The 12 months ahead are like a clean notebook at the start of a school year. New topics will fill its pages, surprises are certain and lessons will be learned. Big events will be covered by this newspaper and other media: The 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, a Winter Olympics in Italy, elections for all U.S. House seats and one-third of the Senate, U.S.-Venezuelan tensions, Ukraine's three-year-old war, talks to extend a Gaza Strip truce between Israel and Palestinian militants. Here's a brief roundup of topics sure to make headlines in as the second quarter of the 21st century begins.

In domestic news, a focus will remain on employment and other economic issues, including the impact of artificial intelligence. Before the Supreme Court term ends in June, the nine justices will rule on cases involving voting rights, religious liberties for prison inmates, presidential tariffs on materials and products imported from other nations, and state bans on transgender women playing on female teams. Events in Washington and around the country will mark July's 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which led to America's creation after over a century and a half of British rule. Democracy will be in action from coast to coast as voters cast ballots in nominating primaries and the Nov. 3 general election to fill 435 House seats and 33 in the Senate. Republicans now have a majority in Congress. Democratic control of either or both chambers would complicate the Republican president's ability to enact policies during his final term's last two years.

In the Caribbean Sea to our south, President Donald Trump vows to escalate pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. As part of a U.S. military buildup offshore, our Coast Guard has seized oil tankers leaving that country and naval aircraft have mounted deadly strikes on boats that the White House and Pentagon say were trafficking drugs to the U.S. In the Middle East, America and others is working to apply a Gaza peace plan that brought a cease-fire with Israel. Elsewhere overseas, warfare continues in Ukraine as it struggles to overcome an invasion by neighboring Russia that began in February 2022 – nearly four years ago. Europe's largest and deadliest conflict since World War II has caused hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties. Four days before 2026 began, Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida to discuss a 20-point peace framework and a security guarantee proposal to be presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The first big pro sports event of 2026 is the football Super Bowl on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, Calif., between the two winners of playoffs (Jan. 10-25). Puerto Rican superstar rapper Bad Bunny is the main halftime performer, marking the first time a mostly Spanish-language singer takes that global stage. Two days before the Super Bowl, two Italian cities -- Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo – begin hosting the Olympics. Just over two weeks of competition will include skating, skiing, hockey, snowboarding and bobsled. American skier Lindsay Vonn, who has three Olympic medals, recently qualified at age 41 for her fifth winter games. And for soccer fans, June and July bring five weeks of FIFA World Cup matches across the U.S., as well as in Canada and Mexico.

Meanwhile, on the entertainment calendar:

• Grammy Awards: The music industry honors performers and songwriters in a Feb. 1 show televised on CBS from Los Angeles. Among nominees are Kendrick Lamar, Cirkut, Jack Antonoff , Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, Leon Thomas (6), Sabrina Carpenter, Serban Ghenea, Andrew Watt, Clipse, Doechii, Sounwave, SZA, Turnstile and Tyler, The Creator.
• Academy Awards: Oscar nominations for 2025 films will be announced in two weeks on Jan. 22. The televised awards show, also in L.A., is March 15 on ABC.