North Texas’ 10 biggest newsmakers of 2024

DALLAS — This year was an eventful year in North Texas — in everything from sports to politics.

Both the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars had thrilling playoff runs this year, and while the same can’t be said for the Cowboys, that team still made plenty of news, too.

While the return of President-elect Donald Trump to office may have dominated headlines at the national level, the recent election in November will have a lasting impact in North Texas in other ways as well.

Some ballot amendments will impact Dallas politics and city finances for years to come, and the election of some new members to the state house will have an impact on statewide politics. Shelley Luther, the Dallas salon owner who made headlines for defying COVID-19 shutdown orders and former Trump campaign spokesperson Katrina Pierson are among the GOP firebrands heading to the state legislature in 2025 after having won their November elections.

North Texas also made plenty of headlines in film and entertainment. too, from resident Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone,” “Landman” and related spinoffs dominating TV to new Texas denizen Keith Lee’s viral food tour of DFW.

But while those names definitely made waves in 2024, the below list represents the WFAA newsroom’s picks for the biggest newsmakers of 2024. — Rachel Snyder

It certainly was an eventful year for the top brass in the Dallas Mavericks organization — in large part because of all that happened at the very tail end of last year.

It was in late November of 2023 when the news broke that outspoken Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who had owned the NBA franchise since the turn of the millennium, was looking to sell a majority stake in the organization to the family of casino magnate Miriam Adelson, the fifth-richest woman in the world. And it was just days before the calendar flipped — on December 27, 2023 — that the NBA Board of Governors formally approved the transaction in a vote.

Did fans notice an immediate change once the team’s majority ownership position swapped hands? Not really. Not on the court, anyway. There, once again, the Luka Doncic-led team proved an exciting squad throughout the remainder of the 2023-2024 season, reaching the NBA Finals for just the third time in team history and the first time in 13 years.

But, off the court, speculation about the news owners’ plans for the team ran wild. Would they move the team from Dallas? Would they build a new arena? What would Cuban’s role with the team be now? Did they really think that legalized gambling is just around the corner in Texas’ future? Would the City of Dallas get on board of that? Why’d they buy up land in Irving, then? As Luka & Co. pressed on in the playoffs, some of that came into shape as Adelson’s step-son, Las Vegas Sands Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Dumont and newly named governor of the Mavericks in Cuban’s stead, indeed confirmed his family’s plans to build a new arena at some point in the not-too-distant future, and its hopes for including a casino in that package. And how’s he doing that? Well, in part by replacing his outgoing CEO with a new one experienced in building new NBA arenas.

Just 12 months into their Mavericks ownership tenure, the Adelson family’s influence on the NBA is palpable. Five years after the league was effectively banned in China when then-Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, the Adelsons have rekindled the NBA’s relationship with China by brokering a deal that will see the NBA return to the country to play a slate of preseason games at their Macao casinos next year.

The Adelsons know a thing or two about looking past disagreements. This year, when not continuing to expand his upstart Cost Plus Drugs healthcare company, Cuban — still a minority owner of the team — spent his time picking political fights with Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter) and supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. Adelson, meanwhile, spent $100 million backing President Donald Trump’s efforts to return to office — plus millions more to other conservative political efforts.

Hey, so long as the Mavs keep winning — and their fans keep watching — then everything else feels like less of a big deal. Right? — Pete Freedman

Few people had as lasting an impact on Dallas politics this year as hotelier and regular GOP donor Monty Bennett.

Bennett, the founder and CEO of hospitality and real estate company Ashford Inc. and publisher of the Dallas Express, provided financial support, office space and more to the Dallas HERO initiative, which aimed to switch up operations at Dallas City Hall by proposing three city charter amendments and earning enough signatures to get them onto the November ballots. Two of the three proposals from Dallas HERO passed — one that makes it easier to sue the city and its elected officials, and another that forces the city to hire 900 additional police officers and devote at least half of any new tax dollars collected to the police and fire pension fund.

The HERO group and their supporters argue that the amendments will make the city safer and increase accountability.

But city officials — current and former city council members, previous mayors and now-former Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia — warned that their passage could lead to cuts to funding other city services and argued that that the city would struggle to find enough qualified applicants to fill the 900 suddenly vacant positions the new amendment requires DPD to hire.

In the wake of the amendments passing — with 55% and 51% of the vote, respectively — Moody’s Investors Service also downgraded the city’s financial outlook from stable to negative. The search firm leading the city’s search for its next city manager to replace T.C. Broadnax, who moved to the top job in Austin earlier this year, also cited the Nov. 5 election as a point of concern among applicants.

2024 may have been a big year for Bennett and his collaborators. But 2025 will be the year in which his ideology is really put to the test. — Rachel Snyder

2024 was a roller coaster year for Kate Cox. The 32-year-old Dallas woman ended 2023 at the center of one of the highest-profile abortion cases in the U.S. and is ending 2024 as one of the most well-known names in reproductive rights advocacy.

Cox’s intimate story of seeking an abortion after doctors found her baby had a lethal anomaly and the subsequent denial of that care catapulted Cox into the national spotlight. Cox fled Texas to get that abortion.

After her story made headlines everywhere, Cox was at the center of advocacy for abortion access in 2024. She attended Joe Biden’s State of the Union address as a guest of First Lady Jill Biden, spoke on behalf of Texas during the 2024 Democratic National Convention roll call and even announced she was pregnant, again.

On top of her national advocacy, Cox was also a vocal supporter of Colin Allred. Cox appeared in commercials for the Allred campaign and even showed up outside of WFAA’s studios to support Allred during The Texas Debate between the congressman and incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz.

Despite her tumultuous relationship with abortion access in Texas, Cox said she has no plans of moving.

“It’s my family, my community, I’m a lifelong Texan,” Cox said. “It wouldn’t just be leaving the state, it would be the people I love. I’d much rather fight for it.” — Ben Sawyers

U.S. Rep Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, has been rising steadily in the Democratic Party since she joined Congress last year. 

A former civil rights attorney, she quickly became known for her passionate advocacy on behalf of marginalized communities, particularly around issues of criminal justice reform and voting rights. Crockett, 43, was named a national co-chair of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign and traveled to seven swing states on Harris’ behalf. Crockett also was a featured speaker during the Democratic National Convention in August. During a May 2024 hearing, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested that Crockett’s “fake eyelashes” were affecting her reading. It was Crockett’s response that gained huge traction on social media, though, with Crockett referring to Greene as having a “bleach blonde bad-built butch body.” The moment spread like wildfire and has since been put on T-shirts for sale by Crockett’s campaign. The clapback also earned Crockett a parody on Saturday Night Live.

“I chose to defend myself because when I went to Congress, I didn’t go to Congress to be anyone’s doormat,” Crockett told WFAA at the time.

Crockett has served Texas’ 30th district, which mostly covers Dallas, since she assumed office in January 2023, replacing the retiring Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson. — Krista Summerville

Fort Worth’s Opal Lee has already achieved her goal of establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday, but her work continued this year in a big way.

The educator-turned-activist continued to make a huge impact on North Texas and the country in spite of, or maybe because of, turning 98 this year. Where to begin? She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In the same month, she received an honorary doctorate from SMU. And this summer, she moved into her new home — built on the same plot of land her family was forced to leave by a racist mob in 1939.

Those are just the highlights. The ‘Grandmother of Juneteenth’ also continues to lead the effort to build the National Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth’s Historic Southside, despite hurdles. She also hosted the first ‘Walk for Freedom’ held outside of Fort Worth. Plus, just because, she served as a poll worker in the November election. 

What a year. — Rachel Behrndt

Let’s be honest.

Jerry will be a top newsmaker in Dallas every single year he’s alive. Ever since he lost a $300,000 coin flip when he bought the team in 1989, the Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager has reveled in the moniker that there is no “bad press.” Sometimes it almost doesn’t even surprise you the kinds of things that come up with the Cowboys — or himself.

What’s going on with Jerry this year?

How about a high-profile breach-of-contract lawsuit trial that abruptly ended in an East Texas federal courtroom where a woman claiming to be his daughter mysteriously dropped the suit after she had spent years fighting Jones back-and-forth in court.

Then, there are his weekly Tuesday radio interviews with Shan and RJ on 105.3 The Fan. You never know what can come out of one of those. We started the year with an odd French robot voice interrupting their conversation. He recounted his family getting in an accident in California before the 49ers game. He literally flipped out on the radio hosts and threatened to take his weekly interview spot elsewhere. Heck, even a story about Cowboys mascot Rowdy getting “rowdy” at a strip club wasn’t off-limits.

No matter if his Cowboys are performing like shining stars or are literally blinded by the light, the curtains will not be deployed to provide them any shade.

But hey, to his credit, maybe he’s onto something. He has, after all, built the most valuable sports team in the world for nearly a decade (nine years in a row and counting, to be exact). — Paul Livengood

The 2024 Paris Olympics marked a historic moment for North Texas athletes, with many representing the United States on the world stage. Dallas native Sha’Carri Richardson shined on the track, winning a silver in the 100-meter final and a gold in the 4×100 relay. Grand Prairie’s Jasmine Moore earned bronze in both the triple and long jump, while Wylie’s Tara Davis-Woodhall claimed gold in the long jump.

In shooting, Burleson’s Conner Prince earned silver in the men’s skeet final, and Keller’s Austen Smith brought home a bronze in the women’s skeet and silver in the mixed team event. Golfer Scottie Scheffler, the current World No. 1 from Dallas, claimed gold in the men’s individual stroke play.

Other standout performances included Southlake’s Sam Watson, who earned bronze in sport climbing and set a new world record, and Plano’s Hezly Rivera, who contributed to the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics team’s gold medal in the team event. North Texas proved a powerhouse in Paris, with athletes from the region playing a pivotal role in Team USA’s success. — Zachary Yanes

This year was a tumultuous one for North Texas churches, as 2024 saw a number of them with pastors embroiled in controversy.

Nearly 20 pastors from various pastors around North Texas were either removed or had to step down due to various accusations ranging from sexual assault to “moral failures.”

Easily the church most involved in these controversies was Gateway Church in Southlake, which had three staff members resign – two due to accusations of sexual abuse and another due to a “moral failure” – and another staff member arrested and charged with sexual assault of a child.

One of those who resigned was the church’s founder, Robert Morris, who stepped down earlier in the year amid allegations that he sexually abused a 12-year-old girl more than 30 years ago.

These controversies had a major effect on Gateway Church. One of the remaining elders of the megachurch announced in November it would have to cut staff due to a steep drop in donations.

“We have in fact seen our tithes reduce between 35 and 40%. As a result, we really need to go and start looking at the ministry itself and looking into some staff reductions,” Gateway Church elder Kenneth Fambro said in a video. — Paul Wedding

Rashee Rice’s 2024 was a year of dramatic highs and lows that showcased his impact — both on and off the field. 

As a key wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, Rice’s athleticism and chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes made him a critical player during his rookie season, which ultimately ended with him earning a Super Bowl ring in February. The SMU product’s breakout performance in the big game displayed his immense potential as a player in the NFL. 

However, off-field controversies following that Super Bowl win quickly began to overshadow his on-field success.

In March, Rice’s involvement in a high-speed hit-and-run in Dallas caused significant public and legal repercussions. Injuries to others, and his initial decision to flee the scene, raised serious concerns over Rice’s accountability and judgment. A subsequent investigation into an alleged altercation with a photographer at a nightclub further strained his public image.

Rice’s 2024 NFL season ended prematurely in Week 4 due to a knee injury requiring surgery. This injury was met with tons of online scrutiny, with many saying it was “karma” for Rice’s off-field incidents. 

While his talent remains undeniable, 2024 will likely be remembered as a year of lessons that could define a legacy. — Rachel Snyder

Scheffler won more golf tournaments than anyone in the world in 2024 — nine, to be exact, a number that approached Tiger Woods’ best at the peak of his powers — including The Masters, his second time slipping on the green jacket. 

But it was a bizarre turn of events that unfolded early one morning in Louisville, Kentucky, that made Scheffler go viral — and landed him in a jail cell. Scheffler was trying to enter Valhalla Golf Club for the second round of the PGA Championship when he mistakenly bypassed a police checkpoint. An officer trying to stop Scheffler fell down, and Scheffler was arrested on felony charges. He made his delayed tee time later that morning, and the charges were later dismissed. 

But the ordeal gave Scheffler something extra to go along with his $60 million in earnings in 2024: An orange jumpsuit-clad mugshot. — Ryan Osborne