Whether it’s at the National Civil Rights Museum or lesser-known sites, Black History Month is a great time to gain a deeper understanding of who we all are. Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.
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TODAY
• It’s Super Bowl Sunday! The New England Patriots face off against the Los Angeles Rams, right here in the 5 Things stronghold of Atlanta. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. ET. Tune in (or don’t) on CBS. And here’s how to watch (and actually keep up).
• The Pope visits the Muslim world. Francis flies to the United Arab Emirates for a three-day visit. He’s expected to meet privately with Muslim leaders, visit a mosque and celebrate the first Mass by a pope on the Arabian Peninsula.
• El Salvador’s election could have a US impact. Voters choose a new president in the Central American country, where gangs and poverty have contributed to the flow of migrants to the US-Mexico border. The front-runner is Nayib Bukele, a 37-year-old populist and social media star.
• The day the music died. Rock ‘n’ roll pioneers Buddy Holly, 22, and Richie Valens, 17, along with J.P. Richardson Jr., aka “The Big Bopper,” and their pilot perished on this date 60 years ago when their small plane crashed in Iowa. (Click here to listen.)
MONDAY
• The “El Chapo” jury is set to deliberate. They’ve heard 200 hours of testimony. Listened to 56 witnesses over 38 days. Now their instructions are about 60 pages long. Federal jurors deciding the fate of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán are expected to get to work this week. He facesa sentence of life in prison if convicted.
• Facebook marks a milestone. In case you miss the auto-reminder, the social media giant is celebrating a birthday. As Facebook turns 15, it boasts more than 1 billion users — and what seems like a billion headaches, from fake ads that may have influenced the 2016 election to hacks that exposed users’ personal information.
• Americans take to the slopes. Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn headline a US team of six women and seven men in the Alpine World Ski Championships in Sweden.
TUESDAY
• The State of the Union is back on. President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address after it was postponed during the partial government shutdown. Tension over border wall talks is sure to be front and center. Georgia’s Stacey Abrams, who almost became the first African-American woman governor, gives the Democratic response.
• Happy 4717! Celebrate New Year’s Dayon the Chinese lunisolar calendar. To mark the Year of the Pig, you can set off fireworks, eat dumplings or clean the house.
• Oprah goes one-on-one with Beto O’Rourke. The Queen of Talk sits down with the former US Democratic congressman from Texas as he mulls a White House run in 2020. The event, in New York’s Times Square, airslive at 2 p.m. ET on OWN.
THURSDAY
• “Black Panther” for free. It’s the last day for free screenings of the Oscar-nominated blockbuster as part of Black History Month. For nearly a week, there have be two shows dailyat 250 participating AMC theater locations.
FRIDAY
• Key Trump figures go to Capitol Hill. Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker is set to testify before a House panel. He’s likely to get grilled about special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, which he once publicly slammed and now oversees.
Meanwhile, the President’s former “fixer,” attorney Michael Cohen, agreed to appear behind closed doorsbefore the House Intelligence Committee. He’s expected to talk about Russia and to correct testimony from 2017 that led to his guilty plea for lying to Congress.
