Can memes elect Harris? These Gen Z activists think so -- and are teaching others how to make them

Entertainment

August 01, 2024

Meghan Pryce - CNN

👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! Another reason to hate turbulence: one airline is removing a popular hot snack from its long-haul flights because of the burn risk — but only if you’re in economy class.

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

5 things

1️⃣ Riches in space: Everyone is clamoring to be the first to explore Mars, but a recent discovery on Mercury is attracting a lot of attention to one of the solar system’s least explored planets.

2️⃣ America’s hottest city: Phoenix is located in the desert so of course it’s hot there. With a recent rise in average temperatures, heat deaths in Maricopa County have more than quadrupled in the last seven years. CNN’s Bill Weir explores how the city is surviving.

3️⃣ Key to wellness: Bubble baths are nice, skin care is luxurious and green juices are (sometimes) delicious. Does any of it make a big difference to your well-being? Here’s what health experts say.

4️⃣ Internet obsession: She’s impossibly cool and casually breaks world records. Meet the 31-year-old South Korean sharpshooter who has taken social media by storm after her appearance at the Paris Olympics.

5️⃣ Doctors orders: Being a parent is tiring, especially while balancing a career or if you’re a single parent with little support. That’s why one country is allowing doctors to write prescriptions for four-week spa breaks for frazzled moms and dads.

Watch this

👀 Vibe shift: The memes didn’t just fall out of a coconut tree. Gen Z activists are energized, strategizing to make Vice President Kamala Harris go viral. CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan talks to the meme makers embracing brat summer.

Top headlines

• Americans Gershkovich and Whelan released from Russia after historic prisoner swap
• Hamas leader was killed in Iran by bomb planted months before blast, source says
• Vance defends Trump over former president’s false claims about Harris’ racial identity

Check this out

🧶 Surprising skill: Most Olympic divers sitting poolside are anxiously twiddling their thumbs. But not medalist Tom Daley. Instead, he’s been twiddling a pair of knitting needles. Daley unveiled his latest creation, charming fans again.

25

❗Tour groups in the Italian city of Venice are now limited to this number of people as part of an effort to address overtourism.

Your health

🍫 Should you avoid dark chocolate? Even organic versions of the treat are contaminated by the neurotoxic metals lead and cadmium, a study finds. Here’s what you should know.

Quiz time

A fitness phenomenon involves an almost 5-mile run interspersed with eight workout stations and hopes to become an Olympic sport. What is it?
A. Ironman
B. Zumba
C. Crossfit
D. HYROX
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Celebrity corner

🍼 Soon-to-be mom of three: Cardi B announces she’s expecting in a duet of photos showcasing her belly posted to Instagram. The rapper wrote to her baby-on-the-way that she cannot “wait for you to witness what you helped me accomplish, what you pushed me to do!”

Good vibes

😎 We like to wrap things up on a positive note: Her whole life, US Army Capt. Molly Murphy said she was “keeping up with the boys,” constantly competing and carving out a place for herself. Now, she’s become the first female nurse to graduate from the Army’s elite Ranger Course, known to be one of the toughest. Men and women working together “complement each other,” she said, “and that’s what makes us such a good team.”

Thanks for reading

🧠 Quiz answer: D. HYROX, a “body-breaking” fitness race started in 2017, has more than 210,000 participants in 30 cities. Test your news IQ with our weekly news quiz in tomorrow morning’s 5 Things newsletter.
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5 Things PM is produced by CNN’s Tricia Escobedo, Kimberly Richardson and Daniel Wine.