Tracking Santa, rocket’s sonic booms, modern twist on Bible stories: Catch up on the day’s stories
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CNN’s 5 Things PM brings you the stories you might have missed during your busy day.
Editor’s Note: CNN’s 5 Things newsletter is your one-stop shop for the latest headlines and fascinating stories to start and end your busy day. Sign up here. 👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! Just because you’re spending the holidays alone doesn’t mean you have to be lonely. Experts explain how to make the most of your solitude this season. Here’s what else you might have missed during your busy day: 1️⃣ Tracking Santa: The big night is finally here! Have you been naughty or nice? When you wake up tomorrow morning, you’ll know the answer. Here’s how you can keep tabs on Santa Claus and his reindeer on their journey around the world. 2️⃣ ‘A rite of passage’: Parents who buy a gun for their child as a holiday present say it brings the family together around a shared interest and represents an initiation into the next phase of life. But there are risks too, of course — and it’s a delicate balance. 3️⃣ Sound controversy: SpaceX’s Starship — the most powerful rocket system ever built — may be a stunning spectacle, but its sonic booms have some scientists worried. They say the atmospheric shockwaves must be “carefully watched.”
For over a month, Transportation Security Administration employees have been showing up to work at US airports without getting paid.
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Both President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have encouraged Susie Wiles to take the time she needs away from the White House to deal with her treatment, but Wiles argued she does not plan to do so, people familiar said.
A transparency law passed by Congress has forced the release of more Epstein files than ever before, but some lawmakers and victims are exploring ways to push the Justice Department to disclose even more information from the voluminous trove that’s being withheld.
Former US National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent sat Wednesday for an extensive interview with former Fox News host and right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson, his first public comments since he resigned from his post, citing concerns about the war with Iran.
When Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon, they hoped to boost members’ confidence on their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Within half an hour, Democratic lawmakers had walked out.
Cuba is going dark under US pressure. How the crisis unfolded and why its troubles are far from over
Almost three months after the US effectively imposed an oil blockade on Cuba that worsened its energy crunch, nearly every aspect of Cuban society has been feeling the strain.
The Department of Homeland Security has been ensnared by a partial government shutdown as Congress did not act to fund the agency by the end of Friday. But nearly all DHS workers will remain on the job — even if many won’t get paid until the lapse ends — and the public probably won’t notice much of a change.
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is moving away from operations tied to the Iran war and sailing to the US Navy’s base in Crete for repairs after a fire broke out in the ship’s laundry area last week, a US official said.
An American college student visiting friends for spring break has gone missing in Spain, his family said, adding police have his phone.
A typically friendly setting for one of their own turned tense on Capitol Hill Wednesday with senators grilling Markwayne Mullin for roughly three hours as he vies to become President Donald Trump’s next Department of Homeland Security chief.
Top Trump administration officials testified publicly Wednesday for the first time since the launch of the Iran war three weeks ago.
The White House is temporarily lifting key limits on the shipping of oil, gas and other commodities throughout the US, in its latest effort to counter rising energy prices sparked by its war with Iran.