Americans drowning in debt, new Alzheimer’s drugs, reformed scammer: Catch up on the day’s stories

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👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! Millions of people start their day with a morning cup of joe, but how much coffee is too much? A doctor explains what’s safe for most people.

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

5 things

1️⃣ Drowning in debt: Americans are finding it harder to pay off their debt — specifically for auto loans and credit cards. In some cases, they haven’t been this overextended since the beginning of the Great Recession back in 2008 and 2009.

2️⃣ Reformed scammer: Convicted con artist Marwan Ouarab is an unlikely hero. He used to sell fake concert tickets. Now he helps save people from online predators. For many victims, he’s their last hope of recovering stolen savings or cherished treasures.

3️⃣ New drugs: These medications for early Alzheimer’s disease may allow people to live without help for up to 39 additional months, a new study estimates. However, experts urge caution. Consider the pros and cons.

4️⃣ Food for thought: Ancient humans living in Europe may have scooped out the brains of their dead enemies and eaten them, archaeologists say. Studies confirm that cannibalism was relatively common during that era 11,000-plus years ago.

5️⃣ ‘Fun factor’: Nerves were rarely an issue for tennis legend Steffi Graf during her career, when she won 22 grand slam singles titles. She’s dealing with a different kind of pressure now — on the pickleball court and playing with her husband Andre Agassi.

Watch this

🚆 Close call: Surveillance video captured the moment a driver jumped out of an SUV seconds before a train smashed into it in Layton, Utah. No one was hurt, but the car was totaled, and the train also suffered significant damage.

Top headlines

• Senate confirms RFK Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary
• Trump orders up a plan for more tariffs, even as inflation heats up
• Acting US attorney in New York quits after being told to drop Eric Adams case

10%

🚀 Blue Origin plans to lay off that percentage of its workforce — more than 1,000 employees — nearly a month after the company debuted its first orbital rocket.

Check this out

🌌 Celestial giant: Astronomers spotted a monster radio jet in the distant universe that’s twice the width of the Milky Way galaxy. The object formed when the universe was less than 10% of its current age of 13.8 billion years.

Celebrity corner

🌶️ No sweat: Lady Gaga took on the so-called “wings of death” like a true rock star during an appearance on “Hot Ones,” only responding with a giggle. She also reminisced about her early struggles to make it in the music industry.

Quiz time

💰 A list of the world’s highest-paid athletes of 2024 was released. Which sport was not represented among the top 10?
A. Boxing
B. Basketball
C. Soccer
D. Football
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Good vibes

😍 Hot topics: Valentine’s Day is nearly here, and what screams love more than nachos, Minecraft and pickles? We took a look at hundreds of Hallmark greeting cards, and those were some of the popular items featured. Here’s what we learned.

Thanks for reading

🧠 Quiz answer: D. Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo was the highest-paid athlete of 2024, and no football players made the top 10. Test your knowledge with CNN’s weekly news quiz in tomorrow morning’s 5 Things newsletter.
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5 Things PM is produced by CNN’s Chris Good, Meghan Pryce and Kimberly Richardson.

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