Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/22307
4A – Daily News – Saturday, January 1, 2011 Gulf oil spill voted top news story of 2010 NEW YORK (AP) — The massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill, triggered by a deadly blast at a rig used by BP, was the top news story of 2010, followed by the divisive health care over- haul, according to The Associ- ated Press’ annual poll of edi- tors and news directors. The oil spill received 54 first-place votes out of 180 bal- lots cast for the top 10 stories. The health care bill was next, with 30 first-place votes. The U.S. election was third. In fourth place was the U.S. economy, which had been voted the top story of 2009. Here are 2010’s top 10 sto- ries, in order: —GULF OIL DISASTER: The April 20 explosion at a BP- leased rig killed 11 workers and unleashed a deep-sea spill that ultimately spewed at least 170 million gallons of crude into the Gulf. Consequences included devastation for fishing and tourism industries, a huge and costly cleanup effort, a manage- ment change at BP, and creation of a $20 billion fund to pay for damages. —HEALTH CARE OVER- HAUL: After bitter political wrangling, President Barack Obama was able to sign into law one of his major campaign promises — a $1 trillion health care overhaul intended to expand coverage to more Amer- icans. But Republicans used public misgivings about parts of the plan as a springboard for election gains, and the overhaul faced a welter of lawsuits chal- lenging its constitutionality. —US ELECTIONS: Presi- dent Obama called it a ‘‘shel- lacking’’ — an election in which the Republicans surged to a majority in the House of Representatives, and gained more governor’s offices and legislative majorities. The Democrats were able to hang on to their edge in the Senate, leav- ing the U.S. with at least two years of divided government. —US ECONOMY: Econo- mists said the deepest recession since the Great Depression was over, and consumers began to spend more as the year neared a close. But the unemployment rate stayed well above 9 per- cent, and home prices were weighed down by foreclosures and sluggish demand. —HAITI EARTHQUAKE: MCT photo From left, Dr. Brian Stacy, NOAA Fisheries Lead Sea Turtle Pathologist for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, and Karrie Carnes, of NOAA, prepare to release a green turtle into the Gulf of Mexico in Federal waters off of Louisiana on Oct. 21. Already the Western Hemi- sphere’s most destitute nation, Haiti was shattered by an earthquake on Jan. 12 that killed at least 230,000 and left millions homeless. Crucial reconstruction projects were slow to get started; disease and political instability added to the woes. —TEA PARTY MOVE- MENT: Though it lacked the trappings of traditional political organizations, the tea party movement had a profound impact on the 2010 election, influencing the stances of Republican leaders and enabling some maverick chal- lengers to oust GOP establish- ment candidates in the pri- maries. —CHILE MINE RESCUE: In a year of disasters and squab- bles, this was a miraculous feel- good story. Trapped nearly a half-mile underground for 69 days after an Aug. 5 mine col- lapse, 33 Chilean miners were Established 1902 freed one-by-one while an entranced global audience watched on television. —IRAQ: U.S. forces formal- ly ended their combat role and looked ahead to planned with- drawal, while Iraqis endured months of bitter political hag- gling after an election that failed to heal Sunni-Shiite divi- sions. —WIKILEAKS: First came the online postings of a huge batch of U.S. military docu- ments from Iraq and Afghanistan, Then WikiLeaks started releasing a cache of classified State Department diplomatic cables, creating embarrassment for Washington in its dealings with other nations. —AFGHANISTAN: After months of deliberation, Presi- dent Obama ordered a troop surge in a major bid to turn the tide of the nearly 10-year-old war. Intense fighting pushed the Taliban out of some longtime Tod Dolling 3rd Generation Travis Dolling 4th Generation Community Hospital A member of CHW Established 1907 St. Elizabeth Where compassionate care meets state of the art health care (530) 527-1616 804 Main Street • Red Bluff CA LIC #0455992 Established 1945 Carmona’s Appliance and Mattress Center “House of Quality Backed by Service” 330 Walnut St., Red Bluff (530) 527-5700 M-F 8am-6pm Sat 9am-3pm Established 1964 Lassen Medical Group Red Bluff 2450 Sister Mary Columba Drive, Red Bluff (530) 527-0414 www.lassenmedical.com Established 1970 P. Ralph Campbell 455 Antelope Blvd. CELEBRATING 46 YEARS 40¢ BURGERS THRU JANUARY (with any purchase) (530) 527-3320 Bob & Pat Carrel, owners Income Tax Service Bookeeping Service Financial Service P. Ralph Campbell Enrolled Agent 31 years California Insurance License #0C73069 - 11 years 20639 Walnut St., Red Bluff (530) 529-9540 624 Main Street Red Bluff 527-7600 Larry 328 So. Main St. 527-4139 Thanks for your patronage this past year Wayne Established 1973 redbluff.mercy.org 2550 Sr. Mary Columba Drive Red Bluff, CA (530) 529-8000 Established 1956 MCT photo From left, Larry Bailey with his dog, Pongo, Carol Borden and Jan Christensen join the crowd as the Tea Party Express stopped in Kennedale, Texas, on Oct. 25. Established 1922 GEO GROWNEY MOTORS 1160 Main St., Red Bluff (530) 527-1034 “We Aim To Please” Geo. Growney Sr. 1922 Geo. Growney Jr. 1966 Mike Growney 2002 Established 1962 strongholds, but the militants remained resilient, and Afghanistan remained beset by corruption and ineffectual gov- ernment. It was a year of dramatic and diverse news events. Among the stories which didn’t make the top 10 were Arizona’s enactment of a tough law against illegal immigration, the European fiscal crisis, a Supreme Court ruling freeing corporations and unions to fund election ads targeting candi- dates, floods in Pakistan that affected 20 million people, and the volcanic eruption in Iceland that caused trans-Atlantic air travel chaos. ‘‘We wish we could have voted for a top 15 or 20, there were so many compelling sto- ries this year,’’ wrote news edi- tor Larry Lockhart of the Casa Grande Dispatch in Arizona. Jessica Runnels Rourk, an editor at The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C., said the health care overhaul was a cata- lyst for other major political events. ‘‘Conservative anger over the law gave rise to the tea party movement, and the law itself became a symbol of the lack of bipartisanship in Congress that cost incumbents from both par- ties in November’s elections,’’ she noted on her ballot.