Top stories of 2024 in North Texas

DALLAS - With another year coming to a close, here’s a look back at the most viewed North Texas news stories in 2024 based on FOX 4 News data.

2024 Presidential Election

• It shouldn't be a surprise to know that this year's Presidential Election had everyone's attention. And it was no different for people in the Dallas area. In the race for the White House, it comes down to electoral votes. Many of you wanted to know how many electoral votes each state has. This was the top story of the year.

Wild Weather

There were plenty of weather stories that caught people's attention.

January

• It started with an arctic plunge at the beginning of 2024, with snow, sleet and freezing rain in January. Temperatures fell below freezing for 86 straight hours. This happened after some areas of North Texas saw 2 inches of snow. 

April

• The path of totality of the 2024 total solar eclipse, where the moon completely covered the sun, moved from Texas to Maine throughout the day on Monday, April 8, 2024. 12 million people in Texas lived in the path of totality, the most of any state. The total solar eclipse began at the Texas-Mexico border at 1:27 p.m. and totality ended in the Lone Star State at 1:49 p.m.

May

• 2024 was the year of the celestial phenomena in North Texas. We saw a total solar eclipse in April, now on May 10, we saw the aurora borealis!

• At least 7 people were killed and 100 were injured in a tornado outbreak in North Texas on May 25, 2024. There were at least three tornadoes in Cooke, Collin and Denton Counties. More than 200 homes were destroyed and 120 were damaged.

• Three days after the tornado outbreak, another round of severe weather hit North Texas on May 28, 2024, that left a trail of damage across the area and knocked out power for thousands. 

July

• At least seven people died after Hurricane Beryl roared onto the Southeast Texas coast in July and wreaked havoc in the greater Houston area. Millions of Texans were without power.

Sports

• Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson was a professional boxing match between YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul and former undisputed heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson. The bout took place on November 15, 2024, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and was streamed globally on Netflix, with 65 million people watching the event. There were some disappointed watchers that night, as Netflix had trouble livestreaming the event to so many people at once.Paul defeated Tyson via unanimous decision.

Courts and Crime

• A Dallas man received 10 years in federal prison for running a healthcare scam. Prosecutors say he used the millions he made in stolen cash to fund a lavish lifestyle and Hollywood career. Federal plea papers say 37-year-old Ivor Jallah and co-conspirator Shannon Turley submitted at least $46 million in bogus claims to insurance companies. Jallah and Turley operated at least nine Texas pharmacies and would pay "marketers" for insured patients’ personal info. The duo also paid doctors to fraudulently stamp prescription forms. Ten additional defendants have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme.
• Dallas Police Officer Darron Burks was "executed" in an ambush shooting outside an Oak Cliff community center on Aug. 29, 2024. Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia called suspect Corey Cobb-Bey a "coward" who targeted officers only because of the uniform they proudly wear. Cobb-Bey was killed in a shootout after leading police on a high-speed chase into Lewisville.

Money

• The #2 story of the year has to do with money. With the rising cost of nearly everything, many people wanted to know what the minimum annual income was to be considered middle class in Texas.

Here is a list of the top 30 stories of 2024.

1. How many electoral votes does each state have?
2. Here's the minimum annual income required to be middle class in Texas
3. Dallas weather: 'Feels like' below zero early Tuesday morning
4. Northern lights visible across North Texas due to 'extreme' solar storm
5. Dallas pharmacy owner with aspiring Hollywood career sentenced to federal prison for healthcare scam
6. At least 7 dead, 100 injured in North Texas tornado outbreak
7. Beryl Updates: 7 killed in Greater Houston area; 3 million without power
8. 2024 solar eclipse map: Path through Texas, peak times on April 8
9. Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight, undercard results and more | FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth
10. Dallas weather: Storms leave trail of damage in North Texas
11. Dallas weather: Arctic blast timeline
12. Five Guys' prices sparks outrage after $24 receipt goes viral: 'Highway robbery'
13. DFW School Closings: Dallas, Fort Worth ISDs among districts closed Tuesday
14. Two Texas schools make 'New Ivy League' colleges list
15. Texas laws going into effect on January 1, 2024
16. 3 killed, including child, in chain-reaction crash
17. Dan Patrick is the acting governor of Texas. Here's why
18. Dallas weather: Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued for parts of North Texas
19. Chick-fil-A no longer America's best fast-food restaurant
20. Downtown Dallas fire: First Baptist Dallas historic sanctuary partially destroyed
21. Solar eclipse 2024: Peak times, path through Texas, how to watch live
22. Beryl: Projected path, live tracking and impact to North Texas
23. Hurricane Beryl tracker: Landfall in Texas next week looking more likely
24. Is Hurricane Beryl going to hit Texas?
25. 2024 Eclipse
26. Dallas police shooting: Officer 'executed by coward' in ambush attack; 2nd officer remains critical
27. Baby boomers flock to fastest-growing city known as the ‘cruise ship on land’
28. Governor Abbott activates State Emergency Response Resources ahead of severe weather
29. These are Texas' top 10 high schools, according to US News
30. Tropical Storm Beryl Updates: Latest projected path, timing and impact on North Texas

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