The Greats of 2008: Rank the Top-10 news stories of the year
In your opinion, what are the Top-10 news stories of 2008?
Check out the year-end roundup of notable news stories from Scholastic News Online.
Then rank your choices in order of importance from number 1 to number 10 on our blog! We’ll count the votes for each story and post the Top 10 just before this year’s end.
Here's a quick recap from our year-end roundup:
Giant Upset: The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Patriots were undefeated going into the game.
Historic Runoff: Then-Senators Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton came out of Super Tuesday with nearly the same number of delegates. This led to a fierce battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Dog Show First: For the first time, a beagle won Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show.
Olympic Torch Protests: The 2008 Beijing Olympics began with the start of the Olympic Torch Relay. But protesters came out at many stops along the relay route.
Cyclone Slams Southeast Asia: Tropical Cyclone Nargis battered Myanmar with 120-mph winds and 12-feet-high sea surges. What was left after the storm was a path of destruction and a humanitarian disaster.
Massive Earthquake Hits China: A powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake rocked China's Sichuan Provence, killing tens of thousands and injuring hundreds of thousands more. In the aftermath, more than 30 "quake lakes" threatened refugees and survivors looking for a safe place.
Polar Bear Protection Program: After months of consideration, the U.S. government officially listed the polar bear as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The Phoenix Has Landed: NASA successfully landed a robot on Mars' North Pole. It's mission: see if ice exists below the pole's surface.
WALL-E Blasts Off In Theaters: WALL-E, the little robot that could, won over movie audiences this summer with his big adventures on Earth and in space. The animated movie was one of the biggest hits of 2008.
Russia and Georgia Go to War: A 1994 peace accord fell apart when Russia invaded its southern neighbor Georgia. The conflict lasted only a few days, but its impact was felt all over the world.
Are You a Phelps Phan?: American swimmer Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. No one has ever accomplished the feat before.
A Furious Hurricane Season: Powerful storms stuck parts of New Orleans, the Gulf coast, the East Coast, and Texas in 2008.
Economy in Trouble: Wall Street tumbled in 2008, bringing attention to deep problems in the economy. But it's not just the American economy that's struggling: countries all over the world are facing tough economic times, too.
Obama Becomes First African-American President: After a hard-fought general election campaign with Senator John McCain, America elected Barack Obama its 44th President.
Terror Attacks in India: A team of 10 gunmen pulled off a daring attack on Mumbai, India's largest city, killing 172 and injuring hundreds more. The gunmen claimed to be from Pakistan, heightening tenstions between the two nations.
Header Image Photo Credits:
Barack Obama: ©Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
Phoenix Mars Lander: NASA/JPL-Calech/University of Arizona
Beagle: ©Chris McGrath/Getty Images
Polar Bear: ©Tom Walker/Visuals Unlimited, Inc.
Michael Phelps: ©Pat Benic/ UPI Photo/ NewsCom
Number one hurricane
Posted by: 402- rina | December 19, 2008 at 10:43 AM
i think that the giants was lucky when they won the super bowl and the patriots was so close of winning
Posted by: montrell | December 20, 2008 at 04:14 PM
Obama and the economy. this is too hard. i dont' remember 10 things. why dont you list them in a poll. too hard to switch back and forth from story to blog.
Posted by: Judy | December 22, 2008 at 10:45 AM
I think it's dumb how people protested about the olympic torch, it's just plain wrong!
Posted by: Calvin | January 05, 2009 at 02:09 PM
Obama Becomes First African-American President: i think this is most enportent
Posted by: shadden | January 05, 2009 at 02:09 PM
I think that the story The phoenix has laned is the most inportant story because the NASA is very happy. And because that it laned safely.
Posted by: Kelsey | January 05, 2009 at 02:10 PM
1 Economy in Trouble
2 Terror Attacks in India
3 Cyclone Slams Southeast Asia
4 Russia and Georgia Go to War
5 The Phoenix Has Landed
6 Massive Earthquake Hits China
7 Cyclone Slams Southeast Asia
8 Obama Becomes First African-American President
9 Dog Show First
10 Giant Upset
Posted by: | January 05, 2009 at 02:11 PM
i think its wrong to Protes against the Olympics!
Posted by: david | January 06, 2009 at 03:45 PM
I think the presidential race was the biggest story.
Posted by: spence | January 10, 2009 at 10:58 AM
Presidential election
Posted by: Spence | January 15, 2009 at 06:25 PM
Hooray for Obama, UFOs, the dog, and the polar bear!
Posted by: Hernan | January 20, 2009 at 03:11 PM
Michal phelps winning 9 gold medals was really cool!
Posted by: Jerod | January 22, 2009 at 01:09 PM
People voted with their pocketbooks and not their brains.
McCain/Palin
Posted by: Jack | January 24, 2009 at 03:55 PM
Obama is cool because he is the first african - american president.
Posted by: brandon | February 17, 2009 at 10:26 AM
the number 1 event in 2008 was the Elimination Chambers at WWE No Way Out.
Posted by: john | February 19, 2009 at 02:38 PM
#1 event was royal rumble&no way out(WWE)
Posted by: spencer91 | March 09, 2009 at 10:58 AM
1.Economy in Trouble
2.Obama Becomes First African-American President
3.Terror Attacks in India
4.Russia and Georgia Go to War
5.Olympic Torch Protests
Top five
Posted by: "James T. Kirk" | May 10, 2009 at 02:34 PM