ArtsCultureEntertainmentNewsTop StoryUS

Taylor Swift’s new romance, debt-erasing gifts & the eclipse are the most joyous moments of 2023

A romance that united sports and music fans, a celestial wonder that drew millions of eyes skyward and a spiritual homecoming for some Native American tribes were just some of the moments that inspired us and brought joy in 2023. In a year that saw multiple wars, deadly mass shootings, earthquakes, wildfires, sexual harassment stories and other tragedies, these events were among those that broke through the tumult of 2023 and made people feel hopeful. As Taylor Swift would say, “Hold on to the memories.”

Here are a few of them:

Quick Read

  • Celebrity Romance and Public Adoration: The romance between Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and singer Taylor Swift captured public attention, with Kelce’s romantic gesture at Swift’s concert leading to a highly publicized relationship.
  • Eclipse Spectacle Brings Awe: The “ring of fire” solar eclipse, witnessed by millions across the U.S., provided a moment of celestial wonder, with many feeling a spiritual connection to the event.
  • Altruistic Legacy in Medical Debt Relief: Casey McIntyre’s posthumous campaign to erase medical debt inspired many, raising over $1 million, demonstrating the impact of individual compassion.
  • Restoration of Native American Heritage: The renaming of a Grand Canyon campground to its original Havasupai name and the designation of a new national monument honoring Native American tribes represented significant steps in acknowledging and respecting indigenous heritage.
  • Wolf Reintroduction Balancing Ecosystem: The successful reintroduction of wolves to Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park is helping control the moose population and aiding the recovery of balsam fir trees, showcasing effective wildlife management and ecological balance.

The Associated Press has the story:

Taylor Swift’s new romance, debt-erasing gifts & the eclipse are the most joyous moments of 2023

Newslooks- KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)

___A FRIENDSHIP BRACELET WITH A PHONE NUMBER

That’s how Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce planned to woo superstar Taylor Swift when he went to her Eras Tour concert stop in the Missouri capital. It didn’t work — at first.

But the romantic gesture, and public admission of defeat on his “New Heights” podcast, caught the Grammy Award-winner’s attention. After the power pair took their relationship public — she went to a Chiefs game and sat in a box with Kelce’s mom, to the delight of fans — they began taking the world by storm.

Taylor Swift was on hand at Lambeau Field to watch Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sportscasters calculated Swift’s effect on Kelce’s game stats and TV viewership, national magazines offered up comprehensive dating timelines, and Swift fans scoured Kelce’s old social media posts to make sure he was fit for their queen.

FILE – A fan displays a sign that calls attention to Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce during the second half of an NFL football game between the Chiefs and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

On tour in Buenos Aires, the then-33-year-old singer changed a lyric from “Karma is the guy on the screen” to “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs.” And fans went crazy when she jumped into Kelce’s arms for an iconic post-concert kiss.

FILE – Taylor Swift waves from a suite alongside Brittany Mahomes, right, during the first half of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, Oct. 22, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. A friendship bracelet with a phone number: that’s how Kelce planned to woo Swift when he went to her Eras Tour concert stop in the Missouri capital. The romance that united sports and music fans, a celestial wonder that drew millions of eyes skyward and a long overdue homecoming for some Native American tribes were just some of the moments that inspired us and brought joy in 2023. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga, File)

“I think we’re all excited about it. Until they start making good romcoms again, this is what we have,” said Michal Owens, a 37-year-old longtime fan from the Indianapolis suburb of Zionsville.

While pint-sized pairs of trick-or-treaters donned glitzy dresses and Chiefs jerseys this Halloween, Owens transformed her outdoor display into a tribute. The mother of three dressed one 12-foot-tall (3.66-meters-tall) skeleton in a Chiefs jersey, another in a sparkly dress and then stacked three smaller skeletons atop one another to create what she called a “tower of Swifties.”

FILE – Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, center left, and singer Taylor Swift leave Arrowhead Stadium after an NFL football game between the Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, Oct. 22, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. A friendship bracelet with a phone number: that’s how Kelce planned to woo Swift when he went to her Eras Tour concert stop in the Missouri capital. The romance that united sports and music fans, a celestial wonder that drew millions of eyes skyward and a long overdue homecoming for some Native American tribes were just some of the moments that inspired us and brought joy in 2023. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

“We’ve got so many things in the world to be sad about,” she said. “Why not find something to root for and give us some joy?”

____AN AWE-INSPIRING ECLIPSE

From Oregon’s coast to the beaches of Corpus Christi, Texas, millions of people in October donned special glasses and gazed upward to take in the dazzling “ ring of fire” eclipse of the sun.

“It’s kind of spiritual, but in a way that is almost tangible,” University of Texas at San Antonio astrophysics professor Angela Speck said as she recalled the type of eclipse that ancient Mayan astronomers called a “broken sun.”

FILE – The moon passes between Earth and the sun during a rare “ring of fire” eclipse seen from Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, Oct. 14, 2023. A romance that united sports and music fans, a celestial wonder that drew millions of eyes skyward and a long overdue homecoming for some Native American tribes were just some of the moments that inspired us and brought joy in 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Crowds in the path of the eclipse erupted in cheers when the moon blocked out all but a brilliant circle of the sun’s outer edge. Participants at an international balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, whooped from the launch pad. Broadcasters for NASA said they felt a chill as the moon cast a shadow over the earth — and one broadcaster was so overcome with emotion that she began crying.

FILE – People watch the “ring of fire” annular eclipse during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Oct. 14, 2023, in Albuquerque, N.M. From Oregon’s coast to the beaches of Corpus Christi, Texas, millions of people in October 2023 donned special glasses and gazed upward to take in the dazzling “ring of fire” eclipse of the sun. (Chancey Bush/Albuquerque Journal via AP, File)

The phenomenon was a prelude to the total solar eclipse that will sweep across Mexico, the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada, in April 2024. But the next “ring of fire” eclipse won’t be visible in the U.S. until 2039 and then only in parts of Alaska.

___IN DEATH, A SELFLESS ACT

Surprise letters are showing up in mailboxes, informing recipients that their medical debt is wiped away.

They have Casey McIntyre to thank. The 38-year-old New York City book publisher nearly died of cancer in May. But in what her husband, Andrew Rose Gregory, called a “bonus summer,” the young mother made plans to help people after she was gone. Her goal: To erase medical debt.

In a message posted after her death in November, she asked for donations, writing, “I loved each and every one of you with my whole heart and I promise you, I knew how deeply I was loved.”

FILE – This family photo shows Casey McIntyre. Less than a week after her death from cancer on Nov. 12, 2023, the New York woman had raised enough money to erase more than $13 million in medical debt for others with a posthumous plea for help. Miraculous letters are showing up in mailboxes, informing the recipients that their medical debt is wiped away. They have McIntyre to thank. (Andrew Rose Gregory via AP, File)

By December, the campaign had raised more than $1 million, enough to erase around $100 million in debt. That’s because the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt says every dollar donated buys about $100 in debt.

“Her positive spirit is just resonating with a lot of people,” said Allison Sesso, the nonprofit’s president and CEO.

The effort was inspired by the people McIntyre met during treatment. They weren’t just worried about their health but how to pay for their care. She had good insurance — and “couldn’t even fathom having to deal with that on top of the cancer,” Sesso said.

The fundraiser, which quickly shattered its initial goal of $20,000, gave her family a sliver of “something positive” to focus on amid their grief. It was particularly hard for the family because when McIntyre died, her daughter was just a toddler, not yet 2.

“This sounds crazy but she didn’t seem angry at all,” said Sesso. “She was like, ‘This happened. I’ve accepted that this has happened, and I’m going to do this positive thing.’”

____A SPIRITUAL HOMECOMING

When the Grand Canyon became a national park over a century ago, many Native Americans who called it home were displaced.

In 2023, meaningful steps were taken to address the federal government’s actions. In May, a ceremony marked the renaming of a popular campground in the inner canyon from Indian Garden to Havasupai Gardens, or “Ha’a Gyoh,” in the Havasupai language.

It marked a pivotal moment in the tribe’s relationship with the U.S. government nearly a century after the last tribal member was forcibly removed from the park. The Havasupai Tribe was landless for a time until the federal government set aside a plot in the depths of the Grand Canyon for members.

FILE – Tourists look out from the South Rim at the Grand Canyon, May 4, 2023. The Havasupai Tribe held a blessing ceremony to mark the renaming of a popular campground from Indian Garden to Havasupai Gardens. When the Grand Canyon became a national park over a century ago, many Native Americans who called it home were displaced. In 2023, meaningful steps were taken to address the federal government’s actions. For one tribe, the Havasupai, the changes started this spring with a ceremony to rename a popular campground in the inner canyon from Indian Garden to Havasupai Gardens or “Ha’a Gyoh.” (AP Photo/Ty O’Neil, File)

Then in August, President Joe Biden signed a national monument designation — over the opposition of Republican lawmakers and the uranium mining industry — to help preserve about 1,562 square miles (4,046 square kilometers) to the north and south of Grand Canyon National Park.

It was another big step for the Havasupai, and for the 10 other tribes that consider the Grand Canyon their ancestral homeland.

The new national monument is called Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni. “Baaj Nwaavjo” meaning “where tribes roam,” for the Havasupai people, while “I’tah Kukveni” translates to “our footprints,” for the Hopi Tribe.

FILE – Members of the Havasupai Tribe walk down to a popular campground at Grand Canyon National Park, May 5, 2023. The tribe held a blessing ceremony to mark the renaming of the campground from Indian Garden to Havasupai Gardens. When the Grand Canyon became a national park over a century ago, many Native Americans who called it home were displaced. In 2023, meaningful steps were taken to address the federal government’s actions. For one tribe, the Havasupai, the changes started this spring with a ceremony to rename a popular campground in the inner canyon from Indian Garden to Havasupai Gardens or “Ha’a Gyoh.” (AP Photo/Ty O’Neil, File)

The move restricts new mining claims and brings tribal voices to the table to manage the environment, said Jack Pongyesva, of the Grand Canyon Trust, an advocacy group that represents tribal and environmental issues in the region.

He said it also could open the door for more cultural tourism, where visitors could learn not just about the landscape but about the tribes — from the tribes themselves.

Pongyesva, a member of the Hopi Tribe, said the dedication is “The beginning of hopefully this healing and looking back and seeing what was wrong and moving forward together.”

___A RESILIENT RETURN

Firs are mainstays of Christmas tree lots. But on the Isle Royale National Park near Michigan’s border with Canada, balsam firs were being devoured.

Gray wolves on the remote island cluster in Lake Superior were already dying out from inbreeding, causing the moose population to become a “runaway freight train” and strip trees that were wolves’ primary food during long, snowbound winters, said Michigan Tech biologist Rolf Peterson.

FILE – This photo taken Jan. 24, 2023, shows a pack of wolves after they killed a moose at Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park. Gray wolves are thriving at Isle Royale National Park five years after authorities began a last-ditch attempt to prevent the species from dying out on the Lake Superior island chain, scientists said on June 14, 2023. An annual report this year shows that the resurging wolf population is thriving and the moose total is shrinking, giving the trees a chance to recover. (Rolf Peterson/Michigan Technological University via AP, File)

An ambitious plan was hatched to airlift wolves from the mainland to the park — and it’s starting to make a big difference. A report this year shows the resurging wolf population is thriving and the moose total is shrinking, giving the trees a chance to recover.

There were critics of the plan, but Peterson said there weren’t other viable options. Because of climate change, particularly global warming, there are fewer ice bridges, reducing wolves’ ability to trek from the mainland and diversify the gene pool.

“That was a huge undertaking,” Peterson said, and it turned out “spectacularly well.”

For more entertainment news

Previous Article
From AI and inflation to Elon Musk, the business stories that dominated 2023
Next Article
Experts: Israel’s military campaign in Gaza seen as among the most destructive in history

How useful was this article?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this article.

Latest News

Menu