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The year in review: Top news stories of 2021 month-by-month

A look back: Top news stories of 2021 month-by-month
A look back: Top news stories of 2021 month-by-month 02:22

"Sunday Morning" host Jane Pauley looks back on key events of a dramatic year:


January

In January Joe Biden was inaugurated as our 46th president …

… just two weeks after supporters of former President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. 

Pro-Trump Protests over Electoral College Vote Certification
Protesters attack Capitol Police and storm the seat of government, trying to halt the Electoral College certification of ballots and throw the 2020 election to the loser, President Donald Trump, January 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C. To date, more than 700 people have been charged in the violence. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died as a result of injuries sustained that day; four other police officers committed suicide in the days and months following the attack. Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

February

In February, the United States formally re-joined the Paris Climate Agreement, an international treaty aimed at limiting global warming. 


March

The container ship Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal in March, holding up billions in trade. The ship was freed six days later. 

STUCK SHIP EVER GIVEN, SUEZ CANAL -- MARCH 26, 2021:  Maxars WorldView-2 collected new high-resolution satellite imagery of the Suez canal and the container ship (EVER GIVEN) that remains stuck in the canal north of the city of Suez, Egypt.
High-resolution satellite imagery of the Suez Canal and the container ship Ever Given that remains stuck, north of the city of Suez, Egypt, March 26, 2021.  DigitalGlobe/ScapeWare3d/copyright 2021 Maxar Technologies

April

In April, a Minneapolis jury found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd a year earlier.


May

May saw the successful splashdown of the first operational spaceflight by a private company, Elon Musk's SpaceX. 


June

June saw the partial collapse of a 12-story condominium in Surfside, Florida, killing 98 residents. 

Florida condo collapse 2021
Search and rescue personnel work in the rubble of the 12-story condo tower that partially collapsed on June 24, 2021 in Surfside, Florida.  Getty Images

July

July brought the 32nd Summer Olympic games to Tokyo, a year after being postponed. The U.S. topped the medal count with 113. 

cbsn-fusion-simone-biles-wins-bronze-medal-in-balance-beam-final-after-taking-time-off-for-mental-health-thumbnail-765292-640x360.jpg
Simone Biles won a bronze medal on the balance beam, after withdrawing briefly from competition citing mental health concerns.   CBS News

August

August saw the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan after a two-decade war that took the lives of over 2,400 U.S. service personnel.


September

September saw the implementation of the Texas Heartbeat Act, which bans abortions after roughly six weeks. The Supreme Court has declined to block the law, saying it's a question for lower courts.


October

October brought the welcome news that the World Health Organization had endorsed the world's first vaccine against malaria. 


November

In November, the Atlanta Braves won their fourth World Series, defeating the Houston Astros four games to two. 


December

In December, tornadoes ripped through the South and Midwest, killing at least 91 people ...   

TOPSHOT-US-CLIMATE-WEATHER
A woman walks away from what is left of the Mayfield Consumer Products Candle Factory as emergency workers comb the rubble after it was destroyed by a tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky, on December 11, 2021. JOHN AMIS/AFP via Getty Images

...and the FDA authorized two pills to treat COVID-19, a potential game-changer in our now years-long fight against the disease.

       
Story produced by Robert Marston. Editor: Chad Cardin. 

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