Catch up on the day’s stories: Checkout counter woes, marijuana vs. alcohol, best cities for foodies

By CNN

Published May 30, 2024 2:34 pm

CNN

By Daniel Wine, CNN

👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! Beer and wine are taking a back seat as more and more people are using marijuana gummies instead of alcohol when they’re looking for a buzz or hanging out with friends. For the first time ever, daily use of cannabis among Americans exceeded the daily use of alcohol.

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

5 things

1️⃣ Checkout woes: The double whammy of rising prices and high interest rates is causing people to change their shopping habits. Low and middle-income customers in particular are scaling back their spending and having to make difficult decisions before they reach the checkout counter.

2️⃣ Zero-down mortgages: People who want to buy a home but haven’t saved enough money for a down payment now have another option. One of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders just launched a new program, but it’s making people nervous.

3️⃣ AI-written articles: Some local news sites around the country are publishing stories with fake bylines, and you probably wouldn’t even notice. The names sound real, and there are even headshots and biographical information touting their experience and interests outside of work. Experts are raising red flags.

4️⃣ Catalytic converters: This car part that cleans the exhaust, making the air safer for people to breathe, is also extremely popular with thieves. But it’s what’s inside that makes this environmentally friendly part so enticing for criminals.

5️⃣ Chemical recycling: The industry said this technology would be a game-changer for plastic waste. Critics say it’s been an utter failure.

Watch this

👀 Faces from the past: Ancient skulls helped scientists digitally reconstruct the faces of people from thousands of years ago, including a woman who lived during the Bronze Age.

Top headlines

Trump found guilty on all counts in hush money trial — the first former president to be convicted criminally
Chad Daybell found guilty of killing first wife and second wife’s 2 children
Inside the US effort to bring home 2 young American missionaries killed in Haiti

Quotable

🍕 Tasty travel: This one’s for people who like to eat: A new ranking of the world’s 20 best cities for foodies. Psst… it’s time to start planning your next vacation.

Quiz time

⚾ Which baseball star became the career batting average leader after Major League Baseball started including statistics from the Negro Leagues in its record books?
A. Hank Aaron
B. Josh Gibson
C. Satchel Paige
D. Jackie Robinson
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Looking ahead

🐝 Tonight: Eight finalists will square off to become the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. Last year’s winner, Dev Shah, triumphed with the word “psammophile.”

Good vibes

🐕 We like to wrap things up on a positive note:
A new luxury airline called Bark Air makes sure that dogs and their human companions travel in style and comfort — but it won’t be cheap. Flights for your pampered pooch include toys, treats, pillows and blankets covered in pheromones, and a doggie spa. Woof!

Thanks for reading

💬 What did you like about today’s 5 Things PM? Did we miss anything? Email us: 5ThingsPM@cnn.com
🧠 Quiz answer: B. Josh Gibson was a catcher who played in the Negro Leagues during the racially segregated 1930s and 1940s. Read tomorrow morning’s newsletter for this week’s news quiz!
📧 Check out all of CNN’s newsletters.

5 Things PM is produced by CNN’s Tricia Escobedo, Meghan Pryce and Kimberly Richardson.

Article Topic Follows: CNN – National

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