This year, the Falcon Press staff decided to take a look at the stories and headlines that caught our attention and were seen throughout the news cycle. Below is an incomplete collection of some of the most notable stories in world news, sports, entertainment, pop culture, and more from 2024.

January

• Jan. 1: A magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes Japan killing an estimated 120 people and injuring more than 100.
• Jan. 5: The emergency door plug on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 blows out mid-air. The crew and passengers survive the flight, but the incident leads to increased scrutiny for Boeing, who manufactured the 737 MAX plane. 
• Jan. 15: Bill Belichick leaves the New England Patriots after serving as their head coach since 2000, leading the team to six Super Bowl championships.
• Jan. 21: Dan Campbell leads the Detroit Lions to their first NFL playoff win since 1991.
• Jan. 21: Tara VanDerveer becomes the winningest college basketball coach in history leading Stanford University to a victory over Oregon State.

February

• Feb. 4: The 66th Annual Grammy Award Ceremony takes place, during which Phoebe Bridgers wins four awards, and Taylor Swift becomes the first singer to win Album of the Year four times.
• Feb. 7: Lebron James breaks the all-time NCAA scoring record, earning his 38,388th point. 
• Feb. 11: The Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LVIII by a score of 25-22 to win their fourth Super Bowl championship in franchise history, and their third since 2019. 
• Feb. 15: Caitlin Clark breaks all-time NCAA women’s scoring record, surpassing Kelsey Plum’s 3,527 career points. 
• Feb. 24: The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks its second anniversary.

March

• March 3: Caitlin Clarks sets another record, becoming the NCAA Division I record-holder for most points regardless of gender, beating Pete Maravich’s career score of 3,667 points.
• March 7: Joe Biden gives State of the Union address and discusses his cognitive health.
• March 10: The 96th Academy Awards commence with Oppenheimer winning the top prize for best film. 
• March 21: Elon Musk’s Neuralink is shown with a patient playing chess through the brain implant
• March 26: The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapses when a container ship strikes one of its piers early in the morning; six workers are killed in the collapse. 
• March 28: Beyonce releases her eighth studio album “Cowboy Carter”

April

• April 8: Solar eclipse partially visible throughout 48 states. 
• April 9: The UConn Huskies defeat Purdue by a score of 75-60 to earn their second consecutive NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, the sixth in school history.
• April 15: Donald Trump’s hush money trial begins in New York City.
• April 17: The first of several pro-Palestinian protests takes place on college campuses across the U.S. The protests will last for weeks, leading to multiple student arrests and conflicts with local police forces.
• April 19: “The Tortured Poets Department,” Taylor Swift’s album released.
• April 19: Drake releases “Push Ups,” a diss track against Kendrick Lamar that will launch a weeks-long feud that captures the attention of fans and the hip-hop community.
• April 24: Congress votes to TikTok by January of 2025 unless the platform is sold to a U.S. company.  
• April 30: Kendrick Lamar responds to Drake with the six-minute-long diss track “Euphoria.”

May

• May 3: Kendrick Lamar releases a follow-up to “Euphoria” with “6:16 in LA,” furthering the feud with Drake. Drake releases the diss track “Family Matters” 14 hours later, which accuses Lamar of infidelity.
• May 4: Madonna has the biggest concert of her career with around 1.6 million people at Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• May 4: Lamar responds to Drake with “Meet the Grahams,” dropping minutes after “Family Matters” is released. The track accuses Drake of inappropriate behavior with underage fans, substance abuse, and more. Lamar further attacks Drake with “Not Like Us” later in the day.
• May 5: Drake responds to Lamar’s allegations with “The Heart Pt. 6”, but for most fans, Lamar is the victor in the feud. 
• May 10: Northern Lights visible in Northeastern US
• May 22: Apple Music names “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” the best album ever made.
• May 30: Donald Trump is convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York City.

June

• June 1: Real Madrid defeats Borussia Dortmund to win its 15th UEFA Champions League Title.
• June 2: Simone Biles wins her ninth U.S. Championship at the 2024 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Ft. Worth, Texas.
• June 7: Charli XCX releases her sixth studio album, “Brat,” which eventually gives way to the “Brat Summer.”
• June 7: Pat Sajak makes his final appearance as the host of “Wheel of Fortune,” having been with the game show since it began 40 years ago.
• June 9: Carlos Alcaraz becomes the youngest male tennis player to win grand slams on all three surfaces at the French Open.
• June 17: The Boston Celtics win the NBA Finals, defeating the Dallas Mavericks to win their 18th NBA Championship.
• June 27: The first and only presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump airs on CNN. Biden’s performance leads to questions and criticisms regarding his age and cognitive capacity. 

July

• July 13: At a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump is shot in an apparent assassination attempt. Trump raises his fist defiantly to the crowd after a bullet struck him through his right ear. The shooter is killed, and a campaign goer is killed by one of the shooter’s bullets. 
• July 14: Spain defeats England to win Euro 2024 in Berlin, a record fourth victory for the team.
• July 15: During the Republican National Convention, Ohio Senator JD Vance is announced as Donald Trump’s running mate. 
• July 21: Joe Biden announces on X that he is dropping out of the 20 presidential race. He later endorses Kamala Harris, who announces her intention to run as the Democratic candidate against Donald Trump. 
• July 24: YouTuber DogPack 404 releases a video accusing popular content creator James “MrBeast” Donaldson of fraud and manipulation.
• July 26: The 2024 Summer Olympics open in Paris, with Snoop Dogg amongst the many unique performers to appear in the opening ceremonies. 
• July 26: After much anticipation, “Deadpool and Wolverine” is released in theaters. It is the first R-rated movie to come out of Marvel Studios and eventually becomes the highest-grossing R-rated film in history.

August

• Aug. 2: Legendary rock band Aerosmtih cancels their farewell tour, citing lead singer Steven Tyler’s struggles to recover from a vocal chord injury.
• Aug. 6: Kamala Harris announces Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. 
• Aug. 7: Three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna are canceled following a planned terrorist attack. 
• Aug. 9: Australian breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn performs at the Summer Olympics, earning 0s from all the judges and becoming one of the biggest memes on social media. The Olympics announce breakdancing will no longer be contested at the Summer Olympics shortly thereafter.
• Aug. 10: An Israeli airstrike in Gaza kills 93 people, including children. 
• Aug. 14: New York Yankee Aaron Judge hits his 300th career home run. 
• Aug. 17: Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Education Commissioner Charlene M. Tucker issue a press release encouraging schools to ban cell phones the upcoming academic year, following statewide bans elsewhere in the U.S. and a successful ban in Manchester, Connecticut. 
• Aug. 20: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are divorced after three years of marriage. This is the second time the couple has been married, the first union lasting from 2005-2018.
• Aug. 22: Kamala Harris formally accepts the nomination for US President at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, despite not having gone through a primary process as a non-incumbent candidate. 
• Aug. 23: Sabrina Carpenter releases her sixth studio album “Short n’ Sweet.”
• Aug. 23: After months of floundering as a third-party candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drops out of RFK Jr. drops out of the presidential race, announcing his intention to support Donald Trump. 
• Aug. 23: LA Dodger Shohei Ohtani becomes the sixth player in MLB history to have 40 stolen bases and 40 home runs in a single season. 
• Aug. 30: After missing a court-appointed deadline, X (formerly Twitter) is blocked in a dispute over regulating online speech.

September

• Sept. 2: Joey Chestnuts, renowned hot dog-eating champion, sets a new world record in a Netflix streamed special, consuming 83 hot dogs. 
• Sept. 4: A mass shooting occurs at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. A 14-year-old suspect shoots 11 people, killing two teachers and two students in the process.
• Sept. 10: The second presidential debate airs, this time between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. 
• Sept. 13: At a concert in Boston, Jane’s Addiction lead singer Perry Farrell gets into an altercation with guitarist Dave Navarro onstage, eventually leading to the band canceling the remainder of their 2024 tour. 
• Sept. 15: The 76th Annual Emmy Primetime Awards Ceremony airs, with “Shogun” and “Hacks” winning honors for best drama and best comedy respectively. 
• Sept. 18: Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs is arrested and charged with sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, and more. 
• Sept. 24: A second assassination attempt on Donald Trump is foiled at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago estate in Flordia. The shooter is apprehended before any shots can be fired. Sept. 26: New York City Mayor Eric Adams is charged with bribery, campaign finance fraud, and conspiracy after allegedly receiving gifts inappropriately, amongst other issues.
• Sept. 27: Hurricane Helene tears through North Carolina, leaving a particularly destructive path through Ashville.
• Sept. 27: An Israeli airstrike kills Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

October

• Oct. 1: Former president Jimmy Carter celebrates his 100th birthday after more than a year in hospice care. He is the first former president to reach this milestone.
• Oct. 1: The vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz airs live, striking a decidedly more civil tone than September’s presidential debate between Harris and Trump. 
• Oct. 9: Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida, days after being downgraded from a Category 5 storm. As it cuts through Florida, it tears the roof off Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
• Oct. 17: Israeli forces kill Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
• Oct. 24: Israel launches hundreds of airstrikes on Gaza and Lebanon.
• Oct. 30: Flash floods leave nearly 100 dead in Spain.
• Oct. 30: The Dodgers defeat the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series, four years after becoming champions in front of an empty stadium during the abbreviated “pandemic season.” 

November

• Nov. 2: Fortnite launches Remix Chapter 2. 
• Nov. 3: Brush fires begin to spread throughout Connecticut after several weeks of no rain. The state eventually issues a temporary ban on open flames.
• Nov. 5: In the 2024 General Election, Donald Trump defeats Kamala Harris, winning both the electoral college and the popular vote for the first time in his political career. Republicans eventually win back the House of Representatives, giving them full control of Congress for the first time since Trump’s first term.
• Nov. 6: Nintendo announces its new console, the Switch 2, will be launched in 2025. 
• Nov. 15: Veteran heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson is defeated by YouTuber-turned-fighter in a fight that is streamed live on Netflix. The stream is glitchy, leading to customer complaints and concern for when the platform takes over streaming NFL games and WWE events in the future. 
• Nov. 18: Reports of unexplained drones surface throughout New Jersey. 
• Nov. 21: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R – FL) withdraws his nomination for Attorney General in the wake of growing allegations of criminal activities involving drugs and sex with an underage girl. Gaetz announces he will not be returning to Congress mere weeks after he is nominated by Donald Trump.
• Nov. 22: Wicked is released to universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Several theaters ban singing during the film as fans of the musical join in on many of the movie’s bigger songs.
• Nov. 27: Moana 2 drops in theaters more than eight years after the original, going on to break box office records for an animated feature film. 
• Nov. 30: Fortnite Remix Chapter 2 ends with a concert featuring Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Ice Spice, and Juice WRLD.

December

• Dec. 1: President Joe Biden pardons son Hunter Biden, after proclaiming earlier in the year that he would not do so.
• Dec. 3: South Korean president President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law, which is eventually voted against by the National Assembly. In the coming weeks, Suk Yeol will be impeached. 
• Dec. 4: United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson is shot and killed outside of his office building in New York City. Police will eventually arrest 26-year-old Luigi Mangione for the shooting. Mangione will plead not guilty to the charges of stalking and murder. 
• Dec. 7: Notre Dame Cathedral reopens to the public in Paris after a fire damaged it in 2019. 
• Dec. 8: Kurdish rebels overthrow Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who flees to Moscow after his resignation. 
• Dec. 8: A lawsuit alleges that rapper Jay-Z sexually assaulted an underage girl at a party in 2000 with Sean “Diddy” Combs. Jay-Z denies the allegations.
• Dec. 8: After 21 months across multiple countries, Taylor Swift’s “Era’s” tour comes to an end. 
• Dec. 12: Bill Belichick is announced as the new head coach for the University of North Carolina. 
• Dec. 12: TIME Magazine names Donald Trump as its Person of the Year for 2024. Trump previously earned the title in 2016. 
• Dec. 12: Drones spotted in NJ begin to appear in Connecticut. 
• Dec. 13: Taylor Swift celebrates her 34th birthday. 
• Dec. 16: A school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin leaves one dead in a rare incident of a female shooter perpetrating the crime. 
• Dec. 18: The Supreme Court agrees to hear a challenge to Congress’s ban on the popular TikTok app. 
• Dec. 19: Lawmakers vote down a spending bill backed by President-Elect Trump after his confidant, Elon Musk, writes dozens of posts on X advocating for a government shutdown. 
• Dec. 23: President Biden commutes the sentences of 37 prisoners on federal death row. 
• Dec. 29: Jimmy Carter passes away at his home in Georgia months after his 100th birthday.