2025 in graphics: See the year's biggest moments, explained visually.

Throughout 2025, the USA TODAY Graphics Team brought you visual stories that explained the year's biggest news from current events to politics, weather, sports, entertainment and more.

Using a blend of maps, charts and illustrations, we kept readers informed about significant global events including Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office, the death of one pope and election of another, and wars in Israel and Ukraine.

We also had some fun along the way by revisiting treasured childhood memories and creating visual guides that helped you build a perfect snowman, learn to play poker and keep your backyard birds happy.

Now that it's finally behind us, let's take a moment to reflect together.

The U.S. entered the new year with a tragic act of domestic terrorism: A 42-year-old-man drove his pickup truck into a Bourbon Street crowd in the early hours of New Year's Day, killing 14 and injuring dozens more.

A week later, Southern California was hit by a series of unprecedented winter wildfires. The Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed more than 16,000 structures and killed at least 29 people.

The internet was thrown into chaos when TikTok temporarily stopped working in the U.S. on the eve of Jan. 18, right before President Donald Trump's second inauguration took place on Jan. 20.

Trump's return-to office wasn't noteworthy only because of a rare indoor inauguration, but because he signed over 20 executive orders and actions on Inauguration Day, more than any previous U.S. president. Some of the most notable include renaming the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America" and declaring a national emergency at the southern border.

February kicked off one of the main storylines of the year when Trump announced tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada, though they didn’t immediately take effect. 

It was also fueled by Super Bowl LIX which featured the Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kendrick Lamar as the halftime performer. The Eagles won by a score of 40-22.

Outside of the game itself, hype around this year’s Super Bowl was driven by Chiefs' player Travis Kelce’s relationship with pop star Taylor Swift, and Kendrick Lamar’s performance, which hinted at disses against fellow rap artist Drake.

March started off by setting records for domestic egg prices and the longest presidential joint address to Congress in modern history.

Trump's joint address to Congress, during which he spoke more than 9,000 words for nearly 100 minutes focused on border protection, tariffs, immigration and budget cuts by the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.

He also spoke about the need for the U.S. to acquire Greenland for its strategic military presence and wealth of mineral deposits. That heightened tensions among the U.S., Denmark and Greenland.

As the NCAA March Madness Tournament played out, Milwaukee Bucks' player Giannis Antetokounmpo continued on his pace to becoming one of the NBA's all-time greatest scorers as he hit 20,000 career points.

March's news cycle peaked with SignalGate - an extraordinary national security breach in which a journalist was added to a group chat of high-ranking government officials who were planning an attack against the terrorist Houthi militia in Yemen.

April's news was dominated by the tariff war, starting with Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement when he declared a national emergency over trade deficits and implemented new sweeping tariffs on most of the world's countries. This led to the biggest stock market drop since the pandemic.

As the economy was besieged by chaos, young people flocked en masse to theaters to witness the cultural phenomenon of A Minecraft Movie which grossed nearly a billion dollars worldwide.

Then Gayle King, Katy Perry and other female celebrities were launched to the edge of space on a 10-minute suborbital Blue Origin flight, drawing controversy for being a "tone-deaf" display of wealth.

Toward the end of the month, on the day after Easter, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88. He broke from Catholic tradition with his funeral and burial, opting for a simpler ceremony which represented his view that the church should serve the poor.

Following the death of Pope Francis, the papal conclave convened and the world waited in suspense as the cardinals gathered in secret to elect the next pope. It took four ballots for American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to be elected. He chose the name Pope Leo XIV.

On the same day, the REAL ID Act reached its enforcement deadline, leading to many Americans waiting in long lines at their DMVs to replace their driver’s licenses. 

Meanwhile, 10 inmates at a New Orleans jail decided to not wait for their sentences to end and executed a jailbreak that led to a months-long manhunt. The last escapee was apprehended on Oct. 8.

A day after that, the Mexican Navy training ship Cuauhtémoc crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge tragically killing two and injuring over 20 others, prompting a massive emergency response and an NTSB investigation.

While families celebrated the cinematic legend of Jaws’ 50th anniversary, the “threat in the water” shifted from a shark on a movie screen to the very real threat of regional war and domestic instability.

Mid-month, Israel launched a major military campaign against Iran, shifting global attention away from the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. About a week after, the U.S. launched Operation Midnight Hammer, one of the most complex aerial missions in modern history. After launching seven stealth bombers at underground facilities in Iran, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a U.S. airbase in Qatar.

On the homefront, the month started out with a series of Anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles on June 6. Dissent continued on June 14 with the “No Kings” movement where millions of protestors gathered around the nation on Trump’s 79th birthday to protest authoritarian policies.

On America’s 249th birthday, Trump signed the 'Big Beautiful Bill' into law, making 2017 tax cuts from his first term in 2017 permanent. This started a public feud between Elon Musk and Trump, partially fueled by its removal of electric vehicle subsidies.

At the same time, a convergence of heavy storms and inundated waterways led to a series of flash floods in Texas Hill Country that claimed over 100 lives, including several children and counselors from a summer camp.

Throughout the month, Russia sent a record-breaking number of drones and missiles toward Ukraine every night, causing significant civilian casualties and infrastructure damage.

July ended with Ozzy Osbourne dying at age 76 in his birthplace of Birmingham, England right after he reunited with his band Black Sabbath for a final farewell show.

Back-to-school season was different this August as several federal-level changes took effect, including a shift toward vaccine exemptions, new school meal nutrition standards and removal of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Immigration moved to the forefront in August as a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to halt the expansion of Florida's controversial immigration detention center "Alligator Alcatraz." At the same time, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a historic hiring blitz, receiving over 100,000 applications in two weeks.

Social media was ablaze with sightings of "Frankenstein bunnies" throughout the central U.S. and Washington, which were rabbits with growths that resemble tentacles or horns due to an infection from the Shope papillomavirus.

The month ended with restaurant chain Cracker Barrel unveiling a minimalist rebrand that was met with immediate backlash from the public, including Trump himself. Cracker Barrel surrendered and reverted back to its original logo five days later,

The American political landscape was upended by the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in Utah, an event the Trump administration leveraged in order to issue a medical warning linking prenatal Tylenol use to autism.

Amidst this domestic turmoil, the U.S. military escalated maritime tensions by striking Venezuelan vessels, while the world celebrated the canonization of Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint.

The Powerball lottery saw extraordinary activity when two winning tickets, from Texas and Missouri, were drawn in the $1.8 billion jackpot, an impressive result considering the odds of winning are 1 in 292.2 million.

On the first day of the month, the U.S. government entered its longest shutdown in history while Trump simultaneously moved forward with the controversial demolition of the White House East Wing to make way for a massive new private-donor-funded ballroom.

As Americans geared up to celebrate a sugar-filled Halloween season, the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) commission declared war on ultra-processed foods with a sweeping new federal strategy.

Globally, the Gaza War reached its two year anniversary and we attempted to chronicle the death and devastation in the region since the conflict began.

In Paris, thieves successfully conducted a heist in the middle of the day at the Louvre where they stole millions of dollars' worth of French Crown Jewels.

After 43 days, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history finally drew to a close, though its impact lingered as the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to slash flight capacity by up to 10% at major airports to manage severe air traffic control staffing shortages.

After the shutdown ended, a historic bipartisan surge in Congress led to the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Trump’s controversial tariff campaign stirred conversation, debate, hope and despair about the state of American manufacturing throughout the year, so USA TODAY highlighted home goods manufacturers across the nation.

Along the Great Lakes, the maritime community gathered in a somber tribute to mark the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

As the year closed, we compiled all the sweeping changes that the Trump administration enacted throughout the year, including creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), deporting thousands of undocumented immigrants, defunding research programs at universities and renovating The White House.

Thanks to a congressional mandate from the month before, the Department of Justice released the long-awaited Epstein files on Dec. 19, leading to discussions about Trump's involvement with Epstein and questions about the redacted materials within the files.

USA TODAY published an investigation that found that at least 158 minors have died on dirt bikes and at motocross tracks since 2000, making it the deadliest sport for young people.

To close the year out and welcome 2026, the iconic Times Square New Years' Ball, dubbed The Constellation Ball this year, was lit red, white and blue to commemorate the start of America's 250th year as a country. For the first time ever, the ball will be dropped twice in a year, with plans to drop it again on July 4 to celebrate the country's birthday.