Top news for year 2014

Date	Headline
January 1, 2014	Colorado becomes the first state to legalize recreational marijuana
March 8, 2014	Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappears with 239 people on board
April 14, 2014	Boko Haram kidnaps 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria
May 25, 2014	India's Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister in a landslide victory
June 12, 2014	The 2014 FIFA World Cup begins in Brazil
July 17, 2014	Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board
August 9, 2014	Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, is shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri
September 18, 2014	Scotland holds a referendum on independence from the United Kingdom, with the "No" side winning
October 22, 2014	Canadian soldier Nathan Cirillo is killed in a terrorist attack on Parliament Hill in Ottawa
November 12, 2014	Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is successfully landed on by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft
December 17, 2014	The United States and Cuba announce plans to restore diplomatic relations after more than 50 years of hostility

2014 was a great year for movies, with many critically acclaimed films released. Some of the best movies of the year include:

• Boyhood - a coming-of-age drama filmed over 12 years
• The Grand Budapest Hotel - a quirky comedy-drama set in a fictional European country
• Whiplash - a tense drama about a young drummer and his abusive teacher
• Gone Girl - a mystery-thriller about a missing woman and her husband's involvement
• Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) - a dark comedy-drama about a washed-up actor trying to revive his career
• The Imitation Game - a biographical drama about mathematician Alan Turing and his work during World War II
• Interstellar - a sci-fi adventure about a group of astronauts searching for a new home for humanity
• Nightcrawler - a crime-thriller about a freelance videographer who becomes obsessed with capturing violent footage
• The Theory of Everything - a biographical drama about physicist Stephen Hawking and his relationship with his wife
• The Fault in Our Stars - a romantic drama about two teenagers with cancer who fall in love

Category	Winner	Description
Best Picture	12 Years a Slave	A historical drama film based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the 1840s.
Best Director	Alfonso Cuar�n for Gravity	A science fiction thriller film about two astronauts stranded in space after their shuttle is destroyed.
Best Actor	Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club	A biographical drama film about Ron Woodroof, an AIDS patient who smuggled unapproved drugs into the US to help himself and others.
Best Actress	Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine	A drama film about a wealthy New York socialite who moves to San Francisco after her husband's financial fraud is exposed.
Best Supporting Actor	Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club	A biographical drama film about Ron Woodroof, an AIDS patient who smuggled unapproved drugs into the US to help himself and others.
Best Supporting Actress	Lupita Nyong'o for 12 Years a Slave	A historical drama film based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the 1840s.
Best Original Screenplay	Spike Jonze for Her	A science fiction romantic comedy-drama film about a man who falls in love with an artificial intelligence operating system.
Best Adapted Screenplay	John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave	A historical drama film based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the 1840s.
Best Animated Feature Film	Frozen	A musical fantasy film about a princess who sets out on a journey with a iceman, his reindeer, and a snowman to find her estranged sister and save their kingdom from eternal winter.
Best Foreign Language Film	The Great Beauty (Italy)	A comedy-drama film about an aging writer who reflects on his life and the beauty of Rome.