Start your week smart: FBI director, Trump’s tariffs, Syrian civil war, hostage video, lake-effect snow

By Andrew Torgan and Daniel Wine, CNN

(CNN) — OK, deep breaths everyone … you made it through the meal prep, or the long lines at the register, the airport or on the freeway. Maybe you were so busy you didn’t have time to appreciate the holiday, so take a look at Thanksgiving week in America.

Here’s what else you need to know to Start Your Week Smart.

The weekend that was

• President-elect Donald Trump said he intends to nominate Kash Patel to serve as FBI director, in an extraordinary announcement that once in office Trump would move to replace the current director, Christopher Wray, before his term expires. Patel has heavily criticized the FBI and called for the agency’s headquarters in Washington, DC, to be dismantled and turned into a “museum of the deep state.” Follow live updates.
• Trump said he would require countries that are part of BRICS — a China- and Russia-backed group of emerging economies — to commit to not creating new currency or face 100% tariffs during his administration.
• Syrian and Russian jets are stepping up strikes on opposition forces in northern Syria in retaliation for the sudden offensive that has cost the regime control of the country’s second-largest city, Aleppo.
• The mother of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander says she has been assured by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “conditions are ripe” for a hostage deal, just hours after Hamas released a video of her son begging for his release.
• Biting cold temperatures will sweep across a large swath of the United States today while record-breaking, lake-effect snow makes post-holiday travel treacherous and nearly “impossible” in parts of the Great Lakes region.

The week ahead

Monday
The long Thanksgiving weekend may be over, but plenty of people are still making their way back home. AAA expanded its holiday travel window this year to include the Tuesday before and the Monday after Thanksgiving Day to better capture the flow of travelers. If you’re hitting the road on Monday, it’s best to leave before 8 a.m. to avoid weekday commuters.

It’s also Cyber Monday, a manufactured shopping holiday with origins in the days when people would do their post-Thanksgiving shopping online at the office, where the internet connection was faster than the service they had at home.

Tuesday
The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is Giving Tuesday — a day for people to give back to their communities. For some people, that means donating to a charity or cause they support. For others, it means volunteering their time or skills. It can even be as simple as leaving a thank-you note for a delivery driver or paying for the coffee of the person in line behind you.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, is set to make her biggest return to royal duties since revealing that she had completed her chemotherapy treatment earlier this year. Kate will join her husband and heir to the throne, Prince William, in welcoming the Emir of Qatar to the UK on the first day of his two-day state visit, according to Buckingham Palace. Her central role in the visit is seen by many as a significant marker of her recovery following her announcement in September of a phased return to duties.

December 3 is a day of thanks for devotees of a certain cult fast-food item that has had more comebacks than Tom Brady and Michael Jordan combined. The McRib — a fan favorite on and off for more than 40 years — returns to the McDonald’s menu for a limited time. You may remember that two years ago, McDonald’s said the iconic sandwich was embarking on a “farewell tour” but added, “You never know when — or if — the McRib is coming back.”

Wednesday
The annual Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony is scheduled to take place at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

Thursday
House Speaker Mike Johnson is set to host billionaire Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump named to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, at a meeting with GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The announcement of Ramaswamy and particularly Musk, who leads companies with lucrative government contracts, raised immediate questions about potential conflicts of interest.

Friday
We wrap up the week with the monthly employment report for November, which arrives about two weeks before the Federal Reserve’s next meeting on interest rates. In October, the US economy added just 12,000 jobs — a number reflecting the ripple effects of two major deadly hurricanes and large labor strikes.

Listen in

One Thing: 🎧 ‘Doom spending’ through the holidays
In the latest episode of the “One Thing” podcast, CNN’s Vanessa Yurkevich examines how Trump’s economic policies could impact your wallet and why some young people are embracing “doom spending” this holiday season. Listen here.

Photos of the week

Check out more images from the week that was, curated by CNN Photos.

What’s happening in entertainment

TV and streaming
Disney+ drops a new “Star Wars” series on Monday at 9 p.m. ET. “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” chronicles the adventures of “four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy,” according to Disney. It features Jude Law, whose character they meet on the journey to find a way home.

“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” debuts on Saturday at 8 p.m. on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. The film follows the personal and professional life of Reeve before and after the near-fatal horseback riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. It’ll also show how he used his fame to speak of hope and to change our perception of paralysis — all while remaining a dedicated activist, actor and filmmaker, devoted dad, and loving husband. (HBO, Max and CNN are units of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

What’s happening in sports

At a glance …
The long weekend was not short on football games, with a trio of NFL games on Thursday, and the Chiefs edged the Raiders 19-17 in a bonus matchup on Friday. Here’s what to watch for in today’s games.

In college football, an ugly brawl after the final whistle marred Michigan’s shocking upset win over rival Ohio State, which entered the game as the No. 2 team in the nation.

Lou Carnesecca, the excitable St. John’s men’s basketball coach whose outlandish sweaters became an emblem of his team’s dazzling Final Four run in 1985, died at 99.

For more of your favorite sports, head on over to CNN Sports as well as Bleacher Report, which — like CNN — is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Quiz time!

This weekend, 5 Things Sunday is serving up a second helping of CNN’s Thanksgiving Quiz! How well do you know your Thanksgiving facts and foods? Let’s find out! So far, only 10% of fellow quiz fans have gotten eight or more questions right. How will you fare?

Play me off …

‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’
Taylor Swift’s wildly successful “Eras Tour” began in Glendale, Arizona, in March 2023 and wraps up next Sunday in Vancouver. Here’s a look at the backstage prep that went into the sold-out shows. (Click here to view)

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