Air traffic controller shortage, high-profile criminal trials, THC drinks: Catch up on the day’s stories
By Daniel Wine, CNN
👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! Tonight will be your last chance to see May’s full moon, known as the flower moon to signify the many blossoms of spring. It will rise low in the southeast after sunset and ascend to the highest point in the sky after midnight.
Here’s what else you might have missed during your busy day:
5 things
1️⃣ Help wanted: The US is grappling with the worst air traffic controller shortage in nearly 30 years as a recent spate of incidents has thrust the high-stress profession into the spotlight. These graduating students just got fast-tracked to enter the job market quicker.
2️⃣ High-profile trials: Karen Read. Harvey Weinstein. Sean “Diddy” Combs. It’s shaping up as a busy summer for prominent criminal proceedings. They’re complex cases that are expected to last for several weeks or possibly months, and more are on the way.
3️⃣ Prison break: “Nobody’s ever escaped from Alcatraz,” President Donald Trump said as he called for the federal penitentiary off the coast of San Francisco to be reopened. Well … actually, three men escaped in 1962. All it took was brains, guts and 50 raincoats.
4️⃣ Beverage boom: Americans are consuming less alcohol, and swooping in to fill the void are THC drinks — which contain the main intoxicating chemical compound found in cannabis. Companies have been able to launch their products with little oversight.
5️⃣ Sound asleep: Are you one of those people who enjoy listening to TV, music or maybe a podcast to quiet your thoughts as you drift off? Experts explain how to do it while preserving sleep quality.
Watch this
⚽ An admirable goal: Every Saturday night, Robert Wirehag — a pastor and former youth soccer player — organizes games for teens in a suburb of Uppsala, Sweden’s fourth-largest city. He sees it as a way to help prevent the boys from being recruited into gangs.
Top headlines
• Trump optimistic about deal with China, says tariffs won’t go back to 145%
• Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander returns to Israel after Hamas release
• White South Africans granted refugee status by Trump administration arrive in US
11.1%
🧒 That’s how much of Japan’s population is 14 and younger — the 44th year in a row that the child population has shrunk to a record low.
Check this out
😎 Quintessential college town: Ann Arbor — home to the University of Michigan — charms visitors with a year-round calendar of events, thriving food scene and big-time sports. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta calls it his “happy place.”
What’s buzzing
👗 Fashion faux pas? The Cannes Film Festival banned nudity on the red carpet “for decency reasons.” Here’s what that means for sheer dresses like the one model Bella Hadid wore last year.
Quiz time
🎁 President Trump said he plans to accept a luxury jet to replace Air Force One as a “contribution” from which country?
A. Russia
B. France
C. Qatar
D. United Arab Emirates
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.
Good vibes
✝️ Hometown fan: John Prevost fielded lots of inquiries after his younger brother was named Pope Leo XIV, the new leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Prevost did clear up one question lingering in the minds of those in Chicago: Pope Leo roots for the White Sox, not the Cubs.
Thanks for reading
👋 We’ll see you tomorrow.
🧠 Quiz answer: C. The White House said the legal details over accepting a Qatari jet to use as Air Force One are “still being worked out.”
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5 Things PM is produced by CNN’s Chris Good, Meghan Pryce, Kimberly Richardson and Morgan Severson.
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