- January 31
- Samuel Alito is sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. [27]
- February 1
- UAL Corporation, United Airlines' parent company, emerges from bankruptcy after being in that position since December 9, 2002, the longest such filing in history. [27]
- In Calgary, Alberta, Canada, an exceptionally bright meteor is seen streaking across the sky, lasting for several seconds before breaking up into fragments. It is estimated that remnants of the meteorite land about 400 km south of Calgary, in Montana, USA. [521]
- February 11
- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shoots his friend and lawyer, Harry Whittington, in the face with a shotgun on a south Texas ranch. [27]
- March 5
- The 2006 Academy Awards are held, with film Crash winning Best Picture. [27]
- March 14
- Washington D.C. officials unveil the designs for a new 41,000-seat ballpark. [56]
- March
- The Adams-Carter specimen of the Class III 1804 Draped Bust dollar is sold in a private transaction for US$2.475 million. [488.60] [495.4]
- March 17
- The United States strikes its two remaining Iowa-class battleships from the Naval Vessel Register, ending the age of the battleship. [27]
- March 25
- An estimated 500,000 people take to the streets in downtown Los Angeles to protest a proposed federal crackdown on illegal immigration. [27]
- Seven people die in the Capitol Hill Massacre in Seattle, Washington. [27]
- April 15
- New York City officially opens the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Cost of construction was US$56 million. [73.39]
- April
- Heritage Auctions sells a 1792 half disme graded SP-67 by PCGS for US$1,322,500. [435.60]
- April 29
- Massive anti-war demonstrations and a march down Broadway in New York City mark the third year of war in Iraq. [27]
- May 1
- The Great American Boycott takes place across the United States as marchers protest for immigration rights. [27]
- May 4
- A large meteor shower crosses over El Paso, Texas, USA. [521]
- May 25
- Kenneth Lay, CEO of Enron, is indicted on ten counts of securities fraud and related charges. [564.59]
- June 2
- A fireball is reported crossing Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and Canada, estimated to be 20 miles above the Earth's surface. A sonic boom is heard over Minnesota. [521]
- June 19
- A meteor show is observed in various places in Pennsylvania, USA. [521]
- June 20
- The US Mint introduces the American Buffalo 0.9999 fine gold $50 coin. [436.72]
- The Miami Heat win the NBA Finals over the Dallas Mavericks, 4-2. [27]
- June 23
- In Miami, Florida, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrests seven men, accusing them of planning to bomb the Sears Tower and other attacks in Miami. [27]
- July 7
- Disney releases the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest to theaters in the USA. Opening weekend gross revenue: US$135.6 million, a new record. [6]
- July 10
- Scuba divers begin recovering coins from the wreck of the SS New York sidewheel steamer, which sank off the Louisiana coast in 1846. Wholesale estimated value of the US gold coins alone is $1.5 million. [411.18]
- Henry M. Paulson Jr. is sworn into office as Treasury Secretary. [404.5]
- August 6
- BP oil company in Alaska announces it would have to replace 16 miles of feeder lines in its North Slope oil facility, shutting down about 50 percent of Prudhoe Bay's production. [93.58]
- August 27
- Comair Flight 5191, carrying 50 people, crashes shortly after take-off from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky. [27]
- August 28
- A Greyhound Lines bus from New York City to Montreal, carrying 52 people, crashes at mile 115 on Interstate 87 near Elizabethtown killing five people including the driver, and several are seriously injured. [27]
- September 2
- US military hands over the Abu Ghraib prison to the Iraqi government. [192.8]
- September 15
- Spinach contaminated with E. coli kills one person and poisons over 100 others in 20 states of the United States. [27]
- September 20
- In the USA, the CW Television Network (a merger of The WB and UPN) officially begins operations. [27]
- September 25
- The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans re-opens 13 months after Hurricane Katrina with extensive repairs, including the largest re-roofing project in the United States. [27]
- September 27
- An armed suspect holds six female students as hostages in Platte Canyon High School located in Bailey, Colorado. One hostage is fatally wounded as the gunman kills himself. [27]
- October 2
- Charles Carl Roberts IV, a 32-year-old milk-truck driver, kills five female students at an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania before shooting himself. [27]
- October 4
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 11,800 for the first time rising 123.27 points, or 1.05%, finishing at 11,850.61. [27]
- October 6
- Hazardous waste plant near Apex, North Carolina explodes releasing chlorine gas, resulting in the evacuation of thousands and the hospitalization of over 100 residents. [27]
- October 10
- Google buys YouTube for US$1.65 billion. [27]
- October 15
- In Hawaii, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurs. Power outages occur throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Damage estimated at US$73 million. [53]
- October 17
- The United States population reaches 300 million based on a United States Census Bureau projection. [27]
- October 19
- On the 19th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 12,000 for the first time, at 12,011.73. [27] [227]
- October 23
- Jeffrey Skilling is sentenced to 24 years and four months in US federal prison on charges of fraud and insider trading relating to the financial collapse of Enron. [27] [527.75]
- October 25
- The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously rules in favor of marriage equality. [27]
- October 27
- Last Ford Taurus rolls off Atlanta assembly line. [27]
- At the Busch Stadium, the Saint Louis Cardinals beat the heavily favored Detroit Tigers, 4-2, in Game 5 of the Fall Classic to win the 2006 World Series of baseball. The Cardinals, who lost ten of their last 14 regular season games, won less games than any World Series champion in baseball history. [27] [56]
- October 30
- The Esperanza Fire burns over 61 square miles of Cabazon, California mountain territory. [27]
- (month unknown)
- The USA passes the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. [312.16]
- November 1
- The Stardust Resort & Casino closes after 48 years of business in Las Vegas. [27]
- November 7
- U.S. Midterm elections: Democrats win control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1994. [27]
- In the U.S. congressional elections, Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison becomes the first Muslim elected to the House of Representatives. [27]
- Microsoft releases the Gears of War video game for the Xbox 360 in the USA. Total worldwide sales in the first three weeks: 1 million units. [9]
- November 8
- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigns; President Bush nominates Robert Gates, a former Central Intelligence Agency director, as his replacement. [27]
- November 12
- Gerald Ford surpasses Ronald Reagan as the longest lived President of the United States. [27]
- November 15
- Start of the Sales and Use Tax in Puerto Rico; a response to the Puerto Rico budget crisis of May 2006. [27]
- The State of Hawaii bans smoking in all enclosed public places. [27]
- In the Kuril Islands, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake occurs. A tsunami with a recorded wave height of 176 cm damages a dock at Crescent City, California. [53]
- November 17
- The James Bond film Casino Royale is released to theaters in the USA, with Daniel Craig as the new lead actor. [200.22]
- Sony releases the PlayStation 3 video game system in the USA. [9]
- November 19
- Nintendo releases the Wii video game system in North and South America. It includes a wireless Wii remote controller, a Nunchuk controller attachment, and video game Wii Sports. Price is US$249.99 in the USA. Total sales in first 8 days: 600,000. [9]
- November 20
- Lee High School bus crash kills four students in Huntsville, Alabama. [27]
- November 26
- US Judge James Robertson orders the US Treasury to change the dollar bill. [27]
- December 10
- NASA space shuttle Discovery lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on the first night launch since the 2003 loss of Columbia. [27]
- December 15
- Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter successfully flies for the first time. [27]
- December 22
- The NASA space shuttle Discovery lands at the Kennedy Space Center, concluding a two-week mission to the International Space Station. [27]
- December 31
- The U.S. soldier death toll in Iraq reaches 3,000. [27]
- Year
- US casino gambling revenue: US$32 billion. [53]
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