NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (April 6)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, President Trump escalating his threats to devastate Iran if a deal isn't reached by Tuesday, and the President's briefing on the historic search-and-rescue mission that brought two American airmen home, Mario Tsu, at the White House, U.S. forces continuing strikes on Iran just a day ahead of the deadline for President Trump's ultimatum to the regime. At the same time, Israeli forces strike Iran's largest petrochemical plant. While Congress is out of town, a seven-week DHS shutdown continues. Once they return, lawmakers will face funding battles for ICE and the military operations in Iran. Chris Bobb with the latest. The Artemis II having its most eventful day today, breaking a spaceflight record. Its crew traveling farther from Earth than any human has before. Jason Blair reports. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. President Trump declaring Tuesday power plant and bridge day if Iran doesn't open the Hormuz Strait. This as the President and top officials celebrate the historic rescue of two American airmen whose F-15 was shot down over Iran last week. NTD's White House correspondent, Mari Otsu, brings us the details. This is a critical period. We're giving them until tomorrow, 8 o'clock Eastern time. And after that, they're going to have no bridges. They're going to have no power plants. Stone ages, yeah. President Trump now vowing to wipe out Iran's power plants and bridges if it does not reach an agreement with the U.S. to end the conflict and open the Strait of Hormuz. The entire country could be taken out in one night. And that night might be tomorrow night. This ultimatum coming from the President at a briefing on the historic rescue of two American airmen from Iran. The President celebrating the search and rescue as one of the most complex missions ever attempted by the U.S. military. And the mission successfully locating the pilot of the downed F-15 and a badly wounded weapons system officer who evaded capture on the ground in Iran for nearly 48 hours. Despite the peril, the officer followed his training and climbed into the treacherous mountain terrain and started climbing toward a higher altitudes. He scaled cliff faces, bleeding rather profusely, treated his own wounds and contacted American forces to transmit his location. The Pentagon hailing the two operations as a testament that the U.S. military quote leaves no one behind. While the CIA director John Radcliffe touts what he calls quote the deception campaign to confuse the Iranians who are hunting for the two American airmen. Shot down on a Friday, good Friday, hidden in a cave, a crevice all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday, flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday. We deployed both human assets and exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service in the world possesses. To a daunting challenge, comparable to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert. Our intelligence reflects that the Iranians were embarrassed and ultimately humiliated by the success of this audacious rescue mission. This coming as President Trump threatens to find and jail the journalist who first reported that a U.S. troop was awaiting rescue after his plane was downed in Iran last week, unless the journalist reveals his source. We have to find that leaker. We're going to find out it's national security and the person that did the story will go to jail. They put this mission at great risk. They put that man at great risk and they put the hundreds of people that went in looking for him. Meanwhile, President Trump emphasizing that the Iranian people yearn for freedom while voicing his frustration with certain groups who were given U.S. military aid but failed to use it effectively. We've had numerous intercepts. Please keep bombing. And these are people that are living where the bombs are exploding. They want freedom. We sent some guns that were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs. You know what happened? The people that they sent them to kept them because they said, what a beautiful gun. I think I'll keep it. So I'm very upset with a certain group of people. And just a couple of days ahead of a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte here at the White House, President Trump is doubling down on calling out NATO countries as well as several other countries today, including South Korea, Japan, and Australia for not helping U.S. forces in Operation Epic Fury. Reporting from the White House, Mari Otsu, NTD News. The U.S. military continues to strike targets across Iran just ahead of the deadline for President Trump's ultimatum for the Iranian regime to reach a deal by tomorrow. At the same time, Israeli forces report more significant strikes in Iran, including one on the country's largest petrochemical plant. NTD's Jason Perry has the war update. The U.S. Central Command sharing more video of strikes on military targets in Iran. Secretary of War Pete Hecsef saying Monday will have the largest volume of strikes since day one of Operation Epic Fury. And the day before, U.S. forces released this video showing a strike against an Iranian attack drone, saying Iran uses them to threaten Americans and indiscriminately target civilians in neighboring countries. And just days after the Iranian regime shot down a U.S. fighter jet, Iran now claims it struck a U.S. amphibious assault ship, the USS Tripoli. However, the U.S. Central Command posted a fact check on X, saying the ship had not been attacked and continues to sail in the Arabian Sea in support of the war. And at the same time, Israeli forces report another wave of airstrikes on Iran. And over the weekend, black smoke was seen rising from Iran's largest petrochemical plant. Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, on Monday saying that was the second petrochemical plant hit in Iran in two weeks. Currently both facilities, which together account for around 85 percent of Iran's petrochemical exports, are out of service and non-operational. This represents a severe economic blow to the Iranian regime amounting to tens of billions of dollars. Katz said he warned Iran that if they continue to target civilians in Israel, then Israel will strike and destroy Iranian national infrastructure. Israeli forces also reported strikes on Iranian aircraft and helicopters at three airports across Tehran, and a strike on the head of the intelligence organization of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. But Iran continues to strike back. On Monday, an Iranian missile hitting this residential building in northern Israel, killing four people. A local resident saying it could have been worse. You know, it was very loud, but we didn't feel the velocity. So we figured it fell, but it didn't blow. And we were right. The missile, the one-ton missile is still there, not blown. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offering condolences on Monday, adding that anyone who follows the instructions of Israel's Home Front Command and stays in a protected area faces minimal risk. Jason Perry, NTD News. Congress is out of Washington for a second week. When lawmakers return, they'll face key decisions on funding for immigration agencies, ongoing military operations in Iran, and the Save America Act. NTD's Chris Bobb has the story. Budget reconciliation bill is a narrow bill that would fund ICE and CBP well into the future so that this isn't something that, while President Trump is in office, we have to deal with again. Senate Majority Leader John Thune last Thursday outlining the Republican plan to end the partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, now in its seventh week. Congress is out of Washington for a second week, but when lawmakers return, they'll take up funding for key immigration agencies, the ongoing efforts in Iran, and the Save America Act. We're talking about doing the future through reconciliation. Reconciliation allows the Senate to pass budget-related legislation with a simple majority, bypassing the filibuster. Republican leaders say they want a focused bill, locking in long-term funding for immigration and customs enforcement and customs and border protection, rather than reopening the broader DHS funding fight. But that strategy could run into resistance from within the party, as some House Republicans are pushing to expand the bill to include election integrity measures from the Save America Act and funding tied to ongoing military operations in Iran. Over the weekend, U.S. Special Operations Forces carried out a high-risk mission inside Iran, rescuing two American airmen using air and ground forces. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, taking to ExitPost, thankful that the second Air Force officer, whose fighter jet was shot down in Iran, has been heroically rescued by U.S. Special Operations. What a blessing on Easter Sunday morning. May God continue to watch over our troops. Senator Katie Britt also praised the operation, posting, Let's be clear. The rescue of two of our brave servicemen overseas was nothing short of remarkable and could not be executed by any other nation in the world. God bless America. But lawmakers remain divided over what comes next. Senator Elizabeth Warren offering a view shared by her colleagues adverse to broader military spending tied to Operation Epic Fury, saying instead of spending billions bombing Iran, Donald Trump should be lowering costs here at home. Senator Lindsey Graham writing in part, President Trump is right to insist that any negotiated deal meets our military and strategic objectives. This war must end in a fashion, either through diplomacy or military action that prevents Iran from going back to their old ways. Lawmakers return April 14th. Republican leaders say they want a reconciliation bill on the president's desk by his June 1st deadline. Chris Bobb, NTD News. Time appears to be running out for Iran. President Trump says we think they're negotiating in good faith, but we'll find out by tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Will Iran make the necessary concessions by then? Analysis tonight on Capitol Report at 7 p.m. Eastern time. The crew of the Artemis 2 breaking a record today. Earlier, the four astronauts set a new record for the farthest distance anyone has traveled from Earth. NTD correspondent Jason Blair has the update. This is Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. Welcome to my old neighborhood. The late Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell sends a pre-recorded message to the Artemis 2 crew ahead of their trip around the moon. I'm proud to pass that torch on to you as you swing around the moon and do the groundwork for missions to Mars. Day six of the Artemis 2 space mission has been the most eventful. It's the first time humans have flown close to the moon in over 50 years, as well as breaking a spaceflight record. So we're really gearing up now for what's going to be an exciting lunar flyby. The crew's seven-hour lunar flyby started at 2.45 p.m. Eastern on Monday. The course is set to fly around the moon clockwise, then head back toward Earth. During the flyby, the crew became new record holders, traveling more than 252,000 miles from Earth, farther than anyone ever has, as well as seeing the Oriental Basin, a large multi-ring impact structure that's never been fully seen before. The flight has largely been smooth so far, but hasn't been without issues. The only toilet on board has been taken offline a few times to work out some kinks, but is working again as of late. But we are still trying to figure out the wastewater vent line problem. It's kind of a complex engineering issue when you expose a liquid to vacuum. After the flyby is complete, the crew has four more days to get back to Earth and is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday. Jason Blair, Entity News. The Supreme Court has thrown out an appeals court ruling upholding Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction. The decision sends the Trump allies' case back to district court. Bannon was convicted on two contempt of Congress charges in 2022. The case stemmed from his refusal to comply with two congressional subpoenas issued by the House Committee investigating the events of January 6, 2021. Bannon initially argued that his testimony was protected by executive privilege. The Justice Department, under then-President Biden, contended that Bannon couldn't claim executive privilege because he was a private citizen at the time. Bannon has already served his four-month sentence, but is still appealing his conviction. President Trump is backing Steve Hilton in California's race for governor. Hilton served as a top advisor to former British Prime Minister David Cameron. He faces a competitive field in the June 2nd primary. Under California's primary system, the top two finishers move on to November regardless of party. President Trump riding on truth social. Polls show Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco among a tight group of candidates, including Democrats Eric Swalwell, Katie Porter and Tom Steyer. Current Governor Gavin Newsom is term-limited and cannot run again. Republicans have not held the office since Arnold Schwarzenegger left in 2011. And in Georgia, voters are set to vote tomorrow on a replacement for former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. Republican Clay Fuller and Democrat Sean Harris are in a runoff. The runner will complete Greene's term, but both say they'll also run in November. Fuller supports the conflict in Iran, while Harris calls it a war of choice. The Northwest Georgia district is heavily conservative. Democrats are watching to see if the election could be a bellwether for other races. Coming up, a Chinese human rights lawyer still missing after nearly a decade. Now, a new statue unveiled in his honor, drawing crowds in Southern California. Jeff Bradley reports. And audiences in Toronto shocked by the cancellation of Shen Yun. The move is sparking wider questions over Beijing's influence and interference concerns. Fiona Ji reports from Canada, next. I have traveled all over the world to 50 countries now, and I have never seen a production any better than this anywhere. Breathtaking. It is absolutely stunning. It's so uplifting. I feel better about the world. It was encouraging. It gave me hope. It was absolutely, amazingly divine. I thought I was going to heaven. You have to come see it. Multiple times. It's worth every penny. Make sure you see it. Returns to David Koch Theater, March 25th through April 12th. Shenyun.com. Ladder control aisle. You won't shop here again. Your private business is your own. The constant struggle is over. Now there's a better way. It's HGIS. We home deliver bladder control products. We understand how you feel. For over 25 years, we've home delivered to many of the 20 million Americans who deal with incontinence. We offer all brands. We pay shipping and use plain, unmarked boxes. If we can help you or someone you care for, call for your free product sample pack and $45 in money-saving coupons. Our counselors will help you choose the right product. And unlike stores, we're always in stock. You'll get what you need. Satisfaction guaranteed. HGIS, the better way. For your free sample pack with your free catalog, $45 in money-saving coupons and free product samples, call 1-800-701-6159. That's 1-800-701-6159. According to ancient Chinese medicine, purslane is considered a medicinal herb and is used to help lower cholesterol, improve vascular functions, and prevent diabetes. Perilla seeds can nourish the lungs and spleen. It is used to treat asthma and improve pulmonary functions. Puritan Green Vegetable Omega-3 is made from purslane and perilla seeds from Hwangmae Mountain in South Korea. It contains over 90% of omega-3, 6, 7, and 9, the highest concentration possible without chemical additives. The soft gel is made of natural seaweed. It is 100% organic and vegan. Both adults and children can take it with peace of mind. Ancient recipes were passed down from heaven to bring prosperity and longevity. Puritan Green Vegetable Omega-3 Kids love it. Parents trust it. Obviously. Explore GJW Plus Kids Series and Gong Deung Campus courses led by expert educators. This is spectacular. Children will learn values like respect, responsibility, and knowledge in language, science, and more. Wow. All while having fun. Perfect. Subscribe today at GJW Plus Kids where learning meets fun. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Nearly a decade has gone by and a renowned Chinese human rights lawyer is still missing. Hundreds of people from around the country gathering in Southern California over the weekend to attend the unveiling of a new statue made in his honor. And it is Jack Bradley. California's Mojave Desert may not be the first place you look for art or activism for human rights. But there lies Liberty Sculpture Park, welcoming its newest addition to its collection. Every sculpture represents human rights and freedom. Gao Zhisheng, a human rights lawyer who disappeared in China nearly 10 years ago, honored here at Liberty Sculpture Park in Southern California. Hundreds of people from around the country coming to see the unveiling of a new statue of Gao Zhisheng. The sculptor names it Gazing at the Starry Sky. He dedicated his life to serving those who were oppressed, especially those oppressed for their religious views, whether they were Christian, Falun Gong, regardless of which if they were persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party, he stood up for them. Gao Zhisheng, a prominent human rights lawyer, has been nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. He was last seen in August 2017 and has not been heard from since. His whereabouts remain unknown. His wife, Geng He, now in the U.S. with their children, worries her husband may have been murdered by members of the Chinese Communist Party. Gao, once named one of the top ten lawyers in China in early 2001 by the Chinese Ministry of Justice, the Chinese regime then turned against him when he began to defend vulnerable groups in China, often at no cost. Groups like Falun Gong practitioners, a spiritual group that practices truthfulness, compassion and tolerance and is heavily persecuted by the CCP. He even sent open letters to the CCP general secretary and premier back in 2005, asking authorities to stop the torture and persecution of Falun Gong believers. In China, even normal people speak out for the truth will have a bigger danger for their lives. But if you are trying to protect those who are telling the truth, help Falun Gong, help those who are treated unfairly, you will definitely bear more risk. Since 2006, the CCP arrested and sentenced Gao to prison multiple times where he suffered intense torture, including with electric shock. When they arrested Gao Zhisheng and beat him and they tortured him so much. The sculpture garden where his statue resides sits among several works of art meant to shine a light on the atrocities of the Chinese regime. At the sculpture park in June 2021, artist Chen Weiming unveiled a statue depicting CCP leader Xi Jinping as a coronavirus molecule dubbed the CCP virus. The next month, that statue was burned down. Two men later sentenced for the arson, one a CCP agent. And Chen, well, he built a new one. This time out of steel. He even made another, taking it on tour across the country. Many calling Liberty Sculpture Park an oasis of freedom in the face of oppression from communism. Liberty Sculpture Park is a special place because it's dedicated to victims of communism and those that resisted communism. There are many people in China today, just like human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, still being persecuted. Although Gao Zhisheng is missing, his courage to fight for human rights in the face of tyranny from the Chinese Communist Party lives on. In Yaramo, California, I'm Jack Bradley, NTD News. Over now to Toronto, where theatergoers last week were shocked to learn that Shen Yun Performing Arts, a New York-based traditional Chinese dance company, had their shows cancelled in the city. This came as a surprise to many, and it's raising concerns over how the Chinese Communist Party is interfering with artistic freedom even outside China. NTD's Fiona Ji reports. In the heart of Toronto, six scheduled shows of Shen Yun Performing Arts all cancelled over fake bomb threats that were sent to the Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts. Outside the theater, I spoke with audience members. Some had received tickets to the show as birthday presents. Others had driven hours from up north just to come to the city to see Shen Yun. All of them completely disappointed by the cancellations and utterly shocked by the attempts to silence a peaceful performing arts company. I was very excited to come and see the show at the theater and then I just find out that it's cancelled. I'm very heartbroken because I know it's a beautiful show. We were supposed to come see the show today and it was cancelled. We saw it on the news last night that it was cancelled. We were very upset because we were very much looking forward to it. The Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts, home to the Canadian Opera Company, chose to cancel Shen Yun's performances even though police already determined the threats to be unfounded. The local presenter for the performances, saying this is not the first time Shen Yun has received such threats, but it is the first time a performance has been cancelled. We believe these threats are part of a broader campaign by the Chinese Communist Party to silence Shen Yun, a performance that showcases China before communism and highlights ongoing human rights abuses in China today. The incident has sparked discussions in Canada and internationally. Currently, media outlets including Toronto's CP24 news channel, CTV News, the National Post, the Toronto Sun and the Toronto Star, across television, print and online platforms have all reported on and exposed this case of transnational repression. Canadian members of Parliament also voicing their concern, calling the decision by the theatre to cancel the shows disheartening. I think it's very unfortunate. I was able to watch the show in Hamilton with my family and it was a great show. And Member of Parliament James Bazan posting on X, quote, I condemn the bomb threat that forced the evacuation and cancellation of this week's Shen Yun performances at the Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts in Toronto. These acts are completely unacceptable. Member of Parliament Garnet Jenis also weighing in on X, writing, quote, Canada must stand for free artistic expression. The shows must go on. Shen Yun Performing Arts tours globally every year. The company says its mission is to revive the traditional, divinely inspired culture of China and share it with the world. Over the past two years, Shen Yun has been the target of over 150 bomb threats at theatres worldwide. Investigators have found these threats to be hoaxes linked to the Chinese Communist Party and none have resulted in any actual danger. Canadian audience members and politicians alike say this is a concerning infringement of freedoms on Canadian soil. I've heard a lot about the exposal of these Chinese police stations, Chinese government, Overwatch. It's what foreign governments do to democracies to undermine them. It's very sad that the Chinese Communist Party is doing this to its own culture. Very upsetting. But fear is the worst way of trying to control people. I think it's not right in any situation. It should be an investigation to know exactly who is doing these threats and who is behind all of that. I've lived in Toronto for 43 years. I've come to a lot of shows. This has never happened. I don't understand why the Chinese Communist Party has so much power in Toronto, Canada. This needs to change. To think that that arm of Beijing could reach into Canada to disrupt entertainment events, that's very concerning. Member of Parliament Judy Skro writing on X that there is no place for foreign interference or intimidation in Canada and calling for malign actors to be held accountable. Despite the disappointment of arriving to an empty theatre and cancelled show, theatre-goers still cheered on Shen Yun performers and say they look forward to seeing the company return to Toronto. We continue to admire them, not the communists. My heart is with you guys. I know you guys are doing an amazing effort to be your best and to show beautiful performance. Don't give up. I would say come back. Try your best. Keep going. Do not give up hope. It's a good fight. China has a great, long culture. I'm sorry the show is cancelled, but you know what? It will come again and I will see it again and I will still enjoy it. In the face of transnational repression, Shen Yun's artists are standing strong for their faith and for their art. And audience members in Toronto are standing right alongside them. Reporting from Toronto, Fiona Ji, NTD News. Shen Yun is performing now until May 10th in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. You can get Shen Yun tickets at Shen Yun.com and to waive your ticketing fees, use the code VIP2026. NTD is a proud media sponsor of Shen Yun. Coming up, in a daring operation this weekend, American troops successfully rescuing an injured airman stranded deep in enemy territory. President Trump today celebrating what he calls one of the largest, most complex and most harrowing combat searches ever. Retired Lieutenant Colonel and geopolitical strategist Darren Gobb joins us to unpack the rescue operation next. 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I'm grateful for the American Heart Association their research gave me more time to do the things I love with the people I love. So listen to your heart I'm here today because I did. Please call the number on your screen or go to helpheart.org now to become a monthly donor and help save even more lives. Thank you. Looking to refresh the style in your house? Come to Mathis Home during the Spring Style event and see hundreds of options for your perfect living room. Take a look at this sectional we can help you build it into the style you want. From sleek and modern to something more eclectic to an updated traditional look. You can also reconfigure it just by adding or removing pieces. The sofa version is a great value at just $12.89. Come find the look that's right for you at your furniture superstore Mathis Home. Welcome back, I'm Tiffany Meyer President Trump today celebrating what he calls one of the largest, most complex and most harrowing combat searches ever. Joining us now is retired Lieutenant Colonel Darren Gobb. He's a geopolitical strategist who served as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot and battalion commander in the U.S. Army. Colonel, always great to have you on. I want to start us off with some of what the President said about rescuing the American jet crew shot down in Iran. Let's listen to part of that now. And I ordered the U.S. Armed Forces to do whatever was necessary to bring our brave warriors back home. A risky decision because we could have ended up with 100 dead as opposed to one or two. It's a hard decision to make. But in the United States military we leave no American behind. And your reaction to the President's action? A couple words stick out there of course and one of those is risky. Absolutely it was risky but I guarantee you every single person who was on the mission wanted to be there and absolutely would not be deterred from being on it. There's probably people that were asking to be on this mission that weren't allowed on it just for a variety of reasons. I say that as a you know my background being in combat search and rescue personnel recovery. I've done all the courses from in the field to academics to many other things as well and that's just the mindset of everybody involved in this type of a thing is you don't want to be left behind as one of the people going forward to do the rescuing either. You want to be involved. That's absolutely essential. And the second one thing that Trump said of course there is the statement about we don't leave anybody behind. Well what the American people need to know about that is it's not just a statement. It is a way of life in the military and we're going to put a lot of people, a lot of resources against that particular contingency and make sure that we are successful when called upon to execute it. You'll learn a lot from combat in places like Vietnam that have translated forward to today. I've trained hundreds of air crew members in search and rescue techniques on the ground, in the air, and I can't help but think somewhere in there that a little bit of that may have made a difference here. I don't know but regardless we're going to go get our own and get them back and that's just a simple statement of fact that is critical to the United States military. Speaking of how risky this is, I've heard some say a thousand things could have gone wrong. It's incredible that this ended up the way it did. Talk to us about how risky it is and how incredible it is that this is how it ended up. When you're planning for this type of contingency and you're standing over a map essentially of how you're doing this there's always a thousand things that can go wrong because you're inevitably going to be in an environment where you are outnumbered in some way or at great risk as a rescuing force. That's just the way it's always going to be because the isolated person is behind enemy lines. So if you think about this from a choreography for one of the most complicated dances in the world you've got things coming to bear from satellites in space to high-flying fixed-wing to other fixed-wing at different altitudes and drones, helicopters, people, other agencies like the CIA as everybody knows, and there's defense intelligence and other things as well that are all lined up against this. What you're doing is you're putting all of these assets in a relatively small amount of space, layering them like a wedding cake and making sure they all communicate together, they all function together for the very discrete purpose of getting a couple helicopters or maybe one onto a very specific grid coordinate to pick up one person in this case. A thousand things can always go wrong but you can't, and you mitigate that the best you can, but you can't stop simply because something might go wrong. That's against our ethic. And here's actually the president first speaking about what the jet pilot went through and then the weapons systems officer. Let's watch part of that now. The officer followed his training and climbed into the treacherous mountain terrain and started climbing toward a higher altitude, something they were trained to do in order to evade capture. He scaled cliff faces bleeding rather profusely treated his own wounds and contacted American forces to transmit his location. The heroic F-15 weapons system officer had evaded capture on the ground in Iran for almost 48 hours. That's a long time when you're in tough shape and when you're bleeding. Now it sounds like they endured something many people would find terrifying. Colonel, I know you've trained air crews on how to survive attacks and you yourself have been caught in an aerial ambush. Now we heard about the physical challenges these airmen face, but could you talk to us about what it takes to mentally overcome a situation like this? That's actually the number one thing you have to account for if you get isolated in a combat zone and it is the mindset of survival. It's your number one weapon. It's the ability to have the trust, the faith and confidence in your training and yourself and the desire to live through whatever you're going through and knowing that your peers are going to come out and get you. So it's the trust in your peers. It's the faith in the system that does actually work and hopefully a faith in God who is overseeing everything in the first place. But those two things together are absolutely critical and then of course what I tell people is what you need is three things to be successful as an evader and survivor. The mindset, working and functioning radio and the trust and the faith that you will be recovered. One thing I like to tell people is that trust and faith is critical because that not only affects the person evading and to be recovered. When everybody in the military sees what we just did, they know that they're joining a military that will come and get them too no matter who they are. It doesn't matter whether you're a pilot special operations or something else. We get our own people back no matter what and that affects the entire military and that actually if you don't do this in an all volunteer military I suspect someday you're not going to have much of a military. On that note, Secretary of War Pete Hexeth gave a powerful message about the airmen rescued over the weekend. Let's actually go to a clip of that now. When he was finally able to activate his emergency transponder his first message was simple and it was powerful. He sent a message God is good. In that moment of isolation and danger his faith and fighting spirit shone through. You see shot down on a Friday good Friday hidden in a cave a crevice all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday. A pilot reborn all home and accounted for a nation rejoicing God is good. And Colonel your thoughts and final thoughts. Well when he says that I'm going to follow up with all the time. God is good all the time. That mindset the faith, the trust the skills, the training all of it comes together and I guess the most important thing that American people need to know is that that phrase about we leave no one behind is something that we live by and we will exhaust all resources to make sure that we bring everybody home and we're actually still trying to do that for those we've lost in Korea and Vietnam and other conflicts as well. So this doesn't end. The Department of Defense has an office specifically to try to get people home and we will always do that. Well Colonel Darren Gobb as always thank you so much for joining us. Thanks Tiffany. We are now less than three minutes away from the Orion spacecraft. You can see the Orion itself, the Earth and the Moon in this one picture and in just moments the crew of the Artemis 2 mission will head behind the far side of the Moon at approximately 6.47pm Eastern time. The crew is expected to lose contact with mission control for roughly 40 minutes and the Orion will reach the closest point to the Moon at around 7.02pm. Now earlier this afternoon the Artemis 2 crew officially broke the all time human distance record from Earth set by Apollo 13 in 1970. So we'll be listening to this live feed for a couple minutes and there's a live look at what NASA is presenting right now. Just about a minute and a half now until we lose communication with the astronauts aboard Orion on the Artemis 2 mission. Now five days and six minutes since their launch on April 1st. Again we'll be out of communication for about 40 minutes and this really beautiful view of a crescent Moon and a crescent Earth. How great thou art. 30 seconds now until we expect loss of signal. And we have confirmation of loss of signal of the Orion spacecraft as it flies behind the Moon. We expect to regain communications with them for in another approximately 40 minutes. This was expected as their spacecraft is now out of direct line of sight with Earth and behind the Moon. This is a poignant moment as it's the first time in over 50 years that we have humans completely unreachable by anyone else on Earth. No matter how distant or secluded, we could reach anyone living on Earth. But while the crew flies behind the Moon, it's simply impossible to make contact with them. This is a live view inside the science evaluation room here at Johnson Space Center and just down the hall from mission control. This team has been monitoring the flyby all day as the team has continued capturing targets on the lunar surface. We even got to see this team in action as they were helping the astronauts identify some of the features they were seeing on the Moon but not expecting. There will be a couple of milestones during this loss of signal. The first will be when the astronauts make their closest approach of the Moon at MET 5 days, 25 minutes, and 34 seconds when we expect they'll be 4,067 statute miles above the lunar surface. Their maximum Earth altitude will be reached just 2 minutes later at 5 days, 27 minutes, and 39 seconds when their altitude should be approximately 252,756 statute miles. Once those milestones are reached and we have confirmation, we will report the official numbers. We'll continue our coverage of the Artemis 2 mission on NTD's Capital Report, so stay tuned for that coming up at 7 p.m. Eastern. In the meantime, we're joined here in studio by NTD's Dave Martin for today's sports updates. Dave, thank you so much for joining us. We have a lot of news actually. We have some NBA news. Let's start in college basketball because March Madness is down to tonight's championship game with Michigan facing UConn. Is this the matchup you predicted when filling out your brackets? I wish I could say it was, Tiff. It was not. I had UConn losing to Duke in the Elite Eight. Silly me here. It was a very close game, though. Duke nearly beat them. But I did have Michigan getting this far, but I did not have them winning tonight. Now, what UConn head coach Dan Hurley has done, though, is pretty incredible already. And if he wins tonight, this will be historic. No coach has ever won three titles in a four year period since John Wooden's UCLA team. This is back in the late 60s and early 70s. And no coach has even made it to three title games in four years since Duke's Mike Krzyzewski's back in the early 90s. Now, Hurley has done that with UConn, but they're still not favored tonight against Michigan. Now, meanwhile, the Wolverines really continue to steamroll their way through the NCAA tournament, and that continued on Saturday when they really dominated Arizona, beating them by 18 points. And really, that 18 point game, it wasn't even that close. I mean, Michigan led by 30 at one point. And Arizona, keep in mind, they were the number one team in the country for most of this last season. Now, Michigan, of course, boasts a very good frontcourt. You've got that 7'3 center, Ademara, who's virtually unguardable. So, we do have an injury note here. Michigan's Yaxell Lenderberg will play tonight. That's despite the, excuse me, sprained MCL and the sprained ankle suffered in Saturday's game. As I mentioned, Wolverines 6.5 point favorites. Game starts at 8.50 Eastern time, so I'm looking forward to this game too. I assume you are too, right? 7'3. 7'3. You remember you were sending me that picture of that guy from Florida who's 7'9, so he's looking up still at that guy, but 7'3, yeah, I'm looking up at that guy too. So, he's actually somewhat agile. He can pass the ball, and of course, no one's blocking his shot, and pretty much, I think you get out of his way when he's coming down the lane, so 7'3, yeah, you heard me right. A lot to watch for then. A lot to watch for. Elsewhere in the game though, the North Carolina Tar Heels will reportedly hire former NBA coach Michael Malone as their new head coach. Yeah, this is according to ESPN now here. Malone spent 12 years in the NBA as a head coach, 2 with Sacramento, 10 with Denver. He led the Nuggets, the 2023 NBA title, and 7 straight playoff appearances. He was fired roughly a year ago by the Nuggets. He's been an NBA analyst ever since. Now, he does have a little bit of experience in college basketball. He was an assistant coach for Manhattan, Providence, and Oakland, but that was all in the mid-90s and early 2000s. North Carolina meanwhile, this is the Blue Blood program. They have the 3rd most wins all time, only trailing Kentucky and Kansas. Now, they fired their head coach Hubert Davis 2 weeks ago after his team blew a 19-point lead in the first round to Virginia Commonwealth. The school has not confirmed the hiring yet. Alright, yet. So, I'm out on a little bit of a limb here. I'm pretty confident it's happening though. Speaking of yet, we're still trying to fix the screen behind you. Obviously, you know. I hope they enjoy looking at me here. Seems it's not just NASA and Artemis 2 having issues with tech. Shifting gears though, let's go back to sports. I was going to comment on space. But anyway, shifting gears to women's college basketball. We had a bit of a surprise in the women's championship game yesterday as UCLA beat South Carolina for the title. Yeah, Bruins went by a huge margin too. 79-51 marks their first ever NCAA women's title. Now, South Carolina meanwhile is going for their 4th title under head coach Dawn Staley. Staley afterward, meanwhile, praised UCLA and their head coach for the great win. I think most of us thought after South Carolina really slayed the giant on Friday when they beat UConn, which was a big favorite to win their whole title here. I think we all thought that they would go ahead and take care of business on Sunday. There we go. There's a picture against UCLA. But really, UCLA's inside presence, their defense were really too much to handle, so congrats to the Bruins. Also, I've got some more professional women's basketball news. This is WNBA. Two-time All-Star Angel Reese was traded from the Chicago Sky to the Atlanta Dream for a pair of future first-round draft picks. Now, Reese has led the WNBA in rebounding in both of her seasons in the league. Now, she's known as Barbie for her looks. Very popular. Now you know. Looking at NBA news, Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg scored 45 points yesterday to cap an incredible weekend. Where does he stand as far as possibly winning rookie of the year? A lot of words today. You know, he had been my leader for most of the season. Apparently, he wasn't quite the betting leader. He was still behind his former teammate, Duke Khan-Kanepo. But after scoring 51 points on Friday night, by the way, 51 points most ever for a teenager, which he is. He's still only 19. And then 45 last night, he has now moved into the betting favorite to win the rookie of the year. That's according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Also yesterday, Golden State's Steph Curry made his long-awaited return after missing more than two months with that ailing knee injury. He scored 29 points in his return, even had a chance to win it at the buzzer with a three-pointer, but his 30-footer was just off, so Houston won in his return. Now, meanwhile, tonight we've got five NBA games on, including Portland versus Denver. Now, the Nuggets currently tied with the Lakers for the number three seed in the Western Conference. There's just four games left, meanwhile. LA, though, right now, they are without their top two leading scorers. That's Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves, so it's a prime opportunity for Denver to possibly pass them in the standings. The regular season ends this Sunday, and then, you know what, Tiff? We've got two months of playoffs to look forward to, so I know you're looking forward to that. Always news. It always is, you know? There's always sports news going on. You know, otherwise, we're sending you out to cover the weather. Yes, well, thank goodness for sports in that case. Probably for our fans too, because I don't know much about the weather, other than to say, you know, it seems a little warm or a little cold, but yeah, so for my sake, thank you for having sports news, right? I was gonna say, I think there's one town, I forgot the name, but they have a giant rock. It's the weather rock, so it's like, if it's wet, it's raining. If it's gone, that's when you should panic. Oh, okay. Well, otherwise, you know, other than that, we've got, you know, Punxsutawney Phil that we can look to, but that's only, what, once a year that we can get anything, you know, anything from the, what is it, what kind of animal is that anyway? The, whatever that is. Groundhog. Groundhog. Thank you. See, I shouldn't be doing weather, I don't even know what it is. There's another town that drops a taxidermied possum. What's that? It's a marsupial. Okay. It's a different type of animal. Well, I just learned something today here, Tiff. Obviously, I would not be surviving as a reporter if I was called on to do the weather. You know, maybe if it's snowing outside, that could be kind of fun for a couple of times you do that. You're outside saying, you know, look at all the snow behind me and everything like that. Those are always fun to do, but, or maybe in the extreme weather, you know, maybe it's a flood or something like that. That can be kind of fun to go to, but if it's just kind of nice outside, I don't know that I'm really the person for that. Well, we are glad that you get to cover sports. I'm glad too, Tiff. All right. Well, Dave, as always, thanks for joining us. Thank you, Tiff. And that's all for today's news. For around-the-clock coverage, visit us at ntd.com slash live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.