Buckle Up Because Here Is Everything That Happened In January And Woo Boy

Well that escalated quickly.

By
Julia Reinstein
by Julia Reinstein

BuzzFeed News Reporter

and
Remy Smidt
by Remy Smidt

BuzzFeed Staff

and
Brianna Sacks
by Brianna Sacks

BuzzFeed News Reporter

1. Logan Paul posted a video of a dead body, and YouTube cut ties with him.

Logan Paul / Via Youtube

On New Year's Eve, YouTube star Logan Paul posted a now-deleted video from Aokigahara, Japan's so-called suicide forest, in which he had found a dead body.

By the next day, Paul had apologized and said he had "intended to raise awareness for suicide" — but the damage was done. The video prompted a widespread public backlash, with many people calling for Paul's YouTube account to be terminated. YouTube cut business ties with him just over a week later.

2. Hundreds of powerful women in entertainment began the Time's Up initiative to fight sexual harassment in the workplace.

3. Michael Wolff's White House tell-all Fire and Fury came out, and revealed lots of scandalous details from behind the scenes of Donald Trump's first year in office.

Katy Tur @KatyTurNBC

From Fire and Fury, here's Trump on his friends' wives -->

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The book was a whole lot of 👀, with claims about Trump sexually pursuing his friends' wives and preferring to eat at McDonald's because of his "longtime fear of being poisoned." It also included a whole bunch of buzzy details about the Trump-Russia investigation, many of which were attributed to the president's former senior advisor Steve Bannon.

4. Trump claimed to be a "very stable genius."

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

....to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and… https://t.co/X3UO2xDvEv

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Responding to Fire and Fury's claim that many of Trump's allies believed his “mental powers were slipping,” the president tweeted that he is a "very stable genius" and "like, really smart."

5. People briefly lost their minds over the idea of an "Oprah 2020" presidential campaign.

Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty Images

At the Golden Globes on Jan. 7, Oprah Winfrey won the Cecil B. DeMille Award and delivered a powerful, rousing speech in support of the #MeToo movement.

Almost immediately, people on the left began fantasizing that Winfrey would run for president in 2020, egged on by reports that the iconic former talk show host was actually considering it. Of course, the anti-Oprah-2020 hot takes weren't far behind, and Trump even said he would beat her if she decided to run.

Winfrey eventually said she doesn't plan on running for president because she doesn't "have the DNA for it."

6. It was revealed that Michelle Williams was paid a literal fraction of what Mark Wahlberg got to reshoot a movie.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

On Jan. 9, USA Today reported that Mark Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million to reshoot scenes from All the Money in the World following director Ridley Scott's decision to cut Kevin Spacey from the film in the wake of sexual assault allegations. Wahlberg's female costar, Michelle Williams, was paid roughly $1,000 for the reshoots.

People were horrified by the "shameful" pay discrepancy. A few days later, Wahlberg announced he would donate the $1.5 million he earned for the reshoots to the Time's Up initiative.

7. A "bomb cyclone" slammed the East Coast with snow and arctic winds.

Mark Makela / Getty Images

In the early days of 2018, a massive winter storm known as a "bomb cyclone" covered the East Coast under mountains of snow, forcing people into their homes for days thanks to record-breaking cold temperatures. It was a great time.

It actually got so cold that in Florida iguanas started freezing and falling out of trees.

8. A false inbound missile threat warning was sent out to everyone in the state of Hawaii.

Michelle Broder Van Dyke @michellebvd

Omg

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Early in the morning on Jan. 13, Hawaii residents received an alert warning that a ballistic missile was headed towards the state.

It turned out to be a false alarm — but residents were left in a confused panic until a second alert went out 40 minutes later notifying them of the false alarm.

The emergency worker who sent the alert has since been fired, and the administrator for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency resigned on Jan. 30.

9. The government had to tell people not to eat pods full of laundry detergent, because teens.

US Consumer Product Safety Commission @USCPSC

Please don't eat laundry pods. Learn more ways to #preventpoison https://t.co/jjJGA8N1H4

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After a meme about eating multicolored Tide Pods exploded across the internet — with people actually doing it — the US Consumer Product Safety Commission had to warn humans not to eat laundry detergent.

The meme persisted, and Procter & Gamble, Tide's parent company, had to launch a campaign begging people not to eat its detergent pods. Meanwhile, YouTube started removing videos of the "Tide Pod Challenge."

10. Several women accused James Franco of sexual misconduct.

Christopher Polk / Getty Images

After James Franco won a Golden Globe award while sporting a pin supporting the Time's Up initiative, Twitter lit up with allegations that the star had mistreated women. Five women soon came forward in a Los Angeles Times piece to accuse the actor of inappropriate or sexually coercive behavior.

Franco’s attorney told the newspaper that the actor disputed all of the women’s allegations, and directed the outlet to Franco's comments on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Jan. 9.

“The things that I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate,” Franco told Colbert. “But I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didn’t have a voice for so long. So I don’t want to shut them down in any way.”

11. Thousands of Sam's Club employees across the country suddenly lost their jobs.

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Hours after Walmart announced on Jan. 11 that it would raise the hourly wages of employees and offer one-time bonuses, the company also disclosed that it was shuttering 63 Sam's Club stores across the country.

Some locations closed immediately, and workers said that they found out when they showed up to work. Thousands of people are affected — in Indiana alone, two stores are closing, leaving 416 people out of a job.

12. Chelsea Manning filed to run for US Senate in Maryland...

Bryan Bedder / Getty Images

Chelsea Manning, the former US soldier who leaked over 700,000 military intelligence documents to WikiLeaks, filed to run for US Senate in Maryland as a Democrat. She will mount a primary challenge against the state's senior senator, Ben Cardin, who has held the seat since 2007.

Manning was released from a military prison in Kansas last year after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence.

13. ...and then she showed up at a pro-Trump gala.

Chelsea E. Manning @xychelsea

crashed the fascist/white supremacist hate brigade party 😂 all selfies were denied 😎💕🌈 #CrashTheFash #WeGotThis… https://t.co/ZLSF2RBiP1

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On Jan. 20, Manning attended a gala celebrating the one-year anniversary of Trump's inauguration.

After leaving the event, she appeared to claim on Twitter that she had crashed the party. However, attendees characterized Manning's appearance differently; one source told BuzzFeed News that "while she was not there protesting, she was there in an effort to bridge gaps between left and right."

14. It was revealed that adult film star Stormy Daniels was reportedly paid to keep quiet about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump in the weeks before the 2016 election.

Ethan Miller / Getty Images

The Wall Street Journal reported in January that porn star Stormy Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, was allegedly paid $130,000 to remain quiet about a consensual sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.

One week later — and after In Touch released the transcript of a 2011 interview in which Daniels described her relations with Trump in lurid detail —

the porn star launched a "Make America Horny Again" tour of strip clubs.

Most recently, Daniels appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live following Trump's first State of the Union speech, and after releasing a statement earlier in the day denying that the alleged sexual relationship ever took place.

"I am not denying this affair because I was paid 'hush money' as has been reported in overseas owned tabloids. I am denying this affair because it never happened," the statement said.

Speaking with Kimmel, however, Daniels sort of denied denying the affair. Which her lawyer later denied.

15. It turns out Trump is very, very afraid of sharks.

Via NBC

In the 2011 In Touch interview published on Jan. 19, Daniels claimed that Trump has a very strong aversion to sharks.

"He is obsessed with sharks," Daniels said. "Terrified of sharks. He was like, 'I donate to all these charities and I would never donate to any charity that helps sharks. I hope all the sharks die.'"

She also said that she could describe Trump's "junk perfectly" and that he did not use protection during their sexual encounters.

16. The government shut down...and then reopened...but maybe not for long.

Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images

On Jan. 18, the federal government shut down after politicians could not agree on a spending bill. Senate Democrats had refused to back the plan because it did not include a fix for young undocumented immigrants benefitting from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which is set to expire in early March, leaving about 700,000 recipients subject to deportation.

After a weekend of blame games, lawmakers figured it out...sort of. Senate Democrats agreed to a deal that would fund the government until Feb. 8, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised to allow a vote on an immigration bill as well.

17. Former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40–175 years in prison for sexually abusing young female athletes over several decades.

Geoff Robins / AFP / Getty Images

“I just signed your death warrant,” Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said to Larry Nassar on Jan. 24, sentencing the former USA Gymnastics doctor to between 40 and 175 years in prison. "You do not deserve to walk outside of a prison ever again."

The ruling followed seven days of emotional testimony from more than 100 people who confronted Nassar over his sexual abuse, which was mostly against young women and girls training with USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University's athletics department. Read the most powerful quotes from the "army of survivors” here.

18. Trump complained about people immigrating to the US from "shithole" countries.

Win Mcnamee / Getty Images

During a discussion about immigration with a group of lawmakers in the Oval Office, Trump reportedly asked why people from "shithole countries come here," referring specifically to immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador, and countries in Africa.

The White House initially did not deny that Trump had made the comment, which sparked protest and backlash across the world, and prompted people from the "shithole countries" to share their accomplishments.

Several days after the meeting, Trump claimed that he did not make the derogatory remarks.

19. Police found 13 siblings, aged 2 to 29, malnourished and shackled to beds in a home in Southern California.

Riverside County Sheriff's Department

Authorities rescued 12 siblings, some of whom were shackled to their beds and malnourished, from a home in Perris, California, after a 17-year-old girl escaped and called for help on a disconnected cell phone.

The victims' biological parents, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, have since been charged with nearly 40 counts each, including 12 counts of torture and 6 counts of child abuse. They have also been banned from contacting their children.

20. A 15-year-old gunman killed two students and injured 18 others at a Kentucky high school.

Robert Ray / AP

Prosecutors say a 15-year-old showed up to his high school in Benton, Kentucky, on the morning of Jan. 23 and opened fire, killing two students and injuring 18 others. The students ranged in age from 14 to 18; 14 of the 20 victims were male, the Kentucky State Police said.

It was the 11th school shooting in the US in just the first 23 days of 2018, according to the New York Times.

21. Trump reportedly ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller, but backed down when White House counsel threatened to quit.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

On Jan. 25 the New York Times reported that, back in June, Trump ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller, and only backed down when White House counsel Don McGahn threatened to quit rather than carry out the order.

Reports of the president's plans to fire Mueller came amid signs that the special counsel and his team are focused on possible obstruction of justice by Trump as part of their larger probe into whether the Trump campaign and the White House had any involvement in Russia's election meddling in 2016.

Trump has denied the reports that he tried to fire Mueller, calling it “fake news” in remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

22. Catastrophic mudslides in Southern California killed 21 people and devastated coastal communities.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Mudslides, sparked by powerful winter storms, ravaged the Southern California town of Montecito in the early hours of Jan. 9, sending rocks, dirt, and debris across coastal hillsides torched by a massive wildfire weeks earlier.

At least 21 people died and dozens more were injured in the disaster, which damaged homes across the area and left many stranded in flooded neighborhoods for days.

23. The Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status for nearly 200,000 people from El Salvador.

Ivan Montecinos / AFP / Getty Images

The Trump administration announced on Jan. 8 that it was revoking Temporary Protected Status for nearly 200,000 Salvadorans in the US.

The decision ends protections that have been in place since 2001, when El Salvador was hit by a series of earthquakes. Both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama decided to extend the protections, which allow Salvadorans to live and work in the US. They now have until Sept. 9, 2019, to leave the country or they could face deportation.

24. Aziz Ansari responded to allegations of sexual misconduct.

Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

A Babe.net story about an anonymous woman's account of a coercive sexual encounter with actor and comedian Aziz Ansari sparked intense backlash and debate about where and if such allegations fit in the growing #MeToo movement.

Ansari responded to the story in a statement on Jan. 14, saying he was "surprised and concerned" when he learned that the 23-year-old woman felt their sexual experience had not been consensual.

The anonymous woman called her encounter with Ansari "the worst night of [her] life."

The Babe.net story spawned a flurry of think pieces and heated exchanges, culminating in an email that the story's writer reportedly sent HLN host Ashleigh Banfield in response to criticism, and which Banfield subsequently read on the air.

25. Steve Bannon lost his job at Breitbart...

Drew Angerer / Getty Images

Former Trump strategist and right-wing firebrand Steve Bannon stepped down as executive chair of the far-right news site Breitbart on Jan. 9.

The news capped a particularly rough week for Bannon. Following the release of Fire and Fury, in which he was quoted criticizing members of Trump’s family, the president and many of his associates essentially disowned Bannon, and downplayed his role in getting Trump elected in 2016.

26. ...and then he got subpoenaed.

Mark Wilson / Getty Images

In the same week he was ousted from Breitbart, Bannon was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in the special counsel's investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to the New York Times.

27. Hundreds of thousands of women across the US — and the world — took to the streets again for the anniversary of the Women's March.

Brianna Sacks @bri_sacks

Ok I lied this is the best. These 13-year-olds “took damsels in distress and turned it around.” “We’re sick of be… https://t.co/bOI5nCMX5Q

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On Jan 20., a year after the first Women's March, hundreds of thousands of people once again flooded streets across the US to protest the policies of the Trump administration and other conservative governments.

Hundreds of women turned out for marches in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, DC, as well as smaller demonstrations in London, Australia, Austin, Charlotte, Phoenix, Miami, and elsewhere.

28. Hillary Clinton said she regrets letting a man accused of sexual harassment keep his job on her 2008 campaign.

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

In 2007, while working for Hillary Clinton's first presidential campaign, a young woman filed a complaint against Clinton's faith advisor, Burns Strider. She described “five kisses on the head” and “excessive tracking” of her whereabouts, among other allegations of harassment.

Senior aides on the campaign wanted to fire Strider, three officials with knowledge of the process told BuzzFeed News, but Clinton decided against letting him go. He went on to land the top job at a pro-Clinton super PAC, where the behavior continued.

On Jan. 30, several days after news of the harassment claims broke — and right before Trump's first State of the Union address — Clinton said on Facebook that she regretted the decision to keep Strider on, writing "if I had it to do again, I wouldn’t."

29. Trump gave his first State of the Union address.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

On Jan. 30, Trump delivered a very long State of the Union address, sticking mostly to his script as he touted his rollback of regulations, slammed gangs and terrorists, and talked about working with people across the political aisle.

One of his biggest announcements was ordering the Pentagon to keep Guantanamo Bay open. The White House had billed the speech as uplifting and unifying, but there was a sense that any feelings of togetherness it engendered won't last long.

30. A train carrying Republicans to a congressional retreat hit a truck.

Rachael Bade @rachaelmbade

BREAKING: GOP train hit a truck on way to retreat. Sources say driver getting medical attention; members okay. Pic->

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The train, which had been transporting many Republican members of Congress and their families on their way to a retreat in West Virginia, collided with a garbage truck on Jan. 31.

One person died and another was seriously injured after the accident. The White House said members of Congress and their staffers did not sustain serious injuries.

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