5 Things To Know For Your New Day-Monday January 1st

via CNN:

18 things to look forward to in 2018

The Winter Olympics

Once every four years, the global powers of the world band together in an ongoing diplomatic effort to decide what, exactly, curling is and how it ever became a thing people did. 2018’s festivities will take over the city of PyeongChang, South Korea, for two weeks in February. One extremely chill story to look out for: The women’s Nigerian (!) bobsled (!!) team will compete, marking the first-ever time (!!!) the African nation is represented at the Winter Games. GET THEM A MOVIE NOW.

Revelers around the globe ring in 2018 amid heightened security

Throngs of revelers packed cities around the globe to usher in 2018 with public celebrations and fireworks, despite fears of terrorism and frigid weather in some places.

In New York, hundreds of thousands of people packed Times Square in the 9-degree Fahrenheit weather, with a wind chill of 4 degrees below zero, to watch the 2018 ball drop and confetti rain down on the street. The frigid temperature made it the second coldest New Year’s Eve ball drop on record in New York. The coldest ball drop still holds at 1-degree Fahrenheit in 1917.

Law enforcement agencies had added additional security measures, including extra checkpoints, police dogs, street closures and undercover officers.

Powerball and Mega Millions now total $783 million

The lottery jackpot numbers just keep climbing.

There were no winners in Saturday night’s Powerball drawing, so the grand prize in that game has now reached $440 million ahead of another drawing Wednesday.

The Mega Millions jackpot is no slouch, either. At the next drawing Tuesday, lottery players will have a shot to snag $343 million.

The combined total for those two prizes: $783 million.

It’s rare for the jackpots in both games to get so big. But it’s about to become more common. Both Mega Millions and Powerball have been changed to make the odds of winning the jackpot longer, meaning there will be more frequent giant jackpots.

Claire’s pulls children’s makeup kits over asbestos concerns

The international retailer Claire’s Stores Inc. said it took nine makeup products off the shelves following a report by CNN affiliate WJAR-TV that tremolite asbestos was found in the makeup.

If swallowed or inhaled, tremolite asbestos can lead to lung damage and cancer, including mesothelioma, an aggressive and deadly form of cancer.

In a statement Friday, Claire’s said initial testing found the cosmetics to be asbestos-free, but that “out of an abundance of caution, additional testing is underway.”

“We have also confirmed that the talcum ingredient supply is from a certified asbestos-free European vendor,” the statement added.

Activist Erica Garner, 27, dies after heart attack

Erica Garner — an activist for social justice and the eldest daughter of the man who died from a police choke hold in New York in 2014 — died on Saturday morning days after suffering a heart attack, her mother Esaw Snipes said.

“She was a fighter, she was a warrior and she lost the battle,” Snipes said of her daughter. “She never recovered from when her father died. She is in a better place.”

Garner, 27, suffered from the effects of an enlarged heart after giving birth to her son three months ago, Snipes said.

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