Start your week smart: New laws, Russia retaliates, Colorado mother, special counsel, California waves

By CNN Newsource

Published December 31, 2023 6:50 AM

By Andrew Torgan and Daniel Wine, CNN

(CNN) — Welcome to the final Sunday — and the final 5 Things — of the year! Before we ring in 2024, check out CNN Digital’s top 100 stories of 2023 based on how many people read, watched or listened to a story.

Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

The weekend that was

• Several states saw a polarizing legislative session last year as lawmakers tackled high-profile measures, some of which will take effect this year. From gender-affirming care bans to minimum wage increases, take a look at some of the new laws that kick in January 1.
• Russia said it launched retaliatory strikes on military sites and “foreign mercenaries” in Kharkiv after Ukraine’s bombardment of the Russian border city of Belgorod killed at least 24 people. Residential buildings, hotels and medical facilities also were damaged in the strikes.
• Authorities are searching for a Colorado mother suspected of killing two of her children and trying to kill a third after police initially responded to a reported burglary at their home. The FBI is assisting with the search for 35-year-old Kimberlee Singler after her 7-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter were found dead.
• Special counsel Jack Smith pushed back on Donald Trump’s claim that he should be cloaked with absolute immunity from criminal prosecution, arguing in a new filing that the sweeping assertion “threatens to license Presidents to commit crimes to remain in office.” Arguments before a US appeals court are scheduled for January 9.
• Massive waves and coastal flooding are wreaking havoc in California’s coastal communities, where extreme conditions have forced water rescues, washed away cars and injured enthralled onlookers. The unusually large surf – often towering over 20 feet – has prompted beach closures.

The week ahead

Monday
Happy New Year! It’s the first day of 2024 and a federal holiday, which means all the usual suspects will be closed — including non-essential government offices, financial markets, most banks and post offices. Plenty of restaurants and retailers will be open though, and for minimum-wage workers in 22 states and in at least 40 cities and counties across the country, January 1 is the day they get a pay raise. Seven states and the District of Columbia will have minimum hourly wages of at least $15, up from just four states plus DC in 2023. The highest state minimum wage in 2024 will be Washington state, at $16.28, up from $15.74. A close second is California, which is raising its minimum to $16 from $15.50. However, 20 states are still clinging to the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which hasn’t gone up since 2009.

Wednesday
House Speaker Mike Johnson will travel with a Republican delegation to Eagle Pass, Texas, on the US-Mexico border, as part of an effort to push the Senate and the Biden administration to pass tougher border security measures.

Thursday
Republican presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley will participate in back-to-back live CNN presidential town halls in Iowa. Both will appear at Grand View University in Des Moines — just 11 days before the closely watched Iowa caucuses. CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins will moderate the town hall with DeSantis at 9 p.m. ET, and CNN anchor Erin Burnett will moderate the town hall with Haley at 10 p.m. ET. National and state polling shows that Trump holds a commanding lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, but DeSantis, the governor of Florida, and Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served almost two years as US ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, are battling to be the top alternative to the former president.

Friday
January 5 is the day Colorado election officials are required by law to certify the list of candidates who will appear on the state’s GOP primary ballot, a process complicated by the state Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month to remove Trump from the ballot because of the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.” Last week, the Colorado Republican Party asked the US Supreme Court to overturn the decision. The appeal means the state court’s pause on the ruling — which was set to expire January 4 — will be indefinitely extended until the high court announces whether it will take up the appeal, and, if it does, until it issues a final decision in the matter. Colorado’s primary is set for March 5, which is Super Tuesday.

Friday is also the day we get the final monthly jobs report for 2023. In November, the US economy added a better-than-expected 199,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate dipped to 3.7% from 3.9% the month before.

Saturday
January 6 marks three years since the violent insurrection at the US Capitol … and just over 300 days until the next presidential election.

One Thing: Trump’s plans for a second term
In this week’s One Thing podcast, we hear a conversation from The Assignment with Audie Cornish about what Trump has planned for a possible second term in the White House. Listen here.

People we’ve lost in 2023

This week, we remember some of the most famous people we lost in 2023.

What’s happening in entertainment

TV and streaming
Anderson and Andy are back for their seventh year as co-hosts of CNN’s “New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen,” which airs live tonight beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The show will feature musical performances from Enrique Iglesias, Maroon 5, Jonas Brothers, Flo Rida, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker and Rod Stewart. Live interviews with Patti LaBelle, Jeremy Renner, Neil Patrick Harris, Bowen Yang & Matt Rogers and a special appearance from David Blaine will also help ring in 2024.

ABC’s Emmy-winning daytime drama “General Hospital” will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a primetime special Thursday at 10 p.m. ET. “General Hospital” is both the longest-running scripted drama and the longest-running American soap opera currently in production.

In theaters
Among the first 2024 arrivals at the multiplex is the watery horror flick “Night Swim.” Just think of it as Pennywise in a pool …

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
The name of the game all week is football.

The College Football Playoff semifinals are set for Monday. No. 1 Michigan faces No. 4 Alabama at the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m., while No. 2 Washington squares off against No. 3 Texas at the Sugar Bowl. The winners will play for the national championship on January 8. Florida State, which was left out of the four-team playoff in a controversial decision, was crushed by Georgia 63-3 in the Orange Bowl. The 60-point margin of victory is the largest ever in a bowl game.

There are just two weeks left in the NFL regular season, so today is loaded with games all day. The playoffs begin on January 13.

For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which — like CNN — is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Quiz time!

A lot happened in 2023, from wars to wildfires to mass shootings. But not all of the headlines were bad. We had big moments in music, movies and sports to provide a little levity and much-needed distraction. Take CNN’s Year in Review Quiz to find out how well you paid attention to this year’s news! So far, 5% of readers who took the news quiz got a perfect score. How will you do?

Play me off …

‘Batty Bat’
Today is December 31, 2023 — also known as 12-31-23 or … 1-2-3-1-2-3!
(Click here to view)

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