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Staying in America. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was bogged down with a sexual harassment scandal that had many New Yorkers and lawmakers up in arms over a barrage of allegations he deliberately mistreated women. Cuomo ended up resigning from his post back in August.
And two mishaps in the U.S., the condo collapse back in June, and the tornado outbreak in Kentucky in mid-December.
But we begin now in Haiti, whose President was assassinated in July.
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It was a tumultuous year for Haitians. Back on July 7, a squad of gunmen assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moise in the dead of the night on his private residence in the country's capital, Port-au-Prince.
Moise immediately called several police officials for help prior to the tragedy, but none of them arrived in time. Having ransacked his office and bedroom, the assailants beat Moise and shot him multiple times. Medics later discovered 12 bullets in his chest, arms, right leg and left hip, with a shattered left eye.
The First Lady, Martine Moise, suffered gunshot wounds. But she miraculously survived.
Reports say the suspects also robbed the money stored in Moise's home, in addition to the list featuring names of individuals vis-a-vis drug trafficking.
Haitian authorities subsequently wasted no time getting to the bottom of the horrific assassination.
It took around 4 months to arrest the suspects who partook in the assassination as authorities gleaned more information about the assassination for their probe.
The Interim President of Haiti, Claude Joseph, decreed a two-week siege of the embattled country that was going down the tubes.
Haiti gained notoriety for its unique travails under the Moise administration. Ever since Moise was sworn in, the country has been plagued by sporadic outbreaks of violence as critics accused the President of attempting to amass more power, while the opposition demanded his resignation.
The fallout from investigative documents that revealed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women was immense.
In a taped statement, Cuomo also laid bare what could be skeleton in his closet, as he acknowledged he often hugs and kisses people in benign setting, which many believe let the cat out of the bag.
Not only did New York lawmakers express their displeasure, but the general public also said they were up in arms and disappointed in him.
Cuomo's fall from grace did not prompt him to resign at the outset as he made light of the scandal, saying his actions had been misconstrued.
However, damage to Cuomo's reputation is already done, and his political future is considered unsalvageable.
Eventually, Cuomo resigned in August, but describing his ouster as politically motivated. As he should, since even President Joe Biden pressured him to leave office and said it's not appropriate for him to stay the course with the barrage of allegations confronting him.
Succeeding him is Kathy Hochul, who used to be the lieutenant governor and is the first female New York Governor.
Meantime, the United States dealt with two deadly incidents. First of all, a condominium complex collapsed in Surfside, Florida back on June 24. The death toll kept accumulating as rescuers left no stone unturned in their search of more survivors.
The biggest culprit: Water penetration and corrosion of the structural support in the ground-level parking garage.
All told, 98 people met their demise, rendering many families anguished in the wake of the mishap.
And a tornado outbreak hit the U.S. state of Kentucky and a few contiguous states in mid-December. What's considered one of the most monstrous and ruinous tornado outbreak ever to hit the U.S. battered Kentucky in December, the month in which tornadoes are rare due to inclement weather.
Workers in a candle factory there suffered the brunt of it, although some of them were spared. Families of those dead are displeased, saying with the wisdom of hindsight, the factory shouldn't have been opened, given a tornado warning was in effect.
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Coming up after the break:
The political turmoil in Afghanistan.
Plus, the world said goodbye to the Duke of Edinburgh, Britain's Prince Philip.
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