LA Post: Minimizing risk from plastic, overcoming awkwardness, best documentaries: Catch up on the day’s stories

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👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! When a casual conversation takes an awkward turn, don’t panic. It’s pretty much inevitable, especially at a family gathering or holiday party. An expert offers five tips for how to handle the situation.

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

5 things

1️⃣ Plastic risks: It’s in our packaging, furnishings, clothing, food supply and even inside our bodies. While it’s impossible to avoid plastic, there are ways you can decrease your exposure to microplastics. Here’s how.

2️⃣ Fraud warning: More people are becoming victims of a real estate scam as communication for business transactions moves online. They’re vulnerable to fraud because property listings are publicly available and the deals involve large sums of money.

3️⃣ Tightening up: Demand for surgery to remove extra skin is surging because so many people are shedding pounds thanks to popular drugs for weight loss and diabetes. An estimated 1 in 8 adults in the US has used Ozempic or a similar GLP-1 medication.

4️⃣ Robot restoration: Found on seabeds from Alaska to Australia, seagrass meadows are one of the most widespread coastal habitats on Earth. But they’re in decline – with a loss of about 7% a year globally – due to several factors. That’s why a company is using underwater planting machines to help repopulate them.

5️⃣ What to watch: From an unusual take on a Founding Father to an eye-opening portrait of a cherished Ukrainian restaurant in the heart of New York City, these are the documentaries you shouldn’t miss.

Watch this

🦋 ‘It’s an obsession’: Steve Collins, a butterfly collector in Kenya, has dedicated his life to finding, preserving and studying the African species of this delicate insect. He has assembled the world’s largest collection.

Top headlines

• Police arrest suspect in connection with killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO
• Daniel Penny acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in NYC subway chokehold case
• Trump’s Cabinet picks meet with lawmakers as they try to garner support

$42

🚢 That’s the new fee Mexico plans to impose on each passenger of cruise ships that dock there.

Check this out

🇳🇵Out of shape: Nepal’s flag has always been a bit of a mystery. It’s not rectangular or even square. Here’s the story behind the world’s most unusually shaped national flag.

What’s buzzing

💃 No show: A musical inspired by viral Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn, known as “Raygun,” was shut down hours before it was due to open, after lawyers representing her threatened legal action.

Quiz time

👠 A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” just sold at auction for how much?
A. $1 million
B. $9 million
C. $18 million
D. $28 million
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Good vibes

❤️ Vacation romance: Yann Dervaux and Shylo Malcolm met while they were visiting Cuba. He told her they would “stay in touch,” but she assumed she’d never hear from him again. Wrong! They took turns visiting each other in Canada and France and traveled the world together before making the ultimate commitment.

Thanks for reading

👋 We’ll see you tomorrow.
🧠 Quiz answer: D. The slippers went for $28 million — the most valuable movie memorabilia ever sold at auction, according to Heritage Auctions.
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5 Things PM is produced by CNN’s Chris Good, Meghan Pryce and Kimberly Richardson.

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