Start your week smart: TikTok ban kicks in, Gaza ceasefire begins, ERA ratified, new CNN poll, Senate seat filled

By CNN

Published January 19, 2025 6:37 AM

CNN

By Andrew Torgan and Daniel Wine, CNN

(CNN) — From wildfires and tornadoes to hurricanes and flooding, no part of the US is immune to the risk of extreme weather. With that in mind, there are steps you can take right now to help speed the repair and recovery process, should you ever be directly hit.

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

The weekend that was

• The clock has run out on TikTok — at least for now. Late Saturday night, TikTok became unusable for Americans, who were met with a message saying the app was offline and asking users to “stay tuned.” It was also unavailable on the Apple and Google Play stores, and users were scrambling during the final hours.
• As the Gaza ceasefire goes into effect, Hamas named three female Israeli hostages expected to be released today. The long-awaited ceasefire started following a three-hour delay, bringing respite to the besieged enclave after a bloody 15 months. Follow live updates.
• President Joe Biden announced a major opinion that the Equal Rights Amendment is ratified, enshrining its protections into the Constitution, a last-minute move that some believe could pave the way to bolstering reproductive rights. It will, however, certainly draw swift legal challenges.
• In the wake of the 2024 election, most supporters of the Democratic Party say it needs to make significant changes and that they feel “burned out” by politics, according to a new CNN poll. Meanwhile the GOP is coalescing around President-elect Donald Trump.
• Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine named Lt. Gov. Jon Husted to fill the US Senate seat recently vacated by Vice President-elect JD Vance. The governor referenced his close relationship with Husted as a factor in his decision.

The week ahead

Monday
Trump will take his oath of office on what will likely be the coldest Inauguration Day in 40 years. The temperature at noon — when the president-elect swears in — is expected to be in the low 20s, which is about 20 degrees below normal. As a result, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn into office inside the US Capitol Rotunda. The last president to be sworn in indoors was Ronald Reagan in 1985, when daytime temperatures dipped to 7 degrees with a windchill of -25 degrees. Reagan took the oath of office inside the Capitol Rotunda.

January 20 is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday observed on the third Monday of January. It’s not often Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day coincide.

The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting kicks off in Davos, Switzerland. Organizers said about 900 business leaders — including from emerging markets — will take part in the event, which is expected to draw nearly 3,000 participants from over 130 countries. Trump, who traveled to Davos as president in 2020, will make a virtual appearance on Thursday.

Tuesday
The US will hit its roughly $36 trillion debt limit, and the Treasury Department will start taking extraordinary measures to allow the government to pay its bills, outgoing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter to congressional leaders late last week. Reaching the cap ramps up pressure on congressional Republicans, but lawmakers have a little time before they must act to avoid a first-ever default, which would likely cause global economic upheaval. The extraordinary measures, which are mainly behind-the-scenes accounting maneuvers, will continue through March 14, Yellen wrote. Although Republicans control Capitol Hill, they remain divided over how to address the debt ceiling.

Washington National Cathedral will host an interfaith Service of Prayer for the nation to offer prayers for “our democracy and to seek God’s guidance in the years ahead.”

Thursday
NASA will observe its annual Day of Remembrance, honoring the members of the NASA family “who lost their lives in the pursuit of exploration and discovery for benefit of humanity.” The event remembers the crews of Apollo 1 and the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia.

Friday
Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao will make their public debut at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. The pair arrived from China in October and are expected to remain on loan for 10 years. If you want to see the pandas in action, the zoo will be turning its live Panda Cam back on that day.

Listen in

One Thing: DOGE despondency?
In this episode of the “One Thing” podcast, CNN’s David Rind speaks to two federal employees about their mood ahead of Trump’s inauguration. Listen here.

Photos of the week

Check out more images from the week that was, curated by CNN Photos.

What’s happening in entertainment

TV and streaming
After being delayed due to the Los Angeles wildfires, the nominations for the 97th Academy Awards will be announced Thursday morning. The ceremony, hosted by Conan O’Brien, is set for Sunday, March 2, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

In theaters
Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace star in “Flight Risk,” a tense thriller set in a small plane flying over the Alaskan wilderness. Wahlberg, typically the hero in his films, goes all in on playing a balding (yes!) psychotic hitman out to snuff a government witness (Grace) and his handler (Dockery). “Flight Risk” comes in for a landing on Friday.

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
In the NFL playoffs, the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders are both one win away from the Super Bowl. The Chiefs knocked off the Houston Texans 23-14, while the Commanders upset the top-seeded Detroit Lions 45-31. In today’s games, the Rams face the Eagles and the Ravens take on the Bills.

In college football, Notre Dame and Ohio State meet for the national championship Monday night in Atlanta.

In tennis, Coco Gauff produced an impressive comeback win in the Australian Open, downing Belinda Bencic in three sets. The quarterfinals get underway Monday.

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!

Looking for a challenge to start your week? Take CNN’s weekly news quiz to see how much you remember from the week that was! So far, 59% of fellow quiz fans have gotten eight or more questions right. How will you fare?

Play me off …

‘Sunday Girl’
We are fond of musical themes here at 5 Things, but some days, a Sunday is just a Sunday … (Click here to view)

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