• January 3 - Apple becomes the first US company to be worth $3 trillion in value, after tripling its price in under four years.

• January 6 - Tennis world No. 1 Novak Đoković's visa into Australia was cancelled after uproar over his COVID-19 vaccination exemption.

• January 13 - California Governor blocks Robert F. Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan's request for release on parole after 53 years in jail.

• February 4 - XXIV Olympic Winter Games open in Beijing, China.

• February 6 - Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking seventy (70) years on the throne.

• February 9 - Nearly four million bottles of beer (!?!?) destroyed in large crackdown on alcohol in northern Nigerian state of Kano, where alcohol is prohibited under Sharia law.

• April 19 - President Joe Biden's failed economic policies cause the US inflation to hit 8.5%, the highest since 1981, driven by a rise in gas prices, rent and food.

• May 15 - MLB’s Pittsburg Pirates win 1-0 over Cincinnati Reds, despite getting no hits.

• May 24 - A school shooting in Uvalde, Texas kills 19 students and two teachers.

• June 9 - Two people had to be rescued after falling into a “tank of chocolate” at Mars M&M factory in Pennsylvania.

• June 24 - Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court.

• June 28 - Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years in US federal prison for grooming and aiding Jeffery Epstein to abuse underage girls.

• August 4 - A Russian court sentences WNBA star Brittney Griner to nine years in prison for drug smuggling amid claims she is being used as a pawn between the US and Russia.

• August 28 - A 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card sells for $12.6 million at auction, becoming the world's most expensive piece of sports memorabilia.

• September 8 - Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle after ruling for 70 years as the UK's longest-serving monarch; her eldest son inherits the throne as King Charles III.

• September 14 - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis send two planes of Venezuelan immigrants to a sanctuary town of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Notable Deaths -

Sidney Poitier (1927-2022) Bahamian American actor, first black actor to win Oscar for Best Actor ("Lillies in the Field"; "To Sir with Love"; "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"), director (Stir Crazy), civil rights advocate, and diplomat, died at 94.

Mikhail Gorbachev (1931-2022) General Secretary of the Soviet Union's Communist Party (1985-91), died after an unspecified long and grave illness at 91.

Loretta Lynn (1932-2022) American country singer-songwriter ("Coal Miner's Daughter"; "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man"), died at 90.

Jerry Lee Lewis (1935-2022) American rock and country music singer-songwriter and pianist ("Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"; "Great Balls of Fire"), died at 87.

Notable Deaths in Sports -

* World Road Race Champion / Giro d'Italia Champion:Ercole Baldini (Ita) (1933-2022) Italian cyclist who as an amateur he won an Olympic Gold Medal in the road race in 1956. He turned professional and won the 1958 World Road Race title and the 1958 Giro d'Italia.

* Vuelta a Espana Champion / Giro d'Italia Champion: Vittorio Adorni (Ita) (1937-2022) Italian professional road racing cyclist, he turned professional in 1961 and won the 1965 Giro d’Italia. Three years later he became the 1968 World Road Race Champion. He died at 85.

* Giro d'Italia Champion: Arnaldo Pambianco (Ita) (1935-2022) Italian professional road racing cyclist (1956-1966), the highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1961 Giro d'Italia. He died at the age of 86.

* World Road Race Champion: Harm Ottenbros (Ned) (1943-2022) Dutch road bicycle racer who raced as a professional from 1967 to 1976. He is best remembered for winning the 1969 World Road Race Championship in Zolder, Belgium. He died at 78.

Julio Jiménez (Spa) (1934-2002) Spanish road cyclist (King of the Mountains: Tour de France 1965, 66, 67 & Vuelta a España 1963, 64, 65), died at 87.

Brian Robinson (GBr) (1930-2022) English pro-cyclist (Tour de France: first Briton to finish 1955; first stage winner 1957), died at 91.

Bill Russell (1934-2022) American Basketball HOF center (11× NBA Championship; 5x NBA MVP; 12x NBA All-Star; Boston Celtics; Olympic gold 1956) and coach (NBA Championship 1968, 69 Boston Celtics), died at 88.

Pele (1940-2022) Brazilian soccer attacking midfielder, one of the greatest players of all time! (92 caps; Player of the Century; 1,281 goals in 1,363 games; Santos, NY Cosmos), died from colon cancer at 82..

2021

2023

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