National News 2012 (PHOTOS)

In 2012, the Shuttle Enterprise made its way across a country that was split by a tense presidential election to rest in a city that was devastated by a hurricane months later. We highlight these significant events in U.S. news and others in the images ahead.

• State Of The Union

  President Obama warmly embraces Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as members of Congress applaud, before he takes the states for his address on Jan. 24.

• Trayvon Martin

  Mourners gather at a candlelight vigil to remember Trayvon Martin, outside The Retreat at Twin Lakes community where Martin was shot and killed by George Michael Zimmerman on Feb. 26.

• Space Shuttle Enterprise

  The first space shuttle orbiter is transported by barge to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City, where it rests on permanent display.

• Aurora Shooting

  A makeshift memorial across the street from the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, Colorado, where 24-year-old James Holmes allegedly shot and killed 12 and injured 58 others on July 20 during the opening, midnight screening of <em>The Dark Knight Rises.</em>

• Sikh Shooting

  Mourners attend a special service for the victims of a shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. White supremacist Wade Michael Page opened fire on worshippers at the temple on Aug. 5, killing six people before being killed by police in a shootout.

• Election 2012

  Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and U.S. President Barack Obama field questions from audience members during the second, town hall style debate at Hofstra University on Oct. 16, 2012.

• Hurricane Sandy

  Lower Manhattan sits shrouded in darkness on Nov. 3, after the area lost power in Hurricane Sandy.

• Petraeus Scandal

  CIA director Gen. David Petraeus shakes hands with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, on July 13, 2011. Petraeus resigned from his post on Nov. 9 of this year, citing an extramarital affair with Broadwell.

• Tragedy In Newton

  Twenty-seven wooden angels are planted in a yard down the street from Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 26 people -- including 20 children -- were shot dead on Dec. 14 by 20-year-old gunman Adam Lanza, leaving the nation heartbroken and unsettled.

• Gay Marriage Victories

  Terry Gilbert kisses his husband Paul Beppler at Seattle City Hall, after becoming one of the first gay couples to legally wed in Washington state on Dec. 9.

This story appears in the year-end photo issue of our weekly iPad magazine, Huffington, in the iTunes App store, available Friday, Dec. 28.

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/20/national-news-2012-photos_n_2335060.html

louisiana primary syracuse basketball chipper jones chipper jones dancing with the stars cast mickael pietrus heart transplant