2025 started on a Wednesday, prompting jokes about how the first three days of the year in abbreviation translates to the exclamation, “What the f*ck.” Despite all the global events, it is important to stay positive and find moments of joy. From unexpected political changes to amazing scientific discoveries, the world has been buzzing with activity. Let’s take a fun look at some of the major events that have defined the start of this year, and hopefully, bring a smile to your face amidst the chaos.
Let’s rip off the band-aid and start with the more somber news before moving on to the brighter side of things.
- A driver rams into crowd killing 15 in Bourbon, New Orleans during new year’s celebration with an ISIS flag in the vehicle.
- Zambian police officer got drunk and released 13 suspects on New Year’s Day.
- A lit bundle of fireworks tipped over setting off other fireworks in the area causing a huge explosion killing 4 people and injured twenty in Hawaii.
- A Tesla Cybertruck exploded in Las Vegas outside Trump hotel.
- New York City Introduces Congestion Pricing. Drivers to Pay Up to $13.50 to Enter Manhattan’s Central Business District.
- The donkey that inspired Eddie Murphy’s character in Shrek died at the age of 30. (RIP, Donkey!)
- The world oldest person, Tomiko Itooka dies at age 116 in Japan.
- Jeff Baena, Aubrey Plaza’s husband passed away at age 47.
- A major winter storm hit the United States, causing snowfall in unlikely cities and prompting states of emergency.
- New York court ruling on Trump’s Hush Money case
- Two dead and 18 injured in small plane crash in Fullerton, California.
- Wildfires tear through Las Vegas.
- Kallmekris controversy with the BookTok’s Dark Romance girlies
- Netflix is increasing prices for subscription (Speechless).
- School Shooting in Antioch high school, Nashville, Tennessee.
- The arrival of Deepseek AI crashes NVIDIA stocks. (An AI model from China and possibly way advanced than Open AI’s most advance model was developed for 90 percent cheaper and guess what? Was made Open Source.)
- New York went 5 days without any shooting incident for the first time in 30 years. Sadly, a few hours after this was announced by the NYPD, a man was shot in East New York, Brooklyn.
- The Mendez Brothers’ resentencing hearing postponed to March 20-21 due to wildfires in Los Angeles
Now to the lighthearted, upcoming and positive news throughout the year to look out for throughout the year:
- Scientists discovered the largest dinosaur footprint ever found in the United Kingdom, dating back 166 million years. (Dinosaurs = awesome!)
- Sean Diddy Combs would stand trial in court in May
- Apple to pay $95 million settlement for a lawsuit claiming that Siri was listening in and recording users’ private conversations. (Wow!)
- Luigi’s next significant court hearing would be on Feb. 21.
- OpenAI Faces Lawsuits from The New York Times and Elon Musk. (The New York Times is suing OpenAI for using their content to train AI models without permission, while Elon Musk is taking legal action because OpenAI has shifted from its original non-profit mission. Just wow!)
- Drones would be deployed to clear trash from Mount Everest.
- GTA 6 is getting released (Sign me up!) Who else is excited?
- “Stranger Things” season 5 is also being released (clear my calendar; we are taking a week off!)
- There are going to be 2 lunar eclipses and 2 solar eclipses this year.
- One of them is a Blood Moon (Vampires and Werewolves let’s meet. Water tribe, prepare to invade the fire Nation)
- Entertainment to look forward to their release
- Avatar 3
- The Last of Us season 2
- Captain America Brave New World
- 28 Years Later (Horror movies, love those!)
- The Special Olympics (A family favorite)
- Wednesday Season 2
- Invincible Season 3
- You Season 5
- Dexter: Resurrection
- Squid Game Season 3
- The Batman 2
- Minecraft: The Movie (Can’t wait!)
- Micheal Jackson Biopic
- Zootopia 2
- Live action Lilo and Stitch
- King of Envy book by Ana Huang
- iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max and 17 “Slim” or “Air” is also getting released (No comment)
- Trump drops a memecoin: $TRUMP
- Fans in shock as Bruno Mars’s new song, “Fat, Juicy and Wet,” goes in contrast to the kind of songs he is well known for. Some going as far as requesting he un-release the song while some are content with it and not surprised at all.
- African American woman angry at Rina Kent, author of the dark romance universe “The RinaVerse,” for choosing not to write an African American female main character. In Rina’s defense, she wouldn’t do justice to the character as she doesn’t understand the culture deeply and would not want to write something wrong, offensive, inaccurate and not portray the character in a good light. (Hear me out, she is right. Don’t start something you can’t finish.)
While 2025 has started with its share of challenges, it’s important to hold onto hope. Hope drives us forward, helps us find joy in small moments, and keeps us connected. As we look ahead to exciting discoveries and events, let’s embrace the new year with optimism and resilience. Here’s to a year filled with growth, learning and unforgettable experiences!
