Year in Review: Southern California 2021 Images in the News

30 photos
1/30
Baseball Hall of Fame player and manager, Tommy Lasorda, poses during a 1980 Los Angeles, California, photo portrait session at Dodger Stadium. Lasorda managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1976 to 1996. He died on Jan. 7, 2021.(Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Baseball Hall of Fame player and manager, Tommy Lasorda, poses during a 1980 Los Angeles, California, photo portrait session at Dodger Stadium. Lasorda managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1976 to 1996. He died on Jan. 7, 2021.(Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
2/30
A mural depicting Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna by artist Mr Brainwash is seen in Los Angeles. Jan. 26, 2021 marks the one year anniversary of the tragic helicopter crash which led to the death of nine people, including Bryant and his daughter Gianna. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
Getty
A mural depicting Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna by artist Mr Brainwash is seen in Los Angeles. Jan. 26, 2021 marks the one year anniversary of the tragic helicopter crash which led to the death of nine people, including Bryant and his daughter Gianna. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
3/30
In this handout image provided by NASA, members of NASA’s Perseverance rover team react in mission control after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, , February 18, 2021 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.  A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life.
Getty/NASA
In this handout image provided by NASA, members of NASA’s Perseverance rover team react in mission control after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, , February 18, 2021 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life.
4/30
LA County Sheriff’s officers investigate an accident involving golfer Tiger Woods along Hawthorne Blvd. in Rancho Palos Verdes, Feb. 23, 2021. Woods made his triumphant return to golf in December 2021, after a long road to recovery after the accident.
Wally Skalij | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
LA County Sheriff’s officers investigate an accident involving golfer Tiger Woods along Hawthorne Blvd. in Rancho Palos Verdes, Feb. 23, 2021. Woods made his triumphant return to golf in December 2021, after a long road to recovery after the accident.
5/30
Dr. Tomas Aragon, State Public Health Officer and California Department of Public Health Director, takes part in a vaccination event at the RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, March 11, 2021 -- the one year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic -- to highlight the then-new, one-dose Janssen COVID-19 vaccine by Johnson & Johnson. The event was part of the state’s efforts to increase vaccine acceptance among groups that are less likely to be vaccinated. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
Dr. Tomas Aragon, State Public Health Officer and California Department of Public Health Director, takes part in a vaccination event at the RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, March 11, 2021 -- the one year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic -- to highlight the then-new, one-dose Janssen COVID-19 vaccine by Johnson & Johnson. The event was part of the state’s efforts to increase vaccine acceptance among groups that are less likely to be vaccinated. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)
6/30
People attend a “Stop Asian Hate” candlelight vigil in a city park of Alhambra, Los Angeles County, California on March 20, 2021. Eight people, six of whom were Asian and two of whom were white, were killed in three shooting incidents in the Atlanta area by a suspect earlier that week. (Photo by Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/xinhua via Getty Images)
People attend a “Stop Asian Hate” candlelight vigil in a city park of Alhambra, Los Angeles County, California on March 20, 2021. Eight people, six of whom were Asian and two of whom were white, were killed in three shooting incidents in the Atlanta area by a suspect earlier that week. (Photo by Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/xinhua via Getty Images)
7/30
The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup in front of socially distanced filled stadium before the game against the Washington Nationals during the 2021 MLB season home opening game at Dodger Stadium on April 09, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Harry How
The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup in front of socially distanced filled stadium before the game against the Washington Nationals during the 2021 MLB season home opening game at Dodger Stadium on April 09, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
8/30
In an aerial view, the San Gabriel River and the exposed lakebed of the San Gabriel Reservoir are seen in the third week of spring as another year of drought develops throughout the West, on April 8, 2021 in the San Gabriel Mountains near Azusa, California. Precipitation was extremely low in Los Angeles County during the winter of 2021, with no measurable rain recorded in downtown Los Angeles during the month of February, which is the height of the rainy season. As native vegetation grew drier and more flammable each month, fire officials expected another devastating season of massive wildfires. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
In an aerial view, the San Gabriel River and the exposed lakebed of the San Gabriel Reservoir are seen in the third week of spring as another year of drought develops throughout the West, on April 8, 2021 in the San Gabriel Mountains near Azusa, California. Precipitation was extremely low in Los Angeles County during the winter of 2021, with no measurable rain recorded in downtown Los Angeles during the month of February, which is the height of the rainy season. As native vegetation grew drier and more flammable each month, fire officials expected another devastating season of massive wildfires. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
9/30
Park visitors got emotional inside Disneyland as the theme park reopened for the first time in more than a year on Friday, April 30, 2021. The reopening of Disneyland, which was shut down in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “is a monumental day for Anaheim,” city spokesman Mike Lyster said. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Park visitors got emotional inside Disneyland as the theme park reopened for the first time in more than a year on Friday, April 30, 2021. The reopening of Disneyland, which was shut down in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “is a monumental day for Anaheim,” city spokesman Mike Lyster said. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
10/30
A year after COVID-19 put ceremonies for the class of 2020 on hold, USC 2020 and 2021 graduates prepared for a pandemic-adjusted, but in-person, commencement. The school held multiple, smaller ceremonies from May 14 to May 20, 2021.
NBCLA
A year after COVID-19 put ceremonies for the class of 2020 on hold, USC 2020 and 2021 graduates prepared for a pandemic-adjusted, but in-person, commencement. The school held multiple, smaller ceremonies from May 14 to May 20, 2021.
11/30
Aiden Leos, pictured in this undated photo provided by his family, was killed in a road rage car-to-car shooting on the 55 Freeway on May 21, 2021. His death set off community-wide mourning and outrage, with local businesses donating thousands of dollars in reward money for information leading to the killers. Two suspects were arrested and charged in the death of the 6-year-old boy.
Leos Family
Aiden Leos, pictured in this undated photo provided by his family, was killed in a road rage car-to-car shooting on the 55 Freeway on May 21, 2021. His death set off community-wide mourning and outrage, with local businesses donating thousands of dollars in reward money for information leading to the killers. Two suspects were arrested and charged in the death of the 6-year-old boy.
12/30
A security camera captured a devoted dog mom’s wild standoff with a protective mama bear in the back yard of a San Gabriel Valley home over Memorial Day weekend, 2021. Fearing for her dogs’ safety, a teen girl joined the fray after hearing frantic barks. The encounter went viral online.
A security camera captured a devoted dog mom’s wild standoff with a protective mama bear in the back yard of a San Gabriel Valley home over Memorial Day weekend, 2021. Fearing for her dogs’ safety, a teen girl joined the fray after hearing frantic barks. The encounter went viral online.
13/30
Gov. Gavin Newsom selects 15 vaccinated Californians to receive $50,000, on Friday, June 4, 2021, as part of the state’s “Vax for the Win” vaccination incentive program.
NBC 7
Gov. Gavin Newsom selects 15 vaccinated Californians to receive $50,000, on Friday, June 4, 2021, as part of the state’s “Vax for the Win” vaccination incentive program.
14/30
Illegal fireworks that were seized in South LA exploded during transport on June 30, 2021. The containment truck used to contain the explosives was overloaded, and could not contain the force of the blast, which bomb squad technicians vastly underestimated when loading the vehicle. The explosion shattered windows, sent debris throughout the neighborhood, and displaced some residents for months.
NBCLA
Illegal fireworks that were seized in South LA exploded during transport on June 30, 2021. The containment truck used to contain the explosives was overloaded, and could not contain the force of the blast, which bomb squad technicians vastly underestimated when loading the vehicle. The explosion shattered windows, sent debris throughout the neighborhood, and displaced some residents for months.
15/30
A sign advises shoppers to wear masks outside of a store Monday, July 19, 2021, in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. Los Angeles County reinstated an indoor mask mandate due to rising COVID-19 cases, just a few weeks after California lifted most pandemic restrictions. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
A sign advises shoppers to wear masks outside of a store Monday, July 19, 2021, in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. Los Angeles County reinstated an indoor mask mandate due to rising COVID-19 cases, just a few weeks after California lifted most pandemic restrictions. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
16/30
Cows are seen in a Pico Rivera neighborhood Tuesday June 23, 2021, after breaking free from a slaughterhouse and making an escape attempt. Only one cow managed to escape slaughter, and found a new home at Southland Farm Sanctuary.
OnScene
Cows are seen in a Pico Rivera neighborhood Tuesday June 23, 2021, after breaking free from a slaughterhouse and making an escape attempt. Only one cow managed to escape slaughter, and found a new home at Southland Farm Sanctuary.
17/30
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pose for photographs with the 2020 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the East Room of the White House on July 02, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to win the championship series at the end of an abbreviated season due to the coronavirus. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris pose for photographs with the 2020 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the East Room of the White House on July 02, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to win the championship series at the end of an abbreviated season due to the coronavirus. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
18/30
Team USA gold medalists pose on the podium after winning the Women’s Gold Medal match between Spain and the United States on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tatsumi Water Polo Centre on Aug. 7, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. A grand total of 63 of Team USA's 113 medals at the Tokyo Olympics were won by athletes with ties to Southern California.
Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images
Team USA gold medalists pose on the podium after winning the Women’s Gold Medal match between Spain and the United States on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tatsumi Water Polo Centre on Aug. 7, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. A grand total of 63 of Team USA's 113 medals at the Tokyo Olympics were won by athletes with ties to Southern California.
19/30
Hundreds of people joined a hike Sunday Aug. 29, 2021 in memory of Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui, a 2019 Norco High School graduate. Nikoui was one of 13 service members killed while helping people evacuate Afghanistan when the Taliban took over Kabul, ending the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
NBCLA
Hundreds of people joined a hike Sunday Aug. 29, 2021 in memory of Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui, a 2019 Norco High School graduate. Nikoui was one of 13 service members killed while helping people evacuate Afghanistan when the Taliban took over Kabul, ending the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
20/30
Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses a crowd in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday night, Sept. 14, 2021. Newsom defeated an attempt to oust him from office in a recall election, overcoming Republican criticism of COVID-19 restrictions that shuttered schools and businesses.
AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses a crowd in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday night, Sept. 14, 2021. Newsom defeated an attempt to oust him from office in a recall election, overcoming Republican criticism of COVID-19 restrictions that shuttered schools and businesses.
21/30
Randy Duncan leaves flowers in support of the Bruce Family and George Floyd at Bruce’s Beach on April 20, 2021 in Manhattan Beach, California. – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to return a valuable parcel of land to the descendants of a Black couple, Willa and Charles Bruce, who once operated a beach resort before it and additional land owned by Black families was taken via eminent domain in the 1920s only to sit vacant for decades. A county lifeguard training center is operated on the parcel of land once owned by the Bruce family. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Gettyt
Randy Duncan leaves flowers in support of the Bruce Family and George Floyd at Bruce’s Beach on April 20, 2021 in Manhattan Beach, California. – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to return a valuable parcel of land to the descendants of a Black couple, Willa and Charles Bruce, who once operated a beach resort before it and additional land owned by Black families was taken via eminent domain in the 1920s only to sit vacant for decades. A county lifeguard training center is operated on the parcel of land once owned by the Bruce family. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
22/30
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 03: Oil is washed up on Huntington State Beach after a 126,000-gallon oil spill from an offshore oil platform on October 3, 2021 in Huntington Beach, California. The spill forced the closure of the popular Great Pacific Airshow with authorities urging people to avoid beaches in the vicinity.  (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Mario Tama/Getty Images
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 03: Oil is washed up on Huntington State Beach after a 126,000-gallon oil spill from an offshore oil platform on October 3, 2021 in Huntington Beach, California. The spill forced the closure of the popular Great Pacific Airshow with authorities urging people to avoid beaches in the vicinity. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
23/30
An LAPD photo reveals a Jack Skellington balloon that may have been the explanation behind an ongoing mystery near LAX. Multiple pilots reported seeing a mysterious "jetpack man" in the skies over Los Angeles, starting in 2020 and with the most recent sighting in July 2021. NBC4's I-Team uncovered what may have been the cause.
LAPD
An LAPD photo reveals a Jack Skellington balloon that may have been the explanation behind an ongoing mystery near LAX. Multiple pilots reported seeing a mysterious "jetpack man" in the skies over Los Angeles, starting in 2020 and with the most recent sighting in July 2021. NBC4's I-Team uncovered what may have been the cause.
24/30
Supporters of the “Free Britney” movement rally in support of musician Britney Spears outside the Stanley Mosk courthouse in Los Angeles, California, Nov. 12, 2021. – A Los Angeles judge on Friday formally approved the process of ending the controversial guardianship that has controlled Spears’ life for the past 13 years.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Supporters of the “Free Britney” movement rally in support of musician Britney Spears outside the Stanley Mosk courthouse in Los Angeles, California, Nov. 12, 2021. – A Los Angeles judge on Friday formally approved the process of ending the controversial guardianship that has controlled Spears’ life for the past 13 years.
25/30
A person wearing a face covering walks past a white flag memorial installation outside Griffith Observatory honoring the Los Angeles County residents who have died from COVID-19 on Nov. 18, 2021, in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama/Getty Images (File)
A person wearing a face covering walks past a white flag memorial installation outside Griffith Observatory honoring the Los Angeles County residents who have died from COVID-19 on Nov. 18, 2021, in Los Angeles, California.
26/30
Read it and weep: Gas prices at some SoCal stations were even higher than the statewide, record-high prices per gallon in mid-November.
NBCLA
Read it and weep: Gas prices at some SoCal stations were even higher than the statewide, record-high prices per gallon in mid-November.
27/30
A shattered glass door is pictured after robberies in Burbank early Friday Dec. 3, 2021. Locations all around Southern California were hit by burglaries and smash-and-grab robberies towards the end of the year, in a sudden crime spike.
NBCLA
A shattered glass door is pictured after robberies in Burbank early Friday Dec. 3, 2021. Locations all around Southern California were hit by burglaries and smash-and-grab robberies towards the end of the year, in a sudden crime spike.
28/30
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 03: People who arrived on international flights wait to be tested on the first day of a new rapid COVID-19 testing site for arriving international passengers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on December 3, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The free voluntary tests are being offered to arriving passengers in the Tom Bradley International Terminal by the Los Angeles County Department of Health after the county confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant December 2.  (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 03: People who arrived on international flights wait to be tested on the first day of a new rapid COVID-19 testing site for arriving international passengers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on December 3, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The free voluntary tests are being offered to arriving passengers in the Tom Bradley International Terminal by the Los Angeles County Department of Health after the county confirmed its first case of the Omicron variant December 2. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
29/30
NewsChopper4 Alpha captures crews removing the iconic Staples Center lettering and logos from the outside of the stadium on Dec. 6, to make way for its new identity as the Crypto.com Arena.
NBCLA
NewsChopper4 Alpha captures crews removing the iconic Staples Center lettering and logos from the outside of the stadium on Dec. 6, to make way for its new identity as the Crypto.com Arena.
30/30
Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez performs at AmericanAirlines Arena on October 10, 2010 in Miami, Florida. The icon, El Rey, died on Dec. 12. (Photo by Olivia Salazar/WireImage)
Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez performs at AmericanAirlines Arena on October 10, 2010 in Miami, Florida. The icon, El Rey, died on Dec. 12. (Photo by Olivia Salazar/WireImage)
Contact Us