View full sizeThe Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico.Was the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico the biggest story of 2010? That's what American editors and news directors voted in the annual Associated Press poll. In our poll, we want to know what you think.
The AP poll -- with choices slightly different than ours -- produced this top 10 list:
- Gulf oil disaster
- Health care overhaul
- U.S. elections
- U.S. economy
- Haiti earthquake
- Tea party movement
- Chile mine rescue
- Iraq
- Wikileaks
- Afghanistan
As in the AP poll, we've combined national and international stories. Our question is slightly different from the AP's, though. We want to know which mattered most. (Looking for our poll on the top Northeast Ohio stories?)
You can vote for up to five choices from these 15:
A few weeks after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank, scientists worried the oil slick would reach the Gulf's Loop Current, which sweeps around Florida and up the East Coast. Beaches would be damaged along the way. But BP got lucky. Gulf winds kept shifting, which kept the oil concentrated in the waters south of Louisiana. Scientists disagree about how much oil remains in the Gulf, but already the streaky sheens of oil on the surface are mostly gone. Read cleveland.com's full coverage.
This fall it became official: Continental and United closed on a $3.2 billion merger, shaking up the airline industry.
Lines formed early when Apple finally started selling its tablet computer in April. Months later, the iPad is still going strong, as are the iPhone and Android-based smartphones.
A Jan. 12 earthquake devastated Haiti and produced a global outpouring of aid.
.
When a volcano in Iceland shot massive amounts of dust and ash into the atmosphere, planes across Europe were forced to park and wait. Read cleveland.com's full coverage.
With most scientists warning of severe consequences unless the world acts to forestall an overheating of the globe, 200 countries met in Cancun, Mexico, to try to come up with solutions. Read cleveland.com's full coverage.
Banding together as "tea party" groups, a new coalition helped Republicans take control of the U.S. House and make gains across the country.
President Barack Obama signed into law -- after much debate -- a package of changes designed to reduce health costs and ensure more access to care. Read cleveland.com's full coverage.
In another controversial vote, Congress repealed the U.S. military's "don't ask don't tell" policy, which had prevented openly homosexual men and women from serving. Read cleveland.com's full coverage.
The Japanese automaker had to pay almost $50 million in penalties to federal regulators, but still faces much bigger costs from lawsuits stemming from a problem with sticky accelerator pedals.
The United States declared the formal end of its engagement in Iraq, even though troops remain there. Fighting continued in Afghanistan. Osama bin-Laden is still, apparently, alive and free. See The Plain Dealer's database of Ohio military deaths from the conflicts.
The website published collections of previously secret U.S. documents on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a massive trove of private reports from U.S. diplomats around the world. Read cleveland.com's full coverage.
A year or two ago, Google was the Internet company that was going to take over the world, expanding its empire into all manner of services. In 2010, Facebook became a serious challenger, passing 500 million registered accounts. Read cleveland.com's full coverage.
The world's attention was focused on Chile when, after 69 days, 33 miners trapped underground were returned to the surface.
.
Despite the announcement that the U.S. recession had, by formal measures, officially ended, unemployment remained stubbornly high. And in Europe, debt crises exploded in Greece, Ireland and elsewhere. Read cleveland.com's full coverage.