Sticker shock on car prices, books are back, world’s best cheese: Catch up on the day’s stories

Published November 18, 2024 3:48 PM

By Daniel Wine, CNN

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! Sexist and abusive attacks on women, like “your body, my choice” and “get back to the kitchen,” have surged across social media since Donald Trump’s reelection, according to a recent analysis. As with many types of online provocations, experts worry that this type of harassment could spill over into the offline world.

Here’s what else you might have missed during your busy day:

5 things

1️⃣ Sticker shock: If you haven’t been car shopping in a while, brace yourself. Americans paid a whopping $47,612 on average for a new car last month — nearly $10,000 more than they did five years ago, shortly before the pandemic.

2️⃣ Project derailed: Britain is building one of the world’s most expensive railways. The high-speed rail line was supposed to re-energize the country, but controversy, astronomical costs and downsizing have left it struggling for support.

3️⃣ Heart health: Sitting at your desk all day may put you at greater risk for cardiac disease –– even if you work out in your spare time. Researchers compared people’s sedentary and active time with later diagnoses of conditions such as stroke and heart attack.

4️⃣ Books are back: Barnes & Noble, the largest retail bookseller in the US, has an ambitious expansion plan. Its revamped business model calls for prioritizing customer preferences over promotions and catering to readers who engage on social media.

5️⃣ Furry find: A baby saber-toothed cat mummy was discovered in Siberia with intact skin, fur and toes. Scientists are calling it “mind-blowing,” and the mummy’s exceptional preservation provided the first view of what the long-extinct animals looked like.

Watch this

🐷 ‘Notorious P.I.G.’: Police officers were hamstrung at first but eventually managed to catch a pig that was running wild in a residential neighborhood in Tacoma, Washington. They found it a new home at a nearby ranch.

Top headlines

• Trump confirms he is prepared to declare national emergency to implement deportation plan
• Murder suspect and brothers were ‘laughing’ the day after Laken Riley’s killing, officer says
• Brendan Carr wrote the FCC chapter in ‘Project 2025.’ Now he’s Trump’s pick for the agency

$100 million

🍔 That’s how much McDonald’s is spending on marketing to lure customers back after an E. coli outbreak sickened more than 100 people.

Check this out

🏳️‍⚧️ ‘Queerness is everywhere’: CNN sent 10 transgender and nonbinary people disposable cameras to document the precious moments that define their lives. See what they captured.

Quotable

🌪️ Wild weather: It’s been a year of unusual extremes for New Yorkers, who have experienced tornadoes, an earthquake and wildfires.

Quiz time

🧀 A Portuguese cheese called Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado was named the world’s best. The gooey, buttery cheese is made from the milk of which animal?
A. Cow
B. Goat
C. Sheep
D. Buffalo
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Good vibes

📬 We like to wrap things up on a positive note: The US Postal Service will honor Betty White with her own stamp next year. The beloved comedy icon’s lengthy career spanned radio, television and film.

Thanks for reading

👋 We’ll see you tomorrow.
🧠 Quiz answer: C. The buttery Portuguese cheese is made from sheep’s milk.
📧 Check out all of CNN’s newsletters.

5 Things PM is produced by CNN’s Tricia Escobedo, Chris Good, Meghan Pryce and Kimberly Richardson.

Article Topic Follows: CNN - National

Jump to comments ↓