Thursday Headlines: Happy New Year 2026

Here's a quick overview of our top stories for Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026:

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TOP HEADLINES:

Montana confirms second brucellosis case of 2025 in Gallatin County herd

Montana Supreme Court issues ruling on AG Knudsen complaint

Butte police and fire departments reflect on busy 2025 with thousands of calls

Our biggest stories from 2025

THAT’S INTERESTING:

Major Historical Events for January 1st

Ancient & Medieval Times

• 404 CE - Saint Telemachus attempts to stop a gladiatorial fight in Rome and is stoned to death by the crowd, leading Emperor Honorius to ban gladiatorial fights
• 45 BCE - The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Republic, establishing January 1 as New Year's Day
• 1259 - Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire
• 1500 - Portuguese explorers discover the present-day location of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

American History & Politics

• 1776 - General George Washington hoists the first American flag (the Grand Union Flag) at Prospect Hill
• 1781 - 1,500 soldiers under General Anthony Wayne's command rebel at the Continental Army's winter camp in the Pennsylvania Mutiny
• 1808 - The United States prohibits the importation of slaves
• 1863 - Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation
• 1892 - Ellis Island begins processing immigrants

World Events

• 1804 - Haiti declares independence from France, becoming the first Black-led republic and second independent nation in the Americas after the United States
• 1901 - The Commonwealth of Australia is established; six British colonies unite to form the federation
• 1959 - Fidel Castro seizes power in Cuba
• 1995 - The Draupner wave, an 85-foot-high rogue wave, hits the Draupner oil platform off Norway - the first scientifically measured "freak wave"

Cultural & Scientific Milestones

• 1915 - D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation" (originally "The Clansman") premieres in California
• 1902 - The first Rose Bowl game is played: Michigan defeats Stanford 49-0
• 1983 - The ARPANET officially adopts TCP/IP protocol, effectively creating the modern Internet
• 1999 - The Euro currency is introduced in 11 European Union countries

Notable Births

Literary Figures

• 1735 - Paul Revere, American silversmith and patriot
• 1863 - Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games
• 1895 - J. Edgar Hoover, first Director of the FBI
• 1919 - J.D. Salinger, author of "The Catcher in the Rye"

Entertainment & Arts

• 1864 - Alfred Stieglitz, influential American photographer
• 1958 - Grandmaster Flash, pioneering DJ and rapper

Political & Historical Figures

• 1924 - Francisco Macías Nguema, first President of Equatorial Guinea
• 1927 - Vernon Jordan Jr., American civil rights leader

Notable Deaths

Historical Figures

• 404 - Saint Telemachus, Christian monk and martyr who died trying to stop gladiatorial combat
• 1515 - Louis XII of France
• 1782 - Johann Christian Bach, German composer (son of J.S. Bach)

Modern Era

• 1953 - Hank Williams, legendary country music singer-songwriter
• 1972 - Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer
• 1995 - Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American physicist and Nobel laureate
• 2010 - J.D. Salinger, reclusive American author

Unique January 1st Facts

• New Year's Day is also known as "National Hangover Day" in some cultures
• January 1st is celebrated as Z Day (the last letter of the alphabet, symbolizing the end and new beginning)
• The Gregorian calendar (which we use today) officially established January 1st as New Year's Day in 1582, replacing the Julian calendar
• Television detector vans began operations in the UK in 1953 to track down unlicensed TV users
• The European Economic Community (precursor to the EU) came into effect on January 1, 1958

Parts of this story were adapted for this platform with AI assistance. Our editorial team verifies all reporting across all platforms for fairness and accuracy.