Weed is in and plastic bags are out in 2020

 Iraq ... new laws ... ICE ... Australia ... homeless killings

view in browser Thursday 01.02.20 Imagine losing $10 billion in one year and still being the richest person in the world. That's life for Jeff Bezos, who held on to the top spot of Bloomberg's Billionaire Index to close out 2019. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. By AJ Willingham Iraq protests   As expected, the US airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia targets in Iraq have caused serious strife in the country and stoked fears of a new proxy war in the Middle East. Over the last two days, hundreds of protesters stormed the US embassy in Baghdad, setting fires and trying to climb the compound's walls. Iraqi security forces regained control of the areas yesterday, but by the time it was over, protesters seemed confident the world had gotten the message. Defense Secretary Mark Esper says the US will now send about 750 extra soldiers to the Middle East to protect the embassy. The whole situation has frayed relations between the US and Iraq and the US and Iran. President Trump blamed Iran for the upheaval in Baghdad and promised retaliation for any damage, but Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded by saying US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan "have made nations hate you."   New laws    New year, new laws. The first day of 2020 marked a bevy of new legislation, including the statewide legalization of recreational weed in Illinois. And wouldn't you know it, the state's lieutenant governor was one of the first in line. The day before the law went into effect, Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker granted more than 11,000 pardons for low-level marijuana convictions. Elsewhere in the country, 21 states and 26 cities and counties raised their minimum wage, and several more jurisdictions will follow later in the year. Colorado's "red flag" gun law is now in effect, which allows family and other authorized parties to petition to temporarily remove firearms from someone deemed a danger to themselves or others. Tennessee is moving in the opposite direction, with regulations making it easier for residents to get a concealed carry handgun permit. Texting and driving is now officially illegal in Florida, and plastic bag bans have started in Oregon and Albuquerque, New Mexico.   ICE    US Customs and Border Protection has released a long-awaited plan to improve medical screening for migrants in federal custody, but doctors say it lacks details and criticized the fact that it only applies to children. The plan has three phases, most of which rely on undefined interviews and assessments to identify health problems in the first stages of apprehension and custody. Over the last year, several people died while in ICE custody, including four children. And yesterday, ICE announced that a 40-year-old native of Angola died in its custody in New Mexico. Details of the person's condition and actions taken by the agency before his or her death haven't been released.    Australia fires   The wildfires in Australia aren't letting up. In fact, they're just getting more deadly. Seven people died in New South Wales in the span of 24 hours, officials announced yesterday. Fires have blown though every state in the country, but New South Wales has been hit the hardest, with at least 17 deaths in all since the blazes began. A "Tourist Leave Zone" has been established through swaths of the state in anticipation of extreme weekend temperatures that could make conditions even worse. The Rural Fire Service is urging all visitors to flee before Saturday, when temperatures could top 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).    Homeless killings   Police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, are urging homeless residents to avoid sleeping outside while they search for whoever's responsible for the murder of three homeless people in the city. Two homeless people were shot and killed on December 13, and a third was killed Friday just two blocks away from the other murders. Police say they have enough evidence to suggest the events are related but won't say why yet. Local homeless shelters are responding by adding more beds and reiterating the severity of the situation.   Advertisement People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. Mysterious drones are flying in Colorado and Nebraska, and they're freaking residents out   If someone's getting overzealous with their new Christmas presents, it's really not funny anymore.  Mariah Carey is the first artist to score a No. 1 Billboard hit in 4 different decades  The POWER.  The Pope slapped a woman's hand away on New Year's Eve and then apologized for it  He said love is patient -- but that even Popes forget sometimes.  Post Malone got a new face tattoo to ring in the new year Well, who among us didn't? A transgender character is coming to the Marvel Universe Representation is a force for good.    $100,000 The amount a Texas judge has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars site to pay in legal fees in a defamation suit brought against him by the father of a Sandy Hook victim In our age, when social media can instantly spread rumor and false information on a grand scale, the public's need to understand our government, and the protections it provides, is ever more vital.   Chief Justice John Roberts, in his annual New Year's Eve report on the state of the judiciary The angel in the, er, marbles Yes, watching this marble getting made is a stunning affair, but I was just stressed out that the guy wasn't wearing protective gloves. (Click here to view.)  Advertisement Share Tweet ALL CNN NEWSLETTERS update preferences or unsubscribe CNN Five Things shows up in your inbox every weekday at 6AM ET and Sundays at 9AM ET. Like what you see? Don't like what you see? Let us know. 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