Crews in Southern California are again working through the night to stop a massive tank filled with a toxic chemical from leaking or causing a catastrophic explosion as tens of thousands of residents remain evacuated due to possible health risks and the prospect of damage from a blast. About 50,000 people in the roughly 9-square-mile potential blast radius in Orange County were told to leave their homes last week, with many spending the Memorial Day weekend in shelters, hotels or with friends and family outside the danger zone. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared an emergency for the area. After discovering a crack in the tank at the GKN Aerospace facility Saturday night, crews returned to the structure late Sunday for an “all-night mission” to determine whether the fissure goes all the way through the exterior – a key step in confirming whether dangerous internal pressure has been released.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/24/us/california-orange-county-evacuation-what-we-know-hnk
Hélène Akilimali says she’s taking every precaution against contracting Ebola, including always wearing a face mask in public. But her work as a cocoa seller in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - the epicenter of the latest outbreak - brings her into daily contact with other people, some of whom doubt the disease is even real, and she has no control over how they behave. “Ebola is a real disease. People need to stop deluding themselves,” said Akilimali, cautioning that misinformation, myths about the virus and lax attitudes are killing people. “I always wear my face mask. But as for the customers, when they come, they may or may not be wearing face masks,” Akilimali told a journalist on the ground working on behalf of CNN. “You’re not going to chase them away.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/24/africa/ebola-outbreak-view-from-drc-congo-intl
By submitting your story, including your name, and any other personal information (“Story”) you agree that your Story may be used, published and distributed by CNN, its affiliates and licensees worldwide on all media and platforms for editorial purposes without any limitation in time in accordance with CNN’s terms of service. You also agree that we may use any personal contact information you provide to contact you about your Story and that we will use such personal contact information in accordance with our privacy policy located at cnn.com/privacy
There’s no sugarcoating it. The complete 2025 data is in, and the message is clear: International visitors stayed away from the US in the first real year-over-year decline since the Covid-19 pandemic. The drop in visitors was larger than during the global recession of 2008. This time, it wasn’t a pandemic or a collapse of the market — it was human error. Travelers cite presidential rhetoric and policies manifesting in highly public wars — both figurative and literal — as some of the reasons for staying away. Four million fewer foreign visitors came to the US in 2025 compared to 2024, with total spending decreasing by more than $8 billion.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/25/travel/analysis-tourism-fewer-international-visitors-2025-vis
The Coca-Cola 600, set on Memorial Day Weekend, has always had a strong element of remembrance to it. On Sunday, the world of NASCAR was still wrapping its collective head around the fact that one of its own was included in this year’s collective mourning. A race that endured 12 caution flags over the nearly five hours of racing ended in one of Busch’s protégés – Daniel Suarez – winning a rain-shortened contest. He choked back tears as fellow drivers congratulated him, and dedicated his victory to Busch. “The very first thing that came to my mind was Kyle,” Suarez told reporters after the race. “We all know this has been a difficult week and weekend for all of us, drivers, promoters, media, fans, most important, his family. A few days ago, I was still hoping that somebody was going to say that it wasn’t real.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/24/sport/kyle-busch-coca-cola-600
Pope Leo XIV says control of artificial intelligence must not remain in the hands “of a few” while warning that technology is fueling world conflicts, setting out his proposals in the first major theological document of his pontificate. These include protecting the distinctive “grandeur of humanity” amid rapidly changing technology and for the use of AI in warfare to be subject to “the most rigorous ethical constraints.” While the encyclical focuses on AI, it is a text that goes beyond technological questions and touches on crises facing humanity. Pope Leo said that the “just war” theory – a four-pronged Christian doctrine stating what conditions justify war – is “now outdated,” saying that military force can only be used for “self-defense in the strictest sense.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/25/europe/pope-leo-ai-encyclical-magnifica-humanitas-intl