F2B BREAKING NEWS: Thursday, June 18, 2026

[00:00:17][music] [music] [music] [music] >> Good afternoon. Fade to Black breaking news for this Thursday, June 18th, 2026.

[00:00:50]This is all of the news that you need.

[00:00:52]I'm Jimmy Church. Let's get straight to it. On this day in history, 1178, five monks in Canterbury, England, witness an explosion on the surface of the moon saying, "A flaming torch sprang up spewing out fire, hot coals, and sparks. The moon throbbed like a wounded snake." What did they see?

[00:01:15]Here's your fader fact. If your first tear comes from the right eye, it's tears of joy, not sadness or pain. I bet you didn't know that. Let's get to the breaking news. Archaeologists have discovered an earlier, much simpler version of Stonehenge about 3 mi away from the original.

[00:01:34]All that remains of the older structure is two holes in the ground, but it held wooden posts that lined up with the sun on the winter and summer solstices, the longest and shortest days of the year, just like Stonehenge. The Bulford site has been dated to about 5,000 years old, which predates Stonehenge by 5,000 years. Yeah, you got to test stuff before you build it.

[00:02:00]Singapore-based Nipsiya Group has announced a blacker than black paint for deep black luxury vehicles. Nipsiya's composite has proven capable of absorbing 99.9% of all visible light.

[00:02:16]So, it's so black that you think your brain has been hacked, just like Spinal Tap.

[00:02:23]Grok AI was used to fire over 2,000 munitions at 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours to bomb Iran. In a sworn declaration, the Pentagon's artificial intelligence chief, Cameron Stanley, said Grok is one of four AI models currently supporting national security applications, and specifically calling Grok, and I quote, "a matter of paramount national security." End quote.

[00:02:53]Holy crap.

[00:02:55]China's Tianwen 2 mission has arrived at the quasi-moon Kanamaloa, which orbits the sun alongside Earth. The Tianwen 2 is now looking for a place to land. The top-secret probe will then scoop up samples to discover its mysterious origin. If successful, China will then return the probe to Earth next year and tell us nothing.

[00:03:22]An international study led by Curtin University has revealed new insights into how a pterosaur wing was preserved in extraordinary detail for 113 million years. The wing was found in northeastern Brazil and was preserved in three dimensions, even retaining chemical traces of its diet, all because of special bacteria and a unique marine environment. That's right. After it died, it sank to the seabed.

[00:03:55]There you go.

[00:03:56]>> [laughter] >> What a crazy news day. Thank you, Renee.

[00:03:59]That's all the Fade to Black breaking news breaking news that you need for this Thursday, June 18th, 2026. Breaking news is produced by Renee Newman. I'm Jimmy Church. Tonight on Fade to Black is our once-a-month AMAAJ.

[00:04:14]Where you get to ask me anything. Until then, all I've got is go back to Lee Tappy.

[00:04:37]>> [music] [music]