Start your Monday smart: New Year’s, college bowl games, meteor shower, NFL Playoffs
As 2020 approaches, we’re again faced with a perennial question: When exactly does the decade begin and end, anyway? The answer depends on who you ask.
Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.
(You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. You give us five minutes, and we give you five things you must know for your weekday, plus a Sunday edition to get your week started smart. Sign up here.)
TODAY
• NFL regular season ends. The 12-3 San Francisco 49ers meet the 11-4 Seattle Seahawks tonight in the last game of the NFL regular season — one loaded with playoff implications.
MONDAY
• It’s the last day of Hanukkah. Jews around the world celebrate the eighth and last day of the Festival of Lights. As the Jewish people reclaimed the Second Temple of Jerusalem in the 160s BC, a small amount of oil to light the menorah ended up lasting eight days. Monday marks the day of that miracle.
• New Year’s Six bowl games conclude. The last three major college bowl games take place this week, starting with Florida vs. Virginia in the Orange Bowl at 8 p.m. ET. On Wednesday, it’s Oregon and Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. ET and Georgia and Baylor in the Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m. ET. Watch on ESPN.
TUESDAY
• Say goodbye to 2019. Get ready to ring in 2020 as CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen co-host “New Year’s Eve Live” from Times Square in New York. The festivities start at 8 p.m ET on — where else? — CNN.
• The PG&E claim deadline. Anyone wishing to file a claim against Pacific Gas and Electric related to the wildfires that devastated Northern California in late 2018 must do so by Tuesday at 5 pm. Pacific Time.
WEDNESDAY
• Happy New Year! As you’re nursing your champagne hangover, check out CNN’s roundup of photos that shaped the past year and the 100 defining photos of the decade.
• US takes over the G7 presidency. The United States takes its turn in the one-year rotating G7 presidency, with plans to revamp how the group of top industrialized nations is run. President Donald Trump has said he wants the G7 to be smaller and more nimble, with a simplified program.
• NHL Winter Classic comes to Texas.
The Nashville Predators play the Dallas Stars in one of three regular season NHL games played outdoors. Watch at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
• Nation’s toughest privacy law goes into effect. Why has your inbox has been getting filled with privacy notes lately? The California Consumer Privacy Act becomes law on Wednesday. The landmark act, which regulates how to collect and store data, could set a precedent for the rest of America.
THURSDAY
• The world’s oldest person turns 117. Japanese woman Kane Tanaka, the oldest living person on the planet, celebrates her birthday on Thursday. Cheers to another year!
FRIDAY
• A pivotal court challenge for Trump. The Justice Department will appeal a judge’s order requiring former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify before a House committee. It’s a test of the Trump administration’s claim that White House aides are immune from testifying under oath. The same day a court hears arguments on whether the DOJ must turn over materials from Mueller’s investigation to the House.
• Watch the first meteor shower of the year. The Quadrantid meteor shower, one of the best annual shows in the night sky, peaks late Friday into early Saturday. Those in the Northern Hemisphere have the best chance of seeing the bright, fireball meteors. All you need is the dark, open sky between midnight and dawn.
SATURDAY
• NFL Playoffs kick off. The road to the Super Bowl begins with two Wild Card games. By late Sunday night we should know who is playing who.