Stan’s Top 10 News Stories of 2005

1. Hurricane Katrina
Devastating natural disaster stirs a storm of controversy and philanthropy.

2. Supreme Court
Choices of Roberts, Miers, and Alito to the high court alternately cheer and alarm conservatives, who force Bush to drop Miers.

3. Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI
Death of culture-of-life champion and advocate of freedom touches the world.

4. Terri Schiavo
Debate over one woman’s medical condition and end-of-life wishes spills over into national politics.

5. Earthquake in Pakistan
The West struggles with compassion fatigue as 73,000 Muslims die in another mind-numbing natural disaster.

6. Muslims in Europe
Declining Europe struggles with growing Islam in its midst, as Muslims set off bombs in Britain and riots in France.

7. Tsunami in Asia
End of 2004 disaster and its aftermath set the tone for a horrible 2005.

8. Narnia Reborn
Movie based on C.S. Lewis’s religiously themed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opens to huge hype.

9. Iraq: Democracy Amid Violence
Voters in Iraq open the door to democracy in the autocratic Middle East.

10. Evangelicals Get Respect
Mainstream media notice evangelicals, who played a key role in Bush’s re-election.