September 12, 2024 newsletter

December 26, 2024

A Look Back at 2024!

2024 is almost over! This year, First Stop News launched and we covered everything from the presidential election to the viral hippo named Moo Deng. Here’s a look back at some of the biggest headlines of 2024….

-Former President Donald Trump will become president again in 2025. After President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Trump ran against VP Kamala Harris and also survived an assassination attempt on the campaign trail.

-This October marked one year of the war between Israel and Hamas. There are still hostages being held in Gaza, and more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed.

-TikTok is facing an uphill battle to stay on your phone. This year, President Biden signed a bill that could ban the app in January 2025.

-SpaceX braced for liftoff a few times this year. Their dragon capsule is supposed to bring the two stuck astronauts back to to earth in 2025.

-The war between Russia and Ukraine continued. It’s been the largest and deadliest war in Europe since WWII.

-The solar eclipse had everyone wearing funny glasses and traveling to the path of totality: areas of the country where the sun was fully eclipsed by the moon.

-The cicadas invaded! More than a trillion cicadas were flying around for six weeks over the summer before they died.

-Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused devastation across the southeastern US, and they hit some of the same areas just two weeks apart.

-The Paris Olympics dominated the sports world — with big names like Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles, and Noah Lyles taking home gold.

-College Basketball phenom Caitlin Clark broke records before being drafted #1 by the Indiana Fever, and her WNBA jersey was the top-seller of 2024.

-LeBron James not only scored his 40,000th point this year, but he and his son Bronny became the first father-son duo to ever play in the NBA.

-Moo Deng the pygmy hippo and Pesto the penguin became internet celebrities!

-Netflix streamed a live fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, watched by more than 100 million people! Paul won by a unanimous decision.

-Mr. Beast became the most subscribed to YouTuber in the world — with over 337 million subscribers!

-2024 was the year of Taylor Swift. She ended her run of almost 150 shows on the Eras tour and also dropped her 14th album to hit #1 on the Billboard charts.

-Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, Beyonce, and Ariana Grande also released new albums that everyone was listening to.

-Wicked took over movie theaters, but Inside Out 2 was the biggest movie at the box office. It’s now the highest-grossing animated film of all time! (And, it inspired Kelsey's Halloween choice)

We talked to kids all over the country this year about the amazing things they’re doing!

-We watched Rubik’s Cube champ Tommy Cherry solve a cube blindfolded in 10 seconds!

-Scripps National Spelling Bee contestant Azariah Green told us all about how he prepares for the competition.

-A Harry Styles Superfan who gives tours around Harry’s hometown gave us an inside look!

-We met a 17-year-old inventor who created a visor that could help billions of people with vision problems!

-Zoya Shah, the kid governor of Oregon, told us what it’s like to run for office and why mental health was the biggest part of her platform.

What stories do your kids want more of in 2025? Is your child’s classroom interested in watching First Stop News at school? Email us at hi@firststopnews.com — we would love to connect!