Prepare for the next release candidate
diff --git a/RELEASE-NOTES.txt b/RELEASE-NOTES.txt
index 716fdba..b880b9a 100644
--- a/RELEASE-NOTES.txt
+++ b/RELEASE-NOTES.txt
@@ -149,6 +149,7 @@
 o            Fix NullPointerException in org.apache.commons.lang3.compare.ComparableUtils.ComparableCheckBuilder.greaterThanOrEqualTo(A). Thanks to Gary Gregory.
 o            Fix NullPointerException in org.apache.commons.lang3.compare.ComparableUtils.ComparableCheckBuilder.lessThan(A). Thanks to Gary Gregory.
 o            Fix NullPointerException in org.apache.commons.lang3.compare.ComparableUtils.ComparableCheckBuilder.lessThanOrEqualTo(A). Thanks to Gary Gregory.
+o LANG-1776: Use GitHub URL in POM for improved automation support.
 
 Changes:
 o            Bump org.apache.commons:commons-parent from 73 to 85 #1267, #1277, #1283, #1288, #1302, #1377. Thanks to Gary Gregory, Dependabot.
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 4a24df2..2bd645c 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@
 
     <!-- Commons Release Plugin -->
     <commons.bc.version>3.17.0</commons.bc.version>
-    <commons.rc.version>RC1</commons.rc.version>
+    <commons.rc.version>RC2</commons.rc.version>
     <commons.release.isDistModule>true</commons.release.isDistModule>
     <commons.distSvnStagingUrl>scm:svn:https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/commons/lang</commons.distSvnStagingUrl>
     <!-- JaCoCo: Don't make code coverage worse than: -->
diff --git a/src/changes/changes.xml b/src/changes/changes.xml
index 9452725..9d42aac 100644
--- a/src/changes/changes.xml
+++ b/src/changes/changes.xml
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
     <title>Apache Commons Lang Release Notes</title>
   </properties>
   <body>
-  <release version="3.18.0" date="2025-07-04" description="This is a feature and maintenance release. Java 8 or later is required.">
+  <release version="3.18.0" date="2025-07-06" description="This is a feature and maintenance release. Java 8 or later is required.">
     <!-- FIX -->
     <action                   type="fix" dev="ggregory" due-to="Gary Gregory">Fix flaky FileUtilsWaitForTest.testWaitForNegativeDuration().</action>
     <action                   type="fix" dev="ggregory" due-to="Gary Gregory">Pick up exec-maven-plugin version from parent POM.</action>
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@
     <action                   type="fix" dev="ggregory" due-to="Gary Gregory">Fix NullPointerException in org.apache.commons.lang3.compare.ComparableUtils.ComparableCheckBuilder.greaterThanOrEqualTo(A).</action>
     <action                   type="fix" dev="ggregory" due-to="Gary Gregory">Fix NullPointerException in org.apache.commons.lang3.compare.ComparableUtils.ComparableCheckBuilder.lessThan(A).</action>
     <action                   type="fix" dev="ggregory" due-to="Gary Gregory">Fix NullPointerException in org.apache.commons.lang3.compare.ComparableUtils.ComparableCheckBuilder.lessThanOrEqualTo(A).</action>
+    <action issue="LANG-1776" type="fix" dev="pkarwasz">Use GitHub URL in POM for improved automation support.</action>
     <!-- ADD -->
     <action                   type="add" dev="ggregory" due-to="Gary Gregory">Add Strings and refactor StringUtils.</action>
     <action issue="LANG-1747" type="add" dev="ggregory" due-to="Oliver B. Fischer, Gary Gregory">Add StopWatch.run([Failable]Runnable) and get([Failable]Supplier).</action>
@@ -157,7 +158,6 @@
     <action                   type="update" dev="ggregory" due-to="Gary Gregory, Dependabot">[site] Bump org.codehaus.mojo:taglist-maven-plugin from 3.1.0 to 3.2.1 #1300.</action>
     <action                   type="update" dev="ggregory" due-to="Gary Gregory, Dependabot">[test] Bump org.easymock:easymock from 5.4.0 to 5.6.0 #1317, #1387.</action>
     <action                   type="update" dev="ggregory" due-to="Gary Gregory, Dependabot">[test] Bump org.apache.commons:commons-text from 1.12.0 to 1.13.1 #1336.</action>
-    <action issue="LANG-1776" type="update" dev="pkarwasz">Use GitHub URL in POM for improved automation support.</action>
   </release>
   <release version="3.17.0" date="2024-08-24" description="This is a feature and maintenance release. Java 8 or later is required.">
     <!-- FIX -->