Wildfire worries, psychedelic drugs, Spotify milestone: Catch up on the day’s stories
By Daniel Wine, Toni Odejimi, CNN
👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! What could go wrong when trying to touch the genitals of a 16th‑century statue during a bachelorette trip? A lot, apparently.
Here’s what else you might have missed during your busy day.
5 things
1️⃣ Dire conditions
The worst spring drought on record is gripping the continental US, and it’s fueling wildfire and water shortage concerns as the summer heat approaches. ➕ Sign up for the new CNN Weather newsletter.
2️⃣ ‘They loved life’
Sisters who enjoyed dancing, an outgoing spirit with a thirst for learning and a burgeoning young reader. Meet the eight children — from 3 to 11 years old — whose lives were cut short in the Shreveport mass shooting.
3️⃣ Hope for the future
María de Jesús Estrada Juárez was living in the US under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for immigrants. Then she was deported. Now she has accomplished what seemed impossible.
4️⃣ Psychedelics
Once relegated to the fringes of medicine, these drugs are drawing new interest from the Trump administration as a potential treatment for people with certain mental health conditions. Could FDA approval be next?
5️⃣ Highs and lows
From piracy and downloads to playlists and global hits, Spotify has reshaped the music industry. Watch as CNN’s Clare Sebastian breaks down how the streaming giant racked up hundreds of millions of users.
Watch this
🧊 Freezy Drake: Fans chipped away at a 25-foot ice sculpture in Toronto, some of them wielding pickaxes and hammers, to uncover a hidden surprise tied to the popular Canadian rapper.
Top headlines
- Trump threatens to shoot boats laying mines as tension escalates in Strait of Hormuz
- At least 10 injured, including ‘some innocent people,’ after shootout at Louisiana mall, police say
- Meta to cut 10% of staff as it pours billions into AI
Check this out
🖼️ ‘Art world Olympics’: Every two years, the US taps an artist to transform its pavilion at the Venice Biennale. But what is typically a career‑defining moment looks very different this time.
For CNN subscribers
- Inside Kash Patel’s life as a hockey playing, high school coaching, Olympic locker room partying sports fanatic
- There are fixes for AI’s toll on the power grid. Here’s why they’re not happening
- It’s been 7 months since Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found dead in d4vd’s car. Why did charges take so long?
Quiz time
🍞 What bread, pictured here, is commonly associated with Ireland?
A. Pumpernickel
B. Soda bread
C. Ciabatta
D. Lavash
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.
Thanks for reading
✅ Most popular in yesterday’s newsletter: Rihanna, baby Rocki and Dior’s first ever couture diaper
🧠 Quiz answer: B. Soda bread emerged in Ireland as potato crops were failing.
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Today’s edition of 5 Things PM was edited and produced by CNN’s Kimberly Richardson and Chris Good.