These were CNN's top 100 digital stories of 2020

By AJ Willingham, CNN

Updated 7:32 AM ET, Wed December 23, 2020

(CNN)You know it's been a remarkable year when a devastating global pandemic isn't the only major story capturing people's attention.

In a look at CNN's most-read digital stories of 2020, November's historic US presidential election looms large. But the intensity of the year is reflected in the wide range of stories that captured the world's interest.
From the very start of 2020, users flocked to CNN for news on the airstrikes in Iraq, the impeachment and Kobe Bryant's tragic death.
      March and April saw record global interest in the coronavirus, with people all over the planet turning to CNN for information. Throughout the year, readers wanted to know the basics: How many people were infected, when their stimulus checks were going to arrive, and what they could do to stay safe.
        During the tense days following the election, people were glued to vote counts and projections. They experimented with electoral maps. They refreshed and reloaded as the latest results crept in.
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          Joining these overarching narratives are stories of the racial unrest that swept across the world over the summer, and the fallout from the explosion that rocked Lebanon's capital city of Beirut.
          In between it all, we said goodbye to beloved stars and mourned each new and terrible coronavirus milestone.
          Looking back, the story coming in at #100 on this list, published in March, is a glimpse into an almost alien past: "Here's what we know about the 100 people who've died in the US from coronavirus."
          Months later, as this dark year draws to a close, more than 100 people now die of Covid-19 in the US in a single hour. Across the globe, more than 1.7 million people have lost their lives; 317,000 and counting in the US alone.
          The world we knew at the beginning of 2020 is gone.
          Hopefully, in 2021, the stories we tell will be of a better one.
          President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris greet each other on stage in Wilmington, Delaware, where they delivered their victory speeches on November 7.
          President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris greet each other on stage in Wilmington, Delaware, where they delivered their victory speeches on November 7.
          1. Live story: Election 2020 presidential results
          2. Live story: 2020 presidential election eve
          3. Live story: The morning after the presidential elections 2020
          4. Live story: Where the race to 270 electoral votes stand
          5. Live story: Joe Biden is elected president
          6. Interactive: The road to 270
          7. Interactive: Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US
          8. US monitoring intelligence that North Korean leader is in grave danger after surgery
          9. The 2020 presidential election polls
          10. Live story: Kobe Bryant dies at 41
          A giant mural of NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, is seen on a basketball court in Taguig, Philippines, on January 28. It was painted two days earlier, just hours after the Bryants and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash in California.
          A giant mural of NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, is seen on a basketball court in Taguig, Philippines, on January 28. It was painted two days earlier, just hours after the Bryants and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash in California.
          11. Live story: Beirut explosion rocks Lebanon's capital city
          12. Pentagon officially releases UFO videos
          13. Live story: George Floyd protests spread nationwide
          14. Jared Kushner, Melania Trump advise Trump to accept election loss
          15. Live story: Iran attacks bases housing US troops
          16. Robert Trump, the younger brother of President Trump, dies at 71
          17. President Donald Trump and the First Lady test positive for Covid-19
          18. 'Glee' actress Naya Rivera's body is found
          19. White woman who called police on a Black man bird-watching has been fired
          20. When will you get your stimulus payment? Here's how to check
          Emergency medical workers intubate a coronavirus patient at a home in Yonkers, New York, on April 6. The 92-year-old man was later put on a ventilator at the hospital, and he died two weeks later, his family said.
          Emergency medical workers intubate a coronavirus patient at a home in Yonkers, New York, on April 6. The 92-year-old man was later put on a ventilator at the hospital, and he died two weeks later, his family said.
          21. Senate stimulus deal includes individual checks -- but don't expect the money right away
          22. Infected people without symptoms might be driving the spread of coronavirus more than we realized
          23. Stories from Anderson Cooper's Full Circle
          24. Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith confirm her involvement with August Alsina
          25. Trump's photo op raises new questions about how seriously he takes the virus
          26. Podcast: Coronavirus - Fact vs. Fiction
          27. Live story: Trump's Covid diagnosis
          28. When will you get your stimulus cash, and how?
          29. Trump continues to break the polling
          30. A reporter's reaction when a bison herd approaches has the internet in stitches
          31. Lebanon explosion: Thousands injured across capital Beirut
          This aerial photo shows the aftermath of the deadly explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.
          This aerial photo shows the aftermath of the deadly explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.
          32. Why does Russia, population 146 million, have fewer coronavirus cases than Luxembourg?
          33. Is it allergies, the flu or the coronavirus? How to tell the difference
          34. Interactive: This is where all 50 states stand on reopening
          35. Live story: March 22 coronavirus news
          36. What this coronavirus survivor learned when she was sick
          37. CNN crew released from police custody after they were arrested live on air in Minneapolis
          38. Senate approves historic $2 trillion stimulus deal amid growing coronavirus fears
          39. Live story: The 2020 Iowa caucuses
          40. Live story: May 30 George Floyd protests
          A protester carries an American flag upside down next to a burning building in Minneapolis on May 28. Protesters started rallying across the United States after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis.
          A protester carries an American flag upside down next to a burning building in Minneapolis on May 28. Protesters started rallying across the United States after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed in police custody in Minneapolis.
          41. 'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman dies at 43
          42. Black light experiment shows how quickly a virus like Covid-19 can spread at a restaurant
          43. From pandering to Putin to abusing allies and ignoring his own advisers, Trump's phone calls alarm US officials
          44. Live story: March 25 coronavirus news
          45. Researchers created a test to determine which masks are the least effective
          46. Melania Trump's messaging frustrating the West Wing, source says
          47. Live story: March 21 coronavirus news
          48. Live story: October 4 Trump Covid-19 news
          49. These states have implemented stay-at-home orders. Here's what that means for you
          50. Cady Groves, pop and country singer, dead at 30
          51. Trump taken to Walter Reed medical center and will be hospitalized 'for the next few days'
          President Donald Trump takes off his face mask for a photo op on October 5 upon returning to the White House after three nights in the hospital.
          President Donald Trump takes off his face mask for a photo op on October 5 upon returning to the White House after three nights in the hospital.
          52. Biden uses 'inshallah' in response to Trump during debate, lighting up Twitter
          53. Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, among 9 killed in a helicopter crash in California
          54. CNN anchor Chris Cuomo diagnosed with coronavirus; he will continue working from home
          55. Worried about coronavirus? If your loved one is over 60, read this
          56. Live story: March 20 coronavirus news
          57. White House sows confusion about Trump's condition as source tells reporters next 48 hours will be critical
          58. Wuhan shows the world that the end of lockdown is just the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis
          59. Live story: October 3 Trump Covid-19 news
          60. The number of US coronavirus cases has topped 13,000 as testing becomes more available
          Dr. Joseph Varon comforts a patient on Thanksgiving in the Covid-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston. Texas was the first state to pass 1 million coronavirus cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
          Dr. Joseph Varon comforts a patient on Thanksgiving in the Covid-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston. Texas was the first state to pass 1 million coronavirus cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.