Do more than just thank a veteran

California wildfires ... midterm elections ... Armistice Day ... Ebola outbreak ... Australian strawberry needle scare

view in browser update subscription preferences Monday 11.12.18 Today is the federal observance of Veterans Day. Here are 10 ways to honor veterans beyond just saying "thanks for your service." And here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. By Doug Criss California wildfires   At least 31 people have died so far in the wildfires ripping through California. Twenty-nine people died in Northern California's Camp Fire, now the most destructive fire in the state's history. It's burned 111,000 acres and pretty much wiped out the town of Paradise. It's 25% contained. There are still 228 people unaccounted for. The Woolsey fire in Southern California has killed at least two people. It's burned 85,500 acres and is about 15% contained. More than 300,000 people statewide have been driven from their homes because of the blazes. And conditions this week won't help firefighting efforts. Dry conditions feeding the flames are expected to continue into the week. Click here to find out how to help those affected.   Midterm elections   Recounting has begun down in Florida, sparked by narrowed enough margins in the races for governor, senator and agriculture commissioner. All this is supposed to be done by Thursday, but Palm Beach County's elections supervisor says it'll be "impossible" for her county to meet that deadline. If a county doesn't meet the deadline, the initial vote totals will stand as is. That's good news for the GOP -- their candidates are ahead -- but it would probably trigger lawsuits from the Democrats. (Gov. Rick Scott, the GOP Senate candidate, has already filed three election-related lawsuits.) Meanwhile: In Georgia, the state Democratic Party and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams' campaign filed a lawsuit asking for rejected absentee ballots and provisional ballots to be counted. They're still hoping to force a runoff in the governor's race. And in Arizona's Senate race, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema's lead over Republican Martha McSally continues to grow as the vote counting continues. Arizona's process of counting votes moves slowly because about 75% of the state's electorate votes by mail, and every ballot goes through a verification process. Armistice Day   French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the concept of nationalism during his Armistice Day speech in Paris as the man who recently declared himself a nationalist -- President Trump -- looked on. Macron warned that the forces that led to the horrors of World War I were rising up again. "Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying our interests first ... we erase what a nation holds dearest," Macron said, not so subtly knocking Trump's "America First" doctrine. The President, speaking later at an American cemetery in Paris, didn't directly respond to Macron's remarks, instead sticking to a brief speech honoring the war dead. Trump and the first lady are back in Washington.   Ebola The Democratic Republic of Congo is battling the worst Ebola outbreak in its history. Since August more than 200 people have died and almost 300 confirmed or probable cases have been reported. It's the 10th time since 1976 that Ebola has hit Congo. The country's long-term political instability is not helping matters. Violence against health officials and civilians by militant groups have hurt efforts to stop the outbreak, Congo's health minister said.   Australia strawberry needle scare   The woman accused of spiking supermarket strawberries with sewing needles did it for revenge, prosecutors in Australia said. My Ut Trinh was arrested Sunday. Police say she's the person responsible for some, but not all, of the at least 100 cases of needles or pins found in strawberries across the country earlier this year, causing a nationwide panic. Trinh, a former supervisor at a strawberry farm, felt she'd been mistreated by coworkers and had talked about getting revenge, police said. She's charged with seven counts of contamination of goods and faces up to a 10-year sentence if convicted. Australian authorities believe there were many copycat cases of tampering as well.   People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. Feel better, Joe Let's all send good thoughts to Joe Perry. The Aerosmith guitarist was hospitalized with shortness of breath after a show with Billy Joel. Feeling blue? This room's for you Smoking or non-smoking? That's so old school. Check into the hotel where you pick your room based on your emotions. Box delivery Procter & Gamble now delivers Tide to your home in a shoe box. Wait, what? Why? All hail The King Elvis is a rock icon, a legend and, soon, a Presidential Medal of Freedom award winner. The King is one of seven people to be awarded the honor from President Trump. $15 million The amount of cash -- delivered in suitcases -- Qatar sent to Gaza to pay the salaries of civil servants and ease the humanitarian situation there Americans can forgive one another. We can remember what brings us together as a country and still see the good in each other.   Former Navy SEAL and soon-to-be congressman Dan Crenshaw, giving us all a lesson in forgiveness and unity on "Saturday Night Live." Crenshaw appeared on the program to crack a few jokes after cast member Pete Davidson's tasteless comments about Crenshaw's war injuries last week. Not today This cat thought it had a sure-fire catch while hunting a rat. But the rat showed the cat who's boss. (Click to view) Share Tweet ALL CNN NEWSLETTERS update preferences or unsubscribe CNN Five Things shows up in your inbox every weekday at 6AM ET and Sundays at 9AM ET. Like what you see? Don't like what you see? Let us know. 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