A look back at the biggest news events that shaped 2023 and made history

Read the Full Transcript

• Lisa Desjardins:

  There is no question that we live in historic unusual times. 2023 added to the list of unprecedented events. See if you remember it all as tonight we take a look back at the events that define the year.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  Conflict has dominated the headlines including a still unfolding war in the Middle East. Less than three months ago, Hamas militants attacked southern Israel in a surprise multipronged and bloody invasion. Nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed and another 240 were taken hostage.

  Naom Peri, Daughter of hostage: Almost 80 people are missing are kidnapped.

• Woman:

  80 people at a community of 350.

• Naom Peri:

  Yes. 24 of them are above the age of 75, 15 of them are kids. Some are even babies.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  Israeli retaliation was swift and relentless. An air assault followed weeks later by a ground invasion, beginning in northern Gaza and then marching south.

• Leila Molana Allen:

  The scale of destruction here and in so many other villages along Gaza border with Israel is complete. Every house is gutted.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  Gaza's health ministry reports more than 21,000 Palestinians have been killed. Nearly 2 million more have been displaced, a humanitarian crisis, igniting demonstrations and cities around the world.

  War torn Ukraine got a surprise and historic visit from President Biden. The first time in modern history, a President has visited an active conflict zone not under us control. On the verge of its third year of fighting against Russia, Ukraine launched a counter offensive this summer.

• Nick Schifrin:

  This is right at the epicenter of the counter offensive where Ukrainians have pushed the Russians back a little. They're trying to expand their territory, the Russian lines half a mile both that way and that way, and you could hear all the firing.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  As temperatures dropped Russia focused its attacks on eastern Ukraine, where both sides use drones and the frontline has barely budged. Meanwhile, Russia's neighbor to the east Finland joined the NATO alliance.

  Other parts of the world saw their own share of instability. Haiti remained in turmoil with no elected officials and gang warfare in the streets. Nigeria and Gabon became the latest West African countries beset by military coups. In Myanmar, a possible turn in the Civil War. The military junta was stunned by a fall offensive from a coalition of armed ethnic rebel groups.

  After three years of a global pandemic, a momentous milestone.

• Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Directo-General, World Health Organization:

  I declared a COVID-19 over as a global health emergency.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  In the U.S. the pandemics and also met some government programs transitioned to private markets, including virus treatments. COVID vaccines remained free to all but this year's vaccine rollout was rocky as supply chain issues disrupted distribution, about 18 percent of Americans have received an updated shot this year.

  The global health emergency surrounding the infectious disease monkeypox also came to an end as cases fell, but another virus gripped the world's attention as cases spread among children, RSV or respiratory virus that can be serious, both in children and older adults.

  Respiratory problems from a different source impacted much of the U.S. and Canada this year. Smoke from massive wildfires burning in Canada shrouded large parts of the U.S. in a dangerous haze for days. The Canadian blazes were the worst on record, touching every province and burning an area the size of North Dakota.

  A fast moving wildfire on the Greek island of roads led to a frantic mass evacuation of tourists. And on the Hawaiian island of Maui a weather chain reaction and offshore hurricane sent high winds across the drought Stricken Island fueling intense and rapidly spreading fires.

  Aaron Kamaunu, Maui resident: That puppy was a block away.

• William Brangham:

  Is it gone from a mile to a block away.

• Aaron Kamaunu:

  In minutes in minutes, minutes, minutes, minutes. It was like unreal. Unbelievable.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  100 people are killed and the historic town of Lahaina was destroyed. Though not solely caused by climate change, the fires are strong indicators of a warming planet. This year was the hottest on record, according to the United Nations World Meteorological Organization.

  There were other natural disasters to cope with in 2023. In February, a massive earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, toppling thousands of buildings across the 140,000 square mile quake zone.

• Jane Ferguson:

  There are thousands of rescue workers just like this spread out across southern Turkey still digging through the rubble, still determined to pull survivors from underneath collapsed buildings. But three whole days since the earthquakes struck, the likelihood of finding anyone still alive, diminishes every hour.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  In the end, nearly 60,000 people were killed. Thousands more injured, and hundreds of thousands of buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, prompting questions about building code standards.

  In Morocco a similar story on a smaller scale, where a giant quake in September killed nearly 3,000 people and brought down entire villages. From quakes to mass flooding, Libya was inundated by a fast moving torrential rainstorm that led to the collapse of two dams. 4,000 people died and much of the city of Derner was destroyed in the worst floods Libya has seen in a century.

  And as a year of natural disasters closes out, after weeks of intense quake activity in Iceland, a volcanic eruption arrived just before Christmas. Everyone who lives in the nearby town of Grindavik was evacuated weeks ago in anticipation.

• Asgeir Om Emilsson, Grindavik Resident:

  I don't think we'll ever feel safe after going with us heavily there.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  From natural disasters to manmade ones. In February, a Norfolk Southern train derailed and exploded in a towering ball of flames over the town of East Palestine, Ohio. Many of the cars that exploded were carrying hazardous chemicals. And then nearly 5,000 people who call East Palestine home felt the impacts immediately.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Residents here still have questions about whether the air and water are safe and about the company's commitment to address the long term consequences of the derailment and spill.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  In June, the world's attention turned to a saga unfolding under the sea. Five men taking a paid private submersible to the shipwreck Titanic lost their lives when the vessel imploded.

  And in the United States, mass shootings continue to plague the country from a ballroom dance hall in California to a mall shooting in Texas, to a private Christian school in Nashville. And a lockdown in the city of Lewiston, Maine as authorities hunted the killer. The U.S. has seen more than 600 mass shootings where four or more people are shot or killed in 2023 alone.

  In Memphis, a reminder of a different problem. Police brutality. Officer body cam footage showed multiple officers beating 29-year-old Tyre Nichols to death. The Justice Department charged five officers with federal crimes.

  And in the nation's capital, it was a year of turbulence and change. At the Supreme Court, justices effectively brought an end to affirmative action at colleges and universities. The vote fell along ideological lines six to three.

  In the U.S. House of Representatives there were three different speakers in the span of nine months. Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected to replace Nancy Pelosi in January but it took 15 ballots for him to win.

• Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R) California:

  That was easy.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  But by October he was ousted as eight renegade Republicans voted with Democrats in an historic first.

• Man:

  The office of Speaker of the House of the United States House of Representatives is hereby declared vacant.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  The Chair said empty for 22 days amid GOP disarray and eventually Republican Mike Johnson won the speakership.

• Lisa Desjardins:

  Three weeks that's again for nominees.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  In the midst of it all, the threat of government shutdowns loomed large not once but twice, with government funding about to run out in both October and November. At the last minute, Congress passed stopgap funding bills to keep the government operating.

  In December, another rarity when the House voted to expel one of its own Republican Congressman George Santos of New York under fire for a slew of alleged crimes and ethics violations.

• Jack Smith, Special Counsel:

  Today, and then guiding them was unsealed. Charging Donald J. Trump, with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding.

• Lisa Desjardins (voice-over):

  Also on trial former President Trump who made multiple appearances in several of the federal and state courtrooms in which he faces a combined 91 charges both civil and criminal.

  Even with the trials in motion, Mr. Trump's numbers soared in his bid for the Republican nomination. Polling puts him far in the front of the pack of contenders, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Independent candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. threw his hat in the ring with a controversial run of his own.

  Around the world, a wave of new populist far right leaders were elected to power from Argentina or the Trump adoring Javier Mileisays he'll rein in triple digit inflation by adopting the U.S. dollar and slashing government spending.

  To the Netherlands where anti-Islam and anti-European Union populist Geert Wilders won a surprise victory. But in Britain, the ultimate status quo. Throngs of people converged on London for the coronation of King Charles III and his Queen Consort, Camilla.

  In the U.S. some good economic news, inflation eased more than expected. Growth was healthy and unemployment stayed below 4 percent for the longest time since the 1960s. Still, Americans struggled with the cost of living and high mortgage rates made it challenging for new homebuyers to get a foothold on the property ladder.

  Workers in several industries took to the picket line calling for better wages, hours and working conditions. United Auto Workers walked off the job for an unprecedented six weeks and coordinated strikes this fall and gained record wage increases, President Biden joined them in person.

  Health care workers with Kaiser Permanente stage the largest health care strike in U.S. history over understaffing issues.

  And in Hollywood, both writers and actors went on strike, bringing the industry to a standstill for months over fair pay on streaming services, and the threat of artificial intelligence in entertainment.

  AI kept on growing and pushing into people's everyday lives on the one hand, making mundane tasks easier and faster. But on the other sounding alarm bells over how the technology will be regulated going forward. AI even helped generate a new song from the Beatles more than 50 years after they broke up now and then mixed in John Lennon vocals from an old cassette tape.

  But other big name musicians drew big crowds on tour this year. Including two record breaking superstars. Beyonce is much anticipated Renaissance Tour was the highest grossing by a black artist in history. And Taylor Swift's tour set the record for all artists are sold out Eras Tour and subsequent film were economic juggernauts. The tour so far has earned over $1 billion in ticket sales and boosted the economies of cities where she performed.

  2023 saw the continuing rise of female athletes, the Women's World Cup drew record crowds and viewers around the world and the U.S. team collapsed midway for new champions Spain, so did the women's NCAA basketball finals. The Louisiana State beat Iowa and the game broke records for scoring attendance and viewership.

  Michaela Schifrin became the winningest alpine skier of all time male or female. 19-year-old Coco Gauff won the U.S. Open her first Grand Slam and she was the highest paid female athlete this year. Simone Biles made her gymnastics comeback after a mental health break, adding more gold medals to her collection, and an outdoor University of Nebraska women's volleyball match broke attendance records.

  In the world of baseball a couple of firsts. The Texas Rangers won their first World Series and a record payout for Shohei Otani, the Japanese pitcher signed with the Dodgers for $700 million over 10 years, the most lucrative contract in professional sports history.

  As the year comes to a close some of the final farewells of 2023. First Lady Rosalynn Carter passed away at the age of 96. Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court, the longest serving California Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat and conservative Christian media mogul Pat Robertson, from the world of arts, the Nobel Prize winning poet Louise Gluck, writer Cormac McCarthy from stage and screen, Bob Barker, Richard Belzer, Michael Gambon, Matthew Perry, Paul Rubens and Raquel Welch and a final exit for some legendary names in music, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Buffett, David Crosby, Sinead O'Connor, Lisa Marie Presley, and Tina Turner.

  And now the new year has already kicked off for many around the world from Auckland to Athens, cities rang in 2024 with countdowns fireworks and cheering crowds.