A look back at 2017: Spring edition
In a year that brought us a seemingly relentless onslaught of highs and lows, the spring of 2017 was truly a microcosm of that emotional roller coaster ride. April began with news of a suspected chemical attack on the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun, after which tragic photos of a young Syrian father clutching the lifeless bodies of his 9-month-old twins circulated on the internet, breaking the hearts of people around the world.
In the days that followed, President Trump responded with military force, launching 59 Tomahawk missiles toward the Shayrat Airfield in Homs, at a time when tensions with Syria's ally Russia were already heightened. Many Americans were proud that the U.S. took a stand against such a crime against humanity. Others worried the show of force would escalate tensions further.
In the spring of 2017, Americans were also riveted by an air travel nightmare caught on tape. Footage surfaced of a doctor being violently dragged off an overbooked United Airlines flight when he wouldn't give up his seat, suffering a concussion, a broken nose and loosing two teeth. The video went viral. And the company CEO's tone-deaf initial response turned it into the biggest PR blunder of the year.
"It's bad enough that we have to fly in these tubes with our knees like pinned to another chair," remarked BET writer Lauren Smith in the CBSN year-end special, "2017 Unsubscribe." "Let's not add insult to injury by literally insulting and injuring the passengers."
And through it all, Americans tuned in by the millions to watch a giraffe go into labor live on YouTube.
In fact, April the giraffe wasn't the only viral animal that helped Americans let off steam this spring.
"Fiona the hippo was the biggest celebrity of 2017," says Mashable's culture reporter Chloe Bryan, referencing the baby hippo that was born premature at the Cincinnati Zoo and rocketed to almost immediate internet fame. "We followed Fiona as she grew up, as she learned to swim. One time, they put her in the zoo shower and it literally trended on Twitter for 48 hours."
The month of May, too, had its fair share of highs and lows.
There was the untimely death by suicide of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. There was the Kathy Griffin photo controversy, which resulted in a tearful press conference and the comedian insisting that President Trump "broke" her.
There was the improbable fidget spinner phenomenon, and of course, "covfefe," the typo heard round the world.
Take a look back at these events and more in the full CBSN special "2017 Unsubscribe" below.