As we look back on 2024, its surprising how frequently McDonalds has played a role in major news events.From high prices to a food recall, the campaign trail to the stunning capture of the suspect in the healthcare CEO shootingall roads seem to lead to the Golden Arches.Perhaps there is nothing more American than McDonalds, and like many consumers, who seem to be dusting themselves off after a difficult year, the Golden Arches heads into 2025 in decent shape . . . despite it all.Here is a recap of some of the biggest McDonalds stories this year.Inflation plagues consumers and McDonalds prices soarMcDonalds faced backlash this year over its $18 Big Macs, leaving many price-conscious customers questioningwhether it was still worth the cost. Faced with inflation and the high cost of living, customers just werent having it.In order to counteract the bad publicity it was receiving, McDonalds rolled out a $5 meal dealwhich seemed to win over at least some customers and gave the stock a boost as Americans came back for the more affordable burgers.While fast-food prices have been on the rise across the board over the past decade, McDonalds menu prices had the highest increases, doubling since 2014 for its most popular menu items. McDonalds, however, has refuted that statistic,calling it significantly inflated andsaying earlier this yearthat the price of a Big Mac had risen 21% since 2019 (from $4.39 to $5.29).It also unveiled a new fan favorite, the Chicken Big Mac. Looking ahead, McDonalds could continue to play a role in the national debate over our health and food supply, for better or worseespecially if Robert Kennedy Jr. is appointed head of Health and Human Services since he continues to scorn Trumps weakness for fast food, literally calling Big Macs poison.McDonalds Quarter Pounders linked to an E. coli crisisIn a year with more than 300 food recalls, none seemed as well publicized, or as lamented, as the McDonalds Quarter Pounder recall in October. The fast-food chains stock price plummeted after it became the center of a full-on E. coli outbreak, linked to onions on its Quarter Pounders. In the end, a significant number of people were affected across 14 states: 104 people became sick, 34 were hospitalized, and one person died. Trump serves fries at McDonalds on the campaign trailMcDonalds also played a role in the 2024 presidential campaign, when then-Republican nominee Donald Trump tried his hand atoperating the fry machineat one of the fast-food giants Pennsylvania locations and held a press conference at the drive-thru window. The visit was largely seen as a way to counter, without evidence, stories of Democratic nominee Kamala Harriss having worked at McDonalds one summer while in college.Around the same time, the McDonalds chronically broken ice cream machines became a rallying cry for Trump, who posted on X,WHEN IM PRESIDENT THE MCDONALDS ICE CREAM MACHINES WILL WORK GREAT AGAIN! (Their reliable unreliability was a source of jokes and memes, and even inspired McBroken, anonline tracker). In the end, however, it was the Biden administration that ended up fixing the machines.Trump called attention to Mickey Ds throughout his campaign, often having his staff pick up Big Macs and Filet-o-Fish sandwiches to serve on his plane.Luigi Mangione is arrested in a Pennsylvania McDonaldsWhen law enforcement officials firstarrested Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, many people were surprised that Mangione, who had alluded police for five days, was found at a McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania.He was just sitting there eating, said Joseph Kenny, the New York Police Departments chief of detectives.It was also surprising who found him. Police, who received hundreds of tips and processed forensic evidence including DNA, fingerprints, and ID addresses in the course of its manhunt, eventually found Mangione after a tip from a local McDonalds employeewhich seems like a fitting end to both the manhunt and McDonalds 2024 year in news.