Start your week smart: Huge winter storm, New Orleans grit, Mike Johnson, hush money case, Cybertruck explosion

CNN’s 5 Things brings you the news you need to start your week smart

January brought some good news for seniors on Medicare: a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket drug costs. It’s one of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s most helpful provisions to lower prescription prices. Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart. • Nearly 70 million people are under winter alerts nationwide, with a powerful weather system expected to bring a potent mix of snow, ice and blizzard conditions, accompanied by winds gusting up to 50 mph. The storm will create treacherous travel conditions and potential power outages across at least a dozen states.• For a generation now, New Orleans residents have been tested by a bevy of high-profile scourges. So many have internalized a hard and potent lesson that often gets celebrated here as “resilience” but really boils down to this: How to carry on in the face of the unimaginable.• President-elect Donald Trump helped get Mike Johnson across the finish line, but the dramatic House speaker vote signals that there are challenges ahead. Johnson informed Republicans at a closed-door meeting that Trump favored moving his agenda as one sweeping package.• Trump will face no legal penalties for his conviction in the hush money case, a New York judge ruled. Judge Juan Merchan, however, upheld his conviction. Merchan set sentencing for January 10 but indicated the case is essentially over.• The active-duty US Army Green Beret who authorities say exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas struggled with injuries relating to his military service and said he was depressed while they were together, an ex-girlfriend told CNN. MondayCongress will convene in a joint session to count electoral votes and certify the results of the presidential election. TuesdayFormer President Jimmy Carter, who died last week at the age of 100, will lie in state at the US Capitol as members of the public are invited to pay their respects. Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, accused of setting fire to a woman who was asleep on a New York City subway, will be arraigned on murder and arson charges.