With our app Circa News, you’ll find a unique feature where you can follow the evolution of a story and receive updates as they happen over time. Unlike the traditional article format, where you have to actively seek out what happens next, our Follow feature brings the latest movement in the story directly to you. When you follow a story, you’re directly telling us what you want to be informed about the most. As a news organization that cares deeply about informing, we use this to help guide what we report.
A year in review
2014 saw Ebola become an international public health emergency, dominating headlines from the summer and onward. It was also a year where police tactics in America against young black men were protested in large numbers, not just in the United States but around the world.
Malaysia Airlines took hold of our attention not once but twice, first with the disappearance of a plane that has still yet to be found and just a few months later having another plane shot out of the sky over the conflict-ridden area between Russia and eastern Ukraine. It was also the year that tensions between Israel and Gaza again boiled over.
Along the way we had moments of triumph, like landing a probe on a comet for the first time ever. We saw Brazil host the World Cup with far fewer issues than were expected. Malala Yousafzai won a Nobel Prize for her efforts to improve the lives of children and give them a fair shot at an education. Michael Sam and Jason Collins broke social barriers in sports, becoming the first openly gay athletes in the NFL and NBA respectively.
In the world of entertainment, we lost Robin Williams and Philip Seymour Hoffman, among others. We heard the announcement of Stephen Colbert to take over the Late Show from David Lettermen. We saw Saturday Night Live acknowledge their diversity problem and address it.
As the year wrapped up, we saw a historic shift in relations between the United States and Cuba, as President Obama announced “a new course.”
But what were the stories that you were following? We’ve compiled a list of the events that took place that captured your attention so much that you decided you needed to be kept apprised to every update. These are your most followed stories of 2014:
#10 Losing Robin Williams
Robin Williams was found dead by his personal assistant on August 11 at his Northern California home. The Marin County Sheriff’s Office concluded in November that the cause of death was suicide by hanging. No drugs or alcohol were found in his system. Williams’ wife said he had been battling “depression, anxiety as well as early stages of Parkinson’s Disease, which he was not yet ready to share publicly.”
A California state lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that will rename the tunnel north of the Golden Gate Bridge after Williams, who won an Academy Award, two Emmy’s, four Golden Globes and five Grammy’s.
At the time of this publication, the Sydney, Australia hostage situation on Dec 14 was just a few followers shy of the Robin Williams story.
Follow the story: http://cir.ca/news/robin-williams-obituary
#9 Apple introduces the Apple Watch
Apple’s first new product line since the iPad in 2010, the highly anticipated Apple Watch, was unveiled on September 9. The device displays alerts and notifications from an array of apps, and is controlled with a small knob called the “digital crown” that scrolls through lists and zooms maps. Siri is also included for voice commands. Apple Watch will retail for $349 and will be available early 2015.
Worldwide revenue from wearable devices like smartwatches is expected to reach $19 billion by 2018, according to industry analysts. Several hardware makers, including LG, Motorola and Samsung have released smartwatches of their own. Google also launched a dedicated program called Android Wear in 2014 to spur the development of wearable devices.
Follow the story: http://cir.ca/news/apple-watch-wearable-device
#8 Virgin Galactic spacecraft crashes
Virgin Galactic launched a test flight of its SpaceShipTwo over the Mojave Desert on October 31. The spaceship, which is connected to the cargo aircraft WhiteKnightTwo, is designed to take off horizontally after being detached. After a successful altitude release from WhiteKnightTwo, the spaceship crashed to the ground. One of SpaceShipTwo’s two pilots was killed. WhiteKnightTwo landed safely.
Federal investigators later said that the pilot who survived was unaware that his co-pilot had prematurely unlocked the spaceship’s braking system, causing SpaceShipTwo to disintegrate. The surviving pilot was thrown away from the debris as the ship broke apart. Richard Branson, who founded Virgin Galactic in 2004, said after the crash that “space is hard — but worth it… We will persevere and move forward together.”
Follow the story: http://cir.ca/news/virgin-galactic-spacecraft-crash-oct-2014
#7 Gaza Conflict
Israel launched military operations in Gaza in July for the fourth time since 2006. The nearly seven-week conflict killed at least 2,101 Palestinians, mostly civilians, as well as 64 Israeli soldiers and three Israeli civilians, according to UN figures.
Egypt helped negotiate a ceasefire in late August that has largely held after previous truces during the conflict broke down. The UN launched an investigation into possible war crimes including attacks on civilian areas by both Israel and Hamas. Israel rejected the inquiry and launched its own probe. Foreign nations pledged billions for Gaza’s reconstruction, but by early December little progress was accomplished.
The conflict occurred following a breakdown of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and rapprochement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. It also came amid heightened tensions due to the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, which brought raids of more than 1,000 homes and businesses in the West Bank and the revenge killing of a Palestinian teen. The situation in Jerusalem and the West Bank remains on edge.
Follow the story: http://cir.ca/news/israel-gaza-escalation-2014
#6 Michael Brown shot in Ferguson
Police killed several unarmed black men under controversial circumstances in 2014, capturing international attention and prompting large protests around the country.
Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9. Witnesses and Wilson described differing circumstances leading up to Brown’s death. Most witnesses say Brown put his hands up after a brief struggle, while Wilson claimed Brown acted aggressively. A grand jury in November decided not to indict Wilson, who later resigned from Ferguson’s police department. The grand jury’s decision fueled further protests around the country.
Another incident involved an unarmed black man named Eric Garner, who died July 17 after being placed in a chokehold by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo. A grand jury in December decided not to indict Pantaleo for Garner’s death, leading to protests in New York and in cities across the nation. The deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner are currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
On November 22, Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice seconds after he and fellow officer Frank Garmback arrived at a park. The officers were responding to a 911 call that mistook the boy’s toy gun for a real one. The Department of Justice had already been investigating Cleveland’s police department prior to the Tamir Rice incident. On December 4, the DoJ released a report that found the department had violated the constitution by engaging “in a pattern or practice of the use of excessive force.”
Follow the stories:
http://cir.ca/news/michael-brown-shooting-investigation
http://cir.ca/news/protests-against-police-in-ferguson
#5 The fight against the Islamic State
Armed conflict with a group calling itself the Islamic State (IS) largely began in January in western Iraq. IS took advantage of porous borders with Syria, where its loosely affiliated fighters had already gained ground. Iraqi military airstrikes targeting IS fighters in civilian areas contributed to the displacement of more than 500,000 people and fueled already simmering resentment against the government. In June, IS swept across other parts of Iraq as the military abandoned its posts. IS then declared a caliphate in Iraq and the Levant, gaining worldwide attention.
Little is actually known about the composition of IS and its mysterious leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who spent years in a U.S. prison in Iraq. IS was once a part of Al-Qaeda, and shares its extremist ideology, but the two are officially split. IS is estimated to have members in the tens of thousands, and its strength is bolstered by alliances with Iraqi tribes and other Syrian extremist groups. It also has many fighters from abroad, causing countries to enact laws to prevent their citizens from joining it.
In September, U.S. President Barack Obama authorized airstrikes and limited number of troops in Iraq and Syria. By the end of 2014, a coalition of international forces, the Iraqi military and allied militias, and Kurdish fighters had halted IS advances, but did not reduce its grip on territory.
Read the full story here: http://cir.ca/news/fight-against-the-islamic-state
#4 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine on July 17 after being shot down. All of the 298 people on board died. It took four months to remove the debris from the site due to ongoing tensions between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists in the area. No group has admitted to downing the plane.
The Dutch Safety Board said in a preliminary report in September that the plane “split into pieces” after it was hit in flight by “a large number of high energy objects that penetrated from the outside.” The report said there was likely no warning of danger before the plane was hit. Dutch forensic experts identified all 298 victims, including 193 from the Netherlands, by late October. Separatists said in November that additional bone fragments had been found when large pieces of debris were moved.
Follow the story: http://cir.ca/news/malaysia-airlines-flight-17
#3 Conflict between Ukraine and Russia
Unrest in Ukraine over former President Viktor Yanukovych’s refusal sign an agreement with the European Union resulted in the 2014 “Euromaiden” protests. The revolution caused Yanukovych to flee the country in late February after protesters grew more determined when parliament refused to roll back Ukraine’s constitution. Large demonstrations in Kiev’s Independence Square led to clashes with riot police that included the use of live ammunition.
The revolution also created an ongoing conflict between pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine and the government in Kiev. More than 4,300 people have died and nearly 10,000 have been wounded since armed conflict began in April, according to the UN. At least 950 have died since a ceasefire was signed in September. The total number of displaced has reached nearly 467,000.
The battle with separatists also led to a fight for control of the Crimean Peninsula in late February. A referendum on the region’s future was held in March with 83% of Crimea’s population participating, and 96% voting in favor of joining Russia. By late March, Russia had begun assuming administration of the peninsula.
Follow the stories:
http://cir.ca/news/ukraine-russia-military-tensions
http://cir.ca/news/eastern-ukraine-unrest-spreads
#2 MH370 goes missing
On March 8, Malaysia Airlines reported it had lost contact with Flight 370. The plane took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:41am and was expected to land in Beijing at 6:30am. Weather conditions were mostly calm between Malaysia and southern Vietnam where the plane vanished. Flight 370 had 227 passengers and 12 Malaysian crew on board.
The Malaysian government released a report in May showing the plane dropped off radar at 1:21am. A shortage of oxygen, known as hypoxia, was the likely cause of the crew losing control of the airliner, according to a report released in June by the Australian Transport Safety Board. By late November, five groups were exploring large parts of the Indian Ocean as part of an Australian-led international search mission for Flight 370.
Follow the stories:
http://cir.ca/news/malaysian-airlines-370-loses-contact
http://cir.ca/news/malaysia-airlines-flight-370-investigation
#1 Ebola
Ebola in the U.S. was Circa’s most followed story of 2014. The West Africa Ebola outbreak was our 4th most followed story of the year.
In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) identified a major Ebola outbreak in Guinea, which began with a two-year old child who died December 2013. The outbreak then spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. WHO declared it to be an international public health emergency in August with cases reported in several other countries.
WHO reports the three countries at the center of the outbreak had 18,118 total Ebola cases and 6,533 deaths as of early December. While Guinea and Liberia have seen new infections slow, Sierra Leone continues to deal with 400 to 500 new cases every week. Over half of the country’s 6 million people are restricted to quarantine zones.
In September, Thomas Eric Duncan became the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States. Duncan contracted Ebola in Liberia before returning to Dallas. He died on October 8. Two nurses who treated Duncan later tested positive for the virus. Both have recovered. Several other American health workers have also recovered from Ebola after contracting the virus while working in West Africa. Dr. Martin Salia, a Sierra Leone national and permanent U.S. resident, died in November after he was transported from Sierra Leone to Nebraska for treatment.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) imposed new restrictions in October for travelers arriving in the U.S. from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The rules require temperatures to be reported to health officials each day for the virus’ incubation period of 21 days. Also in October, President Obama named Ron Klain as U.S. Ebola ‘czar’ to coordinate efforts to fight the spread of the disease. The U.S. has treated a total of 10 Ebola patients in 2014, with two deaths stemming from the disease.
Nearly double the number of people followed the Ebola in the US story than did our story on Ebola in West Africa.
Follow the stories:
http://cir.ca/news/ebola-in-the-us
http://cir.ca/news/west-africa-ebola-outbreak
http://cir.ca/news/ebola-in-europe
http://cir.ca/news/international-response-to-ebola
