(NEW YORK) -- This year was full of first-of-its-kind stories that got Americans talking. Here's a look back at some of the most talked about U.S. stories of 2025 outside of politics, from the Los Angeles wildfires to Sean "Diddy" Combs' trial.
The Palisades and Eaton fires erupted in Los Angeles County on Jan. 7. With severe drought conditions and strong Santa Ana winds fueling the flames, the fires spread quickly, killing at least 29 people and wiping out thousands of homes in the densely populated neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
In October, Jonathan Rinderknecht was arrested for allegedly igniting a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 1 -- a fire that prosecutors say eventually became the Palisades Fire. Rinderknecht, a former Pacific Palisades resident, has pleaded not guilty to arson affecting property, timber set afire and destruction of property.
All 64 people on board the plane and all three soldiers on the helicopter were killed.
Just two days after the D.C. crash, a medical transport jet crashed in Philadelphia. The jet, which was carrying a child and her mother along with four other people, was in the air for less than a minute after taking off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. All six people on board, as well as one person on the ground, were killed. The NTSB has not released a cause.
Then on Feb. 17, a Delta plane crashed and overturned during landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport. All 80 people on board survived. Twenty-one passengers were injured, including two seriously injured.
When actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead at their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home during a Feb. 26 welfare check, their causes of death were not immediately clear, which sparked national intrigue.
On June 18, a Massachusetts jury found Karen Read not guilty of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend, ending a criminal case that gripped the nation's attention.
Some state leaders and environmental experts told ABC News in July that a number of the cabins were in known flood zones and close proximity to the river, according to officials and FEMA's road maps.
Weeks before Bryan Kohberger was set to go on trial for the 2022 quadruple homicides at the University of Idaho, Kohberger admitted to the crimes at a change of plea hearing in July.
Survivors of the attack and relatives of the four slain students spoke out, sharing emotional statements at Kohberger's sentencing hearing. Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen said Kohberger "took away my ability to trust the world around me" and "shattered me in places I didn't know could break." Kristi Goncalves, mom of victim Kaylee Goncalves, told Kohberger that "hell will be waiting" for him.
Following an eight-week trial in Manhattan federal court that gripped the country, in July, music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs was convicted of two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution. The jury acquitted Combs of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges.
At October's sentencing hearing, Combs tearfully apologized in court, saying, "I've been humbled and broken to my core."
The mogul is now serving a four-year sentence at FCI Fort Dix, a federal prison in New Jersey. Combs is appealing the conviction and his sentence.
A monthslong manhunt for Travis Decker unfolded in Washington state this summer, capturing national attention.
On Sept. 18, Decker's remains were found in a remote, wooded area. The local coroner said an autopsy couldn't be done due to how little remains were left.
In their continued push for freedom this year, Lyle and Erik Menendez had one big legal win, but two significant losses.
This May, Judge Michael Jesic resentenced Erik and Lyle Menendez to 50 years to life in prison, making them immediately eligible for parole under youth offender parole laws. Jesic said he was moved by letters from prison guards and is amazed by what the brothers have accomplished in their decades behind bars.
But in August, the brothers were both denied parole. Commissioners reviewed Erik Menendez's time in prison and noted some inappropriate behavior with visitors, drug smuggling, misuse of state computers, violent incidents and illegal cellphone use. Lyle Menendez's panel of commissioners -- who were different from those reviewing Erik's case -- noted he also was caught illegally using cellphones. The brothers will next be eligible for parole in three years.
Their second loss came in September, when Judge William Ryan denied the brothers' habeas corpus petition, which they filed in 2023 to try to toss their conviction and get a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. The judge said "neither piece of evidence adds to the allegations of abuse that the jury already considered."
On Sept. 10, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed in the middle of his outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
The suspected shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, fled the scene, prompting a massive manhunt. Robinson surrendered to authorities on the night of Sept. 11.
Charlie Kirk's wife, Erika Kirk, said at her husband's memorial that she forgives Robinson. "That young man, I forgive him. … The answer to hate is not hate," she said.
On Dec. 14, renowned Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home.
Nick Reiner -- who was living on his parents' property, according to a former family security guard -- was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, with the special circumstance of multiple murders, prosecutors said. He has not entered a plea. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty, prosecutors said.
The Reiners' other children, Jake and Romy Reiner, said in a statement, "Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing."
ABC News’ Olivia Osteen, Meredith Deliso, Clara Mcmichael, Ayesha Ali and Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.