We said 2020 was the longest year ever, but 2021 somehow felt even longer. One year ago today, most of America was still in the grips of a grim, pre-vaccination winter; the Capitol had not yet been stormed, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) had not yet pulled on his little mittens, and no one could have predicted a container ship would become the main character for a week.
But with the U.S. shattering the daily record for COVID-19 cases in the last week of 2021, it also feels a bit like we're back where we began. Here's how we've tried to sum up this rollercoaster of a year.
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