meddling in a presidential election to immigration, civil rights, presidential tweets and everything in between. the attorney general has had his hands full this year. here are the top seven justice related stories in 2017. number seven, tough on crime makes a come back. once former alabama senator jeff sessions was sworn in as attorney general, he set out to make his mark on the criminal justice system. a new era of justice begins. and it begins right now. what a difference a year makes. elections really do have consequences. reporter: in may, sessions directed federal prosecutors to pursue the stiffest possible charge in all criminal cases. this could severely change the sentencing procedures in the united states. reporter: upending an obama era phase. we know that drugs and crime go hand in hand. they just do.
it sure was a white christmas in erie, pennsylvania. take a look at that. that is what nearly 60, 6-0, inches of snow looks like. the two-day total is the highest in the entire state of pennsylvania. according to national weather service. 2017 ending with a wintry mess seems fitting for a year filled with extreme weather. it was an incredible year of weather extremes. 2017 produced 15 different billion dollar weather disasters in the u.s. here are the top seven weather and climate events of 2017. number seven, every acre of california was in drought. nearly two-thirds of the state was classified exceptional. tens of millions of trees died
2017 produced 15 different billion-dollar weather disasters in the u.s. here are the top seven weather and claimant events of 2017. number seven, every acre of california was in drought and nearly two-thirds of the state was classified exceptional. tens of millions of trees died, creating concern for a major wildfire season ahead. rain and snows returned with a vengeance to california in the fall of 2016 and continued through the spring of this year. by april, governor brown officially declared the drought over. the heavy rain and melting snow was beneficial to most, but some, it became too much of a good thing. in february, the orville dam was in danger as an emergency spillway began to erode. 188,000 residents below the dam were evacuated. in the end, the dam was shored up and the disaster was narrowly avoided. number six, the eclipse of the century. on august 21st, millions of
first year, but it s also faced one natural disaster after another. who can forget that spectacular show in the sky snow turning day into night, bringing millions of people together. that was very cool. chad myers has the top seven weather and climate stories of the past year. it was an incredible year of extremes. 2017 produced 15 give billion dollar weather disasters. here are the top seven weather and climate events of 2017. number seven, every acre of california was in drought. nearly two thirds of the state was classified exceptional. tens of millions of trees died, creating concern for a major wildfire season ahead. rain and show las returned with a vengeance to california in the fall of 2016, and continued through the spring of this year.
those on board. she tweeted the plane turned around because an unauthorized passenger was on the aircraft. it s not clear how that happened. at least this passenger had a good time with it, posing for a selfie with the two stars on their way back to l.a. you ve got to make the most of it. donald trump s tweets have played a crucial role in the first year of his presidency. they re his version of president roosevelt s fireside chats, a way to connect to the country and his base. he s also used the platform to slam journalists. the president s relationship with the press is one of the top media stories of 2017. here s brian stelter. reporter: scoops, falsehoods, feuds, firings, and a cultural reckoning. here are the top seven media stories in 2017. number seven, late night in the age of trump.