What a year it was: A 2020 timeline

The year seemed to start out at a pace we are used to — politicians debated and insulted one another, British royals made headlines, teams squared off in the Super Bowl, Hollywood strutted its stuff at the Oscars. And an impeached president faced trial in the Senate. It was an extraordinary event, only the third such trial in U.S. history. At the time, it seemed to set a high bar for memorable events in 2020. If only we had known.

Jan. 1: One of the worst fire seasons in Australian history continues as thousands of people evacuate and millions of acres burn.

Australian firefighters battle a wildfire near the New South Wales town of Nowra.

(AFP/Getty Images)

Jan. 3: Iranian Gen. Qassem Suleimani, leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, is killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq.

Thousands of Iranians take to the streets of Tehran to mourn the death of Gen. Qassem Suleimani.

(Abedin Taherkenareh / EPA/Shutterstock)

Jan. 5: “1917,” “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” and HBO are the big winners at the Golden Globe Awards.

Director Quentin Tarantino and stars Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Julia Butters celebrate with others from “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood” at the Golden Globes.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Jan. 7: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues a travel notice for Americans going to Wuhan, China. On Dec. 31, 2019, Chinese authorities had reported a cluster of pneumonia cases associated with a seafood and poultry market in Wuhan.

California

2020 was not supposed to be anything like 2019 — and COVID made sure of it

In 2020, we could witness stars being born in a distant galaxy. We could find moments of grace. But we could do little to alter the course of the coronavirus.

Dec. 13, 2020

Jan. 8: Iran’s military shoots down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board.

Jan. 8: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step back from royal duties.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have withdrawn from royal duties.

(Samir Hussein / WireImage)

Jan. 14: Democratic presidential candidates meet in Des Moines for the first debate of 2020.

Democratic presidential candidates including Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren stand on stage before a primary debate.

(Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press)

Jan. 15: The U.S. House votes to send articles of impeachment (abuse of power and obstruction of Congress) against President Trump to the U.S. Senate.

The House clerk and impeachment managers bring the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate.

(Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images)

Jan. 20: The first case of a coronavirus infection, that of a 35-year-old man who returned from China, is reported in the United States.

Jan. 26: Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others die in a helicopter crash near Calabasas.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, left, Quinn Cook and LeBron James honor Kobe Bryant at the Staples Center before the Lakers’ first game after his death.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Jan. 26: Billie Eilish sweeps the top four categories — song, record, album and new artist — at the Grammys.

Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell backstage with their Grammys.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Jan. 30: The World Health Organization declares the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency.

Medical staffers help a patient walk into the hospital in Wuhan, China, during the coronavirus’ early outbreak.

(Barcroft Media)

Jan. 31: The United Kingdom withdraws from the European Union, making Brexit official. Actual separation will occur Dec. 31.

Jan. 31: President Trump bans travel from China, with a few exceptions.

Feb. 2: The Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.

Derrick Nnadi celebrates the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win.

(Getty Images)

Feb. 3: The Iowa Democratic caucuses unfold to chaos; former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg is eventually declared the winner.

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks to Iowa voters.

(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Feb. 4: Impeachment overshadows President Trump’s State of the Union address; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tears up a copy of his speech during the last few seconds.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tears her copy of President Trump’s State of the Union address at the end of his speech.

(Patrick Semansky/Associated Press)

Feb. 5: The Senate acquits President Trump of abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress’ investigation into his conduct.

Feb. 5: Actor Kirk Douglas dies at age 103.

Feb. 7: President Trump fires EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland and National Security Council advisor Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, both of whom testified against the president during the impeachment trial.

National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is sworn in to testify before the House Intelligence Committee in 2019. A few months later, he was fired.

(Andrew Harnik/Associated Press)

Feb. 9: “Parasite” pulls off an upset at the Oscars, winning four Academy Awards, including best picture.

“Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho cheers a SAG Award win, a preview of his triumph at the Oscars.

(Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

Feb. 11: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wins the New Hampshire Democratic primary.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) takes the stage during a primary night event in New Hampshire.

(Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

Feb. 17: The Boy Scouts of America seeks bankruptcy protection under a new wave of child abuse claims.

Feb. 22: Bernie Sanders wins the Nevada presidential caucuses.

Feb. 23: Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, is shot and killed by a white father and son while jogging in Georgia; the two men are arrested 2½ months later and charged with felony murder and aggravated assault.

In this image from video posted on Twitter, Ahmaud Arbery stumbles and falls to the ground after being shot as Travis McMichael stands by holding a shotgun in a neighborhood outside Brunswick, Ga.

(Associated Press)

Feb. 25: Bob Iger steps down at the Walt Disney Co. after 15 years in the job; Bob Chapek is named new CEO.

Feb. 29: Former Vice President Joe Biden scores an overwhelming victory in the South Carolina Democratic primary, reigniting his presidential campaign.

Feb. 29: The first COVID-19 death is reported in the U.S., though earlier deaths will be reported later.

Healthcare workers in Washington state put a patient into an ambulance at Life Care Center of Kirkland, where dozens of staffers and residents were exhibiting coronavirus-like symptoms.

(David Ryder/Getty Images)

March 1: Pete Buttigieg drops out of the presidential race and endorses Joe Biden.

Former Democratic presidential primary candidate Pete Buttigieg endorses Joe Biden the night before Super Tuesday.

(Juan Figueroa/Associated Press)

March 3: Joe Biden takes a commanding lead of the primary race with sweeping victories in 10 states on Super Tuesday.

March 4: Former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg drops out of the presidential race, endorses Joe Biden.

March 5: Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren drops out of the presidential race, does not endorse either remaining candidate, Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders.

March 9: Italy places itself on a nationwide quarantine to slow the spread of coronavirus. The Dow Jones industrial average plunges more than 2,000 points.

Brendan Connolly, left, New York Stock Exchange floor governor, with traders Peter Tuchman, John Panin and Sal Suarino, on the floor of the exchange.

(Richard Drew/Associated Press)

March 11: The World Health Organization declares the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.

March 11: Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.

Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein leaves court after attending jury selection for his sexual assault trial.

(Mark Lennihan/Associated Press)

March 11: Actor Tom Hanks announces he and his wife, Rita Wilson, tested positive for coronavirus in Australia.

March 11: The NBA suspends its season indefinitely over the pandemic.

Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield on the court before the scheduled start of a game with the New Orleans Pelicans that was canceled after an NBA player tested positive for the coronavirus.

(Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press)

March 12: Major League Baseball suspends spring training indefinitely because of COVID-19 concerns.

March 12: The NFL suspends its 2019-20 season indefinitely; NHL and Major League Soccer suspend their seasons as well.

March 12: The NCAA cancels its basketball championship tournaments.

At a tournament in Greensboro, N.C., John Swofford, commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, announces the cancellation of the NCAA college basketball games due to the coronavirus.

(Ben McKeown/Associated Press)

March 13: The Los Angeles Unified School District announces that it will close all its schools.

School lets out at Hamilton High, among the LAUSD schools closed over the coronavirus.

(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

March 13: President Trump declares the coronavirus a national emergency.

March 13: Breonna Taylor is shot and killed in her home in Louisville, Ky., by police serving a narcotics warrant in search of a suspected drug dealer.

A ground mural in Annapolis, Md., honors Breonna Taylor, who was killed by police in her Louisville, Ky., home.

(Julio Cortez/Associated Press)

March 14: Spain goes into a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

March 16: The Dow Jones industrial average falls by 2,997.10, the largest single-day point drop ever, amid the coronavirus outbreak.

March 19: Gov. Gavin Newsom announces extraordinary measures directing all Californians to stay at home because of the pandemic. Los Angeles city and county officials issue sweeping new rules to limit the virus’ spread.

The four-level interchange, the intersection of the 101 and 110 freeways in downtown Los Angeles, is mostly empty during stay-at-home orders.

(Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times)

March 20: The worldwide coronavirus death toll passes 10,000.

March 23: PG&E pleads guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter over the 2018 Camp fire.

March 24: The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo are suspended until 2021.

March 24: President Trump tweets that the “cure” cannot be “worse than the problem itself” and calls for country to reopen on Easter Sunday.

March 25: One million Californians file for unemployment.

Hospitality workers wait in line in a basement garage to apply for unemployment benefits at the Hospitality Training Academy in Los Angeles.

(Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press)

March 25: The Senate and the White House agree to a $2-trillion stimulus package to boost the economy, the largest stimulus package in U.S. history.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gives a thumbs-up on Capitol Hill, where a deal was reached on a coronavirus stimulus bill.

(Andrew Harnik/Associated Press)

March 26: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tests positive for the coronavirus.

March 26: Global coronavirus cases top 500,000. The U.S. reports 82,000 infections — more than China or Italy — and passes 1,000 deaths.

March 26: The Labor Department reports that a record 3.28 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the previous week.

March 27: House and Senate pass a coronavirus relief and stimulus bill that includes expanded unemployment benefits and cash payments to those eligible.

President Trump signs the coronavirus stimulus relief package into law.

(Evan Vucci/Associated Press)

March 31: New York passes 75,000 coronavirus cases. The U.S. has more than 163,000 reported cases, as COVID-19 death toll reaches 3,000. Seventy percent of the U.S. population is under lockdown.

April 2: The number of coronavirus cases worldwide passes 1 million. More than 6.6 million workers file for unemployment in the United States.

Employees deliver a body at Brooklyn’s Daniel J. Schaefer Funeral Home, which was overwhelmed with COVID-19 deaths.

(John Minchillo/Associated Press)

April 3: The CDC recommends that everyone consider wearing cloth or fabric face masks in public.

April 4: President Trump, touting hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, says, “What do you have to lose?”

April 6: Boris Johnson is hospitalized with COVID-19.

April 8: Bernie Sanders drops out of the presidential race, clearing the way for Joe Biden to win the Democratic nomination.

April 10: The United States becomes the first country to report 2,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day.

Workers bury bodies in a trench on Hart Island in the Bronx, N.Y.

(John Minchillo/Associated Press)

April 13: The IRS begins sending stimulus checks to Americans.

April 14: President Trump announces he will suspend U.S. funding for the World Health Organization.

President Trump departs the White House Rose Garden after speaking about the coronavirus.

(Alex Brandon/Associated Press)

April 16: The Trump administration issues guidelines for a phased reopening of schools and businesses for parts of the U.S.

April 17: Texas becomes the first state to begin easing pandemic restrictions.

April 24: The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 50,000.

April 27: The U.S. coronavirus cases surpass 1 million; worldwide cases top 3 million.

A healthcare worker assists a COVID-19 patient at one of the intensive care units of the Ramon y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid.

(Manu Fernandez/Associated Press)

April 30: Armed protesters enter the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich., to demand an end to the pandemic lockdown.

Protesters are kept from entering the Michigan House of Representatives chambers by the Michigan State Police.

(Jeff Kowalsky / AFP/Getty Images)

May 1: The FDA authorizes emergency remdesivir use to treat the sickest coronavirus patients.

May 3: The U.S. faces invasion of “murder hornets,” which threaten domestic bees.

An Asian giant hornet from Japan is held on a pin by Sven Spichiger, an entomologist with the Washington state Department of Agriculture.

(Ted S. Warren/Associated Press)

May 7: The Justice Department drops charges against former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

May 7: Gregory and Travis McMichael are charged with murder in the shoot death of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

Gregory McMichael, left, and son Travis McMichael were jailed on charges of murder and aggravated assault in the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

(Glynn County, Ga., Detention Center)

May 8: The U.S. unemployment reaches 14.7%, with more than 33 million jobless claims filed since mid-March.

May 15: The Trump administration announces Operation Warp Speed, a public-private partnership to speed up development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

May 15: Worldwide coronavirus deaths surpass 300,000.

A government worker in Quito, Ecuador, sprays disinfectant over the body of a woman who died on the street. Results of a coronavirus rapid test determined the woman was negative.

(Dolores Ochoa/Associated Press)

May 19: The U.S. passes 1.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 90,000 deaths.

May 21: William Bryan, the man who filmed Ahmaud Arbery’s death, is also charged with murder.

May 22: Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli plead guilty in the college admissions scandal.

May 25: Minneapolis police officer is filmed while pressing his knee on the neck of George Floyd for about eight minutes, killing him, as three other officers stand by. Video of Floyd’s death goes viral; the four officers are fired the next day.

Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneels on George Floyd’s neck moments before Floyd died.

(Getty Images)

May 26: Twitter labels a tweet from President Trump as “misleading” for the first time and includes a “fact check” link.

May 28: A state of emergency is declared in Minneapolis-St. Paul as protests over the death of George Floyd and racial injustice spread nationwide.

A protester carries a U.S. flag upside-down as he walks past a burning building in Minneapolis during a night of unrest over the death of George Floyd.

(Julio Cortez/Associated Press)

May 29: Fired Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin is charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd; the Minnesota attorney general increases the charge to second-degree murder on June 3. Charges against three other fired officers are filed.

May 30: A state of emergency is declared in Los Angeles County and city of Los Angeles because of protests over the death of George Floyd and racial injustice. Curfews are also declared in Philadelphia and Atlanta.

Protesters stand atop a burned LAPD cruiser as another burns at 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

June 1: President Trump threatens to deploy U.S. troops to quell protests across the country and subsequently stages a photo-op at St. John’s Episcopal Church after federal officers and other law enforcement personnel forcefully clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square in front of the White House.

President Trump holds a Bible outside St. John’s Episcopal Church across Lafayette Park from the White House. Moments before the photo-op, riot officers cleared protesters from the area.

(Patrick Semansky/Associated Press)

June 5: Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser designates a section of 16th Street NW as Black Lives Matter Plaza.

Volunteers in Washington paint “Black Lives Matter” on a street near the White House.

(Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

June 5: The NBA votes to restart its season in a “bubble” setting in Orlando, Fla.

June 8: Protesters in Seattle declare an “autonomous zone” in the city’s Capitol Hill area.

June 10: The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. exceeds 2 million.

June 12: Protests in Atlanta start after the killing of Rayshard Brooks by a police officer in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant.

A woman protests outside a burned Wendy’s restaurant in Atlanta, near where a police officer killed Rayshard Brooks.

(Chandan Khanna / AFP/Getty Images)

June 15: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate because of a person’s sex, also covers sexual orientation.

June 16: The Trump administration asks a federal judge to block publication of former national security adviser John Bolton’s memoir, “The Room Where It Happened.” The effort fails.

June 20: President Trump holds his first 2020 campaign rally in months in Tulsa, Okla. A lower than expected attendance makes for headlines.

President Trump, returning from a campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., walks across the South Lawn of the White House after stepping off the Marine One helicopter.

(Patrick Semansky/Associated Press)

June 22: MLB clubs vote to start the 2020 season after players reject latest compensation offer.

June 25: After a downward trend of coronavirus infections in early June, the U.S. reaches a daily high of 40,000 new cases.

People wait in line for coronavirus testing at Dodger Stadium.

(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

June 30: Following a vote by the state Legislature, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signs a bill that retires the official state flag — the last state flag incorporating the Confederate battle flag in its design.

Members of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Honor Guard retire the state flag outside the state Capitol building in Jackson.

(Rory Doyle / AFP/Getty Images)

July 1: Gov. Gavin Newsom orders tougher restrictions on indoor activities for most of California.

Police enforce closure of the beach along the Wedge in Newport Beach.

(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

July 2: The FBI arrests Ghislaine Maxwell on charges she helped lure at least three girls to be sexually abused by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, during a news conference to announce charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her alleged role in the Jeffrey Epstein sexual exploitation case.

(John Minchillo/Associated Press)

July 8: The Supreme Court rejects claims of presidential immunity and rules President Trump must release his financial records to prosecutors in New York.

President Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House.

(Evan Vucci/Associated Press)

July 9: The Big Ten football conference says it will play only conference games in the fall.

July 10: The Pac-12 football conference says it will play only conference games in the fall.

July 10: California officials announce that as many as 8,000 prisoners could be released ahead of schedule in an unprecedented attempt to stop the spread of the coronavirus inside state prisons.

July 10: President Trump commutes the 40-month sentence of his political advisor Roger Stone.

July 14: The Trump administration orders hospitals to bypass the CDC and send all COVID-19 patient information to a central database in Washington.

Nurse Jeanette Pimentel checks on 68-year-old COVID-19 patient Pedro Luera, who was airlifted from El Centro to Paradise Valley Hospital in National City, Calif.

(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

July 17: Secretary of Defense Mark Esper issues a memorandum to the military on the appropriate display of flags — excluding the Confederate battle flag and essentially banning it.

July 18: Oregon Atty. Gen. Ellen Rosenblum files suit against the federal government, accusing it of unlawfully detaining protesters in Portland.

A demonstrator is arrested by federal officers during a Black Lives Matter protest in Portland, Ore.

(Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press)

July 20: The NFL drops all preseason games and reaches an agreement with the players union on a coronavirus testing regimen.

July 22: President Trump announces a “surge” of federal officers into Democratic-run cities, following a crackdown on protests in Portland, Ore.

Demonstrators push on a fence as tear gas is deployed during a Black Lives Matter protest at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in Portland, Ore.

(Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press)

July 23: Major League Baseball’s 60-game season begins.

The Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants kneel at the start of their game at Dodger Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

July 24: TV personality Regis Philbin dies at 88.

July 27: A coronavirus outbreak among the Miami Marlins prompts the cancellation of several games; subsequently several teams have games postponed as well.

July 30: President Trump suggests the 2020 presidential election be delayed, saying increased voting by mail could lead to fraud.

July 30: The 2019-20 NBA season resumes in the NBA “bubble” in Orlando, with the Lakers defeating the Clippers.

Lakers fans wait for a table while the Jazz-Pelicans NBA basketball game finishes at the Spin Lounge in Whittier. The Lakers played the Clippers on the first night back since the season was suspended.

(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

Aug. 2: Firefighters continue to battle the Apple fire that burned 20,000 acres in Cherry Valley and surrounding areas of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, destroying one home and prompting evacuations of thousands of others.

A slow camera exposure shows the movement of the Apple fire in the San Bernardino National Forest.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Aug. 3: Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar pleads not guilty to bribery, money laundering and an array of other charges, his first public response to the allegations in the corruption inquiry since prosecutors began, securing guilty pleas from others in the case.

Aug. 3: As California grapples with a deluge of requests for unemployment benefits amid the pandemic, some state workers processing claims say they are hampered by outdated technology, bureaucratic red tape and a shortage of trained, experienced staff.

Aug. 7-16: More than 400,000 people, most without face masks and who don’t follow social distancing guidelines, participate in activities related to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.

Bikers ride down Main Street during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, S.D.

(Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

Aug. 11: Joe Biden announces Sen. Kamala Harris of California as his vice presidential running mate, the first woman of color to appear on a major party’s presidential ticket.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, at a campaign event in Wilmington, Del.

(Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press)

Aug. 11: The Pac-12 and Big Ten conferences announce the cancellation all fall sports. The ACC and SEC conferences say they’re still planning to play football; on Aug. 12, the Big 12 announces it will play.

Aug. 13: Plans are announced by the U.S. Postal Service to remove hundreds of high-volume mail-processing machines from postal facilities across the country.

Aug. 16: Thunderstorms trigger hundreds of wildfires in California, prompting evacuations as a record-breaking heat wave taxes the state’s power grid.

Aug. 16: The SCU Lightning Complex fires start, affecting several Bay Area counties. Almost 400,000 acres are burned, making it the third largest wildfire in California history.

Aug. 16: The August Complex fire starts in Northern California; by Sept. 9 it becomes the largest fire in California history, burning more than 1 million acres.

Bill Nichols, 84, works to save his home as the LNU Lightning Complex fire tears through Vacaville, Calif.

(Noah Berger/Associated Press)

Aug. 16: Death Valley hits 130 degrees, thought to be highest temperature on Earth in nearly a century.

Aug. 16: Spurred by concerns that President Trump is trying to eviscerate the U.S. Postal Service to help him win reelection, Speaker Nancy Pelosi summons House members back to Washington to pass a bill aimed at rolling back administration cutbacks that could cripple widespread mail-in voting.

Aug. 17: The LNU Lightning Complex fires start and last for several weeks, scorching more than 350,000 acres in several wine country counties, including Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Lake and Yolo.

Firefighters respond to a structure fire along Riverdale Boulevard during the CZU Lightning Complex fire.

(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

Aug. 17-20: The Democratic National Convention is staged in Milwaukee, with events happening virtually. The Democrats formally choose Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as their nominees for their 2020 presidential ticket.

Supporters cheer from their cars as Joe Biden and wife Jill are seen on a huge monitor during the Democratic National Convention in Wilmington, Del.

(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

Aug. 18: NBCUniversal ousts longtime Universal studio executive Ron Meyer after learning he made hush-money payments to a woman to cover up an old affair — a secret that Meyer said snowballed into an extortion plot.

Aug. 19: Apple becomes first U.S. company to be valued at more than $2 trillion.

Aug. 20: Former Trump advisor Stephen K. Bannon is arrested and charged with fraud over a private fundraising campaign to build a border wall.

President Trump’s former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon leaves federal court after pleading not guilty to charges that he ripped off donors to an online private fundraising scheme to build a southern border wall.

(Craig Ruttle/Associated Press)

Aug. 20: Wildfires ringing the Bay Area and other parts of the state kill at least five people, destroy more than 500 structures and scorch hundreds of square miles as evacuations expand.

Aug. 21: A Sacramento County judge sentences the Golden State Killer, 74-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., to life without parole for killing 13 people and raping 50 in a series of break-ins that terrorized the state for decades.

Aug. 23: Protests break out in Kenosha, Wis., after the shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake by a police officer.

Aug. 24-27: The Republican National Convention is held in Charlotte, N.C., and Washington. President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are formally nominated as the GOP’s 2020 presidential ticket.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive on the South Lawn of the White House for the final night of the Republican National Convention.

(Evan Vucci/Associated Press)

Aug. 25: Two people are shot and killed during unrest in Kenosha, Wis.; a suspect is arrested. Soon after, professional athletes start to boycott their sports to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Aug. 28: Actor Chadwick Boseman dies at age 43 following a previously undisclosed battle with colon cancer.

Sept. 1: Family members and activists demand that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department release the names of the deputies who shot and killed Dijon Kizzee, a Black man, in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Westmont on Aug. 31.

The family of Dijon Kizzee gathers with protesters in front of the South Los Angeles sheriff’s station to demand justice for Kizzee, who was shot and killed by deputies.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 5: The El Dorado fire erupts in San Bernardino County, sparked by pyrotechnics that were part of a gender reveal party.

Firefighters make they their way up a hill in Yucaipa as the El Dorado fire approaches.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 6: California sets a new record for destruction by wildfires, with 2.1 million acres burning.

The farmhouse at Castello di Amorosa is destroyed by the Glass fire in Napa County.

(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 6: The temperature in Woodland Hills soars to 121 degrees, an all-time high in Los Angeles County.

Sept. 7: Oregon wildfires start amid severe drought and severe winds; by the end of October, more than 1 million acres will burn, more than 4,000 homes will be destroyed, and at least 10 people will be killed.

Sept. 10: More than half a million people in Oregon, more than 10% of the state’s population, are reported to be fleeing wildfires.

Sept. 12: Two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies are shot and critically injured while sitting in their patrol car near the Compton Metro station. The agency’s response to the attack raises alarm among some activists, lawmakers and Sheriff’s Department watchdogs.

Sheriff’s deputies converge on the area surrounding Lynwood’s St. Francis Medical Center, where two L.A. County sheriff’s deputies were being treated after being shot in an ambush and gravely injured.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 15: The confirmed death toll from California’s unprecedented firestorms rises to 25 as crews work to stop some two dozen major blazes still burning statewide.

Sept. 16: The Big Ten conference reverses course and announces it will play a 2020 fall football season beginning Oct. 23-24.

Sept. 18: Long-serving Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87.

A makeshift memorial in front of the Supreme Court honors Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

(Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Sept. 20: “Succession,“ “Watchmen” and “Schitt’s Creek” are the major winners at the 72nd Emmy Awards.

Sept. 20: Coronavirus deaths in California top 15,000. The state has more than 785,000 confirmed cases, the most of any U.S. state.

Sept. 22: The death toll of the pandemic in the United States passes 200,000.

Sept. 23: President Trump refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the November election.

Sept. 23: A Kentucky grand jury brings no charges against Louisville police in the killing of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid gone wrong.

Protesters push along a shrine to Breonna Taylor as hundreds march downtown, protesting the Louisville, Ky., grand jury decision to not charge police officers in her killing.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 24: The Pac-12 Conference announces it will play football in a shortened season starting Nov. 6.

Sept. 26: President Trump chooses Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy created by the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Several attendees at the nomination ceremony at the White House Rose Garden will later test positive for the coronavirus.

President Trump walks with Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a news conference to announce Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court.

(Alex Brandon/Associated Press)

Sept. 27: The New York Times reports on more than two decades’ worth of President Trump’s personal and tax returns. Among the revelations: He paid $750 in federal taxes in 2016 and again in 2017.

Sept. 27: The Glass fire in Northern California ignites just before 4 a.m. and quickly balloons to 40,000 acres in two days. It burns in Napa and Sonoma counties and is the fourth major fire to hit the region since the Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa in 2017.

Sept. 27: Deadly clashes break out in Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces.

Local residents navigate a debris field outside a destroyed residential area in the aftermath of a military strike in Stepanakert, capital of the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh.

(Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 28: The Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Dallas Stars to win their second Stanley Cup championship in a season disrupted by the pandemic.

Sept. 29: Shouting, insults and misinformation, mostly by President Trump, dominate the first presidential debate.

President Trump and Joe Biden take part in their first presidential debate.

(Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)

Sept. 30: The NFL announces its first regular season game postponement resulting from the pandemic.

Sept. 30: The UCLA Anderson quarterly forecast suggests California payrolls will drop 7.2% this year to 16 million jobs, a loss of some 1.5 million since the pandemic hit.

Oct.1: A White House coronavirus outbreak is announced; President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump test positive.

Oct. 2: President Trump is rushed to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment for COVID-19.

President Trump walks to Marine One to head to Walter Reed Military Medical Center after his COVID-19 diagnosis.

(Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

Oct. 2: The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reports that state wildfires burned nearly 4 million acres, killed 31 people and destroyed more than 8,200 structures.

Oct. 4: For the first time in California history, a ballot will make its way in the mail this week to every registered California voter.

Oct. 5: President Trump returns to the White House after three days at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Oct. 6: Eddie Van Halen dies at age 65 after a long battle with cancer.

Eddie Van Halen on stage with his band, Van Halen.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Oct. 8: FBI announces that 13 men have been charged in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Oct. 10: Armenia and Azerbaijan agree on a cease-fire in the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Oct. 11: The Lakers defeat the Miami Heat to capture a record-tying 17th NBA title.

Lakers including LeBron James, center, celebrate their NBA championship win.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Oct. 16: Coronavirus cases in the United States surpass 8 million.

Oct. 20: Rick Jacobs, a top political advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, says he will “take a leave” from his work with Garcetti amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Oct. 21: Less than seven months after Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman launched Quibi to remake the business of short-form video, the nascent streaming service announces it is shutting down.

Oct. 26: The Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett as a Supreme Court associate justice on a party-line vote, 52 to 48.

Oct. 27: The Dodgers defeat the Tampa Bay Rays to win the team’s first World Series title since 1988.

The Dodgers celebrate their World Series win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Oct. 30: A Stanford University study links more than 30,000 COVID-19 cases and 700 deaths to President Trump’s campaign rallies.

Nov. 3: California largely breezes through election day. Nationwide, it’s a different story. After midnight, President Trump announces he has won the election and demands that all vote counting stop, alleging voter fraud. But with millions of votes still to be counted, no news organizations declare a presidential winner.

Nov. 4: The U.S. becomes the first country in the world to exceed 100,000 daily cases of COVID-19.

Nurses Anthony Stamegna and Virginia Petersen tend to a COVID patient at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.

(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

Nov. 4: President Trump continues his attack on the voting system as he joins several lawsuits aiming at stopping vote counts in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan.

Nov. 4: California’s ballot measure campaign season ends with voters granting companies such as Uber and Lyft the right to keep their drivers as independent contractors but rejecting a plan to expand rent control to more homes and communities.

Nov. 6: Los Angeles voters upend the political status quo by backing a slate of progressive candidates and measures in the Nov. 3 election. Among the victors is George Gascón, former San Francisco district attorney, who defeated L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey.

Nov. 7: After days of waiting, major news organizations declare that Joe Biden has secured enough electoral college votes to win the presidency.

Nov. 8: “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, 80, dies following a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Alex Trebek accepts the award for outstanding game show host for “Jeopardy!” at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Pasadena in 2019. He died Nov. 8.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision )

Nov. 9: HUD Secretary Ben Carson tests positive for the coronavirus.

Nov. 9: Pfizer says early data on its coronavirus vaccine candidate suggest the shots may be 90% effective at preventing the disease.

Nov. 9: President Trump uses Twitter to announce that Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has been fired.

Nov. 12: Coronavirus infections in California surpass 1 million; health officials warn that dire action must be taken to stop the spread of the illness.

A nurse holds a COVID-19 patient’s hand before an intubation procedure at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Nov. 13: Gov. Gavin Newsom says he should not have attended a dinner with other households at the French Laundry restaurant in Yountville (on Nov. 6) as coronavirus cases soar statewide.

Nov. 16: Moderna announces that its COVID-19 vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data.

Nov. 16: Hurricane Iota makes landfall in Nicaragua as a Category 4 storm, just two weeks after Hurricane Eta hit, devastating the same areas.

Hurricane victims take refuge under a bridge in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

(Delmer Martinez/Associated Press)

Nov. 18: Pfizer says new results show its COVID-19 vaccine is 95% effective.

Nov. 19: President Trump escalates his attempts to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory, pushing for judges and Republican state lawmakers and local officials in several battleground states to ignore voters’ verdicts and award him the electoral votes he needs for a second term.

Nov. 19: Gov. Gavin Newsom announces a mandatory overnight stay-at-home order that will be instituted throughout most of California to combat a surge in new coronavirus cases.

Nov. 20: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger certifies President-elect Joe Biden’s win and the results of all the other races in the state.

Nov. 23: After a two-week standoff, Emily Murphy, General Services Administration head, reverses course and allows President-elect Biden’s team access to required federal resources to start the formal transition process.

Nov. 25: President Trump pardons Michael Flynn, his first national security advisor.

Nov. 26: President Trump says he will leave the White House once Biden is officially declared the winner of the electoral college.

Nov. 27: Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi, Iran’s top nuclear scientist, is assassinated near Tehran.

Iranian military personnel stand near the flag-draped coffin of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi.

(Iranian Defense Ministry)

Nov. 29: The Denver Broncos are forced to play a practice-squad receiver at quarterback after all four of the team’s quarterbacks are disqualified due to virus testing and safety protocols.

Nov. 30: Raymond Chan, a former senior aide to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, has been charged with conspiracy, bribery, fraud and lying to FBI agents in the ongoing federal probe into corruption at City Hall, according to court records made public.

Nov. 30: The pro bono law firm Public Counsel files a lawsuit against the state of California, saying it has failed during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a free and equal education to all students, violating the state Constitution and discriminating against Black, Latino and low-income families.

Dec. 1: Atty. Gen. William Barr says the U.S. Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election.

Dec. 1: The captain of the Conception, the dive boat that caught fire last year off the coast of Santa Barbara, is indicted by a federal grand jury on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter.

Dec. 2: Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson, who helped bring the Summer Games to Los Angeles, dies at 86.

Dec. 4: Protests against COVID-19 safety rules continue, as some restaurateurs defy the mandate to close outdoor dining (or look for “work-arounds”), and parents rally to keep playgrounds open.

Dec. 7: Universal Music Publishing Group announces it is acquiring Bob Dylan’s entire catalog of songs, which spans 60 years.

Bob Dylan performs with the Band at the Forum in Los Angeles in 1974.

(Jeff Robbins/Associated Press)

Dec. 8: Britain becomes the first Western country to start inoculating its residents against COVID-19.

Dec. 11: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes emergency use of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech.

Dec. 11: The Supreme Court rejects a highly unusual lawsuit filed by Texas that urged the justices to overturn the election result by nullifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in four key states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.

Dec. 12: John le Carré, the author of many bestselling Cold War thrillers, dies at 89.

Dec. 14: The first COVID-19 vaccinations start in the United States. The first doses are expected to go to front-line healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities, followed by other at-risk groups.

Gov. Gavin Newsom watches as ICU nurse Helen Cordova receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center.

(Getty Images)

Dec. 14: The electoral college confirms Joe Biden’s victory over President Trump.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks in Wilmington, Del., after the electoral college formally elected him president.

(Patrick Semansky/Associated Press)

Dec. 17: The availability of intensive care unit beds throughout Southern California hits 0%.

Dec. 18: FDA authorizes the emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health.

Dec. 20: More than 317,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19; the international death toll is 1.69 million.

Sources: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, the Oregonian, San Diego Union-Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, American Journal of Managed Care, NBC Los Angeles, KPBS, Cal Fire, National Interagency Fire Center