“All the hopes and dreams that quite recently seemed entirely attainable are now so wildly out of reach that they’re laughable.” Here’s my quick look at Five New Realities for the New Year.

+ Quartz: “In a bid to restore some semblance of work-life balance, French companies with more than 50 employees are now required to guarantee workers the “right to disconnect” from technology when they leave the office at night.”

+ Megyn Kelly is leaving Fox News and will be heading for NBC News.

+ Michigan banned the banning of plastic bags.

+ And Mariah Carey gave everyone the New Year’s present they really wanted. A botched performance that fed our unquenchable desire to feed the Schadenfreude cycle.