President Obama won a second term on November 6 with 332 electoral votes. (Reuters / Kevin Lamarque / Landov)
Your Top Stories of 2012
The 10 biggest stories of the year, according to readers like you
TOP: Superstorm Sandy devastated communities on the East Coast in late October. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)
BOTTOM: Sweaters can keep oil-soaked penguins warm until rescuers are able to clean them. (AP Images)
Which news stories mattered most to you this year? Check out this list of the 10 most-viewed articles from our daily Top Story over the past 12 months. Beyond the big news events that the whole world was watching, some of what you see may surprise you.
The most talked-about topic in the news this year was the U.S. presidential election. Polls showed a close race between current President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts right up to Election Day. But on November 6, President Obama was elected to a second term. Obama won 332 electoral votes to 206 for Romney.
Superstorm Sandy devastated communities across Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York, leaving many people without homes. As winter begins, millions on the East Coast are still without electricity and heat as a result of the powerful hurricane. People in some areas will be struggling to recover for a long time.
This September marked the 11th anniversary of 9/11, one of the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history. This day has now become known as a National Day of Service. Many people across America take part in community service projects on this day.
An 11-year-old boy stumbled upon the frozen remains of an ancient woolly mammoth—which scientists say is the best-preserved mammoth found in more than a century.
After an oil spill in New Zealand, penguins in the area received some unexpected help—sweaters! People from all over the world knitted thousands of sweaters for the little birds to warm their damaged feathers and keep their beaks away from the oil.
TEENS LAUNCH LEGO FIGURE INTO SPACE
A home science experiment caught Earth on camera, and then captured the attention of the world. Two Canadian teens sent a Lego figurine into the stratosphere and attached a video camera to record the adventure for the whole planet to see.
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF APPLES
A wacky weather event sent a tornado of apples to an English city last winter, leading confused bystanders to wonder where all those apples had come from.
SCIENCE BEHIND THE TITANIC DISASTER
The Titanic was the most famous ship of its time—a legend known both for its huge size and epic shipwreck. New research points to an unusual optical illusion that may have caused the ocean liner to crash into an iceberg.
DISCOVERING THE FIRST AMERICANS
Archaeologists have found new evidence indicating that humans may have lived in the Americas earlier than once thought. Weapons and other items that date back 14,000 years were recently found deep inside a cave in Oregon.
Lawmakers in New York City banned restaurants, movie theaters, and sports arenas from selling sugar-sweetened drinks larger than 16 ounces. New York’s ban comes at a time when health experts and lawmakers are trying to address a nationwide obesity problem. About one third of adults in the U.S. are obese, or dangerously overweight.
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A True Book: The Superstorm Hurricane Sandy
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