The long-awaited end of the NHL lockout, bringing joy to hockey-starved fans everywhere

Gov. John Hickenlooper announcing a $1.3 million study of the effects of oil and gas emissions on the environment and human health to begin next summer

Talks starting on a timeline to finally pull American troops out of Afghanistan after a protracted and expensive war that has dragged on for more than a decade

The growing humanitarian crisis in Syria, with he U.N. World Food Program reporting that 1 million Syrians hardest hit by war are without food or aid due to poor security and lack of supply routes
 

Continued gun-grabbing paranoia and conspiracy theories surrounding the Sandy Hook massacre, with one Florida professor alleging that the killings were a hoax perpetrated by the Obama administration

 
The nastiest flu season in a decade, with the epidemic spreading to 41 states and claiming the lives of 18 children