Biggest stories of 2018, ranked
Quite a lot happened in 2018. Using a combination of unique-visitor data and input from our editorial team, we've compiled this list counting down the 55 biggest and most popular stories on CBSNews.com.
Jesse Randal Davidson, a social studies teacher at Dalton High School in Georgia, barricaded himself in an empty classroom and fired one shot, causing a chaotic evacuation. He pleaded guilty to related charges and was sentenced to two years in prison.
54. Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
Armed with an AR-15 and three handguns, Robert Bowers entered the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27 and killed 11 people, injuring six more, police say. On Nov. 1, he pleaded not guilty to related charges.
53. Thousand Oaks bar shooting
On Nov. 8, a 28-year-old U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, Ian David Long, opened fire on the crowd at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California. He killed 12 people, including a sheriff's deputy responding to the emergency, before killing himself.
52. "America's Got Talent" accident
In July, a woman was dropped during a trapeze stunt on the NBC show "America's Got Talent." Though the studio audience got quite a scare, the floors were lined with safety mats, and she hopped up injury-free.
51. Sailor's disappearance
Shaun Palmer, a U.S. Navy sailor, was considered missing after he sent a cryptic text to his parents and failed to report for duty at the Marine Corps base in Hawaii. Palmer safely returned to the base after a few days.
50. Jaisaan Lovett graduation speech
Jaisaan Lovett, the first black valedictorian of University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men in Rochester, New York, was refused the opportunity to speak at his graduation ceremony. So Mayor Lovely Warren invited Lovett to give his speech at City Hall.
49. Rodan + Fields lawsuits
Beauty company Rodan + Fields faces a federal class-action lawsuit accusing it of failing disclose potential side effects of its Last Boost serum.
48. Fleetwood Mac band drama
Fleetwood Mac ousted lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and talked about the move to CBS News.
47. Trump thinks "European Union is a foe"
In a July interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor Jeff Glor, President Donald Trump listed the European Union, among others, when asked who he considers America's "biggest foe globally right now."
46. Iowa family dies in Mexico
An Iowa family vacationing in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo was found dead in their rental house. Autopsies showed that the Sharp family died from inhaling toxic gases, apparently from a malfunctioning water heater.
45. Government shutdown
After Senate budget talks stalled, the federal government shut down on the one-year anniversary of President Trump's inauguration. Federal monuments like the Statue of Liberty were closed.
44. The "Tide Pod Challenge"
In January, a dangerous social media fad led several teens to record videos of themselves putting Tide laundry detergent pods in their mouths.
43. Crocs shuts down factories
In August, Crocs Inc. announced that it would shutter its remaining manufacturing facilities in Mexico and Italy in favor of completely outsourcing production.
42. Texas Senate race
The race for a Texas Senate seat was a tight one. Republican incumbent Ted Cruz emerged victorious over Democrat Beto O'Rourke by 2.6 percentage points.
41. Chemicals found in breakfast cereals
A study by the non-profit Environmental Working Group reportedly found trace amounts of glyphosate, a weed-killing chemical linked to cancer, in breakfast foods like General Mills Cheerios.
General Mills told CBS News, "Our products are safe and without question they meet regulatory safety levels. The EPA has researched this issue and has set rules that we follow."
This year, General Mills settled one lawsuit on the matter and, as a part of the settlement, plans to remove the "100 percent natural" claim from its Nature Valley granola bar packaging.
40. Burger chains given "F" over antibiotics in meat
22 U.S. burger chains, including McDonald's and Burger King, were given a failing grade on their policies of antibiotics use in beef products.
The report by several watchdog agencies, including Consumer Reports, said that the "F" grades were given "for lacking any announced policy to source beef raised without the routine use of antibiotics."
A McDonald's spokesperson said, "McDonald's is currently finalizing a global antibiotics policy for beef, to begin roll out before the end of 2018."
39. "Permit Patty"
Alison Ettel was dubbed "Permit Patty" when a Twitter video went viral showing her calling the police on an 8-year-old girl, who is black, for selling bottled water without a permit in San Francisco.
38. Omarosa's audio tapes
Omarosa Manigault-Newman released an audio recording from the 2016 campaign in which she and another aide discussed the possibility of a tape in which Donald Trump allegedly used the N-word during his time on "The Apprentice."
Mr. Trump has denied ever using the term, and no such tape has surfaced.
37. Sneaky dogs steal mail carrier's lunch
A mail carrier left a note that Carol Jordan's dogs had snuck into his truck to eat his lunch, hoping the dogs wouldn't become sick from their ill-begotten snack. When the woman wrote an apology note on behalf of her dogs, the story went viral.
36. Royal family welcomes a new baby
Prince William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, welcomed their third child this year. Prince Louis was born in April.
35. New clues about Amelia Earhart
Researchers found new clues that suggest long-missing aviator Amelia Earhart may have crash-landed on a remote island in the South Pacific.
34. Calif. Chick-fil-A store raises wages
In June, one Chick-fil-A store owner in Sacramento raised its minimum wage to a "living wage" of at least $17 per hour.
33. A reporter goes missing in Houston
A sports reporter temporarily went missing near this mall in Houston, Texas. Courtney Roland was later found, unharmed, under a freeway overpass nearby. Roland released a statement that she believes she suffered an adverse reaction to prescription medication.
32. Jeff Bezos gets richer
Forbes released its annual list of the world's richest billionaires in March. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos moved into the stop spot with a net worth of $112 billion.
Bezos' net worth has since risen as high as $160 billion.
31. Woman berates baby, flight attendant
Susan Peirez was forced to take leave from her job when a video went viral of Peirez berating a flight attendant on Delta Air Lines. Peirez can be heard saying, "I'm not sitting by a crying baby" and threatening to have the flight attendant fired.
30. Disasters on Hawaii's Big Island
In May, nearly 2,000 people were evacuated when Hawaii's Mount Kilauea volcano erupted amid a series of earthquakes.
29. Demi Lovato overdose
Demi Lovato suffered an apparent drug overdose in July. Lovato was found unresponsive in her Los Angeles home and was reportedly revived with naloxone, a drug used to reverse opioid overdoses.
28. The "holy grail of shipwrecks"
An unmanned submarine called the Remus 6000 helped a team of researchers locate a shipwrecked Spanish galleon that sank in the Caribbean in 1701. The ship, the San Jose, carried a treasure worth up to $17 billion.
27. North Korean nuclear program
After two years of tests of North Korea's long-range ballistic missile capabilities, leader Kim Jong Un met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore in June to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
26. "New California" independence movement
One group hopes to separate California into two states using the same article of the U.S. Constitution that was used to form West Virginia.
25. Winter Olympics
The 2018 Winter Olympic Games were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February.
24. Wolf creature shot in Montana
After a large wolf-like creature was shot in Montana in May, pictures of the animal drew comparisons to the dire wolf breed from "Game of Thrones." A DNA test later revealed that the creature was, in fact, a grey wolf.
23. California wildfires
Northern and Southern California were both ravaged by wildfires in November. The Camp Fire in Butte County became the deadliest in state history. The total area burned in the state is just shy of 250,000 acres, around 400 square miles.
22. Barbara Bush dead
Former first lady Barbara Bush died at her home in Houston on April 17. She was 92.
21. "Bomb cyclone" storm
In January, a large winter storm, dubbed a "bomb cyclone" by meteorologists, brought sub-zero wind chills and feet of snow to the East Coast. There were reports of snow as far south as Tallahassee, Florida.
20. John McCain dead
Arizona Sen. John McCain died on August 25 at 81. He died after battling glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer.
19. Midterm elections
On November 6, the United States held its midterm elections. Democrats reclaimed a majority in the House and a record number of women were elected to Congress. Republicans gained two seats in the Senate.
Among the newly elected officials: Ilhan Omar of Minnesota (seen here) and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the first two Muslim women ever elected to the House of Representatives.
18. "Roseanne" canceled
ABC canceled Roseanne Barr's reboot of "Roseanne" in May after Barr posted a racist tweet. The show was given new life as "The Conners," a spin-off that follows the Conner family without Barr or her character.
17. Santa Fe, Texas high school shooting
Ten people were killed and 10 more injured when a student opened fire in a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in May.
16. XXXTentacion killed
Rapper XXXTentacion was killed in June when four men with guns reportedly ambushed him while he was driving in Miami. Four suspects were arrested by late summer.
15. YouTube HQ shooting
A woman opened fire at YouTube's headquarters in San Bruno, California in April. Three people were wounded before the woman, identified as 39-year-old Nasim Najafi Aghdam, killed herself.
14. Georgia gubernatorial race
Stacey Abrams would have been the first black woman governor in U.S. history had she been elected in Georgia. But after a heated campaign marred by allegations of voter suppression, she was defeated by Republican Brian Kemp and conceded on November 16.
13. Mollie Tibbetts killed
Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts was reported missing from her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa in July after she did not show up for work one morning. Her body was discovered in a field over a month later. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first degree murder in the case and pleaded not guilty.
12. Super Bowl LII
The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots on Feb. 8 in Minneapolis.
11. Powerball
Sam Safa, seen here, owns the New Hampshire convenience store where a Powerball ticket matching all six lottery numbers was sold in January. The winner, who chose to remain anonymous, claimed the $570 million jackpot.
10. Hurricane Michael
Hurricane Michael, one of the most powerful hurricanes to ever make landfall on the U.S. mainland, slammed into the Florida Panhandle in October. It killed at least 43 people.
9. Yanny vs. Laurel
In May, an audio clip perplexed listeners. People argued online over what the voice was saying — Yanny or Laurel. Experts said that people could hear either, depending on which frequencies were amplified.
8. Brett Kavanaugh confirmation
Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice in October after a hearing to investigate claims that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford when the two were in high school.
7. Anthony Bourdain suicide
Food and television personality Anthony Bourdain was found dead in his hotel room in France in June. His death was ruled to be a suicide.
6. Hurricane Florence
Floodwaters in North and South Carolina persisted for two weeks after Hurricane Florence made landfall. At least 53 people were killed.
5. Kate Spade suicide
Fashion designer Kate Spade was found dead in her New York apartment in June. A suicide note was discovered in the apartment.
4. Allegiant Air
A "60 Minutes" report questioned the safety of flying on Allegiant Air, an ultra-low-cost airline. The airline released a statement defending its safety record.
3. Thai cave rescue
All of the members of a Thai youth soccer team and their coach were rescued from a flooded cave after an 18-day ordeal that captured the attention of the world.
2. Stormy Daniels
Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress, claims to have had an affair with President Trump. Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen allegedly paid Daniels to keep quiet about the affair, just days before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels told her story in a "60 Minutes" interview in March.
1. Mega Millions
The most-viewed story on CBSNews.com this year: The Mega Millions jackpot climbed to a staggering $1.5 billion before a single winning ticket was sold in October. The winner, who has still not claimed the ticket at the time of publication, purchased the ticket in Simpsonville, South Carolina. The winner has 180 days to claim the prize.