Alcohol use, hot garbage, ‘Primetime’: Catch up on the day’s stories

By Gina Park, CNN

👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! Hot springs? More like hot garbage. More than 20,000 pieces of trash have been pulled out of Yellowstone National Park’s hydrothermal areas so far this year. See some of the weird items.

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

5 things

1️⃣ Leading the charge

The pandemic brought on a surge of heavy drinking that resulted in an increase in liver-related diseases. Nearly seven years later, alcohol use has declined — and it’s thanks to Gen Z and millennials.

🍷 Cancer concerns: Just one drink a day may increase the risk of dying

➕ Young adults: Stroke rates have nearly doubled

2️⃣ Sounding the alarm

Authorities are urging people to avoid an herbal extract found during investigations into the deaths of two students at the University of Mississippi. Poisoning calls for kratom spiked more than 1,200% in the last decade.

3️⃣ Hero or villain?

“Primetime,” the new movie starring Robert Pattinson as “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen, hits US theaters this week. He’s portrayed as an egomaniacal philanderer, and the real Hansen is outraged.

➕ Harvey Weinstein: Disgraced movie mogul gets 15 years in prison

4️⃣ Scars to surfboards

Damage from a bear’s claw can cost a tree its commercial value, which makes bears one of Japan’s most contentious animals. But this artisan is determined to change attitudes toward them.

5️⃣ ‘Once-in-a-lifetime’

The moon’s surface experienced a violent encounter with a comet or an asteroid, and the impact left behind the largest newly formed crater ever found in the solar system since humans have monitored such features.

Watch this

🚶‍♀️‍➡️ Defying gravity: A French tightrope artist walked untethered 300 feet above the ground — even hanging upside down.

Top headlines

• Judge grills DOJ attorneys about Trump’s national security defense of press ban
• Iran’s president says ‘we will never bow our head’ to Trump in defiant UN speech
• ‘I’m a f**king US citizen’: Man left injured after ICE mistakenly detained him, officials say

Check this out

🏰 Rising from the ruins: It’s been a prison, a fortress and an imperial treasury. Now this 15th century Istanbul landmark’s deepest secrets are coming to light.

For CNN subscribers

• Republican Senate nominee said she was ‘embarrassed’ to be from the state she’s now running to represent
• These Israelis want to fly home to vote. Netanyahu is trying to stop them
• Exclusive: US military moving drones to South America ahead of anticipated counternarcotics operations

Quiz time

🎢 More than 100 people say they suffered brain injuries on a ride at this California amusement park. Which one was it?

A. Six Flags Magic Mountain

B. Knott’s Berry Farm

C. Disneyland

D. Universal Studios Hollywood

⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Thanks for reading

✅ Most popular in yesterday’s newsletter: Street musician unknowingly duets with Chris Martin on Coldplay song

🧠 Quiz answer: A. X2 has long been the marquee attraction at Six Flags Magic Mountain. A CNN investigation documented more than a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalizations associated with the ride, including at least two deaths.

👋 We’ll see you tomorrow.

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Today’s edition of 5 Things PM was edited and produced by CNN’s Daniel Wine and Chris Good.