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| FILE - This Nov. 29, 2013 file photo shows part of the HealthCare.gov website on a computer screen in Washington. The White House had hoped the Oct. 1, 2013 launch of open enrollment would be a showcase for the upside of Obama's much-debated overhaul. Instead, the website became a symbol of dysfunction. The site gradually improved, but a wave of cancellation notices from insurers undercut Obama's oft-repeated promise that people who liked their existing coverage could keep it. |
NEW YORK (AP)
-- The glitch-plagued rollout of President Barack Obama's health care
overhaul was the top news story of 2013, followed by the Boston Marathon
bombing and the dramatic papal changeover at the Vatican, according to
The Associated Press' annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors.
The
saga of "Obamacare" - as the Affordable Care Act is widely known -
received 45 first-place votes out of the 144 ballots cast for the top 10
stories. The marathon bombing received 29 first-place votes and the
papal transition 21.
Other strong contenders
were the bitter partisan conflict in Congress and the leaks about
National Security Agency surveillance by former NSA analyst Edward
Snowden.
Last year, the top story was the
massacre of 26 children and staff at an elementary school in Newtown,
Conn. That result came after a rare decision by the AP to re-conduct the
voting; the initial round of balloting had ended Dec. 13, a day before
the Newtown shooting, with the 2012 election at the top.
The first AP top-stories poll was conducted in 1936, when editors chose the abdication of Britain's King Edward VIII.
Here are 2013's top 10 stories, in order:
HEALTH
CARE OVERHAUL: The White House had hoped the Oct. 1 launch of open
enrollment would be a showcase for the upside of Obama's much-debated
overhaul. Instead, the website became a symbol of dysfunction, providing
Republicans and late-night comics with ammunition, and worrying the
president's Democratic allies. The site gradually improved, but a wave
of cancellation notices from insurers undercut Obama's oft-repeated
promise that people who liked their existing coverage could keep it.
BOSTON
MARATHON BOMBING: In seconds, a scene of celebration transformed into
one of carnage, as two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston
Marathon in April. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured,
including at least 16 who lost limbs. Authorities soon identified two
suspects - 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died in a shootout with
police, and his brother, Dzhokhar, 20, who faces multiple charges,
including 17 that carry a possible death penalty. Though jolted by the
bombings and a subsequent lockdown, the city rallied under the slogan
"Boston Strong."
VATICAN CHANGEOVER: Pope
Benedict XVI stunned Catholics around the world with his announcement in
February that he would resign. The cardinal elected to succeed him,
soon known as Pope Francis, proceeded to captivate many Catholics and
non-Catholics alike with a new tone of openness, modesty and tolerance.
Without challenging core church doctrine, he suggested it was time to
rethink policy on divorce, focus more on serving the poor, and devote
less rhetoric to condemnations of gay marriage and abortion.
DIVIDED
CONGRESS: Opinion polls showed Congress with historically low approval
ratings, and the key reason was seemingly intractable partisan conflict.
Among the consequences were the harsh automatic spending curbs known as
sequestration, the partial shutdown of the government in October, and
bitterness in Senate after the Democrats used their majority to reduce
the Republicans' ability to stall presidential nominations via
filibusters.
NSA SPYING: The ripple effect
continues, seven months after the world learned of Edward Snowden. The
former NSA analyst leaked vast troves of secret documents detailing NSA
surveillance operations, including programs that collected Americans'
phone records and eavesdropped on allied leaders. After a stay in Hong
Kong, Snowden spent a month in Moscow's airport before obtaining asylum
in Russia. The leaks have roiled diplomacy, triggered lawsuits and calls
for reform, and prompted warnings that terrorists could benefit from
the disclosures.
GAY MARRIAGE: Capping decades
of activism, the gay-rights movement won a monumental victory in June
in the form of two Supreme Court decisions. One cleared the way for
ending a ban on same-sex marriages in California, the most populous
state. The other struck down a 1996 law passed by Congress that banned
federal recognition of same-sex marriages. In subsequent months, Hawaii,
Illinois and New Mexico boosted the number of states allowing gay
marriage to 17.
NELSON MANDELA: A freedom
fighter, a political prisoner, a statesman revered for preaching
reconciliation in a nation torn by racial strife. Nelson Mandela was all
that and more - the icon of the anti-apartheid movement and South
Africa's first black president. With his death at the age of 95, his
compatriots, world leaders and countless other admirers mourned the loss
of a one-of-a-kind hero.
PHILIPPINES TYPHOON:
There were dire warnings beforehand, but the toll wreaked by Typhoon
Haiyan was still stunning in its scope after it struck on Nov. 8. More
than 6,000 people died; hundreds more remain missing. The typhoon
damaged or destroyed the homes of more than 16 million people, with
rebuilding expected to take years.
SYRIA: The
death toll mounted inexorably, past 120,000, as Syria's nearly
3-year-old civil warfare raged on with no signs of resolution. The
government of Bashar Assad did agree to eliminate its chemical weapons,
but prospects for peace talks were complicated by infighting among
anti-government rebels. Nearly 9 million Syrians have been uprooted from
their homes, with many of them seeking refuge abroad.
MISSING
WOMEN FOUND: The call for help came on May 6, and the revelations that
followed were gripping and grim. A former bus driver, Ariel Castro, had
abducted three women from the streets of Cleveland from 2002 to 2004
when they were 14, 16 and 20. He periodically kept them chained,
restricted access to food and toilets, and repeatedly raped and
assaulted them until their escape. Castro pleaded guilty to multiple
charges, and in September, faced with life in prison, hanged himself in
his cell.
