REVIEWING TOP STORIES IN 2024

It is December 31, 2024, the last day of the year. Here are some of the top “Top Stories” that we covered in 2024.

I think the most impactful month is in July 2024. Why? It changed the presidential race. July is when Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania and July is also when Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the campaign and nominated Kamala Harris. The assassination attempt shifted the race because it brought sympathy and admiration for Trump as someone who’s had to fight his many opponents and for showing courage after he almost died. Elon Musk endorsed Trump after the attempt and he invested over $270 million to support his campaign.

Now with Joe Biden, when he dropped out and announced Kamala Harris, it was a shocking but not surprising moment. Harris was easily accepted by the Democratic establishment and had record fundraising, but struggled to create a clear political identity and only had three months to campaign. Ultimately, Trump won very decisively in November. So July was, to me, the most impactful month in 2024. The impact will continue with the new Trump administration in January.

A major event in 2024 that will always be one of my favorite moments is witnessing the total solar eclipse on April 8. Millions of people in North America were in the path of totality, when there was almost-complete darkness and a drop of temperature as the moon blocked the sun’s light.

In 2024, two tragedies stand out: the Baltimore bridge collapse in March and the deadly Hurricane Helene in September.

The Baltimore bridge, named the Francis Scott Key Bridge, was completely destroyed when a malfunctioning container ship struck one of its support piers. Six people who were working on the road on the bridge were killed. Videos showing the moment of collapse went viral. The destruction was massive and it blocked most shipping for the Port of Baltimore for weeks. There will be a new bridge by 2028.

Hurricane Helene was a Cat. 4 storm that struck Florida on September 26, but although Florida suffered damage and multiple deaths, it was the Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina region that had the most devastating impacts as nearly 200 people died from damaging flash floods that overwhelmed many small mountain cities and counties. In total, Helene killed at least 226 people and many areas are still cleaning up and in a recovery/rebuilding mode.

In 2024, we saw two wars that the U.S. is financially supporting continue to rage on, in Israel/Gaza and Ukraine/Russia. Over 46,000 people have been reported killed in Gaza while about 1,700 Israeli people have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 2023 attack by Hamas against southern Israel. The U.S. has given about $20 billion in aid to Israel to support their fight against Hamas. Critics say Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians and Israeli PM Netanyahu was accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court and had an arrest warrant out for him.

The war between Ukraine and Russia did not show any signs of cooling down in 2024. There was fighting throughout the year in border areas. The war has also shifted with Ukraine using drone and missile strikes. The U.S. has supported Ukraine with about $175 billion since 2022.

The futures of both wars will be affected by the incoming Trump administration.

In sports, one event stands out in 2024: The Paris Olympics. It was a success for U.S. athletes, who came out on the top of the medal count with 126, including 40 golds. Many in the Deaf community enjoyed following hard-of-hearing American kayaker Aaron Small. Two athletes went viral: the Turkish shooter, Yusuf Dikec, for his cool demeanor and simple outfit and the Australian breakdancer, Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, for her bizarre and hilarious dancing routine.

2024 ended with one more major news story — the killing of United Healthcare’s CEO by a young suspect who is allegedly angry about corporate greed. This story will continue to be important into 2025.

So that recaps 2024. Happy New Year’s Eve and thank you for staying with the light in 2024. I’ll see you next year with plenty more top stories.

—---

[Sponsored video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]

—---