Mount Etna eruption, resurgence of a slur, mites come out at night: Catch up on the day's stories
Here's what else you might have missed during your busy day:
1️⃣ Massive eruption: Tourists at Mount Etna were forced to flee after a huge plume of high-temperature gases, ash and rock billowed into the air. About 1.5 million people visit the Italian volcano each year, and the last eruption of this magnitude occurred in 2014.
2️⃣ Manhunt update: A police chief-turned-murderer-and-rapist, a repeat escapee and a double murderer — all three are still nowhere to be found after two high-profile jailbreaks in Arkansas and Louisiana. Here's what we know about the circumstances of each case.
3️⃣ The R-word: A slur used to denigrate people with disabilities is surging in popularity among some influential public figures like Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. Experts say the implications of its resurgence are bigger than just one word.
4️⃣ 'Toxic Nation': A new 'Make America Healthy Again' documentary claims four things are making us sick: ultraprocessed foods, seed oils, herbicides and pesticides, and fluoride. Health specialists break it down and explain what the research says.
5️⃣ Clean streets: Travelers who visit Japan wonder how the country can be so tidy and organized when there doesn't seem to be a way to dispose of garbage in public places. So where are all the trash cans?
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CNN's 5 Things newsletter is your one-stop shop for the latest headlines and fascinating stories to start and end your busy day. Sign up here. 🚘 Wild crash: A car ran off the road and through the roof of a veterans hall in Missouri, but police said the driver only suffered minor injuries. This is the second time in three months a vehicle crashed into the same building.
• Colorado suspect charged with federal hate crime, had planned antisemitic attack for a year, FBI says• Trump returns to Supreme Court with emergency appeal over mass firings• Second round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks ends swiftly with no major breakthrough
🏡 That's how many prospective buyers are reportedly waiting for home prices and interest rates to drop before jumping into the real estate market.
🤖 Smart art: Victor Wong put his degree in electrical engineering to good use by creating AI Gemini, a robotic arm that produces traditional Chinese landscape paintings. See how it works.
🎧 'We're burnt out': After nearly 16 years and countless hours of conversations, comedian Marc Maron will end his groundbreaking podcast 'WTF' this fall. The host said he and producer Brendan McDonald made the decision together.
🍬 Haribo is recalling some bags of candy in the Netherlands because what was found in them?A. WoodB. CannabisC. MetalD. Fungi⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.
👘 Crafty creations: Kimonos are deeply woven into the fabric of Japan's cultural identity, but not many people wear them anymore. Entrepreneur Shotaro Kawamura is working with craftspeople to upcycle unwanted robes into new products such as sneakers.
👋 We'll see you tomorrow.🧠 Quiz answer: B. Haribo is recalling bags of fizzy cola bottles after cannabis was found in some of them.📧 Check out all of CNN's newsletters.
5 Things PM is produced by CNN's Chris Good, Meghan Pryce, Kimberly Richardson and Morgan Severson.
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Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Eating minimally processed meals doubles weight loss even when ultraprocessed foods are healthy, study finds
People in the United Kingdom lost twice as much weight eating meals typically made at home than they did when eating store-bought ultraprocessed food considered healthy, the latest research has found. 'This new study shows that even when an ultraprocessed diet meets nutritional guidelines, people will still lose more weight eating a minimally processed diet,' said coauthor Dr. Kevin Hall, a former senior investigator at the US National Institutes of Health who has conducted some of the world's only controlled clinical trials on ultraprocessed foods. 'This (study) is the largest and longest randomized controlled clinical trial of ultraprocessed foods to date,' Hall added. Hall's past research sequestered healthy volunteers from the world for a month at a time, measuring the impact of ultraprocessed food on their weight, body fat and various biomarkers of health. In a 2019 study, he found people in the United States ate about 500 calories more each day and gained weight when on an ultraprocessed diet than when eating a minimally processed diet matched by calories and nutrients. The weight loss from minimally processed food in the new study was modest — only 2% of the person's baseline weight, said study first author Samuel Dicken, a research fellow at the department of behavioral science and health and the Centre for Obesity Research at University College London. 'Though a 2% reduction may not seem very big, that is only over eight weeks and without people trying to actively reduce their (food) intake,' Dicken said in a statement. 'If we scaled these results up over the course of a year, we'd expect to see a 13% weight reduction in men and a 9% reduction in women.' Men typically have more lean muscle mass than women, which along with testosterone often gives them a quicker boost over women when it comes to weight loss, experts say. Healthier ultraprocessed foods The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, provided free ultraprocessed or minimally processed meals and snacks to 55 overweight people in the UK for a total of eight weeks. After a short break, the groups switched to the opposite diet for another eight weeks. Study participants were told to eat as much or as little of the 4,000 daily calories as they liked and record their consumption in a diary. By the end of the study, 50 people had spent eight weeks on both diets. While the number of participants may seem small at first glance, providing 16 weeks of food and implementing randomized controlled clinical trials can be costly. For the first eight weeks, 28 people received daily deliveries of minimally processed meals and snacks, such as overnight oats and homemade spaghetti Bolognese. Minimally processed foods, such as fruits, vegetables, meat, milk and eggs, are typically cooked from their natural state, according to NOVA, a recognized system of categorizing foods by their level of processing. Concurrently, another 27 people received a daily delivery of ultraprocessed foods — such as ready-to-eat breakfast bars or heat-and-eat lasagna — for eight weeks. Ultraprocessed foods, or UPFs, contain additives never or rarely used in kitchens and often undergo extensive industrial processing, according to the NOVA classification system. Because ultraprocessed foods are typically high in calories, added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat and low in fiber, they have been linked to weight gain and obesity and the development of chronic conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and depression. Such foods may even shorten life. Researchers in this study, however, did something unusual, said Christopher Gardner, Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine at Stanford University in California who directs the Stanford Prevention Research Center's Nutrition Studies Research Group. 'They tried to make a healthy ultraprocessed diet by picking ultraprocessed foods with the recommended number of fruits, veggies and fiber and lower levels of salt, sugar and saturated fats,' said Gardner, who was not involved in the study. Both the ultraprocessed and the minimally processed meals had to meet the nutritional requirements of the Eatwell Guide, the UK's official government guidance on how to eat a healthy, balanced diet. The United States has similar dietary guidelines, which are used to set federal nutritional standards. 'This is a very solid study, matching dietary interventions for nutrients and food group distribution, while varying only the contribution of ultra-processed foods,' said Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine, in an email. Katz, who was not involved in the study, is the founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine. The lure of ultraprocessed food The study's goal was weight loss, which often comes with improved cardiovascular readings, such as lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. That happened, but in rather odd and surprising ways, said Marion Nestle, the Paulette Goddard professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, who was asked to write an editorial to be published with the study. Instead of gaining weight, people on the ultraprocessed diet chose to eat 120 fewer calories a day, thus losing a small amount of weight. People on the minimally processed diet, however, ate 290 fewer calories a day, thus losing even more weight and some body fat as well. 'One possible explanation is that (people on the minimally processed diet) did not like the 'healthy' meals as much as their usual diets,' Nestle, who was not involved in the research, wrote in the editorial. 'They deemed the minimally processed diet less tasty,' Nestle said. 'That diet emphasized 'real' fresh foods, whereas the ultra-processed diet featured commercially packaged 'healthy' ultra-processed food products such as fruit, nut, and protein bars; sandwiches and meals; drinking yoghurts, and plant-based milks.' Less than 1% of people in the UK follow all of the government's nutritional recommendations, according to the study, often choosing ultraprocessed foods as the basis of their normal daily intake. In the US, nearly 60% of an adult's calorie consumption is from ultraprocessed foods. 'People in this study were overweight or obese and were already eating a diet high in all kinds of ultraprocessed foods,' Gardner said. 'So the ultraprocessed diet in the study was healthier than their typical normal diet. Isn't that an odd twist?' People on the minimally processed diet had lower levels of triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, but other markers of heart health didn't vary much between the two diets, according to the study. There was one notable exception: low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, known as 'bad' cholesterol because it can build up in arteries and create blockages to the heart. 'Surprisingly, LDL cholesterol was reduced more on the ultra-processed diet,' said dietitian Dimitrios Koutoukidis, an associate professor of diet, obesity and behavioral sciences at the University of Oxford, who was not involved in the study. 'This might imply that processing is not as important for heart health if the foods already meet the standard UK healthy eating guidance,' Koutoukidis said in a statement. 'Further research is needed to better understand this.' According to Hall, the results fit quite nicely with preliminary results from his current study that is still underway. In that research, Hall and his team measured the impact of four configurations of ultraprocessed foods on the health of 36 volunteers. Each lived for a month in the Metabolic Clinical Research Unit of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. 'When you modify an ultraprocessed diet to have lower energy (calorie) density and fewer highly palatable foods, you can offset some of the effects of ultraprocessed foods in causing excess calorie intake and weight gain,' Hall said. In other words, choose healthier foods regardless of the levels of processing. 'People don't eat the best ultraprocessed foods, they eat the worst ones, so the take home here is to follow the national guidelines for nutrient quality,' Gardner said. 'Read your nutrient label and choose foods that are low in salt, fat, sugar and calories and high in fiber, and avoid foods with too many additives with unpronounceable names. That's the key to a healthier diet.' Sign up for CNN's Eat, But Better: Mediterranean Style. Our eight-part guide shows you a delicious expert-backed eating lifestyle that will boost your health for life. Solve the daily Crossword
Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health Receives an International Award at the 25th ORP Conference in Colombia
The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) participated in the 25th Annual Conference of the International ORP Foundation (Occupational Risk Prevention), held from July 31 to August 1, 2025, in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. The ORP Conference is one of the most prominent international events dedicated to occupational safety and health in South America. CARTAGENA, CO / ACCESS Newswire / August 4, 2025 / The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) participated in the 25th Annual Conference of the International ORP Foundation (Occupational Risk Prevention), held from July 31 to August 1, 2025, in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. The ORP Conference is one of the most prominent international events dedicated to occupational safety and health in South National Council for Occupational Safety and Health Receives an International Award at the 25th The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) participated in the 25th Annual Conference of the International ORP Foundation (Occupational Risk Prevention), held from July 31 to August 1, 2025, in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. The NCOSH was represented by its Secretary-General, Eng. Majed bin Ibrahim Alfuwaiz, who shared Saudi Arabia's experience in advancing its occupational safety and health ecosystem. The presentation highlighted key national initiatives and achievements in line with the objectives of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. At the conclusion of the conference, Eng. Alfuwaiz accepted the 'ORP Recognition 2025" award on behalf of the Council. This prestigious international award is presented annually by the ORP Foundation to organizations that have demonstrated impactful efforts in promoting safe and healthy workplaces. This recognition marks a milestone in NCOSH's efforts to strengthen the culture of occupational safety and health in the Kingdom, through coordination with national stakeholders and the adoption of global best practices in pursuit of Vision 2030 objectives. This achievement stands as a distinguished addition to Saudi Arabia's international record, placing NCOSH alongside renowned institutions that have previously received this award, including International Labour Organization (ILO), International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH), World Health Organization (WHO), Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH UK), International Social Security Association (ISSA) and German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) On this occasion, Eng. Majed Alfuwaiz expressed his pride in this national achievement, stating that it was made possible-first by the grace of Allah, then through the continuous support of the Kingdom's leadership and the guidance of His Excellency the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD), who chairs the Council, along with His Excellency the Vice Minister of HRSD. Their leadership has been instrumental in enabling NCOSH to fulfill its mission effectively. He also extended his gratitude to the NCOSH Secretariat and all those who contributed to the Council's initiatives. He affirmed the Council's continued commitment to enhancing worker protection and achieving sustainable institutional excellence in this vital field Contact Information PUREMINDS Agency المجلس الوطني للسلامة والصحة المهنية | Ncosh [email protected] +966 55 180 6364 SOURCE: National Council for Occupational Safety and Health press release
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Smoke Causes Poor Air Quality Across Canada, the Great Lakes and Northeastern U.S.
Canadian wildfires burning across northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan are sending smoke through central Canada, the Great Lakes region and the northeastern United States, reducing air quality and visibility in major cities. Here are the key things to know: Air quality alerts were issued across the Upper Great Lakes and the northeastern United States on Monday. The air is expected to improve for most areas by Wednesday. Air quality The worst smoke concentrations are in the smallest towns in Canada, nearest the wildfires, and are creating hazardous air quality that could be harmful to people breathing the air. Farther away from the fires, a strong haze is sinking to the surface this morning, creating unhealthy air quality from Milwaukee to Buffalo, including other major cities like Detroit and Toronto. This poor air has prompted air quality alerts across the Upper Great Lakes and in the northeastern United States on Monday, forecasters with the Weather Prediction Center said. An air quality reading that is above 150 in many of these cities is considered unhealthy, and can create ill effects that might start to be felt even by people who are not in sensitive groups. Cities along the East Coast, including New York City, were also experiencing hazy skies on Monday. But as of early afternoon, the air quality sensors in the area were registering less than 100, so the air pollution at that location is considered below the level that is known to cause adverse health effects. 'Concentrations will increase into Monday afternoon,' forecasters in the National Weather Service office in New York City said Monday morning. If the air quality reading climbs above 100 on Monday afternoon, outdoor air may be safe for many people, but older adults and children would be at risk, as would people of any age with heart or lung disease. Beyond Monday, the smoke may lift back to the north and out of New York, and may linger across the Great Lakes and Midwest through Tuesday, but concentrations are expected to begin dispersing, improving air quality across the region by Wednesday. With wildfires still active, and as weather patterns change, the smoke may once again blanket the same region over the next several weeks, as it has several times already this summer. There is also a smoky haze in California — not from the Canadian wildfires but from local fires, like the Gifford fire, which has burned more than 60,000 acres since Friday.
