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(CNN) The last weekend of the year is upon us, so there's no better time to look back at the movies and TV shows that thrilled us in 2018 -- along with the ones that let us down. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get "5 Things You Need to Know Today" delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)

1. New York transformer explosion

If you were in New York around 9 Thursday night, as the sky lit up a brilliant shade of blue, you were probably asking yourself, "What the heck was that?" No, it wasn't an alien invasion or some out-of-control marketing stunt for the next "Avengers" movie. It was a transformer that blew up at a power plant in Queens, producing an eerie, glowing turquoise color that was visible for miles. The blast shook buildings, rattled windows and sent folks running into the streets. But thankfully no one was hurt in the explosion. There were some temporary power outages, and LaGuardia Airport closed for about an hour. New York police later tweeted that an equipment malfunction was the cause of the blast.

The night sky is alight Thursday on Manhattan's Upper West Side after a transformer explosion.

2. Financial markets

Wall Street's wild roller-coaster ride continues. The Dow started off Thursday by plummeting a whopping 611 points, then it rallied in the final hour of trading for a swing of almost 900 points. The late comeback saw the Dow close 260 points higher . The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended the day slightly higher as well. All this comes after the Dow suffered its worst ever Christmas Eve session, followed by its biggest ever daily point gain the day after Christmas. So what's fueling all of this volatility? Investors are worried that the economy, while still strong, will slow down in 2019. They're also watching to see how President Donald Trump's trade policies will turn out and what planned interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve will do