Many people and events marked this year just ending. The American economy was surprisingly strong with record employment and stock market achievements. But events in Ukraine and the Middle East have been major disappointments.

Here’s what caught our attention:

Entertainment and sports world

Taylor Swift

This American 34-year-old singer-songwriter has become an international pop icon. She is a shrewd, independent businessperson with her own production company. Her Eras tour filled jam packed stadiums and broke records (and the Ticketmaster website). It and her remarkable performances during the past few years have helped make her a billionaire.

“Barbie”

Hollywood’s lighthearted and goofy film charmed millions of summer moviegoers.

Shohei Ohtani

This Japanese baseball pitcher and designated hitter for the Los Angeles Angels just signed a 10-year $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is one of today’s greatest and most enjoyable-to-watch baseball professionals. He has earned the nickname of “Showtime.”

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Simone Biles

She is the most decorated and best gymnast in the world. She took a break to deal with stress and came back this year and led her U.S. team to major victories, earning even more gold medals.

Nikola Jokic

This Denver Nuggets basketball superstar from Serbia has won two league MVP honors and led his team to an NBA championship title last June. He wins praise as the best all-around NBA player.

“Coco” Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz

The two biggest young stars in professional tennis. Coco is a 19-year-old American who won last summer’s women’s U.S. Open. And she has been ranked No. 1 in women’s doubles. Carlos, a 20-year-old Spaniard, won the 2022 men’s U.S. Open (the youngest player ever to win that tournament) and the 2023 men’s Wimbledon title. He was ranked No. 1 in men’s professional tennis for a period this year. Both are fearless newcomers.

Lionel Messi

One of international soccer’s charismatic superstars, he joined the Inter Miami team in 2023 and did so in a spectacular way to help transform American soccer. He was named Time magazine’s athlete of the year.

Business world

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

Much criticized for a slow early response to rising inflation, Powell and the Federal Reserve are now credited for helping to guide the American economy in a healthy direction.

Jensen Huang and Nvidia

Korean-American Huang is the co-founder of the chip maker Nvidia. Nvidia makes more of the chips used to power artificial intelligence systems than any other company. Formed in 1993 in Sunnyvale, California, its stock value increased by nearly 240% in 2023 and earned it membership in stock market journalism’s “Magnificent 7” mega tech club.

Generative A.I.

Artificial intelligent projects have been around for decades. But Open A.I.’s ChatGPT was launched in late 2022 and enjoyed a “breakout year” in 2023 as an accelerator of digital engines for gathering and organizing data and information. It has generated excitement, debates and litigation disputes. Yet the A.I. revolution has apparently just begun.

TikTok

A worldwide video hosting app featuring creative short videos on dance, music, fashion, food and everything else. Founded in 2016 by Byte Dance, a Chinese firm now estimated to be worth $300 billion. The state of Montana tried this year to prohibit people watching it in that state. Some politicians are calling for a ban, or at least strict regulation, because they fear its data is shared with the Chinese government and for fear of disinformation campaigns in the United States.

Elon Musk

He continues to be one of the most entrepreneurial, richest and notable controversy generators in the world. Tesla (electric automobiles), SpaceX (space exploration) and X are three of his best-known companies.

Political world

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson

This little-known U.S. Representative from Louisiana won a surprising vote in the Republican Conference in the U.S. House of Representatives to replace Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy of California. Johnson has a very narrow majority in the U.S. House and leads a Republican Party sharply divided on several important issues.

Nikki Haley

She has emerged as a surprise challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination for president of the United States. She is a former two-term governor of South Carolina and served as President Trump’s first ambassador to the United Nations. Though a conservative, she has appealed to more traditional fiscal and moderate Republicans, but Trump still has a commanding lead in the race for the GOP 2024 nomination.

Mike Johnston

A former Colorado state senator and a foundation president, Johnston emerged from a large field to become mayor of Denver. He faces major challenges in reviving downtown Denver following COVID and in dealing with homelessness problems.

Yemi Mobolade

A small businessman and former Chamber of Commerce official, Mobolade ran an impressive upset grassroots campaign for mayor of Colorado Springs. The election was nonpartisan, but Mobolade defeated two prominent Republicans to become the first non-Republican mayor in recent Colorado Springs history. Mobolade was born in Nigeria and came to the U.S. as a college student.

Jeni Arndt

A Colorado College graduate, she won reelection with a remarkable 92% of the vote to earn a second term as mayor of Fort Collins. She previously was a popular state representative from Fort Collins.

Mike Coffman

This former Republican U.S. representative won reelection to a second term as mayor of Aurora, the third most populous city in the state. He was reelected with 54.5% of the vote.

Ken Buck

He announced he will retire from the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of 2024. He has represented the 4th Congressional District of Colorado, which includes most of northeastern and eastern Colorado. He previously served as chair of the Colorado State Republican Party and had earlier been a prosecutor. Several Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (who currently is an embattled incumbent for Colorado’s 3rd District) are vying to replace Buck.

Disappointments – 2023

The Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.

The frustrating Ukraine War against Russian invasion led by Vladimir Putin.

Hate speech and political divisiveness in the United States.

The fentanyl crisis and resulting drug overdose deaths.

The southern border crisis with huge numbers of immigrants seeking asylum or entry to the United States.

The mismanagement and inadequate regulation of Silicon Valley Bank.

Conspiracy theorists such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Vivek Ramaswamy, candidates for president.

U.S. Representative George Santos of New York, who was banned from Congress for misrepresenting his resume, among other things.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, for his many U.S. government criminal indictments.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who lost a libel defamation suit regarding stolen votes in the 2020 presidential election campaign.

Cryptocurrency operative Sam Bankman-Fried, convicted of fraud and money manipulation.

Fraudster entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, convicted of misrepresenting Theranos company assets and products – sent to prison this year to begin an 11-year term.

“X” for its confusing policies and financial strategies.

The rising U.S. government debt and the growing size of the interest payments on the debt

Best wishes for a healthy, prosperous and wonderful 2024.

Tom Cronin and Bob Loevy are news columnists who write about Colorado and national news.