We start this year with a brief sketch of topics that will make headlines during coming weeks and months in the areas of government, world affairs, sports and entertainment. Congressional campaigns are a major focus of national attention because voters will fill all 435 seats in the U.S. House and one-third of those in the Senate this fall. Democrats could regain a House majority, some observers say, which would let the party challenge or block some of President Trump's policies. The Nov. 6 balloting is called a midterm election because it comes nearly halfway through the four-year presidential term in office.

Overseas news will come, again, from the Middle East. In a six-year old Syrian civil war, opponents of President Bashar al-Assad are trying to end his harsh rule. And in Israel, U.S. plans to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- a holy city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam – have intensified protests by Palestinians and could complicate efforts to negotiate a peace agreement. Elsewhere in the world, North Korean tests of long-range nuclear missiles cause concern -- especially in South Korea, Japan, China and America.

Back here, Americans will mark the 50th anniversary of tumultuous events in 1968 – notably the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Democratic presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy. In more uplifting news, next week we’ll see next-generation tablets, phones, headphones, gaming consoles, virtual reality goggles, flat-screen TVs and other devices at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from Jan. 9-12. Then from Feb. 9-25, top skaters, skiiers, boarders, bobsledders and other athletes compete in South Korea at the Winter Olympics – a televised global championship held every four years. The next month, we'll learn on March 4 which 2017 films, actors and directors win Academy Awards – a live event from Los Angeles hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The flashpoint topics of sexual harassment, gender equity and racial balance in filmmaking are sure to arise.

Editor says: "It will be a critical year on many fronts, including North Korea's nuclear challenge, the Brexit negotiations, China's economic reforms and America's midterm elections, as well as the presidential polls in Brazil and Mexico." – Daniel Franklin, executive editor of The Economist magazine

Super Bowl prediction: "The Patriots meet the Vikings in Super Bowl LII." – Fortune magazine

Broadcaster and author says: "Americans will go to the polls in one of the most consequential midterm elections in the nation's history." – Dan Rather

Front Page Talking Points Archive

►'Vapes harm kids:' New York sues 13 firms selling Cotton Candy, Rainbow Rapper, Fruity Pebbles, other e-cigarette flavors

►Courts try to halt rushed removals of alleged gang members, testing presidential powers

►Academic freedom is on the line as government presses colleges to take steps or lose financial support

►U.S. Education Department shrinks as the president tries to 'move education back to the states'

►Batter up: Odd-looking 'torpedo bat' apparently can help players smash home runs

►Top U.S. officials mistakenly leaked Yemen attack phone chat messages before jets and missiles flew

►Trump stirs drama with talk of wanting Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal

►Measles outbreaks bring reminders of need for childhood vaccines

►White House media policy changes spark lawsuit by AP and concerns about presidential access

►'America has turned:' Trump veers away from backing Ukraine in war against Russian invaders

►Complete archive