- Jan 1 Suicide car bomb detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100
- Jan 1 96th Rose Bowl: #8 Ohio State beats #7 Oregon, 26-17
- Jan 1 76th Sugar Bowl: #5 Florida beats #3 Cincinnati, 51-24
- Jan 1 New FINA rules re competition swimsuits come into effect; all body-length swimsuits banned; men's suits to maximally cover from the waist to knee, and women's from shoulder to knee; fabric must be a "textile" or woven material
- Jan 4 The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed HIV infection from its list of communicable diseases of public health significance.
- Jan 4 39th Fiesta Bowl: #6 Boise State beats #3 TCU, 17-10
- Jan 4 The Burj Khalifa, world's tallest building at 829.8 m (2,722 ft), officially opens in Dubai
Event of Interest
Jan 5 Mike Shanahan is formally introduced as head coach of the Washington Redskins
Mike Shanahan
- Jan 5 76th Orange Bowl: #10 Iowa beats #9 Georgia Tech, 24-14
Film and TV Awards
Jan 6 36th People's Choice Awards: Johnny Depp & Sandra Bullock win (Movie Star) and Hugh Laurie & Katherine Heigl win (TV Drama)
Event of Interest
Jan 11 Simon Cowell leaves "American Idol"
Simon Cowell
- Jan 12 Earthquake occurs in Haiti killing approximately 160,000 and destroying the majority of the capital Port-au-Prince
- Jan 12 Colombia officially leaves the recession after achieving 2% economic growth in the last quarter of 2009
- Jan 14 Yemen declares war on al-Qaeda
- Jan 15 15th Critics' Choice Movie Awards: The Hurt Locker wins Best Film
- Jan 17 A dragon boat from Chung Ling High School capsizes and collides with a tugboat amid strong currents in Penang, Malaysia, killing 6 people and injuring 12
Film and TV Awards
Jan 17 67th Golden Globes: Avatar, Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock win
Jeff Bridges
Sandra Bullock
Event of Interest
Jan 22 Conan O'Brien's last Tonight Show episode after a big controversy over the Tonight Show timeslot
Conan O'Brien
- Jan 24 AFC Championship Game: Indianapolis Colts beat New York Jets 30-17
- Jan 24 NFC Championship Game: New Orleans Saints beat Minnesota Vikings 31-28 (OT)
- Jan 25 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on-board.
- Jan 26 After 6 consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, the UK economy officially finally comes out of recession with a GDP growth of 0.1%
Execution
Jan 28 Five murderers of Bangladeshi President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hanged: Lieutenant Colonel Syed Faruq Rahman, Lieutenant Colonel Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Major AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Major Bazlul Huda and Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Tennis Open
Jan 31 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Roger Federer outclasses Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6; 4th Australian title
Roger Federer
Andy Murray
- Jan 31 98th Women's Australian Open: Serena Williams beats Justine Henin (6-4, 3-6, 6-2)
- Jan 31 26th Sundance Film Festival: "Winter's Bone", directed by Debra Granik, wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic