2. Kayla Harrison wins Olympic gold medal in judo
Harrison, competing at 78 kilograms (172 pounds), completed a 4-0 run through the London Summer Games by disappointing the ExCel Arena home crowd with a victory over Great Britain's Gemma Gibbons.
3. The murder of Jessica Rae Sacco and arrest and conviction of her boyfriend, Matthew Puccio
Matthew S. Puccio and four other others charged in connection with the stabbing and dismemberment of Jessica Rae Sacco have pleaded guilty to several charges in Champaign County Common Pleas Court.
4. Acquittal of James Berry, former Clark County prosecutor, who was accused of killing a man while driving drunk
Former Clark County prosecutor James A. Berry jumped up and hugged his attorney after he was he found not guilty of leaving the scene of a crash that killed a 37-year-old man.
5. Former Dayton SCLC head Raleigh Trammell convicted on 51 felony counts and sent to prison after fraudulent use of taxpayer money for a feeding program
These charges resulted from DDN findings in a series of 2010 stories.
8. Reds make playoffs, lose Game 5
9. The "derecho" wind storms of late June and early July
The "derecho" wind storms of late June and early July were the third-most expensive natural disaster in Ohio in 38 years.
10. Mass shooting Colorado with Springfield ties
Siblings Samantha and Nick Yowler — both former St. Paris residents — were watching The Dark Knight Rises at a theater in Aurora, Colo., with her boyfriend Matt McQuinn when James Eagen Holmes reportedly kicked in an exit door, released canisters of pepper spray and opened fire.
11. E. coli outbreak
Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County officials confirmed that an E. coli outbreak is to blame for more than 10 reported illnesses in Germantown.
12. Drought of 2012
July 2012 will go down in the record books as the fourth hottest July ever recorded in Dayton, according to the National Weather Service.
We want to hear from you -- what do you think were the biggest news stories of 2012? Let us know in the comments below, or on our Facebook page. You can also vote on which of these 12 stories you think had the most impact on our region.