Russia
A powerful meteor explodes near Chelyabinsk in Russia and injures nearly 1,500 people while causing damage to several thousand buildings on February 15th.
United States — Boston Marathon Bombings
Two bombs are exploded at the Boston Marathon on April 15, killing 3 and injuring 264 people. Two pressure cooker bombs were set off at the Boston Marathon near the finish line, killing three people and injuring another two hundred and sixty-four people. The suspected bombers were named as Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Police eventually chased down the suspects during a confrontation in which Tamerlan was run over by Dzhokhar while trying to escape. Dzhokhar was found hiding in a residential area on April 19th and police took him into custody after a stand off.
Twitter goes public on September 12th and shares were initially sold for $26.00,
Former Disney child star Miley Cyrus releases her latest album and tries to remake her image with a series of attention seeking stunts, all culminating in her controversial MTV Video Music Awards "twerking" performance. The young star's behavior initiates discussion about over-sexualization of women (especially young women) in pop music.