6 AM ET: 80 years since D-Day, heat getting worse, NYC congestion charge & more - CNN 5 Things - Podcast on CNN Audio (2024)

Episode Transcript

Hello! From CNN, I'm Jo Beck with the 5 things you need to know for Thursday, June 6th.

'Today marks 80 years since D-Day, when the Allied forces landed on the beaches in France in World War Two. More than 4400 Allied soldiers were killed that day in what is still the largest military invasion by sea in history. And it marked a huge turning point in the war against Nazi Germany. But as leaders gather in Normandy to markets, the moment will be made even more poignant because this is likely to be the last big anniversary that will feature surviving veterans. Even a 19 year old who stormed ashore would now be around 100 years old. CNN's Melissa Bell is in France.

Joe, there are some 200 World War Two veterans that have made the trip here to Normandy this year, and they're going to be very much at the heart of a series of ceremonies to pay tribute to them. What is new on this 80th anniversary, though, is the international ceremony that'll be held on Omaha Beach. It will include not just the heads of state of the Allied nations who fought the Nazis 80 years ago, but also President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, a reminder of the line that's going to be drawn by President Biden today in his speech between the events here 80 years ago and the fight for freedom that's currently being waged in Ukraine.

The stifling heat dome over parts of the western U.S. is expected to get worse. Today is set to be the hottest day of the week for millions of people in the region, as the July like high temperatures are forecast to top out at 20 to 25°F above normal. Some people are trying their best to stay cool.

It does this every year. Maybe we'll go driving around because the truck at least has air conditioning.

More than 28 million people remain under heat alerts across parts of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.

Dozens of people have been killed overnight in Israeli airstrikes on a Gaza school run by the UN. That's according to the health ministry in Gaza. But CNN can't verify the numbers. The school is run by Unwra, the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, and was housing displaced people in a refugee camp at the time of the strike. The Israeli military confirmed that it did hit the school, but said it was targeting a Hamas compound inside. And that, quote, many measures were taken in order to minimize the danger of damaging the uninvolved. This comes as the dire survival conditions in Gaza are having an increasing toll on the children living there. Unicef says nine out of ten children there are suffering from severe food poverty, unable to access the food groups they need to grow and develop.

After a successful launch that was decades in the making, NASA and Boeing have found an issue with the Starliner spacecraft as it carries a crew to the International Space Station.

Looks like we picked up a couple more helium leaks.

Multiple helium leaks have been discovered, and just as astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were about to go to sleep for the night, Mission Control told them to shut down two valves because of the leaks.

All right, we're ready to copy and find out exactly what you mean by it's picked up another helium leak. So give it to us.

We're very still, getting the story together, and I want to get you all the right information.

The good news is, NASA and Boeing have determined that the crew is safe and told them to go to sleep while they continue to look at the data. Starliner's highly anticipated voyage successfully lifted off for the first time from Cape Canaveral yesterday after several failed attempts, and it's due to link up with the I.S.S. by midday today.

Coming up, New York's governor pumps the brakes on Manhattan's congestion plan.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has put a congestion pricing plan in Manhattan on hold indefinitely, just weeks before it was set to take effect. A source familiar with the governor's decision says it came because of concerns about affordability and the potential impact on New York City's economic recovery after the pandemic. Under the plan, drivers would have paid $15 to enter Manhattan south of 60th streets, with commercial vehicles and trucks paying even more, with the hope that it would raise money for critical transportation upgrades, maintenance and improvements to public transit. The hold is a major blow to transportation advocates who've spent decades pushing for the program, which would have been the first of its kind in the U.S..

That's all for now. I'll be back with more stories at 9 a.m. eastern.