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What’s coming in 2016? – Metro US

What’s coming in 2016?

Bleecker Street subway station
Paul Sableman/Flickr

2016 promises to be 366 days of outright craziness. So what should you be keeping an eye on? We have a few trends and stories that just might find their way into your newsfeed: Drones are coming, legal marijuana is spreading, hackers are fighting terrorists and the Ghostbusters are returning, as women. The future is here, and it seems to have been envisioned by a teenager.

The Olympics

Rio will host the summer games in 2016, and there is already talk that Russia might not be represented among the international competitors. Of course, there’s also talk that pro-wrestling needs an Olympic event, so it really is a wild card how the games will go down. One thing is for certain: Brazilians will be as photogenic as they were during 2014’s World Cup.

Presidential Election

Trump, Hillary, campaign insults, unrealistic promises, compromised emails, crowded debate stages, weird polling numbersaren’t you already tired of it all? November can’t come quickly enough. Be one step ahead of the crowd and start planning your trip to Obama’s library… not in Hawaii but in Chicago.

ISIS

2015 in so many ways belonged to ISIS. The terrorist group dominated headlines and turned up in our nightmares. With Russia’s involvement, a steadfast Turkish presence, Syria’s instability and an America not quite flexing its strongest muscles, you can look forward to an even messier and more tangled-up Middle East in 2016.

Marijuana legalization

Some states are down with it; other states are simply uncool. As the nation looks more like a patchwork quilt of legality, illegality, medicine and recreation, one thing is certain in 2016: That smell of pot will be even more pervasive on my daily walk to the subway.

Shkreli on trial

Everyone’s favorite person to hate, Martin Shkrelithe price-gouging face of all that is wrong with American health care, will have to face the music (some of which he paid $2 million for) regarding his financial missteps. Expect his trial to be a lightning rod of opinions on why profit-driven health care will make us all sicker and the Shkrelis of the world richer.

The weather gets weirder

Balmy winters and brutal storms were just the beginning. What has become obvious in 2015 will become an even harsher reality in 2016: Climate change is real, and people are putting down the gas pedal on it. Seasons will be more abrupt, the highs will be hotter and the lows will be dangerous. 2016 may be the year we learn our personal limits for staying indoors.

Bill Cosby

The legendary funnyman and alleged rapist will have a troublesome year as lingering questions and unanswered accusations continue to eclipse his career and cast a shadow on everything that has come before. With this week’s newest development – charges filed for alleged sexual assault – you can expect a 2016 of sensational testimony and deeply entrenched beliefs in the court of public opinion.

Drones

You can buy ’em. You can fly ’em. You can get arrested for landing them anywhere important. How much will drones change our lives? Big companies talk of using them for deliveries, and governments use them for ever-increasing surveillance. By 2016’s end, there could be so many drones that we’ll long for the simplicity of 2015’s airspace, with its old-school jumbo jets and (probably) harmless chemtrails.

New old heroes

The Ghostbusters are back, and they’re women. Superman will be battling Batman in a summer blockbuster. And there will be more X-men doing X-stuff. Superheroes will always be popular, but will the reboots, remakes and retail ever stop? One can dream.

It’s a leap year

Go ahead and make plans now for February 29…you know how busy bars and restaurants get when people have an extra day to drink and make regrets that wouldn’t fit into the other 365 days. And what days they will be.