Catch up on the day’s stories: Cost of child care, best diets for your health, a divisive royal portrait

👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! Eating a vegan or vegetarian diet significantly reduces your risk of developing cancer or heart disease and dying early, a comprehensive new analysis shows. Those types of diets also lower cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and cholesterol. The researchers noted that people who eat plant-based diets often follow a regular exercise routine as well.

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

5 things

kali9/E+/Getty Images
kali9/E+/Getty Images

1️⃣ Child care: If you have kids, you probably know that child care is insanely expensive. A new report measured just how pricey the cost of day care really is across the US, and for some families, child care costs even more than renting a home.

2️⃣ Corporate greed: Costs are up all around — not just in child care — but who’s to blame for the recent inflation surge? A lot of people think it’s price gouging by greedy corporations and their high-paid executives, but economists say that’s not quite the case.

3️⃣ Mapping the brain: Researchers at Google and Harvard University revealed the most detailed images yet of the human brain. A sample from a patient with severe epilepsy was used in the collaborative project, which could help make sense of unresolved medical conditions.

4️⃣ Netflix and the NFL: The streaming giant reached a three-year deal to broadcast the league’s Christmas Day football games. This venture into live sporting events marks a major milestone for Netflix.

5️⃣ Internet’s influence: The general consensus seems to be that the internet is ruining our lives. Not so fast, though. A new study of users in 168 countries found that they reported greater well-being across eight categories, including life satisfaction and social life.

Watch this

👀 Noisy invasion: They’re heeeere! An expert explains why billions of cicadas are emerging from underground in a rare double brood — and why you shouldn’t get too close to these very thirsty insects.

Top headlines

Quotable

A vision in red: A newly unveiled official portrait of Britain’s monarch is getting mixed reviews, with some critics saying it conjures images of blood and hellfire.

Quiz time

Beau Molloy/CNN
Beau Molloy/CNN

🎉 Which fishing village on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula has become one of the world’s most popular party destinations?
A. Acapulco
B. Cancún
C. Cabo San Lucas
D. Puerto Vallarta
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Your health

💉 Drug overdoses: After a steep rise during the Covid pandemic, preliminary data shows that drug overdose deaths in the US dipped in 2023 for the first time in five years.

Good vibes

😎 We like to wrap things up on a positive note:
British twin sisters Georgia and Melissa Laurie were vacationing in Mexico when they were attacked by a crocodile while swimming in a river. As they tried to escape, the reptile dragged Melissa under the water. Georgia managed to fight off the crocodile and save her sister’s life. She was honored for her bravery by King Charles III.

Thanks for reading

👋 We’ll see you tomorrow.
💬 What did you like about today’s 5 Things PM? Did we miss anything? Email us: 5ThingsPM@cnn.com
🧠 Quiz answer: B. Cancún has evolved from a small fishing village in the 1970s to become a top tourist destination.
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5 Things PM is produced by CNN’s Tricia Escobedo, Meghan Pryce and Kimberly Richardson.

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