Changing landscape for farmers, how brain turns to glass, fastest-growing job: Catch up on the day’s stories

Education

February 27, 2025

Daniel Wine - CNN

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

5 things

1️⃣ Changing landscape: From freezing funds to threatening tariffs and gutting humanitarian aid, grain growers and sellers say President Donald Trump’s actions in Washington have altered life on the farm. They’re facing angst and uncertainty.

2️⃣ Research pioneer: Alzheimer’s disease affects tens of millions of people worldwide, but the causes are still unclear. Dr. Solomon Carter Fuller, the first Black psychiatrist in the US, played an important yet overlooked role more than a century ago.

3️⃣ Illiterate student: Aleysha Ortiz graduated from high school with honors and earned a college scholarship but says she never learned how to read or write. Now she’s suing her old school district in Connecticut for negligence.

4️⃣ Puzzling phenomenon: A young man’s brain and spinal cord turned to glass during the eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The victim was found lying face down on a bed buried by volcanic ash. Scientists say they’ve figured out how it happened.

5️⃣ All-female crew: Singer Katy Perry and journalist Gayle King will be among those aboard a Blue Origin rocket scheduled to launch this spring. Lauren Sánchez, the fiancée of CEO Jeff Bezos, also plans to head to space on the New Shepard mission.

Watch this

🚗 High hopes: A California aeronautics company shared the first video of its flying car, which it dubbed Model Zero. The company hopes to prove the viability of the concept and create a new market in transportation. Take a look at what it can do.

Top headlines

• Trump meets with British prime minister, who says Ukraine peace deal cannot be one ‘that rewards the aggressor’
• Musk says upgrade of FAA’s air traffic control system is failing and SpaceX needs to take over contract
• Inside Patel’s first week: Internal upheaval at the FBI — some of his own making

100,000

👷🏼 That’s how many American jobs that Trump’s aluminum tariffs could cost, a US industry leader warned.

Check this out

🎨 Meteoric rise: Danielle Mckinney made a name for herself on Instagram with her portraits of women in a permanent state of relaxation. She has quickly become one of the art world’s buzziest painters.

Quotable

💰 Making amends: Jackson spent more than 18 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. He hopes a $5 million payout from the state of Connecticut could mean a better life for his children.

Quiz time

🏺 Demi Moore shared an iconic pottery scene with Patrick Swayze in which movie?
A. “Now and Then”
B. “Indecent Proposal”
C. “Ghost”
D. “St. Elmo’s Fire”
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Good vibes

👩 Leveling the playing field: In the US, just 19% of venture capital investment partners are women. In Europe, it’s 16%. That’s why Amanda Pullinger co-founded Global Female Investors Management, with the aim of recruiting the next generation of risk-takers. “I don’t think the world is getting the best talent,” she said.

Thanks for reading

🧠 Quiz answer: C. Moore and Swayze starred together in a memorable and provocative scene from “Ghost.” 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.