EVERY WEEKDAY evening,TheJournal.ie brings you five stories you should check out by 5pm.

1. #RIP Tributes have been pouring in for the former Finance Minister Brian Lenihan who died at his home early this morning after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said that Lenihan “never faltered in the eye of the storm” while the Taoiseach Enda Kenny has paid tribute to his courage in the face of his illness.

2. #E.COLI German authorities have announced that bean  sprouts are to blame for the E.Coli outbreak after all. Thirty-one people have died so far in Europe, mostly in Germany. The country’s national disease control centre says locally-grown bean sprouts are the source of the outbreak.

3. #RACE FOR THE ÁRAS Dublin MEP Gay Mitchell has confirmed his plan to seek Fine Gael’s nomination for the forthcoming presidential campaign. MEP Mairéad McGuinness will also seek the party’s approval.

4. #CLINTON US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could be leaving the White House for the World Bank. Reuters reported today that a source claims that “she wants the job” if the current president Robert Zoellick doesn’t seek a second term.

5. #FATHER TED? Father Ted creator Graham Linehan has called a company who have produced a dinner-comedy act based on the hit show a “bunch of chancers”. When contacted by TheJournal.ie today the company director hung up. Graham Linehan’s reponse? A simple “oh, dear…”