2024 News of the Year

The U.S. presidential election captured much of the world’s attention in 2024. And while it was one of the most consequential event of the past 12 months, plenty of others made headlines. At the end of February, the Smokehouse Creek Fire became the largest wildfire in Texas history. It burned more than a million acres in the state’s panhandle and killed 7,000 head of cattle. In March, Sweden became the 32nd member of NATO, an effort to stave off future Russian aggression. In early May, the United Methodist Church’s General Conference declared homosexuality no longer incompatible with Christian teaching and redefined marriage as a union between two people of faith, regardless of gender. Later that month, two U.S. missionaries and a local member of their Haitian ministry died in a gang attack in Port-au-Prince. International peacekeepers from Kenya arrived in the country in late June in an effort to quell the spiraling violence. And in September, China ended all foreign adoptions, dashing the hopes of American families waiting to bring their children home. Read on for more of the top news stories of 2024. ­—Leigh Jones

Clockwise from top left: MILTON: Tristan Wheelock/Bloomberg via Getty; HARRIS: Associated Press/Photo by Jacquelyn Martin; BRIDGE: Tasos Katopodis/Getty; IVF: Stew Milne/AP for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Assoc.; LEBANON: AFP via Getty; BILES: Loic Venance/AFP via Getty.

Politics

Secret Service agents surround Donald Trump after the assassination attempt at a campaign rally on July 13 in Butler, Pa. Associated Press/Photo by Evan Vucci

At the start of the year, former President Donald Trump beat out a crowded field of Republican challengers to cement his status as the party’s leader. Both Trump and President Joe Biden campaigned as incumbents: Biden touted infrastructure accomplishments, while Trump promised to restore the economy of his first administration. Their only debate proved disastrous for Biden. He stumbled through phrases and struggled to answer detailed questions. His abysmal performance sent ripples of fear through the Democratic Party and its donors. In July, Trump survived an assassination attempt at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pa. A bullet grazed his ear, but one attendee died and two more were injured. The next week, Trump attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and thanked God for sparing his life. Three weeks after the debate, Biden succumbed to the growing calls to step aside and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place. After initial skepticism, party leaders rallied around her. Although polls declared the race too close to call going into Nov. 5, Trump won handily—clinching 312 electoral votes and the popular vote. Every district in the country leaned more Republican than in 2020, and the GOP captured the majority in both chambers of Congress. —Carolina Lumetta

Joe Biden embraces Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Pittsburgh, his first since bowing out of the presidential race and endorsing Harris. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Donald Trump hands out food at a McDonald's drive-thru window during a campaign stop in Feasterville-Trevose, Pa. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Baltimore bridge collapse

The cargo ship Dali sits stuck under part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after the March 26 accident in Baltimore. Maryland National Guard via AP

Two Singaporean shipping companies agreed Oct. 24 to pay the U.S. government about $102 million to settle a lawsuit over an accident that disrupted shipping through the Port of Baltimore for months. The Singaporean cargo ship Dali lost power and crashed into a support of the Francis Scott Key Bridge near Baltimore at about 2 a.m. on March 26, causing most of the bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River. The Dali’s crew contacted Maryland authorities when they lost power, giving police time to shut down traffic to the bridge about 90 seconds before the crash. But six men on an overnight road crew couldn’t get off in time and died in the collapse. Rescue crews pulled two others from the river. The collapse shut down most shipping into and out of America’s ninth-largest port for 11 weeks and forced roughly 30,000 drivers to find an alternate route for their daily commute. The Department of Justice, which brought the civil claim against the Dali’s owners, said the settlement money would go to federal agencies involved in the accident response. The city of Baltimore’s lawsuit against the companies is still ongoing. The state of Maryland expects to pay over $1 billion for a replacement bridge, which likely won’t be completed until 2028. —Elizabeth Russell

Solar eclipse

Patrons gaze at the solar eclipse on April 8 during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga. Associated Press/Photo by George Walker IV

On April 8, people across America put on solar filter glasses and gazed up at the sky for the “Great North American Eclipse,” taking advantage of a rare opportunity to witness a complete covering of the sun. Total solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between the sun and Earth and fully blocks the face of the sun. The celestial phenomenon happens roughly every 18 months, but it’s usually only visible from the ocean. This year, the path of totality—the area where a full eclipse can be viewed—crossed the homes of around 32 million Americans. It passed from Mexico into Texas and traveled through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine before moving into Canada. Small portions of Tennessee and Michigan witnessed the total solar eclipse as well. It lasted around 4½ ­minutes for areas directly in the path of totality. Large swaths of the rest of the country saw a partial eclipse. Tourists traveled from across the globe to prime viewing spots. Friends and families gathered for viewing parties, and local governments organized festivals. Americans will have to wait until Aug. 23, 2044, to view the next total solar eclipse in the contiguous United States. —Emma Freire

Hurricanes Helene and Milton

Aerial view of destroyed and damaged buildings in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene flooding in Bat Cave (near Chimney Rock), N.C. Mario Tama/Getty Images

On Sept. 26, Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend region and plowed a path of destruction across the Southeast all the way to North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Helene left more than 230 people dead, making it the deadliest hurricane to hit the continental United States since Katrina in 2005. The Category 4 storm deluged the region with trillions of gallons of water and triggered deadly flooding and landslides in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Swollen rivers swept away homes and businesses while saturated mountainsides came crashing down on communities and roads. Millions of people lost power and tens of thousands of people around Asheville, N.C., remained without water for over two weeks. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper pegged the damage to his state at a record $53 billion and urged the state’s General Assembly to invest $3.9 billion into long-term recovery efforts. Less than two weeks later, Milton churned into the Gulf of Mexico, swelling to Category 5 strength. It struck Florida’s West coast as a Category 3 on Oct. 9. Milton killed 32 people and left an estimated $85 billion in damage. —Grace Snell

Cars and houses in Bradenton Beach, Fla., are inundated with sand after Helene’s storm surge. Associated Press/Photo by Rebecca Blackwell

Residents and volunteers clean up after the French Broad River flooded downtown Marshall, N.C., after Helene. Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The roof of Tropicana Field (home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays) in St. Petersburg, Fla., was destroyed during Hurricane Milton. Associated Press/Photo by Julio Cortez

Paris Olympics

Simone Biles competes on the balance beam during the women's gymnastics all-around final. Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Controversy dogged the 2024 Summer Olympics, beginning with a July 26 opening ceremony scene featuring drag queens that bore a striking resemblance to Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper. In the women’s welterweight boxing ring, Algeria’s Imane Khelif won a gold medal, even as debate swirled concerning the athlete’s eligibility to compete as a woman. High E. coli levels in the Seine River caused delays in water competitions, and Aussie breakdancer Rachael Gunn went viral for a breaking performance that failed to earn a single point. In another surprise, officials stripped U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal after revising her final score in the floor exercise. But the Games also delivered the athletic inspiration they’re known for. Several female athletes from the United States—swimmer Katie Ledecky, gymnast Simone Biles, and hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone—set new records. American Noah Lyles grabbed the men’s 100-meter gold by five-thousandths of a second in a dramatic photo finish, winning in 9.79 seconds. Host France had its own standout, Léon Marchand, who won four individual golds, the most of any competing athlete. Overall, the U.S. team led the medal haul with 126. —Kim Henderson

FROM LEFT: Noah Lyles wins the 100-meter final; Léon Marchand celebrates his victory in the 400-meter individual medley. LYLES: Associated Press/Photo by Petr David Josek; MARCHAND: Associated Press/Photo by Martin Meissner

FROM LEFT: Rachel Gunn competes during the breaking competition; Imane Khelif (in red) is announced the winner in women's boxing. GUNN: Associated Press/Photo by Abbie Parr; KHELIF: Jiang Wenyao/Xinhua via Getty Images

In vitro fertilization

People rally in support of in vitro fertilization outside the Alabama State House in Montgomery on Feb. 2. Charity Rachelle/The New York Times/Redux

Political hysteria erupted after the Republican-controlled Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos created via in vitro ­fertilization are “unborn children.” Ahead of the election, Democrats seized the opportunity to stoke fear that Republicans wanted to ban IVF altogether. GOP lawmakers scrambled to signal their support for fertility treatments—but blocked a Democratic bill providing a nationwide right to IVF. During his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised to protect IVF access. He suggested his administration could require insurance companies to pay for fertility treatments. Other reactionary measures unfolded in state legislatures: Alabama lawmakers passed a law insulating fertility clinics from criminal and civil liability. California enacted a law requiring insurance coverage for the treatments, and in November, Illinois voters passed an advisory ballot measure supporting a similar policy. More than a dozen states already require insurers to cover IVF. Critics, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the Catholic Church, argue legitimate ethical and moral dilemmas got lost in the political frenzy. Those concerns include the destruction of frozen embryos, selection practices that amount to eugenics, and more broadly, commodifying children to meet adult desires. —Mary Jackson

War in the Middle East

An Israeli tank rolls along the border between Israel and Gaza on Jan. 19, with battle-worn buildings in the background. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

Israel’s war with the terror group Hamas crossed the one-year mark on Oct. 7. Nearly 100 of the 251 hostages abducted in 2023 are believed to remain in Gaza, although it’s unclear how many are alive. The conflict has killed over 1,200 Israelis, while the Hamas-backed Gaza Health Ministry says more than 40,000 Gazans have died in retaliatory strikes. While Israel’s Western allies ­continue to support its effort to root out terrorism, the war has sparked mass ­protests around the world. In the spring, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli demonstrators shut down several U.S. college campuses, and throughout the year reported incidents of anti-Semitism in the West rose sharply. On Oct. 1, Israel expanded the fight into Lebanon, where Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters sent a constant barrage of rockets into Israel. The same day, Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to strikes against its proxy groups. Israel’s Iron Dome system intercepted most of the missiles. On Nov. 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, provoking renewed protests against his government and calls for a hostage release deal. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged his support for Israel but also said he wants the war in Gaza to end by the time he takes office. —Jenny Lind Schmitt

A man carries a girl who was injured by Israeli bombardment in the central Gaza Strip on June 4 during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images

Protesters wave Palestinian flags on the West Lawn of Columbia University on April 29 in New York. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images