The top 10 trending news stories of 2017, according to Google

NOAA via AP)

From some of the most destructive hurricanes in recent memory to rising tensions between the US and North Korea, 2017 has been a whirlwind of a year.

On Wednesday, Google released its top trending searches of the year. These are searches that had the highest spike this year compared to 2016. Here are the year's top trending news stories in search:

On September 5, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, a controversial Obama-era policy that shields from deportation nearly 800,000 young immigrants living in the country illegally after being brought to the US as minors.

The move drew backlash from Democrats and immigration activists, but lauded by many Republicans and those who believe US immigration laws are too lax.

DACA recipients are still in limbo as Congress has not yet agreed on a permanent legislative solution. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham reintroduced the bipartisan Dream Act in September, but it hasn't gained much traction.

The young immigrants are likely to lose their protected status by March if nothing is done.

The 40-minute video of a giraffe giving birth at Animal Adventure Park in New York went viral in April.

At least 1.2 million people watched the Adventure Park's YouTube streaming of the event. The newborn was Animal Adventure Park's first giraffe calf.

Of all the terrible storms this year, Hurricane Maria was the deadliest to strike the Caribbean, with more than 1,000 likely deaths in Puerto Rico, a US commonwealth inhabited by roughly 3.5 million American citizens. That estimated death toll stands in stark contrast to the island's official tally of 64.

Much of Puerto Rico is still without power as officials try to rebuild the island's electric grid, which was almost completely destroyed, back up again from scratch.

In the midst of the deluge of hurricanes that devastated parts of the southern US and various islands in the Caribbean, Hurricane Jose, which formed in early September, threatened to cause even more damage.

Luckily, it drifted far enough off shore to avoid causing much harm, but it still forced evacuations and brought strong winds and heavy rains to the Bahamas, Bermuda, and parts of the eastern US and Canada.

Trump's war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been one of the biggest stories of the year.

The rising tensions between the two foes, their threatening Cold War-esque rhetoric, and North Korea's continued development of its nuclear weapons program has many people on both sides of the Pacific fearing a nuclear war.

See Also:

• Jeremy Corbyn accuses Trump of spreading 'racism and misogyny'
• Top GOP senator says 2017 'has seen the erosion' of 'order and the institutions that protect it'
• A key diplomatic posting is being held up in the Senate — and it could be 'making things more dangerous for the United States'

SEE ALSO: 9 heartwarming news stories from 2017 that will restore your faith in humanity

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