Fab Friday News
- 13 hours ago
- 4 min read
Celebrating the end of the week with a worldwide selection of upbeat news stories.
And The Winner Is...
Every year, photographers from around the world capture extraordinary moments that reveal the beauty, diversity, and importance of our oceans - and the 2026 UN World Oceans Day Photo Competition has just announced this year's winners. One of the 13 winners is this other-wordly image of Cenote Nariz. “Suspended in the pristine darkness of Cenote Nariz, a diver illuminates a breathtaking ancient underwater world formed drop by drop over millennia. This vast subterranean aquifer serves as the vital heart of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, acting as the primary source of fresh water that sustains its sprawling jungles, diverse wildlife, and human communities. Known to the Maya as “Suhuy Ja’” - or sacred water - these submerged networks represent an interconnected ancestral legacy that has nurtured life across countless generations.
9 Out of 10 Fathers
More men are stepping up to provide childcare, according to the 2026 State of the World’s Fathers report published this spring, and they’re finding fulfillment in it. Researchers interviewed more than 8,000 parents and caregivers across 16 countries, shedding light on the emotional, economic, and social pressures that fathers face. One of the most encouraging takeaways from the report is that men are not only more involved in childrearing today compared to the past, but 9 out of 10 fathers also find that caring for their children is a deep source of happiness. “We didn’t see that one coming,” Gary Barker, the CEO of the advocacy group behind the report, told NPR.
Lion's Cataracts Fixed
Cataracts are a common eye condition marked by a cloudy lens that can be extracted fairly easily. For humans, anyway. But earlier this month, the patient on the operating table wasn’t a person - it was a lion. Experts diagnosed an African lion - Panthera leo - named Tsavo with cataracts over half a year ago. He was rescued as a cub in 2013 and currently lives at Wildlife Safari in Oregon. Happily, his veterinarian team successfully carried out the eye operation. It should improve the lion’s quality of life significantly and represents an international effort, with experts using equipment from around the world.
Blind Lioness Lived to Old Age Protected by Her Daughters: A delightful example from nature of family, love, and loyalty.
Natural High
Skateboarder Chad Caruso just rolled from California to Florida in just 39 days, averaging 72 miles a day, in order to break his own Guinness World Record. Caruso, who chronicled his journey on YouTube, previously skated across America in 57 days in 2023. That trip earned him the Guinness World Records title for the fastest crossing of America on a skateboard. He said his latest trip was about both breaking his own record and celebrating 10 years of sobriety. His trip raised money for Natural High, an organization that encourages kids to be active and stay away from drugs and alcohol.
Surprise Discovery
French drug police made a stunning discovery during a routine narcotics raid in Paris, stumbling upon a stolen Picasso painting. Officers found the artwork while carrying out a routine search of a house owned by the aunt of a suspected drug dealer. The artwork has not been publicly named by the police but they say it's worth “millions". Le Parisien reported that it's one of a series of Picasso’s portraits of Marie-Thérèse Walter, his mistress, produced in 1937 - with a value between €12m and €15m.
Basket Case
Shopping for real estate is rarely a picnic - but what if the building is a basket? That’s the case this month in Ohio, where one of the state’s most recognizable roadside attractions, the former HQ of the Longaberger basket company, has been listed for sale with a price tag of $8.5 million. The unique location is a curio of surreal proportions. Standing seven stories tall, the 180,000-square-foot building sits on a 21.5-acre campus in Newark, Ohio. Its perch along a state highway means it has been a standout attraction for motorists since it opened in 1997. It is for sale to a buyer who is willing to preserve its quirky design.
“I don’t care if Monday’s blue, Tuesday’s gray and Wednesday too. Thursday I don’t care about you. It’s Friday I’m in love.” The Cure
On This Day
26 June 1959: Queen Elizabeth II and US President Dwight D. Eisenhower open the St. Lawrence Seaway, allowing oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America. The ceremonial opening took place aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia near the Saint-Lambert lock in Quebec, Canada, opening the 2,300-mile navigation channel. This joint US-Canada waterway fundamentally reshaped North American and global commerce.
Today's Articles
Perfect Timing: New museum under the Lincoln Memorial is now open, just in time for America’s 250th birthday.
Price Announced: Slate Auto’s bare-bones electric truck starts at $24,950 and could revolutionise the US market.
"This Changes Everything": OGN's selection of the top 5 most extraordinary news stories of the year, so far.
Mood Boosting Video
Passion Never Ages: At 76 years young, she's still wingfoiling. It's her daily meditation and her reminder that movement keeps us alive.
