USA Today (trademarked as USA TODAY in capitals) is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Allen 'Al' Neuharth. The paper has the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States (averaging over 2.11 million copies every weekday), and among English-language broadsheets, it comes second worldwide, behind only the 3.14 million daily paid copies of The Times of India. USA Today is distributed in all fifty states, Canada, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

USA Today was founded in 1982 with the goal of providing a national newspaper in the U.S. market, where generally only a single local newspaper and/or a metropolitan daily's state/regional edition was available. Colorful and bold, with many large diagrams, charts, and photographs, it contrasted with the relatively colorless papers of the time such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Emphasizing its national focus, USA Today became well-known for its national polls on public sentiment. Another distinctive feature is its "Our View/Opposing View" editorial column, which features not only the paper's view on a current event, but also features the view of someone (individual or group) defending the opposing view.

The concept of a colorful newspaper with national distribution was considered at the paper's launch to be a risk, and the paper received early criticism, receiving the derisive nickname 'McPaper.' However, the newspaper has striven to set itself apart in distribution methods as well. The paper is still sold in unique newspaper vending machines with curved edges that resemble television sets. USA Today was also eager to latch onto the business traveler and was heavily distributed through airlines, airports, and hotels in addition to other sales outlets. The newspaper was also among the first newspapers to use satellite transmissions to send the final edition of the newspaper to multiple locations across the country for printing and final distribution in those regional markets. The innovation of using satellites and regional printing hubs allowed the paper to push back deadlines and include the most recent news and sports scores in each edition.