>> welcome back, america. >> comedian flame monroe, john berman and donie o'sullivan. nfl free agent rk russell, s.e. cupp, and comedian helen holmes. >> come on in. we put chlorine in the pool. >> it's the grand reopening for all the best, all the worst, 2021. i'm tom foreman. welcome, and congratulations. we all survived a tough 12 months packed with unheavals, conflicts, difficulties, and yet also victories, hope, and happiness. that's saying something considering we were up against a raging pandemic and the deepest social divides the united states has seen in decades. so how did we make it through? let's sort that out by starting with the biggest news. >> that sounded like gunshots. >> run, run! >> worst story of the year, the violence invasion of the u.s. capitol by people angry over joe biden winning the last presidential election. >> the idea that 2021 was going to be better, i think, probably lasted for about exactly six days. >> the january 6th insurrection was straight up crazy. >> the losing candidate, then president donald trump stoked the fury with the big lie that he had won. >> they rigged an election. they rigged it like they had never rigged an election before. >> it was really traumatizing and tragic to see the people's house overtaken by american citizens. >> police were beaten, congress ran, people died, hundreds would be arrested. the best response, lawmakers came back within hours and certified joe biden's victory. >> democracy has prevailed. >> the country was still reeling from covid with worst new arrival on the way, the more transmissible delta variant, and now, omicron, too, with more than 800,000 fatalities in the u.s., the worst question is how many more? >> you know, i just had an experience with covid. and it shook me to the bone because i wasn't sure. >> i want my child to go to school free and unmasked. >> the worst response, all those people who refuse to wear masks or get vaccinated. >> i love how anti-vaxers are like, my body is a precious temple. i'm not willing to inject my body with this suspicious covid vaccine, but horse dewormer. i'll take that. >> i think you can say objectively that a large part of what happened with the spread of the delta variant is because of the unvaccinated. >> the best neighbors, the overwhelming majority of americans who by year's end had received their shots. >> i am all for people making their own choices and making informed decisions. i just want them to be informed decisions from actual scientists, from doctors, from medical professionals. >> health care workers and people in the service industry were rightly applauded for their tireless work. >> it's a sad way to become a hero. but i have immense, immense respect for them. >> the best unsung heroes, no kidding. give it to all the pets that kept us company through the hard months. >> i used to think that was a joke, tom. i found out the hard way, i realized now why people have emotional support dogs, because dogs are truly loyal to you. >> if we don't stand up, it's only going to get worse. >> still, tensions ran high as people tried to get back to normal. on airplanes, absurd fights broke ought as some passengers raged at restrictions. >> if you're going to punch out a flight attendant, i feel like flight attendants have every right to open the emergency doors and toss you out. >> the pandemic economy was mixed, with soaring gas prices, inflation -- >> i have noticed in the store, i think, sometimes i'm like, this seems like a pretty expensive jar of tomato sauce. >> and some shortages spurred by the worst traffic jam, all those ships parked offshore with goods from overseas. >> people are buying stuff. people want stuff. people haven't bought stuff for so long, they want it. they want stuff. and all this pent-up demand is what's creating this supply chain backup. >> but the stock market hit new high. most of the jobs lost have been recovered. sure, some folks don't want to go back to the office. >> i think people are afraid. they're like, you know what, i'm safer at home than i am going out anywhere. >> i think we're all still on edge. that's why i have been drinking so much whiskey. that's the reason. >> but for all that -- >> even after accounting for rising prices, the typical american family has more money in their pockets than they did last year. >> large destructive tornado on the ground. >> once again, a variety of tragic events plagued the nation, from fires, storms, and floods -- >> just random events of catastrophe were happening at the most random time. >> what the [ bleep ] was that? >> to manmade horrors. ten people dead after a crowd surge at a concert in texas. >> this is the type of thing that never needed to happen. >> six run down and killed at a christmas parade in wisconsin. >> we actually had a squad and barricades up, and he drove right through the barricades and the officers. >> and almost 100 people killed in that condo collapse in florida. >> one minute, a building was there. and the next, it was gone. and you just didn't think of america as being a place where that would happen. >> beyond the united states, there was tension along the border with mexico. a coup shook myanmar. rare protests erupted in cuba. violence broke out with air atrea and ethiopia. russia rattled sabres over ukraine again, and china tested what could be a game-changing hypersonic missile, and denied they were testing hypersonic weapons at all. >> china is, without sounding like donald trump, china is something we should be paying attention to. >> also something not getting as much attention -- >> another climate crisis is a very real thing and something we all have a part in, in helping, in reversing, in addressing. >> you're out here doing drugs. >> drug addiction continued to ruin and take american lives at a staggering rate. and gun violence took a terrible toll. mass shootings at schools and other locations filled headlines. so did a death on a movie set, where alec baldwin was holding a gun that went off. >> you never pulled the trigger? >> no, no, no. i would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger, never. >> and gun rights activists kept pushing hard against any new restrictions. >> when you don't do anything to fix a problem, you are making a tacit admission you're okay with the way things are. >> americans want to do what they want to do and they don't care what anybody think, does, or says. >> why were you trying to get to the police? >> i didn't do anything wrong. >> we find the defendant, kyle rittenhouse, not guilty. >> the acquittal of a young man who shot three people, killing two in a protest in wisconsin, the conviction of three men charged with chasing down and killing ahmaud arbery while he was jogging in georgia. >> you're hearing people saying we got justice. >> find the defendant guilty. >> and the conviction of the former cop who killed george floyd. >> i don't think we got justice in the conviction of derek chauvin, but we got accountability. >> all that along with a tax on asian-americans fed concern about the worst social trend, rising racial intolerance and violence. >> i have spent hundreds of dollars on buying pepper spray for my elderly parents. america, we should be embarrassed. >> that's a human problem. that's all of our problem. that's a societal problem, and it's something that was really put on display in 2021. >> there is much more ahead. coming up, we'll check out the worst in politics, the best in sports, music, movies, and look up in the sky. is that a bird, a plane, or a billionaire? give us some space. all the best, all the worst, 2021, roars on. you booked a sunny vrbo ski chalet. with endless views of snow-covered peaks. (laughter) a stove that inspires magnificent hot cocoa. and a perfect ski-in ski-out. but the thing they'll remember forever? grandpa coming out of retirement to give a few ski lessons. the time to plan your get together is now. find it on vrbo. hello, peter. >> in the whole long year of movies, for raw, cinematic power, marvel was in a class of its own. with spider-man, no way home. eternals. and shang chi and the legend of the ten rings battling for best action movie. >> is this what you wanted? >> i saw one movie in the theater. and it was shang chi, and that was it. and i liked it. >> this was the best year in a while for grand adventures all over the silver screen. from the latest installment of the venom series. >> oh, yeah! >> to black widow. to godzilla versus kong. >> best car chase, f-9, the fast saga. >> fast and the furious 9. in three words. pontiac in space. >> where is who? >> your boss. >> my boss? >> old west action. >> i don't particularly enjoy violence. >> the best sleeper was the harder they fall. >> that movie was great. it was a movie about black cowboys in a very positive light. >> worst movie to stay awake through, the beautiful but super long -- >> dune. i want to go see dune. >> the emperor asks us to bring peace to a ruckus. >> license to kill. >> worst good-bye to the guy many consider the best james bond. daniel craig ended his run as 007 with a whopping finale. >> no time to die has the longest run time of any bond movie in history. it was almost three hours long. so there was like plenty of time to die. maybe too much time to die. >> you are marvelous, rose. >> with a few notable exceptions such as power of the dog and belfast, it seemed a weak year for raw drama and animation, too. >> really? >> saw that. it's not for me. >> let's go. >> hollywood's worst problem coast to coast was the way the pandemic made it so hard to pack theater seaters once again. >> i'm naked. >> i can see that. >> i wouldn't back to the movies for the first time last week to see the new wes anderson movie. >> the french dispatch. >> i enjoyed the popcorn more than i enjoyed the movie. >> i have been looking for this tree longer than anybody. >> still, plenty of new movies connected with their audiences. >> careful. he can smell fear. >> best unexpected find. >> i thaought -- >> best reboot, dogs and all. >> emma stone was fantastic in cruella. i actually like was rooting for cruella. >> mondays, am i right, joe? >> best way to get away from it all. free guy. >> i love everything about that. >> is this what recreational drugs look like? >> he's a good dude and a handsome white boy. >> somebody in there? >> best ways to give yourself nightmares. >> i'm coming for you, michael. >> halloween kills, i love jamie lee curtis. >> it was an exceptionally good year for horror films. >> most people have finally given up hope. >> i think we were looking to be scared by something other than real life. >> candyman. >> candyman. >> candyman. >> thank goodness even when we could not make it out to our favorite cinema, the music business flooded our homes, headphones, and earbuds with pretty great tunes to pass the pandemic. ♪ go easy on me baby ♪ >> with one song and one unforgettable tv concert, the best moment in music came down to one name. >> adele is back. like, that's all we need to say for music. >> i think it's -- it's adele's world and we're all just crying in it, right? >> her fourth studdium album shot up the charts, paving her way for her new residency, performing in vegas. >> the one thing i'm always struck by is oh, my god, what a voice she has. ♪ in this world ♪ ♪ all we need is a little loving ♪ >> it was a very good year for music. new orleans' own john batiste danced to the front of the grammy nominees while the best song of the summer could have gone to olivia rodrigo. ♪ >> or ed sheeran and his bad habits. >> i do like ed sheeran. >> but we'll give that honor to doja cat's kiss me more. >> doja is amazing. her visuals are great. >> best bar sing-along that sounds a lot like a jingle goes to walker hayes and kesha. ♪ >> best vintage sound goes to silk sonic, the collaboration between bruno mars and his one-time opening act, anderson pak. >> it was calm, it was beautiful. and i don't care what you were doing when that song came on, you just got in a mellow mood. >> so i love silk sonic, and in the same vein as like black pumas, which had a great year. ♪ all my favorite colors ♪ ♪ my sisters and my brothers ♪ ♪ >> most unstoppable force, bts, there k-pop sound and the army of dedicated fans following their every move. >> the k-pop craze and phenom is completely beyond me. i was like, wait, what's happening? >> also making a big noise this year, saweetie laid it down. >> you may not know that saweetie is half asian, and i [ bleep ] love a potty mouthed asian woman. ♪ i never held my breath ♪ >> brandi carlile worked it out on a hot new album. >> everyone is finally realizing the american treasure that is brandi carlile. ♪ i bet you think about me ♪ >> taylor swift was rerecording is two of her original albums with new versions of some hits thrilling the swifties but not everyone. >> i don't enjoy the online hype about swift. they get too much for me to handle. ♪ what you know about rolling down ♪ >> mask wolf kept rolling with a hit from late last year. >> listen to something that's going to make me hangry, i have three kids for that, good god. >> but our reigning king of cool, 2021 was the year of lil n nas x. he seems really funny and like a really nice guy. >> he keeps breaking out great tunes like no one else. we are moving along, and just a moment, brace yourself for full contact politics and a little later, tee it up, drop the puck, and play ball. >> yes, sir. >> we'll be looking at the best in sports. the g.o.a.t. that got greater and the shows that lit up our living rooms. >> how do you know prayers don't work? >> because i'm bald. >> keep your hair on. all the best all the worst will be right back. let's get ready for jalapeñoooo popperrrrs! can you hand me some potato skins. theyyyy're loooaded! turns out, michael buffer speaks like that all the time. and it turns out the general is a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. and in this corner, coconuuuut shriiiiiimp! for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage - make the right call - and go with the general. let's get rrready for garlic breeeaaad! we're carvana, the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old. we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of 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others are not even close to moving on. defeated in the fall election. >> the mission donald trump was on to turn american against american. >> insisting he was cheated. >> make no mistake, this election was stolen from you, from me, and from the country. >> just because you keep repeating something over and over and over, it's not going to make it true. >> most corrupt election in the history of our country. >> donald trump spent his last week as president impeached again. this time over the chaos that engulfed the capitol. >> president trump is practically and morally responsible. >> republicans even some who blamed him, blocked conviction, but trump still refused to take part in the inauguration of the new president, joe biden. >> i, joseph robin biden -- >> drawing further scorn. >> the first thing the '80s would say is take me to your leader. look at one of the leaders we had. good god. >> we never forget 2020, just in case you have any questions. we're not forgetting 2020. >> but since then -- >> i think the adheres to the big lie hasn't just lingered. in some cases, it's grown. >> despite ending his term with one of the lowest approval ratings of any modern president and no evidence to back his claims of election fraud, polls show republicans remain overwhelmingly on team trump. >> i think an unfortunate new normality is for millions, possibly tens of millions of americans, don't really have faith in american democracy. because they view the 2020 election as a sham. >> we know who you are. >> accusations and suspicions between right and left invaded school board meetings, drove deep wedges into congress, and even divided families. >> you know, both sides believe the other is deranged and delusional. and that's incredibly dangerous. >> we're not a third world country. we're also not a dictatorship, but this is something else, tom, and it's scary. >> of course, the new administration including kamala harris, the first female u.s. vice president ever, had other issues to tackle. there was the pandemic to manage, the economic fallout, and democrats vowing to turn things around, which was not so easy. >> yeah, i mean, the democrats are kind of blowing this moment. >> on this vote, the yeas are 69. the nays are 30. the bill as amended is passed. >> a rapidly developing rift between progressives and centrists nearly scuttled one of the best wins for the white house. the infrastructure bill. >> sometimes simple decisions are made hard by the other baggage you bring into a situation or what's going on. >> i was not extending a forever exit. >> and that came well after the worst stumble by the new white house. the calamitous exit from afghanistan following 19 years of war. >> people agreed on getting out by and large, but i think they wanted to get out well. >> joe biden is not dumb, and one of the things he promised coming in was that unlike trump, he would listen to experts. and his generals. and he didn't. and i think we saw the result. >> worst numbers for the president in a political sense. his plunging approval in the polls amid what some see as mistakes, economic struggles, and fierce attacks from republicans. many calling his presidency illegitimate. >> if you're seeing that on your social media feed every day, it eventually continues to wash over you, some of it is going to sink in. >> plenty of elected officials also baought into or refused to call out even the most outlandish conspiracy theories. >> it's one thing when people are popping off with insane theories on facebook and it's another thing when those people are elected officials. >> most unsociable behavior, that goes to facebook for saying it would do more to control fake stories and hateful postings. it changed its name to meta but left many who wanted more unsatisfied. >> because we heard from the facebook whistleblower franceal haugen on how the company really knows a lot of the ugly stuff that can happen on its platform. >> facebook said the whistleblower's claims were misleading. >> there's freedom of speech and people don't want to be muted, but hate speech is not free speech. >> i swore off facebook and was so proud of myself, and then i learned they also own instagram, and i was like, damn it. >> the left/right war played out over a rapidly changing battlefield, as coast to coast, republicans leaned on redistricting plans to favor their party. democrats do it, too, but the gop holds a majority in more states. >> that means all things being equal, they will regain control of the house just on redistricting alone. that's the power they have. >> the gop also pushed a slew of efforts to combat virtually nonexistent election fraud, to sharply curb abortion rights, to resist mask or vaccination mandates, and to punish even life-long republicans who balked at riding the trump train. >> if party has completely flipped on things like protectionism and family values and lowering the debt and the deficit. all the things that used to orient the republican party, now don't matter at all. because of one guy. >> many are watching the supreme court closely to see how it might rule on some of these issues. as democrats in congress try to force testimony from gop insiders about how the insurrection came to be. none of it is making biden's job easier. however, once you're president, you're president. and as time passes, you have got to own the situations and the challenges that come up. >> and many political analysts say the next challenge could well be a fresh attempt by donald trump to run again. to take back the presidency he lost. >> we will make america great again. >> when we come back, the worst kind of quarterback sneak. the best run into the open. and don't touch that remote. we'll be scanning through comedies, dramas, the best shows on television. i mean, other than all the best all the worst 2021. >> i'm a good guy. i'm better than you. ♪ "how bizarre" by omc ♪ no annual fee on any discover card. ♪ ♪ at university of 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mozzarella stick when heartburn hits, fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast heartburn relief in every bite. crunchy outside, chewy inside. ♪ tums, tums, tums, tums ♪ tums chewy bites sports. >> in the big world of sports, the best news for everyone sick of tom brady winning super bowls with the new england patriots came when he took the tampa bay buccaneers to victory over the kansas city chiefs. the best quarterback now 44 has so many championship rings he's running out of fingers. >> it's honestly insane. it's not normal. and there's just no superlatives that can describe what he's done in football. >> he's a living legend, an icon. he's doing something that in my lifetime will probably never be done again. >> worst fumble, we could get it to all those packed college stadiums roaring with covid denial. >> at some point over the summer, i think a lot of people said, ah, screw it, and you know, the world got back to normal. for a lot of folks. >> but the award goes to green bay's aaron rodgers who was asked if he had been vaccinated. >> i have been immunized. >> then months later admitted he had not received a covid shot. >> i realize i'm in the cross hairs of the woke mob now. >> he sort of apologized but -- >> fame and money don't make you smart. >> jon gruden was rocked by reports of improper emails. in a statement, he said i never meant to hurt anyone, but he resigned anyway. >> rule number one if you're going to be a trash person, don't put it in writing. >> best irony, raiders defensive end carl nassib mate history as the first openly gay active player in the league. >> yes, he's a football player, yes, he's dang good, and he's also gay. >> yes, sir. yes, sir. >> in baseball, the best team was the atlanta braves, hammering the houston astros in the world series. but the best play at the plate comfrom ohio. give it to the guardians who aren't the cleveland indians anymore. >> i mean, it's about freaking time. >> in hockey, worst way to miss the net, canada got a team to the finals for the first time in a decade, only to have the tampa lightning mop the ice with the canadiens, taking the stanley cup way down south. >> you know, if there's one thing i think we know about florida, is it's hockey. >> ice hockey is okay because people are beating each other up and basketball, basketball i think is the most entertaining of the sports in america. >> and speaking of the nba, the phoenix suns brought high hopes to the finals against the milwaukee bucks, but -- >> i was glad to see the underdog come out and shake it up. >> milwaukee needs a win, because i can't think of any other reason i would be talking about milwaukee right now. >> the summer olympics were the best. >> it was nice to actually have that, i think, big sporting event. >> and they were the worst, too. >> i thought the stress that they put on those athletes was unbelievable. we were in the middle of a pandemic. >> i didn't watch any of it. it made me anxious. >> the pandemic wreaked havoc on the grand plans. >> i felt so bad for tokyo. they built all these new venues and arenas, and then nobody could go. it was like jake gyllenhaal not showing up to taylor swift's 21st birthday party. >> best way to strike a balance, lejdary gymnast simone biles bowed out of the olympic finals over mental health concerns. >> i didn't want to risk the team medal for kind of my screw-up. >> echoing a similar move by naomi osaka at the french open. >> i applauded not only for her but all athletes to say hey, it's okay to take a step back from the sport you love so much. you're more than what you do. >> most disturbing mystery, what's really going on with that chinese 10s star who accused a party official of sexual assault, and the best athlete still grinding after more than a century, give it to 105-year-old julia hawkins of louisiana who ran 100 meters in just over a minute, a new senior world record. when we weren't watching sports, the pandemic drove many of us to spend more time watching everything else. it was a very big year on the small screen, where tv was getting its game on. >> worst idea for a series in the pandemic, which made for some of the best tv. squid game. >> squid game was the proudest that i have been to be korean. and that is kinda messed up. >> the creepy survival series had a mixed reception. >> visually, it was stunning. not for me. >> too dark. >> but the show was a hit anyway. >> it turns out a lot of people die in squid game. >> it wasn't the feel-good story i was expecting. >> the welcome wagon has arrived. >> on the other end of the spectrum, best series of the year, the wonderful, happy, rollicking "ted lasso." >> ted lasso has done more for soccer in the u.s. than david beckham's butt. and that is saying a lot. >> i don't think somebody as nice as him would be tolerated in the world of english football. i'll just say that. >> best reboot of a long ago favorite, the wonder years, kevin and his crew were out. a whole new family was in. >> it was 1968. the year i turned 12. >> i just love that concept, because what was so great about the wonder years which i grew up on, was that it was every family. it could have been any family, and yet clearly, it wasn't. >> i need you to protect me. >> best new season about the worst kind of people. succession. >> i don't watch succession. i don't need that. >> other fan favorites. >> how does it feel to be the other woman? >> watch yourself, hallie. >> i'm a big queen sugar fan. i like to hear the untold stories of just the common man. and you be like, wow, then you realize that we are so much more alike than we are different. >> we're going to go down there and look around for clues. you want to come? >> i enjoyed only murders in the building. it was my kind of show. >> curb your enthusiasm came back to enthusiastic reviews. >> i see you. >> you had a great run, so did sweet tooth, cobra kai, i may destroy you, and sex education. >> sure you're okay? >> i'm fine, honestly. >> i do think one of the trends on tv that i love is that being decent can be popular, and being decent can be funny. i love that. i need it. >> reality tv continues to hold its own. >> i don't know if you know this about me, but i have a ph.d. in bravo. it was quite a year for real housewives in many ways. >> best dramatization of a real life calamity, dope sick. >> i feel like it's now we're really starting to learn the impact and understand the effect of this drug. and you know, how it tore communities apart. >> the police department received a call reporting a dead body. >> the best show about people dealing with the worst news was mare of easttown. >> the characters were so compelling. >> worst idea, which worked out anyway. >> things change just like that. >> young rock. >> we're all so obsessed with the rock, we will watch a fictionalized version of how he became the rock. >> best idea that turned out even better. >> this is our home now. i want us to fit in. >> oh, my god. i have to talk about wanda vision. it gave you moments of old time sitcom film, mixed with kind of like this marvel fantasy spin. >> oh, my god. it's amazing. >> and best pandemic project of them all, bo burnham's wildly inventive "inside." >> that alone may have been enough to justify the best or worst trend depending on how you see, the wild proliferation of streaming services taking over the tv universe. >> right now i have hulu, disney plus, netflix, amazon prime, paramount plus, peacock, hbo max, apple, i pretty much have all of them. >> you know, i think that's the wave of the future. we have to adapt to the future. >> our future still holds plenty. stay with us and hang on tight for what's coming up. we'll be taking a trip far, far away, checking in on britney's great escape, and what's this ship? it's all the best, all the worst. (vo) subaru and our retailers believe in giving back. that's why, in difficult times, we provided one hundred and fifty million meals to feeding america. and now through the subaru share the love event, we're helping even more. by the end of this year, subaru will have donated over two hundred and twenty five million dollars to charity. this is what it means to be more than a car company. this is what it means to be subaru. we're a different kind of dentistry. one who believes in doing anything it takes to make dentistry work for your life. so we offer a complete exam and x-rays free to new patients without insurance - everyday. plus, patients get 20% off their treatment plan. we're on your corner and in your corner every step of the way. because your anything is our everything. aspen dental. anything to make you smile. book today at aspendental.com, walk in, or call 1-800-aspendental. the billionaire carrying private passengers up, up and back. it was the best for some. >> i cried every time and had my 6-year-old watch with me to see just how amazing this is. >> for others -- >> space is undeniably cool, but sometimes i wonder, i wonder if we're making more of it than we should. >> welcome back to the world, jeff bezos. we missed you for the 19 seconds you were gone. >> meanwhile, man landed on mars and take that humans. and it was jeopardy's search to replace the late, great alex trebek. he chose himself to host the syndicated version and then stepped aside in the uproar after comments he made surfaced. best escape from the worst situation. after 13 years, a court freed britney spears from the oversight of her father. >> i think the free britney movement, which has ended well, at least in terms of ending that conservatorship was also important in making us reconsider how we treat our especially female celebrities. >> reporter: oprah takes the prize for best q & a for her sitdown with the former royals. >> i'm just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side. >> i admire harry for taking the reins and controlling his family and his destiny. that black girl magic is real. >> reporter: worst hashtag. #hotvaxsummer. >> i really didn't want anyone to be near me. it was still stay the hell away from me. >> best way to stay away from others, the booming video game industry, expected to generate 175 and 180 billion in revenue this year, much more than movies or music. >> technology was geared toward what could we do normally in our homes that we went outside for. >> video games was the only way we could socialize, right? >> worst joke -- dave schappel's comments about gay people. >> people make mistakes. you're human. you will make a mistake. >> worst club meeting, the qanon crowd that expected the return of john kennedy and john kennedy jr. >> a lot of this does come down to loneliness and there is a great feeling if you think you have knowledge or insight into something nobody else understands. >> most popular baby names, olivia and liam. >> as far as liam goes, i guess liam neeson. mermerriam webster's word o the year, vaccine. the worst eight, the eight hours american kids spend in front of a screen each day. that's double what it was before the pandemic. and worst number for many americans trying to stay fit -- 39. that's the percentage who gained weight among all the covid limitations and irritations, too. >> angry, frustrated, stuck in the house, mad, disgruntled, can't find joy. it was a lot. and then all these crazy parents coming out. >> reporter: the worst and best thing to combat all of that this year, tiktok. >> people have created entire new careers off of tiktok and i am here for it. >> and the best worst parking job of the whole year, that ship that got stuck in the suez canal backing global trading. >> everyone jumped up with a suggestion like have you tried baby oil? how about prune juice? that really gets things moving. >> the guy had one job, one job. >> our job here like 2021 is about done. stick around as we go over one last important item, our wishes for next year. 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[echoing] get a quote today. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ hi, my name is cherrie. i'm 76 and i live on the oregon coast. my husband, sam, we've been married 53 years. we love to walk on the beach. i have two daughters and then two granddaughters. i noticed that memories were not there like they were when i was much younger. since taking prevagen, my memory has gotten better and it's like the puzzle pieces have all been [click] put together. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. what if you could see the details of your great-grandparents wedding day... ...or the record that welcomed your great-grandmother to the world. your family story is waiting to be discovered, and now you can search for those fascinating details for free—at ancestry. how not to be a hero: because that's the last thing they need you to be. you don't have to save the day. you just have to navigate the world so that a foster child isn't doing it solo. you just have to stand up for a kid who isn't fluent in bureaucracy, or maybe not in their own emotions. so show up, however you can, for the foster kids who need it most— at helpfosterchildren.com as difficult as this year has been, so many of us have held on to hope that the pandemic will fade, our differences will ease, our future will brighten. to close it out, we've asked our guests their wishes for the coming year. >> my wish for next year is that it's nothing like the last two years, please! we can't take it anymore! >> my wish for 2022, maybe just people calm down a little bit. >> my wish for america is to end racism. >> i wish for less politics. i don't think politics infusing everything is making us smarter, happier, healthier or better people. >> my wish for 2022 is an end to the exhaustion, that we just wake up refreshed from the ridiculous chaos that we've now been through for basically two years. >> acceptance and understanding will make this america the greatest country that it has ever been. those are the two things that are needed right now. so accept me and understand me because i accept and understand you. >> that is indeed at least something to strive for. thanks to all of our guests and thanks to you for watching. for the entire team at "anderson cooper 360" and cnn worldwide, i'm tom foreman wishing you all of the best and none of the worst in 2022. this is "don lemon tonight." i'm laura coates in for don. president biden warning putin. a kremlin official says that putin told biden new sanctions against russia would be what he called