California officials have significantly scaled back evacuation orders Monday as the risk of a catastrophic tank explosion has been eliminated. But about 16,000 residents still remain displaced, Garden Grove Police Chief Amir El-Farra said, as crews continue to manage the threat of a smaller blast or toxic release. Until Monday evening’s reduction, about 50,000 residents were asked to flee their homes as the temperature and pressure escalated inside a tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove. The tank contains 7,000 gallons of a chemical called methyl methacrylate, or MMA, which is used to make plastics and can cause myriad health problems upon exposure. Crews worked overnight into Memorial Day to investigate a crack in the tank, which authorities had said might alleviate pressure and prevent a disaster known as a BLEVE, or boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/24/us/california-orange-county-evacuation-what-we-know-hnk
Few living architects can claim, in good faith, to have shaped the character of a whole neighborhood, let alone a city or country. Yet, on a landmass around 40% larger than Europe, one man has exerted an outsize influence on the architecture of an entire continent. Antarctica is home to over 70 permanent research stations — and 61-year-old Hugh Broughton has worked on more of them than anyone else. His eponymous firm has designed scientific facilities for the UK and Spain, developed proposals for South Korea, India and Brazil, and worked with Australia and New Zealand to redevelop their polar bases. His distinctly space-age aesthetic, born of necessity in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments, is now arguably the continent’s prevailing architectural style. “I think our coverage of Antarctica is pretty good — certainly more than anyone else in the world,” said Broughton in his 16-person London office, almost 10,000 miles from the South Pole, before modestly caveating the claim: “You could call us the continent’s most prolific architects. But I don’t think it would make my head swell too much, because there’s probably only two or three others in the game.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/25/style/antarctica-architecture-hugh-broughton
A new coffee chain may be headed to a town near you, and it’s not Starbucks or Dunkin’. Many Americans likely haven’t heard of 7 Brew, which has only been around since 2017 when it opened its first location in Rogers, Arkansas. The chain has since grown to over 700 locations in 38 states, with about 340 more on the way, but can’t be found in airports, indoor shopping malls or busy street corners in major US cities. Instead, it operates through drive-thrus and walk-up windows in parts of the country with little-to-no coffee competition. The growth of 7 Brew and other rapidly expanding beverage chains, including competitors like Dutch Bros and soda-focused Swig, shows that Americans are perhaps unwilling to give up quick treats during hard times.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/25/business/7-brew-coffee-chain
Kara Alaimo is a professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University and advises parents, students and teachers on how to manage screen time. Her book “Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls — And How We Can Take It Back” was published in 2024. Manoush Zomorodi has some good and bad news for you. The bad news? All that sitting you do — whether you’re working at a desk or scrolling — is way worse for your health than you probably realized, the New York City-based NPR journalist warned in her new book, “Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/25/health/body-electric-breaks-manoush-zomorodi-wellness
Key officials responsible for leading US research on infectious disease threats have been barred from speaking directly with the World Health Organization — effectively shutting some of them out of the global discussions on virus outbreaks, according to documents and multiple sources who spoke to CNN. The Trump administration issued the directive stopping individuals at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from communicating with the WHO. The federal health subagency was led for decades by Dr. Anthony Fauci and oversaw developing treatments for public health emergencies including HIV/AIDs and Covid-19.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/25/politics/global-virus-response-trump-administration