By Daniel Wine

Welcome to 5 Things PM! Elon Musk’s up-and-down year wrapped with one final stumble. Tesla posted its second consecutive sales decline, losing its long‑held electric vehicle crown to a company the billionaire once mocked.

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

5 things

1⃣ Childhood vaccines

In a major shift, the Department of Health and Human Services will recommend fewer vaccines for most American children. Experts worry it could lead to a resurgence of preventable diseases.

2⃣ Alito’s aggravation

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has a remarkable record of transforming his old dissenting opinions into the new majority view and setting the direction of the law. Yet the more he wins, the testier he gets.

3⃣ Distracted teens

Most schools have policies restricting phone use, but students are finding ways to evade the rules. Research shows they’re spending a significant chunk of the school day on their devices.

4⃣ Right on time

Airlines have to juggle staffing challenges and unpredictable weather to keep their flights running on schedule. A new report highlights which ones excel in terms of punctuality.

5⃣ Superheroes and sequels

From “The Odyssey” to “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” CNN’s entertainment team put together a 2026 movie preview. Grab some popcorn and see what’s in store.

Watch this

Tangled up: A paratrooper got caught in the field goal netting before the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, but walked away unscathed.

Top headlines

• Defiant Maduro pleads not guilty as Trump threatens other countries
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz won’t seek third term as fraud scandal churns
• Pentagon moves to cut Sen. Mark Kelly’s military retirement pay as punishment over ‘illegal orders’ video

Check this out

Winter’s sexiest outfit: Once reserved for the privacy of one’s home, intimate apparel is now stepping into everyday wardrobes — at least if celebrities have anything to say about it. Take a look.

For CNN subscribers

• 3 keystone habits that can transform your health in 2026 — and make everything easier
• An a

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) -  One of the most visited and photographed areas of Santa Barbara is getting the annual special care that makes it a favorite spot in the city.

The City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department will host its Annual Rose Pruning Day January 10 at the Mission Historical Park.  

It's a tradition each January.

Volunteers are invited out to learn about rose pruning from experts including Santa Barbara Rose Society member and resident rosarian Dan Bifano, in the famous A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden.

The department needs 150 volunteers to complete the project.

There are more than 1,500 rose bushes in the park. 

After this work, mulching and feeding will take place next month.  

Volunteers are welcome to drop in at any time during the three-hour event.

No special experience is required, as pruning demonstrations will be provided by Santa Barbara Rose Society member and resident rosarian Dan Bifano.

The Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department says: Volunteers are asked to bring their own gloves and tools, including hand pruners, loppers, and small handsaws, but a limited supply will be available. Parks and Recreation staff will be onsite to help sharpen and sanitize tools before pruning begins. Sturdy clothes, including long sleeves and pants, and sun protection are recommended.

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VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Verizon Wireless will have to pay $7.7 million to resolve a statewide civil suit that alleged environmental violations at hundreds of the telecommunications company's cell towers across Southern California.

According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, violations at numerous Verizon cell towers concerning hazardous materials and above ground petroleum storage tanks used to power emergency generators and backup systems were reported beginning in January of 2019.

California law requires that the storage of hazardous materials including lead acid batteries and petroleum products at cell towers needed to be properly reported to regulators noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

"Verizon’s failure to comply with the law governing hazardous materials created avoidable risks,"
said Ventura County District Attorney Nasarenko. "The investigation found consistent gaps in required reporting, employee training, and inspection access across hundreds of facilities. These requirements exist to ensure that first responders, environmental regulators, and public safety officials have accurate
information about hazardous materials stored at commercial sites in the event of an emergency."

Under the judgement, Verizon will be required to pay a total of $7.7 million including $7,125,000 in civil penalties, $200,000 in investigative costs, and $375,000 in Supplemental Environmental Projects detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Of the total settlement, the local District Attorney's Office shared that it would receive $813,437.50 in penalties and $9,169.50, the Oxnard Certified Unified Program Agency which regulates hazardous materials and waste management programs will receive $261,761.25 in penalties and $3,000 in costs, and Ventura County Environmental Health will receive $53,613.75 in penalties.

The complaint -brought forward by District Attorneys of Ventura, Los Angeles, Imperial, Orange Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego counties alongside the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office- alleged that Verizon repeatedly failed to submit accurate Hazardous Materials Business Plans to the California Environmental Reporting system, failed to keep copies of those plans onsite, and did not provide adequate training to employees who would respond to a hazardous materials release explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Additionally, Verizon refused to allow inspections at multiple cell towers and did not pay required permit fees to local regulators noted the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

There was no evidence of environmental harm at the cell towers despite the non-compliance added the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

The post Verizon Wireless required to pay $7.7 million to settle alleged environmental violations at hundreds of Southern California cell towers appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

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