Stories selected by our newsroom that impacted the Greater Baltimore region in 2024.

The Key Bridge

It was before 3:00 a.m. when a source called to say that the Key Bridge had fallen. Stunning video footage captured the bridge, a staple of Baltimore’s skyline for 47 years, taken out by a wayward cargo ship and spilling into dark waters in seconds.

Seven members of a construction crew, part of the region’s vital immigrant fabric, died that night. We spoke to one of the last drivers across the bridge who said, “I might not be here now if I had been just a little bit later.”

The Port of Baltimore was cut off from the world for months, while regional traffic remains snarled. The owner and operator of the Dali ship settled with the Justice Department for $100 million, and a criminal investigation remains ongoing. Officials, adopting the mantra “Maryland Tough, Baltimore Strong,” pledged to rebuild, and while federal funding was briefly held up in the new Elon Musk era of D.C. politics, the four-year, $2 billion project now has a start date of Jan. 7. — Justin Fenton

The health care vigilante

In a widely shared surveillance video, the hooded gunman follows his target in the streets of New York, raises a pistol and shoots. The brazen execution of Brian Thompson, chief executive of one of the largest U.S. health care companies, shocked Americans. Baltimore was stunned by the suspect’s identity: Luigi Mangione, star scholar, Gilman School alum, son of a prominent local family.

What could have led a handsome young man from a life of privilege to allegedly gun down the UnitedHealthcare CEO? Friends said Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty, suffered debilitating back pain and underwent surgery. In a notebook, he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry, police said. The case inflamed debate about class, politics and justice. Some justified Mangione’s alleged crime as vigilante justice against a predatory industry. Authorities made clear they wouldn’t tolerate violence for a cause, filing federal charges that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. — Tim Prudente

Orioles’ new ownership

David Rubenstein arrived as a hero, as a liberating force taking over from a much-maligned Angelos family, and on opening day 2024, Rubenstein and other members of the Orioles’ new ownership group waved to a sellout crowd. The honeymoon period remained for much of the season, with the billionaire philanthropist — who said buying the Orioles is a way to give back to his hometown — throwing hats to fans from his front-row seats and even serving as a guest splasher in the outfield.

But as 2024 wound to a close, more scrutiny fell on the ownership group as Baltimore aims to bolster its playoff chances. The Orioles haven’t won a postseason game since 2012. They were swept out of the playoffs for a second year running. And while agents, such as Scott Boras, said the Orioles under Rubenstein have been more aggressive this winter, it remains to be seen whether Baltimore can take the next step toward a World Series. — Andy Kostka

Enter David Smith

For a mega-wealthy Baltimore County man who doesn’t give interviews and insists he’s just a private citizen, this was a big year for David Smith. The conservative Sinclair Inc. executive chairman bought The Baltimore Sun, a paper he said he does not read, in January. He insulted his new staff in the first meeting. He funded two political campaigns, the first to try to unseat Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, the second to shrink the City Council by half. He paid a plaintiff’s legal fees (the plaintiff chairs Smith’s political apparatus) and maybe had shadow control of a lawsuit against the city school system.

And through it all, he used his news organizations to push his politics. Baltimoreans pushed back. Painted by politicians as a comic book villain-esque, rich out-of-towner, voters rejected Smith’s pick for mayor and his council proposal. But, if we’ve learned anything, Smith is relentless and we haven’t heard the last from him. — Lee Sanderlin

Justin Tucker’s shocking lapse

When the Ravens’ season kicked off in September, kicker Justin Tucker was widely considered the NFL’s greatest-ever kicker. When the Ravens head to the playoffs next month, Tucker will be considered something else: an uncertainty.

The seven-time Pro Bowl selection is struggling through the worst season of his 13 years in Baltimore. He’s made just 22 of his 30 field goal attempts this season, a 73.3% accuracy that would not only be the worst of his career, but also among the worst marks in the league. Tucker’s misses have loomed large in a handful of losses this season for the Ravens, prompting calls for coach John Harbaugh to bring in competition at kicker. The Ravens stuck with Tucker, hoping the 35-year-old could find his form just in time for a potential Super Bowl run, and he’s rewarded them by making every kick since the Week 14 bye. But those misses will be in the back of every fan’s mind when he’s called upon in the postseason. — Jonas Shaffer

An overdose crisis

Baltimore has the worst drug overdose crisis ever seen in any major American city, an investigation by The Banner, in collaboration with The New York Times Local Investigations Fellowship, found this year. Our reporting revealed that city leaders acted with little urgency and allowed key public health efforts to stall; that a drug addiction treatment program has made millions off Medicaid every year while placing people in conditions where they relapsed, overdosed and died; and that a previously overlooked generation of Black men, now in their 50s to 70s, are dying of overdoses at shockingly high rates — in Baltimore, but also in other cities across the country.

A city lawsuit against opioid companies went to trial in September. It was a risky strategy that is now paying off big-time. So far, Baltimore has won more than $668 million in settlements and damages combined, and has asked for a judge to award it $5 billion more to spend on fixing the city’s overdose crisis. Yes, that’s billion with a “B.”

But transparency has been an issue. Over the summer, a series of City Council hearings called to discuss the overdose crisis were abruptly canceled by the mayor’s office, citing ongoing litigation. Many questions remain unanswered as Baltimore faces an unprecedented opportunity to tackle its addiction problem. — Alissa Zhu

Black political power

Angela Alsobrooks’ historic senate win as the state’s first Black woman U.S. senator cemented Maryland as the nation’s center of Black political power.

With Gov. Wes Moore and Attorney General Anthony Brown breaking barriers two years ago as the first Black candidates to be independently elected to statewide offices and with Adrienne A. Jones as speaker of the House of Delegates in 2019, Maryland has the country’s highest percentage of Black state lawmakers. In addition, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott won a second term — the first mayor in two decades to do so.

The state is now considered a role model worth studying by political strategists, who attribute the feat to the state’s diverse population; the region’s historically Black colleges and universities helping to grow a class of Black voting professionals; a strong network of Black fraternities, sororities and social groups; a migration of Black voters from Washington, D.C., to Maryland; support from the Black church; and increasing willingness among white voters to support Black candidates. — John-John Williams IV

The AI scandal

The more we learned about Dazhon Darien, the more unbelievable he became. Literally. Many believed an audio clip that sounded like Pikesville High School principal Eric Eiswert making racist and antisemitic remarks was real. But artificial intelligence experts and the police said the clip was a deepfake. Darien was arrested for crimes related to faking the audio and was detained at the airport while carrying a gun. He was the school’s athletic director at the time and, before that, was a social studies teacher.

His saga doesn’t stop there. When The Banner investigated his professional and education history, old resumes and credentials revealed he wasn’t qualified for either of his Baltimore County Public Schools jobs. Somehow, a California teaching license that the state said was never granted, a résumé with a different name and 14 other false claims didn’t stop him from being hired at two different schools in the district. This wasn’t even the first time he did this. Florida had flagged Darien for submitting false credentials when he worked there in 2016.

With his trial starting Jan. 28 and drama already seeping from court records, Darien’s story is far from over. — Kristen Griffith

Howard Community College

When President Daria Willis first arrived on the Columbia college’s campus in January 2022, faculty and staff were buzzing with excitement about her. They were ready for change. But now, some of that that excitement has fizzled. Instead, some say that Willis, whose big personality is splashed all over campus and on her social media accounts, is damaging the college.

Critics, to both The Banner and on an anonymous message board, claim that near-constant hirings and firings and what they describe as a toxic environment have negatively affected student services and staff. While she has her critics, Willis has also drawn support and praise from some Maryland political figures, including Gov. Wes Moore and Howard County Executive Calvin Ball.

Recent events at the college have drawn attention from Howard County’s state senators, who recommend appointees to the college’s Board of Trustees. In the coming legislative session they have a bill to increase the board from seven to nine members. While some want her out at HCC, Willis, whose contract was recently extended to 2028, has repeatedly said she isn’t going anywhere. — Jess Nocera

Is BOPA doomed?

The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts seemed to start the year on the right foot. After a long search, the board hired Baltimore marketing veteran Rachel D. Graham as CEO, and the organization received praise from City Council members for turning the ship around after several turbulent years.

But on the heels of another rain-filled Artscape, problems with BOPA’s management bubbled to the surface again. Out of money, the group asked the city for a nearly $1.8 million bailout — and Baltimore, BOPA’s main funding source, didn’t respond well. Graham, ousted by the board in November, revealed she went ahead with Artscape despite knowing about its financial peril, and she confusingly tried to shift some blame toward the mayor’s office for spending grant money it was fully entitled to. Now, without a city contract, much of a board or a permanent CEO, BOPA may find itself at the end of its rope for good. — Hallie Miller

Catholic churches in peril

The year brought tremendous change to the Baltimore area’s Catholic community. The Archdiocese of Baltimore announced last spring that it planned to close and consolidate two-thirds of the region’s parishes as a result of declining attendance and the rising costs of maintaining historic buildings. But the plan to consolidate — often merging parishes that have little in common besides geography — devastated many loyal worshippers, including myself. The announcement left Black Catholics feeling that the Archdiocese was closing a disproportionate number of historically Black churches. Other minority communities, including the Burmese community, felt the loss as they fought to keep their local churches open.

Church officials have said the consolidation was not related to the archdiocese’s decision to file for bankruptcy in September 2022, before a state law went into effect allowing more survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file lawsuits. About two dozen parishes have celebrated their final Masses, though several, including Towson’s St. Pius X, have appealed to Rome. — Julie Scharper

Baltimore County politics

Various Baltimore County politicians have long talked about expanding the County Council, in part because the county is growing more diverse every day and the council is all male with only one member of color. In July, the council agreed to ask voters if they wanted to amend the charter and expand by two seats. After a fight over the pre-drawn maps that the Democratic chair needed to get Republican members on board, the measure went to voters, who overwhelmingly approved it. Baltimore County voters also sent County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. to Congress to represent Maryland’s 2nd District. That set off a scramble to fill the last two years of his term, which the council expects to decide by Jan. 6. — Rona Kobell

Food poisoning and recalls

It was the year of food poisoning. In 2024, the Food and Drug Administration issued more than 100 food recalls over concerns about listeria and other foodborne illnesses. Inspectors found pathogens everywhere, from deli meats and smoked salmon to the Totally Cool ice cream factory in Owings Mills, which later declared bankruptcy and closed. This summer, scientists with the state played a critical role in nabbing the source of a deadly listeria outbreak: liverwurst from Virginia’s Boar’s Head. One culprit for the rise in foodborne illness may be climate change. Researchers say warmer temperatures and rising precipitation can lead to the spread of pathogens like salmonella and E. coli. The good news, though, is that public health scientists are on the case. — Christina Tkacik

If development in Baltimore were a beach party

Warren Buffett famously said, “You don’t find out who’s been swimming naked until the tide goes out.” This year, we learned that La Cité Development, Chasen Cos. and that glove factory that never made gloves forgot their swimming trunks at home. Many firms have been avoiding the water entirely. With high interest rates and high construction costs, there weren’t a lot of groundbreakings in 2024. Developers are biding their time on the beach, trying to avoid sunburn while they wait for credit to loosen. Others are running headlong through the breakers, like 28 Walker and the new Locke Landing rowhouse community in South Baltimore. MCB Real Estate and its grand redevelopment of Harborplace are somewhere out at sea. It will be years before the firm has to swim back to shore and reveal itself. A lot could change by then. Who knows what the beach will look like? — Giacomo Bologna

Braving a swim in the harbor

As Baltimore was hesitantly grappling with the idea of a swimmable harbor, Katie Pumphrey dived head in — literally. She completed a more than 24-mile swim from Sandy Point State Park near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to the Harborplace Amphitheater in the Inner Harbor to raise awareness about improvements that have made the harbor cleaner after years of efforts. In 2010, the Waterfront Partnership announced it wanted to make the water swimmable; this year, the organization said the goal is largely completed. The organization announced “Harbor Splash,” the largest and most recent public swim in years, and 150 spots were snatched up by people willing to take the plunge.

After she finished the swim, Pumphrey explained: “I love this city so much. Baltimore should be proud of our city. I want more people to talk about how awesome it is.”

Bonus: Northern lights

A rare sighting of the aurora borealis of Maryland, admittedly, may not have been the most important thing to happen this year. But it was certainly among the most magical.

In the middle of October, a severe geomagnetic storm collided with Earth, creating the atmospheric disturbance that caused green and magenta lights to appear in the night sky. Though the lights appear more brilliant using a camera, they were visible to the naked eye much farther to the south than normal — including in and around Baltimore. At least one lucky family got to see the lights from an airplane, too.

The sun is nearing the expected peak of its regular cycle of solar activity, so there’s a chance another strong geomagnetic storm could come our way. There’s no reliable way to predict for sure, though, so keep your eyes to the sky. — Cody Boteler