woman to lead the CIA's Directorate of Operations.

December 12 - President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, is sentenced to three years in prison for crimes that included arranging payments during the 2016 election to silence women who claimed affairs with Trump.

December 19 - President Donald Trump declares that the US has defeated ISIS and orders a "full" and "rapid" withdrawal of US military from Syria.

Notable International Events:
January 27 - An attacker driving an ambulance packed with explosives detonates them in Kabul, Afghanistan, leaving at least 103 people dead and more than 150 others injured, Afghan officials say. The Taliban claims responsibility for the attack.

February 6 - At least nine people are killed and more than 225 are injured, including tourists, when a 6.4-magnitude earthquake strikes just off the east coast of Taiwan.

February 19-25 - At least 520 people are killed during airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta, an area outside Damascus, Syria, according to Doctors Without Borders.

March 2 - At least eight people are killed and more than 80 are injured in two attacks in Burkina Faso's capital, one of them targeting the French embassy, security officials said.

March 4 - Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia are poisoned with a nerve agent in the English city of Salisbury. The poisoning of the Skripals sparks a diplomatic row between the UK government and Russia, which has consistently denied allegations that it was behind the attack. British prosecutors eventually charge two Russian nationals in connection with the nerve agent attack.

March 6 - South Korea's national security chief Chung Eui-yong says that North Korea has agreed to refrain from nuclear and missile testing while engaging in peace talks. North Korea has also expressed an openness to talk to the United States about abandoning its nuclear program, according to Chung.

March 7 - Indian architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi is named the 2018 laureate of the Pritzker Prize, the first Indian to win the accolade in its four-decade history.

March 12 - At least 49 people are killed when a plane approaches the runway from the wrong direction, crashes and bursts into flames while landing at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan Airport in Nepal.

March 18 - Vladimir Putin is re-elected as president of Russia, with 76.7% of the vote, according to Central Election Commission data. International election monitors say the election was "overly controlled" and "lacked genuine competition."

March 23 - ISIS supporter Radouane Lakdim, 26, opens fire in a supermarket in Trèbes, France killing a worker and a customer. Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, a police officer who swapped places with a female hostage during the attack, later dies of gunshot wounds, French authorities say. Lakdim is shot dead by police on the scene.

March 25 - At least 64 people are killed and dozens injured when a fire breaks out at a shopping center in the Siberian city of Kemerovo.

March 25-28 - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un makes a surprise trip to Beijing and meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese state media confirms. The trip is Kim's first abroad since he took the reins after his father, Kim Jong Il, died in late 2011.

March 28 - At least 68 people die in a fire at a police command and detention center in the Venezuelan city of Valencia.

March 30 - The UN Peacekeeping mission in Liberia ends.

April 11 - At least 257 people are killed when a military plane crashes near the Algerian capital, Algiers, state media reports.

April 13 - US President Donald Trump authorizes joint military strikes in Syria with the UK and France after reports the government used chemical weapons on civilians in Douma.

April 27 - During a day-long summit, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in pledge to formally end the Korean War, 65 years after hostilities ceased. The Panmunjom Declaration also calls for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

April 30 - Ten journalists are among dozens killed in a series of attacks in Afghanistan.

April-August - At least 317 people are killed in Nicaragua during anti-government protests.

May - Fierce winds and lightning strikes created by powerful rain and dust storms kill at least 100 people and injure hundreds more in northwestern India.

May 8 - US President Donald Trump announces that the United States is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. "This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made," he says in remarks that, at times, misrepresent the international agreement's provisions.

May 9 - At least 45 people are killed when a dam bursts in Kenya after weeks of torrential rain. Later, criminal charges are filed against individuals involved in the construction of the dam.

May 14 - The United States relocates its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in a move that is met with clashes and protests along the Gaza border. At least 58 Palestinians are killed and more than 2,700 injured as protests take place ahead of, during and after the ceremony in Jerusalem, making it the deadliest day there since the 2014 Gaza war.

May 19 - Britain's Prince Harry marries American actress Meghan Markle.

May 20 - During an election denounced by opposition leaders and the international community, Nicolás Maduro is re-elected president of Venezuela. Voter turnout falls to 46%, down from an 80% participation rate in 2013.

June 1 - Giuseppe Conte, a law professor who has never held political office, is sworn in as Italy's new Prime Minister, bringing to power a populist new government whose senior figures whipped up anti-immigrant and euroskeptic sentiments in their path to office.

June 3 - Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupts, killing at least 135 people, according to the government of Guatemala.

June 12 - US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet in person for the first time during a summit in Singapore. They sign a four-point statement that broadly outlines the countries' commitment to a peace process. The statement contains a pledge by North Korea to "work towards" complete denuclearization but the agreement does not detail how the international community will verify that Kim is ending his nuclear program.

June 16 - At least 17 people, including eight minors, are killed after a partygoer detonates a tear-gas canister inside a nightclub in Caracas, Venezuela, setting off a stampede, authorities say.

June 18 - An earthquake hits the Japanese city of Osaka, killing at least five people and injuring 214, Japan's government says.

June 23 - Twelve members of Thailand's Wild Boars youth soccer team and their coach enter the Tham Luang cave network, only to be trapped by rising flood waters. A team of international cave diving experts work to retrieve them, evacuating the boys one-by-one. The last of the group, the coach, successfully exits the cave on July 10.

July - Landslides and flooding caused by torrential rain in Japan kill at least 200 people.

July 14 - Haitian Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigns amid violent and deadly protests sparked by a proposed plan to raise fuel prices.

July 16 - At least 149 people are killed and 186 are injured in a suicide attack in Pakistan that targeted the convoy of a political candidate in the general election, according to Qaim Lashari, the Deputy Commissioner of Balochistan's Mastung region.

July 29 - Four cyclists - two Americans, a Swiss man and a man from the Netherlands - are killed and three others are injured when they are run down by a car in southern Tajikistan. The car's occupants leave the vehicle and begin attacking the cyclists with knives. A day later, ISIS claims responsibility for the attack.

August 1, 2018 - The Democratic Republic of Congo's Ministry of Health declares an Ebola virus outbreak in five health zones in North Kivu province and one health zone in Ituri province. As of December 15, a total of 483 people have been infected, including 265 deaths. The outbreak is the second largest and second deadliest in history, according to a report from the nation's Ministry of Health.

August 14 - A car crashes into security barriers outside the UK's Houses of Parliament during the morning rush hour, injuring several people. The driver is arrested on suspicion of terrorist offenses. He is later identified as Salih Khater, a 29-year-old British citizen who emigrated from Sudan.

August 14 - At least 39 people die in Genoa, Italy, after a highway bridge partially collapses during a violent storm.

September 2 - A massive fire engulfs Brazil's National Museum, destroying priceless artifacts dating back centuries.

September 20 - A ferry capsizes in Tanzania, killing at least 224 people. The captain of the overloaded ferry is later arrested.

September 28 - A 7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. More than 2,010 people are killed and about 10,700 seriously injured from the earthquake and resulting tsunami.

October 2 - Barham Salih is elected president of Iraq and appoints Adel Abdul Mahdi as prime minister-designate.

October 2 - Prominent Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi disappears. He is last seen walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. In the month following his disappearance, Saudi officials release several shifting accounts of the events surrounding Khashoggi's death. Initially, the kingdom says the journalist left the consulate alive shortly after arriving. It later says he had died in a fistfight when a discussion turned violent. Next, the country's attorney general says new information received from Turkish investigators has led them to believe the killing was premeditated.

October 5 - British artist Banksy's piece "Girl with Balloon (2006)" is sold for $1.4 million at a Sotheby's auction house in London. Moments after the sale, the image begins self-destructing, passing through a shredder hidden in its frame.

October 24 - A bridge connecting Hong Kong and Macau to the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai opens to the public, marking the completion of the longest sea-crossing bridge ever built, nine years after construction began.

October 28 - Jair Bolsonaro is declared the winner of Brazil's presidential election.

October 29 - Shortly after takeoff, Lion Air flight JT 610 crashes into the sea near Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 people onboard.

October 29 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel announces she will not seek re-election when her term expires in 2021.

December 11 - A gunman opens fire at the Strasbourg, France Christmas market, killing five people.

December 12 - UK Prime Minister Theresa May survives a vote of no-confidence among Tory members of parliament, garnering 200 votes of the 317 total. The vote was called after May postponed a parliamentary decision on a Brexit deal amid signs it would not be approved.

December 16 - An explosion near a pub in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo injures at least 42 people, including one critically, said Hokkaido Police public relations officer Ryohei Kashihara. The cause of the explosion is unknown and emergency services continue to investigate.

Awards and Winners:
January 7 - The Golden Globes are presented. A number of actresses and actors attend the event dressed in black to support the Time's Up movement. The movement, launched at the start of the year by women and men from the entertainment industry, aims to combat sexual harassment in Hollywood and beyond.

January 8 - The Alabama Crimson Tide defeats the Georgia Bulldogs 26-23 in overtime to win the College Football Playoff National Championship in Atlanta. This is Alabama's fifth national title since the 2009 season.

January 15 - The 49th NAACP Image Awards are announced.

January 15-28 - The Australian Open takes place. Roger Federer defeats Marin Cilic in the men's final and Caroline Wozniacki defeats Simona Halep in the women's final.

January 21 - The 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are held. For the first time in the award show's history there is a host, Kristen Bell.

January 28 - The 48th Pro Bowl takes place at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The AFC team defeats the NFC team, 24-23.

January 28 - The NHL All-Star Game takes place at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The Pacific Division defeats the Atlantic Division, 5-2. Brock Boeser is named MVP.

January 28 - The 60th Annual Grammy Awards take place at Madison Square Garden in New York. This is the first time New York has hosted the Grammy Awards in 15 years.

February 4 - The Philadelphia Eagles defeat the New England Patriots, 41-33, in Super Bowl LII (52) at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

February 9-25 - The 2018 Winter Olympics are held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

February 12-13 - The 142nd Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show takes place. A male bichon frise nicknamed Flynn wins Best in Show.

February 18 - Austin Dillon wins the 60th annual Daytona 500.

March 4 - The 90th Annual Academy Awards are presented. Jimmy Kimmel hosts.

March 14 - Norwegian musher Joar Leifseth Ulsom wins his first Iditarod.

April 2 - In the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the Villanova Wildcats defeat the Michigan Wolverines 79-62, securing the Men's Championship to secure the title. The victory gives the Wildcats its third national championship in program history and the second in three years.

April 2-8 - The 82nd Masters tournament takes place. Patrick Reed finishes at 15-under 273, winning by one stroke over Rickie Fowler.

April 16 - The Pulitzer Prizes are announced. Rapper Kendrick Lamar wins the Pulitzer Prize for music. Since it was first established in 1943, the award has historically been granted only to classical and jazz.

April 16 - The 122nd Boston Marathon takes place. The winners are Yuki Kawauchi of Japan in the men's division and Desiree Linden of the United States in the women's division.

May 5 - Justify wins the 144th Kentucky Derby.

May 8-19 - The 71st Cannes Film Festival takes place.

May 19 - Justify, ridden by Mike Smith, wins the 143rd Preakness.

May 27 - Will Power of Australia wins the 102nd running of the Indy 500.

May 27-June 10 - The French Open takes place at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. Simona Halep defeats Sloan Stephens to win her first Grand Slam title. Rafael Nadal beats Dominic Thiem to earn his 11th French Open title.

June 7 - The Washington Capitals defeat the Vegas Golden Knights to win their first Stanley Cup.

June 8 - Finals - The Golden State Warriors defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers with a series win, 4-0, in the NBA Finals.

June 9 - Justify wins the 13th Triple Crown after a victory at the 150th Belmont Stakes.

June 10 - The 72nd Annual Tony Awards take place at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

June 11-17 - Brooks Koepka of the United States wins the 118th US Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York. Koepka, who also took the title in 2017, is the first player to win two consecutive years since 1989.

June 14-July 15 - The World Cup (men's) takes place in Russia. France wins its second World Cup by defeating Croatia 4-2.

July 2-15 - The Wimbledon tennis championships take place in London. Novak Djokovic wins his fourth Wimbledon title against Kevin Anderson and Angelique Kerber defeats Serena Williams to claim her first Wimbledon title.

July 7-29 - The 105th Tour de France takes place. Geraint Thomas of Great Britain's Team Sky becomes the first Welshman to win in the race's history.

July 15-22 - The 147th Open Championship takes place at Carnoustie Golf Links in Carnoustie, Scotland. Francesco Molinari becomes the first Italian-born player to win the tournament.

August 12 - Brooks Koepka wins the 100th PGA Championship at the Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.

August 27-September 9 - The US Open Tennis Tournament takes place. Naomi Osaka defeats Serena Williams in a controversial women's singles final, 6-2, 6-4, to become the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title. Novak Djokovic defeats Juan Martin del Potro, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3, to win the men's singles title.

September 17 - The 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards are presented.

October 1-8 - The Nobel Prizes are announced. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.

October 28 - The Boston Red Sox win the World Series, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 in Game 5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

November 4 - The winners of the 48th New York City Marathon are Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia in the men's division, and Mary Keitany of Kenya in the women's division.

Notable Deaths in 2018:
Ray Thomas - January 4

John Young - January 5

Jerry Van Dyke - January 5

Keith Jackson - January 12

Dolores O'Riordan - January 15

Paul Bocuse - January 20

Ursula K Le Guin - January 22

Hugh Masekela - January 23

Ingvar Kamprad - January 27

Dennis Edwards - February 1

John Mahoney - February 4

Reg E. Cathey - February 9