After an early Thursday morning landing near Washington, two White House officials posted social media farewells to the heavily modified Boeing 747-200, which has flown as Air Force One since 1990, as the first of three planes being modified for the role is set to be delivered soon. “The last ride,” White House communications director Steve Cheung said sharing a photo of the plane - which the Air Force calls a VC-25A - in a post on X. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted a video of the aircraft and wrote he has “been fortunate to fly around the world on this iconic plane for 5 1/2 years — of the 35 years it has been serving US presidents… THANK YOU…”
With the World Cup now in full swing, many doctors warn that the risks of extreme heat extend far beyond the action on the field – especially at certain venues, potentially affecting millions of fans and thousands of workers. Summer always brings the heat, but the places that pose the greatest risk might surprise you. In the United States, experts are keeping an eye on stadiums in three host cities: Miami, Kansas City and Philadelphia. Some US host cities with hotter climates – Atlanta, Houston and Dallas – have air-conditioned indoor stadiums, which may afford fans and workers some protection. But Miami, Kansas City and Philadelphia are home to open-air stadiums, which means they have the potential to expose fans to “very high heat” and “very high humidity,” said Dr. Fabian Arous, a sports medicine physician at Children’s Health Andrews Institute for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine with a FIFA diploma in football medicine.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/18/health/world-cup-heat-hydration-fans
A Japanese ship was in a convoy steaming through the South China Sea on September 21, 1944, with around 1,200 British and Dutch prisoners of war crammed in its holds. US warplanes, mistaking the unmarked ship for a military cargo vessel, dropped four torpedoes. One struck the ship. The vessel split in two and sank within minutes, dooming most of the Allied prisoners trapped below deck. Only about 200 of the weakened, sick POWs survived, and the exact location of the wreck was lost to the deep. Now, some 80 years later, researchers have uncovered the servicemen’s final resting place. The team scoured documents buried in Japanese and US military archives before conducting sonar surveys and technical dives. These efforts ultimately located the wreck of the Hōfuku Maru near Zambales province, off the western coast of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/18/science/hofuku-maru-wwii-hell-ship-discovery
UK politician Andy Burnham could now challenge British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the leadership of the governing Labour Party, and the country, having resoundingly won the election as the Member of Parliament for Makerfield. Thursday’s by-election - the equivalent of a special election in the US - was triggered with the sole purpose of providing a path to 10 Downing Street for Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester who is widely seen as the Labour politician best placed to unseat the embattled Prime Minister. In the early hours of Friday morning, with all votes counted, that risk paid off. Burnham secured 55% of the vote, a comfortable lead over Robert Kenyon of the right-wing populist party Reform UK, who came in second place with 35%. The UK government now enters a new period of uncertainty as Burnham plots his next move.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/18/uk/makerfield-by-election-results-labour-burnham-reform-intl-hnk
News of the damage must surely have found its way into the most isolated of bunkers. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of secluding himself from the deteriorating realities of his invasion of Ukraine. But the staggering images from Moscow’s skyline on Thursday surely mark a moment when even the thickest levels of insulation around the Kremlin head cannot shield him from the sound of repeated blasts just 10 miles away that obliterated refineries leading to thick black smoke wafting over Russia’s capital. Videos posted by Russians to social media tell two stories. First, of air defenses in the capital – all apparent three rings of them – pierced by cheap, mass-produced drones that Ukraine was once on the bitter receiving end of but now fires back nightly at Russia. A refinery lid blown clean off. Multiple fires raging 10 miles from the Kremlin itself. An environmental disaster surely unfolding. The damage itself will impact fuel supplies, perhaps leading to gas station queues in a city the Kremlin has fought long and hard to protect from the consequences of war.
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/18/europe/putin-confronts-war-reality