Remembering 2012 :: WRAL.com

A LOOK BACK AT 2012

Whether it was in politics, crime, education or sports, 2012 was full of big and memorable stories.

As we say farewell to another year, we look back on some of the big newsmakers of the year.

Select an image below to learn more.

POLITICS

North Carolina elected Pat McCrory as its first Republican governor in 20 years in November after Gov. Bev Perdue announced in January that she would not seek a second term as the state's first female governor.

Voters in May approved a controversial amendment to the state constitution recognizing marriage between a man and woman as the only legally recognized union.

Also in May, a federal judge declared a mistrial in the campaign finance trial of former presidential candidate John Edwards after a jury deadlocked on five of six felony charges and found Edwards not guilty on the sixth. Prosecutors argued that Edwards used campaign donations to cover up an affair. His defense said the payments were gifts that didn’t benefit his political campaign.

EDUCATION

Holden Thorp announced in September that he will resign in 2013 as chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, beset for more than two years by scandal, including an NCAA investigation of the football program and allegations of academic fraud.

In a move characterized by critics as being political, the Democrat-controlled Wake County Board of Education in September fired Superintendent Tony Tata, who was hired in 2010 by a Republican-controlled board.

In November, Wake County voters approved a $200 million bond to expand Wake Technical Community College, which had a record 20,216 students enrolled in August, making it the largest community college in the state.

CRIME & JUSTICE

After nearly 24 years in prison, Willie Grimes, in October, became the second person freed as a result of work by the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission.

After a mistrial in 2011, Jason Young was convicted in March of the November 2006 beating death of his pregnant wife, Michelle Young. Jason Williford was sentenced in June to life in prison for the March 2010 rape and murder of state school board member Kathy Taft.

Harsh criticism of a Superior Court judge cost District Attorney Tracey Cline her job in March as Durham's top prosecutor.

REMARKABLE STORIES

The family of Ellen Whittington, 12, harnessed the power of social media to get insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield to cover treatment of a rare illness that left the girl speechless and without motor skills.

A fall into a ravine during a hike one morning in July led Hugh Armstrong, 72, of Clayton, on a seven-state odyssey from New Hampshire to North Carolina.

A discovery on a 16th century map and a golf course in Bertie County could be the key to solving North Carolina's oldest mystery: What happened to the Lost Colony?

TRAGIC STORIES

What was supposed to be a joyous occasion turned into tragedy for the Riggans family in September when Megan Riggans died in a car wreck on her way to the hospital to give birth to her first child, Will. He died 10 days later.

Master Patrol Officer Jeremiah Montgomery Goodson Jr. 32, a six-year veteran of the Lumberton Police Department, was killed in a gas station shooting trying to help arrest a suspect at a gas station off Interstate 95.

Hurricane Sandy slammed into the North Carolina coast line in October, sinking the famous tall ship HMS Bounty and killing two crew members.

TOP STORIES
ACROSS THE GLOBE

MILITARY

Spc. Darrion T. Hicks, 21, of Raleigh, Sgt. Donna Johnson, 29, of Raeford, and Staff Sgt. Rayvon Battle Jr., 25, of Rocky Mount, and Pfc. Trevor Adkins, 21, were among the number of soldiers with North Carolina ties who died in Afghanistan this year.

The last troops in Afghanistan from Fort Bragg's 82nd Airborne Division returned home in September.

NOTABLE DEATHS

Affectionately known for his TV portrayal as Mayberry Sheriff Andy Taylor, North Carolina native Andy Griffith died at his home in Manteo in July at the age of 86.

Bill Friday, who led the University of North Carolina system through three decades of tumultuous change and rapid growth, died in October at age 92.

ENTERTAINMENT

Hopscotch Music Festival grew to include 170 bands spanning 15 venues over three days in downtown Raleigh.

The success of "The Hunger Games" in March brought recognition to North Carolina, where part of the blockbuster film was shot and reportedly pumping $60 million into the local economy.

"Iron Man 3," expected to hit theaters in 2013, was also filmed in the Tar Heel State, bringing with it thousands of jobs.

SPORTS

The Duke Blue Devils' Mike Krzyzewski led the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team to a gold-medal victory, while Duke junior Abby Johnston took home a silver medal in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard completion and Duke junior Nick McCrory won a bronze medal for the men's synchronized 10-meter platform competition.

After six seasons, N.C. State fired head football coach Tom O'Brien and hired Dave Doeren of Northern Illinois. Athletic Director Debbie Yow said her new coach would focus on in-state recruiting to build a "perennial Top 25 team."

UNC's football program was hit with sanctions, including a one-year postseason ban, three years' probation, the loss of 16 wins from the 2008 and 2009 seasons and a $50,000 fine as punishment for student-athlete academic improprieties, agent dealings and the acceptance of improper benefits.