Top general’s balancing act, rattled workers, ‘SuperAger’ brains: Catch up on the day’s stories

By Daniel Wine, CNN

👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! Scientists have discovered a key to staying mentally fit in old age. This is how the brains of “SuperAgers” — people who have razor-sharp minds in their 80s and 90s — differ from others.

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

5 things

1️⃣ Balancing act

Gen. Dan Caine has been drafting military options for a potential US strike on Iran. He’s attempting to walk a tightrope by avoiding conflict with the notoriously mercurial President Donald Trump while still providing professional guidance.

2️⃣ ‘I’m doing very well’

Astronaut Mike Fincke confirmed that he was the crew member whose “medical event” led to an early exit from the International Space Station. It was the first time NASA cut short an ISS staffing mission for health reasons.

3️⃣ Rattled nerves

Anthropic is updating its Claude AI helper to perform better at tasks for jobs in design, human resources and wealth management. It’s also enabling the tool to work in applications like Excel and PowerPoint. People are worried.

4️⃣ The write stuff?

Symbols carved into tools and figurines by Stone Age humans more than 40,000 years ago could be an ancient precursor to writing. Researchers analyzed thousands of crosses, dots, notches and lines.

5️⃣ Affordable skiing

Lift ticket prices add up quickly, and some people find themselves unable to afford a ski trip. These low-key US resorts offer fun on the slopes without breaking the bank.

Watch this

🦁 Grrreat disguise! Thai police dressed as lion dancers at a Lunar New Year celebration to catch a suspected serial burglar. The man was wanted for repeatedly breaking into an officer’s home.

Top headlines

• Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address, annotated and fact-checked
• Nearly 100 key documents apparently missing from Epstein files, including Trump accuser interviews
• Cuban forces kill 4 people aboard a Florida-registered speedboat

Check this out

💀 A saintly skeleton: Nearly 800 years after he died, the remains of St. Francis of Assisi are on public display for the first time.

For CNN subscribers

• Analysis: Trump staged a State of the Union spectacle. But he couldn’t escape political gravity
• Can Trump’s surgeon general pick convince the country that RFK Jr. is Making America Healthy Again?
• The death of ‘El Mencho’ exposed the reach of Mexico’s cartel crisis. Will US tourists stay away?

Quiz time

💬 Which lawmaker was escorted out of the State of the Union address for holding a sign that said “Black people aren’t apes!”?
A. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
B. Rep. Al Green of Texas
C. Rep. Kweisi Mfume of Maryland
D. Rep. Maxine Waters of California
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Thanks for reading

✅ Most popular in yesterday’s newsletter: Yosemite’s ‘lava waterfall’ draws large crowds

🧠 Quiz answer: B. Green was removed from the House chamber just minutes into Trump’s speech Tuesday night.

👋 We’ll see you tomorrow.

📧 Check out all of CNN’s newsletters.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Today’s edition of 5 Things PM was edited and produced by CNN’s Kimberly Richardson and Chris Good.