Your definitive guide to 2017: A year of hope and horror

View this email in your browser Brought to you by USATODAY.com What we did We started the year by inaugurating Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. A day later, millions gathered to denounce the new commander-in-chief and marched in the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. The rest of 2017 was no less dramatic. Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn got the boot over his Russian contacts. NFL players knelt. Tragedy struck when a catastrophic hurricane season devastated parts of the U.S. and a Las Vegas gunman brought us the worst mass shooting in American history. A captivated nation witnessed the first Pacific-to-Atlantic solar eclipse in nearly 100 years and lit up with the news that biracial American actress Meghan Markle would indeed wed Prince Harry this spring. In the end, 2017 encouraged us to hope. Women punctuated the year with the powerful rallying cry #MeToo, prompting a national reckoning on sexual violence. Need more? Here are 50 stories from 50 states that moved us in 2017. What we read President Trump's remarkable rise to the White House kicked off the year, but believe it or not, he did not remain the most attention-grabbing news. The storyline of Trump's first year in office was eclipsed by a kiss cam, a diet trend, a dead elk and, well, an actual eclipse. We took a look at the 10 most-read stories this year, and found that while Trump's whirlwind presidency did crack our list of top-read stories twice, an assortment of coverage parts tragic, heartwarming and practical rounded out the rest.  What we said According to your favorite dictionaries: 1. "Feminism" was Merriam-Webster's word of the year. You can thank the women's march, Kellyanne Conway  and #MeToo for that. 2. Dictionary.com chose "complicit," which it said first began trending when Ivanka Trump said she didn't know what it meant "to be complicit" in her father's presidency (Merriam-Webster filled her in). 3. Collins Dictionary's pick was "fake news," an obvious nod towards the president. 4. And Oxford Dictionaries gave its crown to  "youthquake," which it defines as "a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people." (Not everyone was convinced.) Who we lost We said goodbye to many remarkable people in 2017, though this year's PASSAGES — USA TODAY's annual tribute to them —  is more than a list of notable remembrances. In many ways, it's a final salute to a century gone by. The archaic-sounding "1900s," that included the Great Depression, two world wars, the civil rights movement, the fall of Communism and the dawn of the Internet, are fast fading in our collective memory. The names of the 20th-century giants we lost — among them, Fats Domino, Tom Petty, Hugh Hefner, Mary Tyler Moore, David Cassidy, Dick Gregory and Jerry Lewis — may survive, but Millennials now outnumber the Baby Boomers, and their generation has begun their own stream of history. Beyond the big names, lives were lost that are no less notable: among them, victims at a concert in Las Vegas, at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and along a bike path in Manhattan. Let's remember them all. What you thought  This December, we asked you to submit your 2017 year-end review. The highlights are here, but we'll give Ken Derow from Swarthmore, Pa., the last word: "Whether you see 2017 as a good year depends, as always, on your personal perspective and your priorities. What remains clear is that the outcome for 2018 is not yet cast in stone. It will depend on the collective actions of millions of American citizens and on the singular actions of one man: Donald J. Trump. My hope for the new year is that we all strive to be better informed and more engaged in the political process so that, in the end, our resolve will make it a better year for all." This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.  Invite others to enjoy The Short List newsletter. Thank you for subscribing to The Short List. Unsubscribe  |  Manage subscriptions  |  Contact us  |  Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights  |  Ad Choices  |  Terms of Service © 2017 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22102

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -