35 News Stories In 2015 We're Expecting Already, For Good Or For Bad

Sure, the group of 16 to 18 GOP Reps. plotting a takedown of John Boehner’s speakership probably won’t go anywhere. But we can dream, right?

Pretty unlikely, there’s no doubt about that. But with the families of the victims still protesting and grieving, it’d be merciful to finally receive some measure of closure.

Only this time let it be something funnier than movie plots cribbed from Wikipedia. Maybe ripping off some Batman quotes to make a point about undue taxation?

It could happen, right? Probably not. But, it could!

It’d be a welcome respite from the startling string of non-indictments we saw in 2015.

Image: WOIO/Twitter

Seriously, that was messed up. But, to be honest, not holding my breath on this one.

Image: VexyVox/Twitter

This may be our best chance for another epic primary debate flame-out, after all! Oops redux?

It’s been such a long time since anyone’s been able to say that, after all.

Image: Star Wars/YouTube

I still can’t quite piece together in my head how this would look, but I know I’m desperate to see it.

Am I optimistic enough to think GamerGate will wither up soon? Not exactly — but with the deservedly negative attention it’s received lately, one can always hope.

Would it be controversial? Given the current, dismal climate for discussions of race, sure. But is it important? I think so.

Because that. Is. Terrifying.

Sure, Sony’s decision to pull the Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy (which I had no plans to see beforehand) may force us to cede to North Korean demands in the near term, but let’s be real — how long is it going to take before the movie leaks?

Has it really been three years since this happened?

Following up 2014’s huge year for marriage equality, with 35 states recognizing same-sex marriage, who knows how far 2015 will take us? It’s just like Gavin Newsome said!

It never hurts to dream, right? In reality, there are two new states slated to start legal sales next year — Oregon and Alaska — and if the GOP-led Congress gets out of the way, the District of Columbia, too.

This would be a real boon to, well, people everywhere — no more murders over internet horror memes in 2015, please.

Whether that’s because Michael Sam finally finds a job on an active roster, or because another brave plyer comes out of the closet, it’s long overdue for this bubble to be burst.

Because, obviously.

Because, obviously.

While criminal charges are a foregone conclusion, as an Ohio grand jury failed to indict Officer Sean Williams for fatally shooting John Crawford at a Beavercreek Walmart, his family’s federal civil suit was filed this week, both against Williams and the retail giant itself.

Images: R Joseph/Twitter

This is a tall order if ever there was one, and maybe I’m just forecasting my hopes. But California could desperately use a wetter-than-average 2015, being in the grips of a severe drought even after December’s torrential rains.

We can only hope, at the very least, considering how many women were targeted by rape threats in 2014 only to be told no action would be taken.

Let the potato parties (re)begin!

It seems like no matter how urgent or dire scientists’ warnings about climate change get, it’s hard to convince people that an unseen threat is one worth prioritizing. Which is a shame, since this is an unseen threat that imperils us all.

The precedent’s been set, after all.

Having already courted intra-party controversy by calling illegal immigration an “act of love,” the newest Bush to enter the presidential fray has a chance to challenge his own party’s orthodoxy. If he could actually be successful doing so, it could trigger a GOP sea change on immigration.

Not exactly climbing out on a ledge on this one, huh? In 2014, we had executives at Sony outed for racist cracks at Obama’s expense, thanks to the hacking incident that got The Interview cancelled, to say nothing. Who’s gonna say something really awful in 2015?

Divisive, controversial, a man who fosters ill-will in his own party almost as well as he does his opponents’ — if Texas Senator Ted Cruz can pass up a chance for the presidential campaign spotlight, I’ll be shocked.

It’s no secret that the part of the country where President Obama’s effort to normalize relations with Cuba could prove most controversial as also a state that a presidential election could hinge on — Florida, where anti-Castro sentiment runs strong and deep among an older ex-patriate community. Don’t expect the GOP to pass up such a juicy opportunity.

It’s no secret what Republican-led states have been doing in recent years — with so-called TRAP laws (targeted regulation of abortion providers) shutting down clinics across swaths of the south, and 20-week abortion bans, the effort to circumvent the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling at the state level is in action, and sadly, it figures to continue in 2015.

Despite being kicked around for over two years now, and the exonerating findings of a recent Republican-led report into the fatal consulate attacks, Benghazi remains too compelling a topic among the GOP to disappear in 2015 — especially with a long summer of a likely Hillary Clinton presidential campaign in waiting.

With virtually everyone anticipating a presidential run for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in 2016, don’t expect the Bridgegate scandal to factor much into things. Why? Because voters tend to have shorter memories than people assume, and an imperfect contender looks better than a sterling also-ran any day.

Which is a crying shame, honestly.