Fighting wildfires, psychedelic treatments, ‘zombie star’ mystery: Catch up on the day’s stories

Science

August 13, 2024

Daniel Wine - CNN

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👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! It’s no surprise that eating healthy can help you avoid chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. But a new study found that an anti-inflammatory diet can also lower your risk of dementia by 31%.

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

5 things

1️⃣ Fighting fires: A startup company called Urban Sky that designs high-altitude balloons wants to use its technology as an inexpensive way to detect, track and prevent wildfires. The balloons have infrared sensors to measure the density of vegetation and moisture in the ground.

2️⃣ Troubling sign? Home Depot issues a warning as customers spend less on home improvement projects amid fears that the economy is getting worse. ➕ Big Lots is closing hundreds of stores after previously saying it could go out of business.

3️⃣ Psychedelic studies: The path toward federal approval for medical treatments involving psychedelics may be harder now, but experts say they don’t plan to give up. The FDA rejected the use of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

4️⃣ ‘Zombie star’: Nearly 1,000 years ago, a brilliant supernova lit up the night sky. Astronomers think they have finally solved the cosmic mystery of the dying star that puzzled them for centuries.

5️⃣ Growing pains: Do you find yourself comparing your children to their classmates and worrying about their health? An expert says kids thrive at every size and that judgment can do more harm than good.

Watch this

🫨 Shaken up: A magnitude 4.4 earthquake that rattled the Los Angeles area interrupted several live and recorded shows, including Malika Andrews on ESPN. She handled it like a pro.

Top headlines

• Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol is taking over Starbucks
• Ernesto is strengthening as it plows through the Caribbean islands
• Ohio officer who fatally shot pregnant 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young charged with murder

What’s buzzing

📺 ‘Mama’s boy’: After an emotional exit from “The Bachelorette,” former pro basketball player Grant Ellis will be looking for love on the new season of “The Bachelor.”

Check this out

🕷️ Cool under pressure: Jorō spiders, which first appeared in the US in 2013, have a knack for thriving in high-stress environments. Here’s why they aren’t bothered by living in busy urban settings.

$70 million

🚗 That’s the estimated value of a rare 1954 Mercedes W196 Streamliner about to be sold along with other legendary racing cars by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.

Quotable

💬 TikTok tips: Lebron’s tongue-in-cheek advice for viewers about being “very demure, very mindful” has quickly become the latest catchphrase.

Quiz time

💎 Nearly five years ago, $124 million worth of jewelry was stolen in a shocking heist from the Gruenes Gewoelbe museum in which European city?
A. Vienna
B. Dresden
C. Copenhagen
D. Amsterdam
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Sports spotlight

⚽ Mega money: Real Madrid soccer star Vinícius Jr. has reportedly been offered a lucrative deal worth more than $1 billion to play in Saudi Arabia.

Good vibes

😎 We like to wrap things up on a positive note: The ratings for the Paris Olympics soared 82% over the Tokyo Games, delivering a big boost to NBC and making them the most-streamed Olympics of all time.

Thanks for reading

👋 We’ll see you tomorrow.
🧠 Quiz answer: B. The stolen treasures were recovered and have been returned to the Green Vault museum in Dresden, Germany.
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5 Things PM is produced by CNN’s Tricia Escobedo, Meghan Pryce and Kimberly Richardson.