21 Top News Stories of the Year

 9. YouTube Airman
Viral video sensations often involve kittens or clumsiness. But a coming-out story made headlines when “don’t ask, don’t tell” was repealed and Senior Airman Randy Phillips called his father from a base in Germany to tell him, “I’m gay.” A video of the touching moment has been viewed nearly 5 million times and is still going strong.

(RELATED: YouTube: Gay Airman Comes Out to His Dad)