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Counting casualties, beach rescue, paycheck for life: Catch up on the day’s stories

👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! If you’ve spent your career in the private sector, chances are you won’t get a pension. Good news, though: You can turn part of your retirement savings into a paycheck for life — it just requires careful planning.

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

5 things

1️⃣ Counting casualties

President Donald Trump’s administration is playing accounting games with dead US troops. The recent deaths in the Iran war are the latest example of the chaotic and often callous handling of military fatalities. CNN’s Aaron Blake explains why it’s so suspicious.

2️⃣ Lindsey Graham’s funeral

The president remembered the late Republican senator as a “tough cookie” whose influence extended throughout the world. Tomorrow he will be honored in his home state of South Carolina. Follow live updates.

How the ‘Trump-Graham chemistry’ reshaped US foreign policy

3️⃣ High in additives

Four out of five foods sold for toddlers in the US are ultraprocessed, new research found, and nearly half of those items failed to meet nutritional benchmarks set by the World Health Organization.

4️⃣ Dreaming big

Move over, Silicon Valley. An entrepreneur with a background in gene therapy is determined to transform this Midwestern state into a biotech hub.

5️⃣ Moon with a view

July’s buck moon — named for its alignment with the growth period of male deer antlers — will grace the sky this week. Here’s how to see it.

Watch this

🛟 Beach rescue: A teen lifeguard plunged into rough surf to save a young boy in Santa Cruz, California. Bystanders who tried to help were forced back by the dangerous waves before another lifeguard joined the effort.

Top headlines

Check this out

📸 Behind the scenes: How do you capture the essence of people who want to remain anonymous? A photographer tackled this tricky request for her project on queer Muslim life.

For CNN subscribers

Quiz time

✈️ Which company is struggling to deliver a new Air Force One by 2028?
A. Airbus
B. Boeing
C. Lockheed Martin
D. Northrop Grumman
⬇️ Scroll down for the answer.

Thanks for reading

Most popular in yesterday’s newsletter: Considering statins? New US cholesterol guidelines may change your decision

🧠 Quiz answer: B. Boeing said it’s making a substantial effort to get the first of two presidential planes out the door — four years later and for billions of dollars more than initially promised.

👋 We’ll see you tomorrow.

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Lala becomes Cat. 1 hurricane as it bears down on Hawaii’s Big Island

▶ Watch Video: What to expect as Tropical Storm Lala nears Hawaii's Big Island Hurricane Lala is now a Category 1 storm as it continues to strengthen on its approach to Hawaii's Big Island, where it will bring heavy rain, flooding and life-threatening surf and rip currents to the area, forecasters say. The weather system strengthened into a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph at 9 a.m. local time. A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when its maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph.Lala's core will pass the Big Island on Saturday, then reach south of the smaller islands on Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday, though it warned the storm may have some "erratic" movements. Lala is expected to weaken as it interacts with the Big Island. Damaging, tropical-force winds were spreading across the Big Island and parts of Maui on Saturday, especially across higher terrain. The winds have strengthened throughout Saturday.Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Friday that Hawaii will see "an incredible amount of water," warning residents and visitors to prepare for heavy flooding and the possibility of major power outages. Mudslides are also a major concern, and large, dangerous surf also brings the potential for coastal flooding and significant beach erosion. The NHC has issued a rare hurricane warning for the Big Island."This is a very serious storm," Green said in a news briefing Friday night. "We have not had a hurricane make landfall in quite some time. So none of us really have experienced this really in, you know, the last couple of decades." A resident looks at a young green sea turtle as ocean waters started to raise due to the approach of Tropical Storm Lala at Reed's Bay in Hilo, Hawaii on August 14, 2026. Jill K. Briggs /AFP via Getty Images
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