As 2025 begins, there are many things to reflect on from 2024. Here is our quick recap on some major storylines that happened over the course of last year.
January
Gypsy Rose Blanchard took over the media after her release from federal prison where she served seven years. Blanchard was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard who was stabbed to death by Gypsy’s boyfriend, Nick Godejohn. Godejohn admitted to committing the crime after Blanchard proposed the idea after figuring out that she was a victim of child abuse. This is not the first time Blanchard has been a media sensation, as the many news outlets covered her story and documentary and movies have been made about her case.
Mickey Mouse became available to the public domain after Disney’s copyright on Steamboat Willie expired. With this, anyone was now free to use the original character of Mickey Mouse without being hit with a copyright infringement by Disney. Although Steamboat Willie is under public domain, the company still has ownership of any version of Mickey Mouse that was released after the film.
February
The Kansas City Chiefs became back to back Super Bowl winners, beating the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 25-22. The game was held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, being the first ever Super Bowl played in Nevada. It was a tight game, starting off with the Chiefs falling behind to the 49ers, but ultimately making a comeback, with Patrick Mahomes winning Super Bowl MVP.
The 66th Annual Grammy Awards took place on Sunday, Feb. 4. The ceremony was held in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena and was broadcasted on CBS but was also available for streaming on Paramount+. Many artists, such as SZA, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo and Billy Joel, performed at the Grammys with many winning a Grammy in addition. Some of the notable awards given were song of the year, won by Miley Cyrus with “Flower,” and album of the year, won by Taylor Swift with “Midnights.”
March
Six men were killed in the Baltimore Bridge collapse in the early hours of March 26. A Dali cargo ship rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed into Maryland’s Patapsco River. The crash was caused by electrical blackouts on the cargo ship that had disabled equipment. The crew struggled to restart the power, which resulted in a pump supplying generators with the fuel shutting down, not restarting. In the aftermath of the collapse, around 45,000 tons of debris were in the Patapsco, blocking the river, effectively delaying many delivery ships for weeks.
Kate Middleton of the Royal Family revealed a shocking announcement: she had cancer. The announcement was made after Middleton’s absence invoked concern from the public. The cancer was discovered after having a major abdominal surgery. Though Middleton did not reveal what type of cancer she had nor how progressive it was, she did admit that she was undergoing chemotherapy.
Women’s college basketball had a breakthrough in popularity with record-breaking attendance and viewership. Players such as Caitlyn Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese have garnered the attention of many basketball fans, attracting more media coverage and brand investments for women’s sports. The games for the women’s NCAA tournament “March Madness” sold six times as many tickets for the final games compared to the men’s. This rise in popularity has also increased WNBA ratings, driven by fans of the college athletes.
April
The total solar eclipse was visible across North America on Monday, April 8. Mexico was first to experience the eclipse in North America at around 11:00 AM. The eclipse continued on its journey, entering the United States and started traveling through the Southwest before making its way through the north before entering Canada. The eclipse made its way off North America off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada at 5:16 PM.
On April 19, Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” The album was an immediate success, shattering multiple records and charts. Two hours after releasing the album, Swift announced that she would be releasing a double album, with 15 more tracks- “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.”
May
Kendrick Lamar released “Not Like Us”on streaming platforms on May 4. The song is a diss track targeted at Canadian rapper Drake. Lamar references Drake’s album Certified Lover Boy, including lyrics that call the rapper a certified pedophile and a colonizer of hip-hop. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-breaking 21 weeks in a row, becoming Lamar’s longest charting single since his 2017 song, “HUMBLE”
Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 felony accounts after falsifying business records. The jurors in his case came to an agreement: Trump had falsified business records to cover up $130,000 worth of hush money to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels. This marks the first time that a former or standing U.S. president has been convicted of federal charges.
June
Bronny James, son of Lebron James, was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the NBA draft as the 55th overall pick. This draft made Bronny and Lebron the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time. Bronny played a year of basketball at the University of South Carolina, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
The Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup by beating the Edmonton Oilers four games to three. The playoffs started on April 20 and ended on June 24. This was the Panther’s first Stanley Cup victory in franchise history, after losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Cup Final in the 2023 season. The game garnered 16.3 million views, becoming the 2nd most viewed final game in the NHL.
July
President Joe Biden withdrew from his reelection against republican candidate, Donald Trump. Biden said that his campaign would serve as a distraction to democrats and that the main priority would be defeating Donald Trump in the election. One day later, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who had stepped up in the running for president.
Donald Trump was shot and injured in his right ear at one of his rallies in Pennsylvania after an assassination attempt. The shooter was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Using an AR-15 rifle, Crooks fired 8 rounds from a rooftop of a nearby building, killing one audience member and injuring two others. Crooks was quickly killed by members of the Secret Service Counter Sniper Team after firing his own shots.
August
Hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida as a category 1 hurricane on Aug. 5. Debby quickly weakened to a tropical storm, slowly moving across the United States to southeastern Georgia before making landfall along the central coast in South Carolina between Charleston and Georgetown. The storm kept going, moving near the border between North and South Carolina, eventually becoming a tropical depression on Aug. 8, and then a non-tropical low pressure system. The storm’s biggest impact was in the Carolinas with flooding from heavy rainfall.
Vice President Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, adding to the fight to defeat Donald Trump. The selection was delivered to Walz via phone call from Harris. Walz was serving his second term as governor of Minnesota and chairs the Democratic Governors Association. He had previously served in congress for a total of 12 years. Before being picked for Harris’ running mate, Walz was an avid supporter of President Joe Biden, defending him after his troubling debate against Donald Trump. After Biden dropped out of the election, Walz quickly endorsed Harris and has become a known advocate for the Democratic party.
The closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics took place on Sunday, Aug. 11. The games took place from July 26 to Aug. 11 in Paris, France. The United States won a total of 40 gold, 44 silver, and 42 bronze medals, winning the most gold in Track and Field. The total amount of metals came to 126 metals, making Team USA the winner of the amount of medals for the eighth consecutive games.
September
Actor, rapper, and producer, Sean “P Diddy” John Combs was arrested on multiple charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. More than two dozen people had lawsuits against the actor, alleging that Combs would use his fame in the industry to take advantage of people. During a raid through Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles, federal prosecutors revealed that they had found firearms, ammunition, and over 1,000 bottles of lubricant. He is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump participated in the annual presidential debate on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The debate was held in the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and was hosted by ABC News. The two candidates talked about what they would establish if elected, while arguing and dragging their opponent. Harris mentioned Trump’s former years in office and the attacks that raised the tension of the debate. Trump fired back by mentioning his supporters compared to hers.
The second major hurricane of 2024, Hurricane Helene, made landfall in the Florida Gulf as a category 4 storm in the late evening of Sept. 26. The storm hit hundreds of miles north up the states. Strong winds and flooding destroyed billions of dollars worth of property across multiple states. Hurricane Helene is the United States’ deadliest storm since 2005, with Helene taking at least 240 lives.
October
The Vice Presidential Debate was held on Oct. 1st between Tim Walz (D) and J.D. Vance (R). The debate was held in New York and was televised live by CBS News. Topics such as immigration, reproductive rights, housing, foreign policies were covered by the candidates. Walz and Vance had their arguments and defended their presidential candidates–Kamala Harris and Donald Trump–while ambushing their counterparts’ actions and policies.
One Direction star Liam Payne was found dead after falling from a balcony of a hotel located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Five people were charged in connection with Payne’s death with charges of selling the singer drugs, failing to assist duties of care, and manslaughter. If found guilty, the defendants could face sentences between 1 to 5 years for lack of care to assist Payne and 4 to 15 years for supplying drugs.
November
Former president Donald Trump beat opponent Kamala Harris in the race for presidency by winning 270 electoral votes. Not only did Trump win the electoral college, but he won the popular vote as well. Trump has become the first president in history to be reelected on nonconsecutive terms. The inauguration of Donald Trump will be taking place on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington DC.
Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul was a boxing match between the heavyweight world champion and the popular Youtuber that took place on Nov. 15. The match was streamed live on Netflix, attracting around 108 million viewers globally. The amount of views marked a milestone in sports broadcasting, with the fight holding around 65 million streams. In the end, Jake Paul was the winner of the match.
The highly anticipated movie, “Wicked,” based on the broadway musical, was released in theaters on Nov. 22. The movie is a prequel to the original “The Wizard Of Oz” film, following “good” witch Glinda and “bad” witch Elphaba. The adaptation made around $144 million at the box office opening weekend, giving the movie the highest debut for a Broadway musical adaptation.
December
On Dec. 4, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan. Police searched for the perpetrator, eventually finding 26-year-old Luigi Mangione allegedly responsible. Mangione later appeared in court where he was faced with 11 charges in New York, including second-degree murder of killing Thompson and possession of an illegal firearm. He is currently being held in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Taylor Swift took her final bow on Dec. 8, concluding The Eras Tour. Every night covered over 16 years of Swift’s music with 46 songs on the setlist. The tour spanned to 149 shows across 5 continents, grossing over $2 billion dollars, making The Era’s Tour the highest grossing tour of all time. Taylor also released three albums while on tour: “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” and “The Tortured Poet’s Department.”
The second season of “Squid Game” released on Dec. 26, over three years after the first season was released. The season consists of seven episodes, following Seong Gi-Hun and his attempts to shut down the games that he participated and won in the first season. Gi-Hun returns to the games with new participants attempting to win the prize of 45.6 billion Korean won. The season acquired over 68 million views within the first three days, ranking at No. 1 spot in 92 countries. The third and final season will be released in the summer of 2025.
(Disclaimer: This is not a comprehensive list. This list is not meant to be exhaustive or to promote certain events over others.)
