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The year in review: Top news stories of 2018 month by month

/ CBS News

What about the year gone by?  Time for one last look with Jane Pauley:

January

The year began with California becoming the sixth state to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana. Later in the month, a judge sentenced physician Larry Nassar to up to 175 years in jail for sexually abusing more than 250 girls.

February

The best of the 2018 Winter Olympics: Week 1
The best of the 2018 Winter Olympics: Week 1 68 photos

February brought the Winter Olympics to South Korea; and a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 students and staff members. Survivors launched a campaign for stricter gun laws …

March

…Which brought hundreds of thousands of protesters to Washington for a rally, the March For Our Lives.

March for Our Lives rallies
March for Our Lives rallies 70 photos

April

Facebook executive Mark Zuckerberg appeared before Congress to defend his company over data breaches; and Stormy Daniels took center stage after President Trump denied paying off the former stripper over their alleged encounter.

May

Volcanic eruption in Hawaii
Volcanic eruption in Hawaii 103 photos

Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano sprang to life in May, spewing ash thousands of feet in the air. President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear pact; and some 29 million viewers tuned in to see American Meghan Markle marry Prince Harry.

June

Border children: Immigrant families in crisis
Border children: Immigrant families in crisis 70 photos

June brought reports that migrant children had been separated from their parents as part of President Trump's "zero tolerance" border policy; and the President traveled to Singapore to meet with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, becoming the first sitting U.S. President to meet with a North Korean leader.

July

France won the World Cup, defeating Croatia; and President Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, replacing the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

August

August saw the passing of two giants: Aretha Franklin, the "Queen of Soul"; and Arizona Senator John McCain.

Christine Blasey Ford, with lawyers Debra S. Katz, left, and Michael R. Bromwich, answers questions at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, September 27, 2018 on Capitol Hill
Christine Blasey Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Melina Mara, Jim Bourg

September

Christine Blasey Ford found herself in the headlines in September, after she accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of assault during high school. After televised and hotly-debated Congressional hearings, Kavanaugh was later confirmed to the Court.

October

Hurricane Michael hits Florida
Hurricane Michael hits Florida 77 photos

Hurricane Michael made landfall. And there was more gun violence: 11 died after a gunman opened fire at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. The month also brought the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, thought to be the work of agents of Saudi Arabia.

November

Wildfires tear through Northern, Southern California
Wildfires tear through Northern, Southern California 65 photos

The mid-term elections saw the Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives. On the West Coast, wildfires left 88 dead in the massive Camp Fire. And there was still another mass shooting, this time at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California.

December

We laid former President George H.W. Bush to rest in Texas. Later in the month, a deadlock over funding for President Trump's border wall led to a partial shutdown of the federal government, which continues to this day.

         
Story produced by Julie Kracov.

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