CNN Editorial Research
(CNN) — Here is a look back at the events of 2026.
January 3 – President Donald Trump announces that the US carried out a “large scale strike against Venezuela” and that President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, have been captured and removed from the country. On January 5, Maduro and Flores plead not guilty to drug and weapons charges during their first court appearance in New York.
January 5 – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announces he is ending his reelection bid for a third term as a welfare-fraud scandal in his state has intensified.
January 5 – The US Department of Health and Human Services announces it is changing the childhood vaccine schedule, scaling back the number of vaccines broadly recommended to children. The new schedule recommends that healthy children get 11 vaccines instead of the 17 that were previously recommended.
January 7 – A 10-year veteran officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement fatally shoots 37-year-old US citizen Rene Good in her Minneapolis neighborhood as she attempted to drive away following a brief confrontation.
January 14 – Four astronauts make an abrupt exit from the International Space Station after an unnamed crew member experiences a medical issue.
January 15 – Venezuela’s opposition leader and last year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, a fierce critic of Nicolás Maduro, gifts her Nobel prize metal to US President Trump during a meeting at the White House.
January 24 – Federal immigration agents in Minneapolis fatally shoot 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an American citizen and ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
January 28 – The FBI serves a warrant at an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia, as it probes alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election.
January 29 – Trump, along with his sons, sues the IRS and Treasury Department for at least $10 billion, accusing the agency of an unauthorized leak of his tax returns during his first administration. On May 18, Justice Department announces a settlement has been reached with Trump. Terms of the settlement include the creation of a $1.776 billion fund to compensate Trump’s allies who claim they were unfairly targeted by the previous administration. Additionally, the IRS can’t bring claims against Trump, his family or businesses for past tax issues. On August 2, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issues a written order rescinding the fund and modifying the Trump tax deal.
February 1 – Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show anchor Savannah Guthrie, is reported missing after being taken from her Arizona home more than a day earlier.
February 6 – The Dow closes at 50,115.67, the first close above 50,000.
February 14 – A partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security begins after Congress failed to act to fund the agency. The partial shutdown ends on April 30.
February 17 – The Rainbow PUSH Coalition announces that civil rights activist and clergyman Jesse Jackson has died.
February 20 – The Supreme Court rules that President Trump violated federal law when he unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs across the globe.
February 24 – President Trump delivers his State of the Union Address to the 119th Congress. The speech is 1 hour and 47 minutes long, making it the longest on record.
February 28 – Trump announces that the United States is involved in a “massive and ongoing” military campaign in Iran. Trump says the main US objective was “to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
March 5 – President Trump announces on social media he is firing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and naming Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her.
March 7 – Two men face charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction after a pair of homemade bombs are tossed during protests near New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home.
March 12 – An explosives-laden vehicle plows into the Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, setting part of it ablaze. The Michigan attacker is a Lebanese-born US citizen who reportedly lost family members in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, officials said. He is the only person who died in the attack.
March 14 – FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatens the licenses of local broadcasters over Iran war news coverage he deemed to be “fake.”
March 18 – Planned annual celebrations of the late labor leader Cesar Chavez are canceled nationwide following a New York Times story alleging that Chavez sexually abused girls and women, including one of his most prominent organizing partners, for decades during his leadership of the US movement for farm workers’ rights.
March 22 – An Air Canada plane collides with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing the flight’s pilot and copilot, injuring dozens and temporarily shutting down the New York area’s third-busiest airport.
March 24 – Markwayne Mullin is sworn in as Department of Homeland Security secretary.
March 24 – A jury finds that Meta violated New Mexico law in a case accusing it of failing to warn users about the dangers of its platforms and protect children from sexual predators. The jury finds Meta liable on all counts, including for willfully engaging in “unfair and deceptive” and “unconscionable” trade practices, and orders the company to pay $375 million in damages.
March 25 – A Los Angeles jury finds Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design of their platforms, knew their design was dangerous, failed to warn of those risks and caused substantial harm to the plaintiff. The jury orders the companies to pay a total of $3 million in compensatory damages. The jurors also recommend YouTube pay an additional $900,000 in punitive damages, according to a Google spokesperson, and $2.1 million in punitive damages from Meta, according to a Meta spokesperson.
March 31 – The Supreme Court endorses a religious counselor’s challenge to Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” for gay and transgender minors, saying it likely violates the First Amendment. The 8-1 decision does not technically strike down the law, but means lower courts will now review it again and apply the highest form of judicial scrutiny. That means Colorado’s law, and others like it, will almost certainly be struck down by lower courts.
March 31 – US gas prices hit $4 per gallon for the first time since 2022.
April 1 – Four astronauts lift off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to journey around the moon as part of the Artemis II mission. This is the first crewed moon mission since 1972.
April 2 – President Trump fires Pam Bondi as attorney general. She will be replaced for now by Deputy Attorney General Blanche, who will serve as acting attorney general, Trump says.
April 10 – CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle publish stories documenting claims of sexual misconduct against Rep. Eric Swalwell, including a former staffer who says he raped her. Swalwell denies the allegations. On April 12, he withdraws from the California governor’s race. On April 13, Swalwell announces he plans to resign from Congress.
April 21 – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announces that the US military will no longer require the annual flu vaccine for troops.
April 23 – The Justice Department reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug, changing a policy that has for decades made the drug’s potential medicinal benefits more difficult to research.
April 25 – A man sprints through a security checkpoint with a shotgun in hand, exchanging fire with Secret Service agents at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The gunman is subdued by Secret Service — before he can reach the ballroom where the president, Trump administration officials, members of Congress and some of the nation’s most prominent reporters and editors are all in attendance.
April 27 – Britain’s King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla arrive in the Washington, DC, area on a state visit to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence.
April 28 – James Comey is indicted by the Justice Department over a photo on social media of shells on a beach writing out the numbers “86 47,” which critics said referred to taking out or killing Trump. Comey faces charges of making a threat against Trump and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, according to court documents. Comey had removed the post the same day, writing on social media that he assumed the shells represented “a political message” but “didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.”
May 2 – Spirit Airlines shuts down.
May 6 – CNN founder Ted Turner passes away at the age of 87.
May 19 – Barney Frank, the barrier-breaking former Massachusetts congressman who regulated a “too big” financial industry, dies at 86.
May 20 – The US Justice Department announces criminal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro that stem from his alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft that killed four people, including three Americans.
May 22 – Tulsi Gabbard announces that she’s resigning as director of national intelligence at the end of June, citing her husband’s diagnosis with cancer.
May 22 – Kevin Warsh is sworn in as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, succeeding Jerome Powell.
June 12 – Elon Musk becomes the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX, his rocket and AI company, goes public.
June 19 – The Obama Presidential Center opens to the public. The campus includes a museum, garden, basketball court and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library.
June 25 – The Supreme Court allows President Trump to end temporary deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals from Haiti and Syria that have endured war and natural disasters.
June 26 – President Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton pleads guilty to a charge of unlawfully retaining sensitive national security information.
June 26 – Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg shares that he was briefly separated from his children after police say he was the target of a false report.
June 30 – The Supreme Court rejects President Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship. It also rules to let states ban transgender athletes from playing on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
June 30 – Republican Rep. Tom Kean of New Jersey says that he experienced severe depression that required a long-term stay in the hospital, keeping him away from Washington, DC, more than 100 days.
July 6 – In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Jenny Racicot accuses Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of raping her in 2021. Platner releases a video denying the allegation. He officially withdraws from the Senate race on July 10.
July 7 – Lorenzo Salgado Araujo is fatally shot by an ICE officer in Houston.
July 11 – US Senator Lindsey Graham dies following an “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease,” according to a preliminary finding from the Washington, DC, medical examiner.
July 13 – Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero is fatally shot by an ICE officer in Biddeford, Maine.
July 16 – The FDA announces it is investigating a multistate outbreak of cyclospora linked to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms. The outbreak is declared over on September 11.
July 19 – Vice President JD Vance and wife Usha announce the birth of their fourth child, Alec Neel Vance, marking the first time in more than 150 years that a second lady has given birth while in office.
July 21 – Defense Secretary Hegseth testifies at a Senate hearing, saying the US-Iran conflict has cost $37.5 billion.
July 24 – Basketball player LeBron James announces he has chosen the Philadelphia 76ers as his next NBA team. James has won NBA championships with his previous three teams – the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers.
July 24 – Georgia school shooter Colt Gray pleads guilty to all 55 charges against him, including four counts of murder. Days later he is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On July 30, his father Colin Gray is sentenced to 15 years in prison for buying his son an AR-15-style rifle as a Christmas gift and leaving it unsecured – despite warnings the teen was a danger to others.
July 28 – The Senate confirms Jay Clayton as the new director of national intelligence.
August 1 – Three wildfires break out in the Spokane area in eastern Washington state, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.
August 5 – The Senate confirms Dr. Erica Schwartz as director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
August 8 – The Senate confirms Blanche as attorney general.
August 10 – Trump signs an executive order aimed at reshaping the federal government’s approach toward childhood vaccines, insisting that infants should receive fewer immunizations over a longer period despite little scientific evidence supporting such sweeping changes.
August 26 – Meta agrees to pay about $18 billion as part of a settlement to resolve a multistate lawsuit claiming that it intentionally designed addictive platforms that harmed young people’s mental health.
August 31 – Duane “Keffe D” Davis is found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Tupac Shakur – a case that had remained unsolved for nearly three decades. Davis was found guilty of plotting the 1996 killing near the Las Vegas Strip. In October he is sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
September 2 – The NBA fines the Los Angeles Clippers $30 million, docks them five consecutive first round draft picks starting in 2029 and suspends three top officials, including owner Steve Ballmer, following an independent investigation that revealed a “pattern of misconduct” and severe salary cap circumvention violations.
September 11 – The price of diesel fuel tops $6 a gallon for the first time ever.
September 14 – The Supreme Court rejects President Trump’s controversial plan to change how mail ballots are sent to voters across the country, rebuffing a proposal that election officials warned would have had catastrophic consequences if allowed to take effect for this year’s midterms.
September 14 – The United States has deployed weapons in space and will use them to defend American forces, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink announces. It’s the first public acknowledgment that the nation has such capabilities in orbit and a potential signal to those that could pose threats in the domain.
September 18 – President Trump says he’s banning CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. The following day, CNN, MS NOW and Politico are denied access to the White House. On September 21, the news outlets sue the Trump administration. On September 24, Judge Timothy Kelly orders the Trump administration to temporarily reinstate their access to the White House.
January 1 – At least 40 people are killed and more than 100 people are injured during a fire at a New Year’s party at a Swiss ski resort bar.
January 8 – Iranian authorities impose a communication shutdown, cutting internet access and telephone lines in Iran following anti-government protests across all 31 of Iran’s provinces.
January 18 – Two high-speed trains collide near Cordoba in southern Spain, killing at least 43 people.
February 19 – Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of Britain’s King Charles III, is arrested following revelations about the former prince’s relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He is the first member of the UK royal family to be arrested in modern history. He is released 10 hours later “under investigation.”
February 22 – Violence erupts in Mexico following the killing of Mexican cartel boss Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes.
February 28 – Joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader for nearly four decades. Iran responds with a wave of strikes across the Middle East, targeting several countries that host US military bases, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. The clashes disrupt traffic in the Strait of Hormuz – a crucial shipping route between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
March 8 – Iran’s Assembly of Experts names Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as the next supreme leader.
March 23 – Several ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer rescue organization are set on fire outside a synagogue in a neighborhood home to London’s largest Jewish community, in an antisemitic attack.
April 13 – Pope Leo XIV begins an 11-day trip to Africa with a stop in Algeria. He is the first pope to visit the country.
April 14 – Israel and Lebanon hold direct talks for the first time in decades.
April 19 – Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev wins Bulgaria’s parliamentary election.
May 1 – The United Arab Emirates leaves OPEC. The decision also extends to OPEC+, a larger group that consists of other oil producers such as Russia.
May 15 – The Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Social Welfare, DRC, declares the 17th outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The following day, WHO declares an Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern,” posing risks to neighboring countries.
May 23 – A gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China kills at least 82 people, according to state media.
May 25 – In the first major theological document of his pontificate, Pope Leo says control of artificial intelligence must not remain in the hands “of a few” while warning that technology is fueling world conflicts.
June 8 – An earthquake of magnitude 7.8 strikes the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines, according to the United States Geological Survey, killing dozens of people and triggering scenes of panic as buildings collapsed to the ground and emergency sirens blared in parts of the archipelago.
June 9 – Anti-immigrant protests erupt in Northern Ireland after a Sudanese man is charged with attempted murder following a knife attack in Belfast.
June 22 – Keir Starmer announces he will resign as Britain’s prime minister amid mounting pressure from his own lawmakers. Last month’s local election results saw Starmer’s Labour party lose more than 1,000 seats across English councils and control of the Welsh parliament, where it had been the largest party for decades. On July 20, Starmer formally resigns as prime minister, following a final speech at Downing Street. Andy Burnham replaces him.
June 24 – Two major back-to-back earthquakes strike Venezuela. At least 3,685 people are killed, according to National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez.
June 30 – A roof collapse at a tutoring center under construction in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore kills at least 14 schoolchildren, police and rescue officials said.
July 1 – Authorities say one person dies and several others are injured in three pre-dawn firebomb attacks that struck the homes of members of Greece’s governing conservative New Democracy party.
July 7 – The US military launches a new round of strikes on Iran, hitting over 80 targets, according to a statement from US Central Command. The US also reimposes sanctions on Iranian oil sales in retaliation for attacks on commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz.
July 9 – A fire breaks out at a shoe factory in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian, killing 28 people, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
July 9 – Iran’s late Supreme Leader Khamenei is buried, according to a statement posted on his official X account.
July 25 – One person is killed and 29 others are injured in a vehicle-ramming and stabbing attack at Tiergarten park in Germany, near a crowded LGBTQ+ event. The suspect in what German authorities described as an “Islamist terror attack” at Berlin’s Pride celebrations is shot dead by police following a major manhunt.
July 30 – More than 70,000 migrants attempt to cross into the autonomous city of Ceuta by scaling the border fence or swimming around it; an estimated 140 people die.
August 10 – A 7.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Colombia. At least 335 people are killed.
August 26 – A landslide strikes the Nepal-China border triggering catastrophic flash flooding. More than 1,300 people are killed.
September 11 – Three key organizers behind what used to be the only large-scale public commemoration for the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese soil are sentenced to prison. Chow Hang-tung, a prominent young human rights lawyer, is sentenced to seven years and three months in prison, and former opposition lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan to seven years in prison. A third activist, veteran pro-democracy lawmaker Albert Ho, who pleaded guilty for a lighter sentence, received a five years and two months prison term.
January 11 – The 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards are presented live on CBS, with Nikki Glaser hosting.
January 19 – The Indiana Hoosiers defeat the University of Miami 27-21 in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Hoosiers finish the season 16-0, becoming the first team to do so since Yale in 1894.
January 12-February 1 – The 114th Australian Open takes place. Carlos Alcaraz defeats Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina defeats Aryna Sabalenka.
January 31 and February 2-3 – The 150th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show takes place in New York. Penny, a Doberman Pinscher, is named Best in Show.
February 1 – The 68th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony takes place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
February 6-22 – The 2026 Winter Olympics are held in Italy.
February 8 – Super Bowl LX takes place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Seattle Seahawks defeat the New England Patriots 29-13.
February 15 – Tyler Reddick wins the 68th Annual Daytona 500 in a car owned by Michael Jordan.
March 15 – The 98th Annual Academy Awards ceremony takes place, with Conan O’Brien hosting.
March 17 – Jessie Holmes wins the 54th running of the Iditarod. This is his second win.
April 5 – UCLA defeats South Carolina, 79-51, to win the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
April 6 – Michigan defeats UConn, 69-63, to win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
April 12 – Rory McIlroy wins the 90th Masters Tournament, becoming only the fourth player in history to win two straight green jackets.
April 20 – The 130th Boston Marathon takes place. The defending winners claim back-to-back championships, with John Korir of Kenya setting a course record in the men’s division and Sharon Lokedi of Kenya winning the women’s division.
May 2 – Golden Tempo crosses the finish line first, making history as Cherie DeVaux becomes the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby.
May 16 – Napoleon Solo wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes.
May 17 – English golfer Aaron Rai wins the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.
May 18-June 7 – The French Open takes place at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. Alexander Zverev wins his first French Open title, defeating Flavio Cobolli and Mirra Andreeva claims her first French Open title, defeating Maja Chwalinska.
May 24 – Felix Rosenqvist wins the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 by a margin of 0.0233 seconds, the closest finish in the race’s history.
May 28 – Shrey Parikh, 14, of California, wins the 98th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.
June 6 – Golden Tempo wins the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes in Saratoga Springs, New York.
June 7 – The 79th Tony Awards take place, with Pink hosting.
June 13 – The New York Knicks defeat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. This is their first NBA title since 1973.
June 14 – The Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 to win their first Stanley Cup in 20 years.
June 21 – Wyndham Clark wins the 126th US Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York.
June 29-July 12 – Wimbledon takes place. Jannik Sinner defeats Alexander Zverev in the men’s final to win his second consecutive Wimbledon title. Linda Nosková defeats Karolína Muchová in three sets to claim her first Grand Slam women’s singles title.
July 19 – Spain defeats Argentina 1-0 to win its second Men’s World Cup.
July 19 – Ryan Fox wins the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in England. It is his first career major title.
July 26 – Tadej Pogačar wins his fifth Tour de France title.
August 23-September 13 – The US Open Tennis Tournament takes place. Elena Rybakina defeats Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev defeats Ben Shelton to win US Open titles.
September 14 – The 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony takes place, with Mariska Hargitay hosting.
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