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: 5 things 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.” 4️⃣ Money in the mail: The IRS is sending cash to 1 million tax filers who were eligible for a pandemic-era rebate credit. The payments, which could be as high as $1,400 per individual, should arrive by late January.
5️⃣ Gen Z spin: A TikTok account rewrites Bible stories in popular lingo to give the an.