Top Story with Tom Llamas - Monday, April 6, 2026

Episode Date: April 7, 2026

Tonight's Top Story has the latest breaking news, political headlines, news from overseas and the best NBC News reporting from across the country and around the world Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tonight, history unfolding right now 200,000 miles away as the crew of Artemis II goes where no human has gone before. The breathtaking new images as Artemis approaches the moon, it's flyby happening right now. The communication blackout as they go deeper in the space than any human ever and the powerful moment on board, the emotional tribute that brought the crew together in this powerful hug. Also tonight behind enemy lines, stunning new details about how the U.S. located and rescued an airman. airmen deep inside Iran. The American evading capture for 48 hours, scaling cliffs while badly injured. The three words he sent back to the that led to his rescue.

Plus President Trump's ultimatum to Iran, strike a peace deal by tomorrow night or else. Savannah returns, our beloved colleague back in Studio 1A, her powerful words on the strength it took to come home, and her emotional message to viewers. The terrifying moments of packed Ferris wheel ride collapses in India. plummeting to the ground and injuring dozens. Kanye's controversial comeback, the disgraced rapper, scheduled to headline a festival in the UK, while the British government is considering banning him

after years of anti-Semitic outbursts. A fiery close call caught on camera, the motorcycle erupting into a fireball, the rider engulfed in flames, children running for cover, how everyone survived. Plus, the luxury cruise ship stranded in Fiji how dozens of passengers and crew members got safely to shore. Top story starts right now.

And good evening as we come on the air. History is being made in space right now. Artemis 2 astronauts are in a communications blackout as they slingshot around the moon, getting an up-close look like never before. It's already been a record-setting day. The team capturing these stunning images as they travel 4,100 miles farther into space than the Apollo crew did more than 50 years ago. But at this hour, some of the most critical parts of this mission are unfolding.

At approximately 7.02 p.m. Eastern time, they're making their closest approach to the moon roughly 4,000 miles from the moon's surface. At 707, the astronauts will mark another major milestone, reaching the farthest distance from Earth and getting rare access to the far side of the moon that's not visible from Earth. Then in about 20 minutes, they loop back around. Communications will turn back on and will hopefully, hopefully see those incredible images for the first time. This monumental day started with a special wake-up call, the crew receiving a message from Jim Lovell, a member of the Apollo 8 and 13 crews who recorded a call before his death last year, a reminder that this Artemis crew is standing on the shoulders of giants in space exploration history.

Hello, Ardolmobile. This is Apollo astronaut, Jim Lovell. Welcome to my old neighborhood. It's a historic day, and I know how busy you'll be, but don't forget to enjoy the view. Then this emotional moment as the crew proposed naming two newly identified craters, Integrity after their ship and another after Commander Reed Weissman's wife who died of cancer. Love ones. Integrity and Carroll, Crater. Loud and clear. A grounding moment of humanity there as the crew pushes the boundaries of space exploration. We have former astronauts standing by to give us some insight into the crew and the mission

as we anxiously await those incredible images. But we begin tonight with NBC's Tom Costello, who joins us live from Houston. Tom, there are so many history-making moments. Talk to our viewers about what stood out to you. Well, I think, first of all, that was one of them right there. I mean, to hear Reed Weissman's tribute to his wife. You heard it from Jeremy Hanson talking about the need to, they would like to name that crater after his wife. When he's left with two children, that was very, all of us choked up.

That was a very emotional moment. But then I think when you actually heard the astronauts going around, the far side of the moon and reporting back, it's not dark. In fact, they had quite a bit of light hitting them and so much light that as they're trying to use these very high capability, high resolution cameras to photograph the moon from 4 to 6,000 miles up, they actually used t-shirts and they covered up the windows in their capsule because there was so much light coming back at them. It was making it difficult to shoot the lunar surface.

So now they're on the far side of the moon. Parts of it are dark, but a lot of it isn't dark, as we've heard, and then they will come around out of that comms blackout and shoot right back to Earth. That trajectory is pre-planned. It was all part of the transluter injection burn on Thursday night. One burn, and they're on their way. Yeah, and Tom, you mentioned that that communications blockout that is happening right now for our viewers that aren't NASA astronauts or space correspondents. Explain to all of us why that's happening right now. Well, we have, NASA has what's called a deep space comms network. And essentially, it's a network of satellite dishes on the ground across the globe on Earth

that really send signals up to the heavens. And they're able to quickly grab that signal back from the spaceship. However, there's not much you can do about a fact that a big rock is between the spaceship and Earth, right? The moon. And we don't have a satellite on the other side of the moon to bounce a signal. off of. So this is a 40-minute comms blackout. And NASA makes the point that they've gone through this many, many times in the past with previous Apollo missions that also went around the far side of the moon, but they were at a very low altitude. So all they could see out their windows was just

what's right in front of them. They don't have the big picture. And that's what makes this mission unique. These astronauts at 4 to 6,000 feet up, or miles up, rather, are seeing the totality of the moon from pole to pole. And that is what this is so, what makes it so exciting and why the geologists are so excited about getting new, fresh photographs, but also the human impression, what the humans see and are reporting back from their vantage point. Yeah, and then the photos that everyone wants to see because they, you know, they may stay with us forever. We've seen that before, especially during the Apollo missions. How soon will we see the photos that they've captured? So they're going to try, And they have since back some already.

They're going to try to start sending them back once they come out from being on the far side of the moon, and they're on their way back. And as their comms improved, they would like to start downloading more and more of those images. By the way, the images that we have seen so far, for the most part, are from a GoPro that is right here on the solar array. So that's why you've seen in the shot the moon, but also parts of the spaceship, right? They've got much better cameras than just that GoPro. That was their safe camera, sending back live pictures. And I think none of us can wait until we get to see all of those high-resolution photos.

Yep. Okay, Tom, we thank you for that. I want to bring in our panel of experts tonight. Two former astronauts. We're going to start with Jose Hernandez, who was a mission specialist and flight engineer in the 2009 trip to the International Space Station. And we have someone here, Dr. Drew Foistel, a veteran of three space flights and a former commander of the ISS.

And we just wanted to take a second there. because we had to adjust his camera, even though he's back here on Earth. We now have a clear signal, which is good to go. Drew, I want to start with you because I know that this crew, you know this crew so well. We've seen some really emotional moments, including that wake-up message from the Apollo 13 commander. The crew broke Apollo 13's distance record. I think right now at 707, we hit the furthest any human has ever been. Talk to me about that moment.

Yeah, it's incredible. I mean, I can tell you, the astronauts on board are not necessarily keeping record and seem much frightening, but I think they're amazed to be out there to have that view to surpass what we've done before as humans, and they're carrying the weight of humanity on their shoulders as they take this trip around the moon. And I'll give a quick shout out to Hernandez, who I think is coming up next. But it's great that we've got, you know, an opportunity to speak about this and share this story with the whole world as the crew does, makes this historic flight. Jose, I do want to ask you, how do you explain to viewers, why is it taken this long to go this far?

You know, the Apollo missions had made so much progress, and then, of course, the shuttle missions were incredible. But how do you explain to viewers that it's taken more than 50 years to reach this point? Well, you've got to realize that the first time we went to the moon, the motivation was purely political. Our technology wasn't as developed as it is today. So we focus on low Earth orbit for the next 53 some odd years. And now is the time for us to go back and utilize this advances in technology to establish a long-duration of lunar base so we can use it as a test bed, test technologies that we are ultimately going to need to take humans to the surface of Mars and beyond. And how you doing, Drew? Drew's having some technical difficulties, but it's okay.

I assure you he's on planet Earth and not the moon. Jose, I do want to ask you, the astronauts have lost contact with mission control at this point. How do you prepare for that? And what do you think is going through their minds as we get now we got Drew back? Well, you know it's going to be for about 40 minutes. And you know the reason it's purely physical. There's no line of sight as Tom Costello indicated earlier. But, you know, you just let orbital mechanics do its job.

And it's going to slingshot you back around the moon. and then you fire the rockets and you go back home. So I think everything's going to be okay. I think it's a special moment for them where they can have quiet time for themselves. They're real busy, though, doing lots of work. But, you know, this is when they really truly bond as a team. Oh. And they say, hey, it's just us out here.

Yeah, I'm sure. And then, Drew, talk to us about sort of, you know, we hope to get these never-before-seen images of the moon when as soon as they get comms back and they're able to sort of send those images back to Earth. but what are they doing right now and what do you think we're going to learn? Well, what they're doing is take an imagery and actually they're helping to train the science team

because remember this is all a test flight. It's a test flight of the vehicle. It's a test flight of the mission profile. It's a test flight for setting us up to put humans on the moon long term. So part of those future missions will be conveying the human interpretation of what they see back to the science team.

So we've seen this part of the moon before with satellites and imagery that are that are mapping the moon, but it's the first time humans have talked about them and taken pictures. So as they relay information back to the science team, the science team is going to think about, you know, the ways in which they train the crew and the ways in which the crew conveyed information to them so that for future flights, when we do this again and again, the crew will get better and better, and the training team will get better about preparing those who go to the moon who are not geologists and geoscientists by training and profession.

So all of this is part of a training flight. It's critical data because there are parts that we have not seen with the human eye and not heard interpretations from with the human perspective before. Yeah, and then, Jose, they'll experience a total solar eclipse in just over an hour from now. Talk, walk our viewers through exactly what that's going to mean for them. What are they going to see? Well, I mean, the moon's going to get in front of the sun and completely cover it. They're going to be able to see the ring of fire, as we call it, the edges of the sun,

and be able to study that. And at the same time, the different colors coming off the surface of the moon in the process. And as Drew said, you know, they're going to be studying the geology of the far side of the moon. Remember, we've seen the moon, but from close up at 70 miles above ground in the Apollo missions, this is first time we're seeing in this entirety in one scene, which is pretty exciting. Yeah, this is a tough question, but I think it's fair to ask you guys. I want you both to weigh in here. So it's going to cost somewhere, I think, around $90 billion when it's all set and done.

And if that's the case, the total cost of the Artemis program, some people back here on Earth may say, you know, they could have used that money for health care to build schools, for student debt, so many other things to help out Americans here on Planet Earth. What do you guys say to that? Why do you think this is so necessary? You want to go first, Jose? You want me to take a shot at it? I've got something to say, and that is, I guess I'll go for you. Yeah. Go first. Go first. Okay. I just want to say that, I mean, it's true. This is quite costly, but I think the return

on investment is huge. We've seen that over the years with NASA. NASA's always done a lot with a little. If you look at the federal budget, the annual federal budget of NASA, it's about a half of one percent. And even though you talked about $90 billion, that's spread out over quite a few years. And so if you think about a half of one percent of the annual federal budget and to think that we're sending humans to the moon, we're going to establish a human presence on the moon indefinitely after this is what our plan is. I think that's pretty impressive. And so, yeah, there's other ways to spend federal money, but we're not spending a lot of it on human space exploration or NASA overall. I mean, that's the total NASA budget. Jose? And Tom, I look at it from a

business perspective. Okay. You know, when we go out into space to the moon, New Mars, and beyond, it pushes the envelope of innovation. Technologies are developed, matured, and then they're redirected to repurpose here on the surface of Earth. And things like cellular telephones get developed as a result of the technology being developed in space. So it's actually an investment that gets a return because these guys sell for quite a bit,

and the U.S. gets a tax base out of the U. each sale. So they're getting their money back in a different way. So I look at it as an investment and they have a good return of investment while conducting world-class science and exploration. Jose and Drew, we thank you so much for your time and for your analysis tonight. We can't wait to see some of those photos and talk to you guys once we get them. We thank you for being here on Top Story. Thank you, Ron. Thanks, Tom. Yeah. Now to our other major headline tonight, the Dary and Rescue Mission of two American Airmen from behind enemy lines in Iran, President Trump revealing one of the men hid for nearly 48 hours as the CIA used deception tactics to divert Iranian forces.

Our Courtney Cubey brings us inside the dangerous operation. The harrowing high-stakes mission began at 1010 Thursday night. When the U.S. military says it got word in F-15, call sign Dude 4-4 was down, and its two airmen had ejected into hostile territory. The details of the operation shared by President Trump and military leaders today. Over the next hours, the search and rescue task force, across the beach, entered into Iranian airspace, protected by a fighter strike package, and moved into the objective area all under fire. The pilot was located first, with U.S. aircraft flying for seven hours in broad daylight

to rescue him. Within hours of our own forces deployed 21 military aircraft into hostile airspace, many flying at very low altitude being shot by bullets. An A-10 Wardhog and H-H-60 Jolly Green rescue helicopter both hit. The Wardhog ultimately crashed but the pilot ejected safely. Several troops on the helicopter were injured. But the second F-15 airman, a colonel and weapon systems officer, still missing. Finally on Saturday morning, the CIA says it confirmed the officer was badly injured but alive and hiding in a mountain crevice. He scaled cliff faces, bleeding rather profusely, treated his own wounds and contacted American

forces to transmit his location. His first message was simple. and it was powerful. He sent a message, God is good. The president says the dangerous rescue mission was in the dead of night. The second rescue mission involved 155 aircraft, including four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft, and more. Some aircraft sent to the wrong area to confuse the Iranians about where the missing airmen could be while small helicopters picked him up and brought him to waiting planes. But wet sand grounded the planes and replacement aircraft had to be brought in. We blew up the old planes. We blew them up to smithereens. Tonight, both airmen now safe and getting medical treatment. At midnight 12 local eastern time, Easter Sunday, more than 50 hours after the start of this operation,

the Joint Personnel Recovery Center declared Dude 4-4 Bravo, both the front and the front and and backseater, return to friendly territory. Courtney Kubu joins us now. Courtney, we are learning tonight what brought down the F-15 in the first place? Yeah, that's right, Tom. So President Trump in the briefing today, saying that a heat-seeking shoulder-fired missile was actually what shot down that F-15.

And Tom, this just proves how difficult the war in Iran really is to prosecute. Because even as the U.S. has been targeting Iran's missiles and their air defense systems, some of which were pretty advanced, What this shows is that one person with a portable missile can disrupt the campaign for days and cause this much damage, putting Americans directly at risk in Iran. This really just shows that the U.S. military, no matter the fact that they have taken out quite a bit of Iran's conventional military, still has a lot to go if they want to be sure that they can really say that they have taken out Iran's military as a whole. Tom? All right, Courtney, we thank you for that. President Trump today doubling down on his ultimatum to Iran. agreeing to a deal to end the war by tomorrow night or the next U.S. strikes will target bridges and power plants.

NBC's Garrett Hake has more from the White House. Tonight, the U.S. continuing to hammer targets inside Iran as the war enters its sixth week and the president counts down towards a Tuesday night deadline for Iran to strike a deal to end it or else. The entire country can be taken out in one night and that night might be tomorrow night. The president with an optimistic tone on negotiations. I can tell you they're negotiating we think in good faith. We're going to find out. Iran has denied holding talks with the U.S., but both sides have acknowledged exchanging messages through intermediaries,

a process the president bemoaned today. In fact, the biggest problem we have in our negotiation is that they can't communicate. We're communicating like they used to communicate 2,000 years ago with children, bringing a note back and forth. Mr. Trump today insisting that any peace deal would have to include fully, fully opening the strategic straight of Hormuz, which Iran has wielded as an economic weapon, disrupting global energy markets and helping push the average cost of a gallon of gas to $4.11. We have to have a deal that's acceptable to me. And part of that deal is going to be we want free

traffic of oil and everything. The president also expanding on this profane post from Sunday, threatening Iran's infrastructure and invoking Allah. If there's no deal, by eight tomorrow night, warning, you'll be living in hell. We have a plan because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o'clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again. Democrats tonight blasting the president's escalatory threats as, quote, unhinged and illegal. What the president is doing is threatening war crimes and the American people already recognize that this illegal war of choice is a big mistake.

All right, Garrett Hake, joins us tonight from the White House. Garrett, you've noted that Steve Whitkoff was there at the White House today as the president was giving his news conference. So who's leading the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran right now? Yeah, Tom Whitkoff sitting right next to me at one point struggling to get his phone on silent while the president was speaking. On the U.S. side, it's still him and Jared Kushner taking the lead in all of these negotiations, although there are other people involved, including the Secretary of State and, to a lesser degree, the Vice President. On the Iranian side, it's a much more complicated picture. Officially, the Iranians are denying any direct negotiations are taking place at all.

Their foreign minister has said publicly he's received messages from Whitkoff, whom he no longer trusts because this round of attacks began the last time they were negotiating. in Iran have said only that they are exchanging these messages mostly through Pakistan, the kind of note passing you heard the president refer to in the peace here. Now really the only thing standing between this bombardment that he's threatening on Tuesday night. All right, Garrett, we thank you for that. I want to bring in our military experts to break down this extraordinary rescue mission and the future of the war with Iran. Colonel Steve Warren is an NBC military analyst and former top Pentagon spokesman. And Dan O'Shea is a retired Navy SEAL

commander who coordinated freeing American hostages during the Iraq war. Dan, I'm going to start with you. We all have these details, and we've seen them about the second airman survival, including climbing up the mountain, hiding in this crevice, radioing in God is good. What is it like to be in this position while you're being hunted down? I can't even imagine. Well, it's terrifying. Obviously, I know he had made that expression, largely based, because he was thankful to survive. The ejection out of F-15 is not something anyone wants to go through, certainly not pilots. So he landed on the ground. We don't know how far away from the pilot.

So this weapon systems officer, his training went right into effect. Again, we talked about it last time. Survival, evasion, resistance, and escape. You know, he stuck to his plan. We understand he was injured, but his small E&E kit has some critical items, including the medical kit. So he self-treated himself, and then he went to higher ground because you have to separate yourself as far away from the down plane and aircraft

and the parachute, the seat, anything else that would have brought locals to him. And again, we know there was. was a bounty on his life. But his training kicked in, and that's why he's coming home to friendly forces today because of the incredible combat search and rescue package that was sent to go rescue him early morning on Christmas. Since you brought him up, I want to stick with this, the training. They said he was bloodied, he was injured, he treated his own wounds. When he comes out of that F-15, what does he have on him? Well, he's obviously got his flight suit on, and that kit is on him. So when you eject out of your seat, you basically have everything that's on your body, nothing else,

because obviously he was separated from the plane. So that survival kit, which would include his beacon, his radio, a pistol, knife, and medical kit, probably a couple other things of his own choosing. But he had limited resources. And his water container probably was one day's worth of water. So they got him at about 50 hours. So he had probably been out of water, probably out of his food. So he would have had, they got him in the nick of time because he was in dire straits. We don't know the extent of his injuries yet.

But he did everything right. And again, his training kicked in. Colonel, let's talk about how they got him, right, the magnitude of this mission. It's astounding. 100 special operation forces, dozens of war planes, and helicopters, a diversion from the CIA. And it lasted almost 48 hours, right? About 48 hours. What are the potential consequences here?

Obviously, the Iranians got him propaganda. maybe even kill him. Is this what it takes to take someone out to rescue somebody in enemy territory? This is largely what it takes. And you know, you mentioned all of these things, but don't forget the Space Force was involved with this. Other agencies were most likely involved. This was really a whole of government or a whole of national security agency government effort to bring this pilot back because for two reasons. And the most important one, I think, is this is part of how we live. This is our ethos, right? We try, we endeavor never to leave a fight. fallen comrade behind. But the other piece of that ethos says, I will never quit. And our pilot,

our aviator, he lived up to that. Dan, do you think he was able to send a signal out? Do you think he was able to hear back any type of communications from our military, or do you think he was largely in the dark? No, he had a radio that was communicating. There was a platform specifically, again, as the, by counterperson, there was multiple aircraft involved. There was close air support. There was deception operations that were being done by other aircraft. But they were in comms with the pilot, and they had a beacon location. And that's what, uh, who small technology is why he was able to be recovered. But it, it took a incredible effort.

And virtually, you know, we leave no man behind. And, you know, the last time we had an incident like this in Iran on the ground involving helicopters and aircraft, we had Desert One. It was a disaster for the country. It would, it harkens back to the beginning of our conflict with Iran. And this is a very different chapter. This mission will be very different ending than what we had at Desert One during the rescue effort to bring back those hostages at the American Embassy back in 1979 through 1980. Dan, this was not near Tehran. This was on the outskirts. They were militias that were looking for him.

What do you think would have happened that they would have gotten him? Well, he would have faced largely probably what the Vietnam Arab soldiers went through. If they were picked up by local militia, they would have been paraded through the wall. town. Again, there was a large bounty on his head, and it would have turned into a propaganda coup for the Iranian, what's left of the Iranian regime. And it would have been disastrous, especially in these critical negotiations that are literally happening as we're holding this broadcast. Colonel, the president said that this was done by a single person holding up a rocket launcher, essentially from their shoulder, and they got really lucky, and they knocked out an F-15.

What does this say about the state of the war right now, number one, and number two, the ultimatum tomorrow. think that, do you think Iran is going to come to their senses, maybe cut a deal, or do you think Iran's going to keep fighting? Well, I think Iran's probably going to keep fighting, quite frankly. That's my sense. Normally, you know, whether you're talking about a world war or a bar fight, before negotiations start in earnest, somebody has to have had enough, right? And I'm not sure the Iranians have had enough yet. I'm really not. Okay, it's a great point. Colonel Warren, always great to have you. Dan O'Shea, great conversation. We thank you. We want to get back to some breaking news right now. We've just learned that that historic Artemis 2 moon mission,

moments ago the Orion crew reestablishing communications that 40 minutes has passed. So they're back talking to Earth and to NASA. Tom Costello joins us back now live. Tom, I understand this just happened. These are live picks also coming back to us from Artemis 2 from the space capsule there. Tom, what more do we know? I know this is fresh news. Have you heard anything? Do you have anything to report? If we can dip in, the audio is about to start right now. bombardment and potentially even alofted lunar dust. Right now, of course, they are getting pictures of Earthrise. After this target, they will get a short observation break.

It's about an hour long, actually. Integrity, we have you loud and clear. Tommy. There you go, Tom. That's exactly what they've been waiting for. They had the visual... Integrity from Earth, our single system, fragile and interconnected. We copy.

those of us that can are looking back. Tom, we've been listening in here, and you just have to sort of admire. I mean, they've really thought about these poignant words, huh? Every one of them has, you know, Jeremy, you just heard from Christina Cook. She is, of course, the mission specialist on board. We've heard from Jeremy Hanson, the Canadian,

making very eloquent, thoughtful comments. Same thing with Reid Weissman, same thing with Victor Glover. Of course, they knew that the world was going to be watching. And so they, just like Neil Armstrong did, They thought everything out. They wrote it all down so that they were prepared. But this is exactly what NASA said we should expect. The video came back more quickly than the radio comms,

and now they are on their way back to Earth. Because, of course, when they lit the burn on Thursday night to send them towards the moon and around the moon, that's all it took. One burn, that's it. They didn't need to fire their engines again. And now they're on the backs coming out of the backside of the moon, and pretty soon they will start.

start to be pulled by the Earth's gravitational pull, right? Right now, they're still under the moon's influence. The further that they go from the moon, then the Earth will start pulling them back towards Earth, and then they'll speed up. It's really an amazing kind of physics play here, how this works, but they don't even have to push the gas. They're on their way. No, it's brilliant. We saw, it looked like, you know, if you would, a crescent moon. Was that the Earth that we were looking at because they were acknowledging Australia and some of the other continents that have light right down. I guess you could make them out. Yeah. No, you're absolutely right. That was Earth, that crescent was Earth, and it'll probably pop in again. Right now it is just so black out there.

Yeah, you're seeing the spacecraft. And as I mentioned about half an hour ago, this image is coming from a GoPro camera that's actually on the solar wing. Okay, now that's inside the spaceship. And as you can see, they're all fine. They were expecting that they were going to be in loss of comms for a while, but they are not done. They're going to continue to photograph that far side of the moon from this elevation. They're at about 4,500 miles or so now above the lunar surface, continuing to shoot those pictures, all mapped out in advance. This is a plan that literally you could lay a blueprint over the lunar surface, and that's what NASA researchers wanted them to focus on, specific zones, 35 of them, and then shooting thousands of photographs. Not only

Here's what's fascinating, Tom. They had to talk through every photograph as they took it. And all of that's been recorded because the researchers on the ground want to make sure that they are getting the personal observations of what exactly a human is seeing and experiencing in 3D, right? Not just the photographs that you can get from any sort of a rover or a robot, but what are the humans experiencing? And they really felt like that was going to be an important ad. But at the bottom of the line, the bottom line for this mission is that it's a test flight to see how well Orion performs so that eventually it can take humans to the moon to land on the moon as soon as 2028. Tom, do we know if they plan to, and I don't know what you know the answer is, do they plan to land in the same area that we first land in the moon or is it going to be a different part of the moon? Different part of the moon. In fact, they're going to land, they hope to land on the South Pole in an area called Shackleton's. crater. Why? Because they believe that there's ice there and ice from water. So if they can tap that water that could provide water for a future lunar base and maybe even rocket fuel to move on to Mars. But you know what's fascinating, Tom, also about the Apollo missions? You know, they left the lunar vehicle, if you will, the lunar lander is still there at the various Apollo landing

sites on the moon. And they haven't been touched because, of course, there is no wind. There's no rain. And so when we've seen, in fact, orbital flights go around the moon, they photograph those Apollo sites and you still see the human footprints in the dust, in the lunar dust, more than 50 years later. That's an incredible factoid right there. All right, Tom Costello, we thank you, quite the moment there. And we're glad comms are back up and established. We're going to be back in a moment, wild video of a fiery, born cycle crash. This is incredible. The bike exploding in the flames. Look at that. Just feed from a group of kids. Everyone survived. show you the close call next.

We are back now with Top Stories News Feed. We start with the Supreme Court paving the way for the Trump administration to dismiss the criminal case against Steve Bannon. The justice is threw out an appellate ruling upholding his conviction for Defina, congressional subpoena. It's related to a House investigation to the January 6th attack on the Capitol. If the case is dismissed, the move would be mostly symbolic because Bannon already served four months in prison.

Bannon, of course, a one-time close advisor to the president. And a wolf bit a baby at a Pennsylvania zoo. I know it sounds strange. The child had crawled near the wolf enclosure at Zoo America, part of the Hershey Park. The wolf biting the 17-month-old's hand. But zoo officials say the toddler climbed under some fencing and reached its hand through the barrier. The toddler's parents have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child. In a statement, the zoo said guests are expected to, quote, remain within the designated areas.

And in Arizona, a hiker had to be rescued from a mountain when he got stung to. by more than a, he got stung more than a hundred times by bees. Fire officials say he was stung so badly over the weekend. He couldn't make it down the trail on his own. That's terrible. He had to be airlifted out. Teams rushed into the hospital. He's in critical condition. Okay, now to the dramatic video out of Texas, a motorcycle crashing and exploding, just feet away from a group of children. NBC's Ryan Chandler with the video and the story. It all happens so quickly. A fireball erupting on the corner in a San Antonio neighborhood. A motorcycle. bursting into flames, sending shocked kids running.

Watch the frightening close call. This rider losing control, sliding behind his bike as it explodes into flames, slamming into a curb just feet from kids and a playground. Still on fire, the biker runs to put the flames out. I was just baffled why there was a motorcycle on fire in my neighbor's yard. Robert Perez lives across the street and captured this wild video. It just was incredible that none of those children were hurt. when I saw the video and I saw the motorcycle flying in the air and the flames,

it was nothing short of a miracle that they didn't get injured in the process. Firefighters arrive minutes later. The bike mangled on charred ground. NBC's San Antonio affiliate reporting, the biker said he was riding too fast and is now recovering after surgery. According to the county sheriff's office, he suffered second degree burns. The investigation continues as this neighborhood is shaken but grateful that all are safe tonight. Ryan Chandler, NBC News. All right, still to come on top story tonight, the terrifying moment caught on camera, Ferris wheel collapsing at a busy fairground. What happened? Stay with us. We're back now with a heartbreaking story at a Florida where a family vacation turned

into the unthinkable. A father killed while rescuing his children from a rip current. Tonight, his wife now pregnant with their fourth child speaking out. NBC's George Release has a story. Ryan Jennings was a father, a husband, and a hero who gave his life to save his children. Because he was like my real life hero, like just as he went for everybody else. So of course, like, that's the way that he dies. The Jennings were on vacation in Palm Beach County when police say Ryan saw his 12-year-old son, Jacks, a nine-year-old daughter, Charlie, struggling in the water. Without hesitation, the father of three dove in.

He was holding up Charlie, but he was holding up Charlie, so he was in just, a ton of water and Charlie said the last thing he said was to make sure she floated on her back if anything happened. According to the incident report, officers arrived to find Ryan unconscious in the shallow shoreline bystanders desperately trying to pull him to safety. Six around your facility with a male was swimming, pulled from the water, cardiac arrest. Ryan died shortly after arriving to the hospital. Rip currents can surge at speeds of up to eight feet per second enough to overpower even the fastest Olympic swimmers. This weekend alone, the toll was staggering. More than 100 rescues in Fort Lauderdale as this ocean turned treacherous on spring break.

For Ryan's family, Emily, the loss of her husband is unimaginable. And I don't know where I go from here. I'm scared. Emily also revealing they were expecting a fourth child tonight. She's refusing to let his story end with the tragedy. And I just think he was too good. He was just too good for this world. George Solis, NBC News. A terrible incident there for that family. We'll be thinking about them.

We're going to switch gears here. Tonight, a familiar face is back where she belongs. For 65 days, we've watched our beloved colleague, Savannah Guthrie, bravely navigate through a walking nightmare after her mother's abduction today. She returned to Studio 1A with a message of hope. Good morning. Welcome to today on this Monday morning.

We are surrounded by symbols of hope, including that vibrant yellow all over the studio, Savannah Guthrie came back home. We are so glad you started your week with us, and it is good to be home. And with one simple message. Well, here we go, ready or not. Let's do the news. Yes, so good to have you back. She did what she has done for years, guided us through the morning. SG, come on out here. Come on back out.

And when Savannah went out on the plaza. amid a sea of signs and more yellow ribbons. Viewers brought a message to her. Good morning. They've been waiting for me. How does it feel? These signs are so beautiful. You guys have been so beautiful.

I've received so many letters, so much kindness to me and my whole family. We feel it. We feel your prayers. So thank you so much. It's not just today. They've been out here. Every day. Every day.

Her mother, Nancy, now missing for 65 days. Through it all, Savannah says her faith has kept her going. And on this Easter Sunday, she shared a message with her church. I have questioned whether Jesus really ever experienced this particular wound that I feel. This grievous and uniquely cruel injury of not knowing, of uncertainty and confusion and answers withheld. But in the face of that uncertainty, today, as she said she would, she chose joy as her approach. It is the darkness that makes this morning's light so magnificent, so blindingly beautiful. It is all the brighter because it is so desperately needed.

This is what we celebrate. And I celebrate too. I still believe. And if you have any information, please call that FBI tip line. The number is right there on your screen. Just ahead, a cruise ship passenger left stranded after their ship ran aground on an island. near Fiji, how they were finally rescued. Plus, growing backlash over a festival headline by the artist formerly known as Kanye West.

The major sponsors pulling out and why the UK government is even reviewing whether or not he can enter the country. That's next. Welcome back. In the UK, government ministers are reviewing whether the artist formerly known as Kanye West can enter their country. It comes amid growing backlash after the controversial music star, where the history of anti-Semitic behavior was announced as a headliner for a three-day.

Festival in London. Jesse Kirsch has more. Tonight, the British government is considering a possible travel ban on music titan turned pariah, yay. A United Kingdom government source telling NBC news, ministers are reviewing the musician's permission to enter the UK. The controversial artist, formerly known as Kanye West, was just announced as a headliner for this summer's three-day wireless music festival in London despite an extensive history of anti-Semitic behavior. Despite this, the way, wireless festival tapping Yeh for their shows, drawing sudden backlash. At what point do we say, you are so harmful and so toxic that you don't get to have this

redemption? Now at least four corporate festival backers, including presenting sponsor Pepsi, have distanced themselves from the festival. A representative for Yey did not respond to NBC News's request for comment. Previously, he's referred to himself as a Nazi, and last year, even released a song praising Adolf Hitler. Then in January, Ye took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal, apologizing for his history of reckless anti-Semitic comments and attributing his behavior to an undiagnosed brain injury

and mental health issues. Come to find out, it's really a case of autism that I have. This weekend, Yea kicked off a world tour, thousands packing L.A. SoFi Stadium for two sold-out shows. I saw this guy post something and he's like, it's his first concert in two years. Yeah, because he's been busy making swastika t-shirts. Why is people mad that Kanye West is having concerts? I don't think Kanye West was ever really canceled.

I think his fans, you know, while some of them for sure questioned, you know, whether to keep listening to his music, others just, you know, stuck around. Tonight, the Wireless Festival's organizer is asking fans to give Ye a second chance. The organizer's executive director writing, I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing, as was mine, and offer some forgiveness and hope to him. It's important to note Yey's most recent apology was not his first. In 2023, he apologized for anti-Semitic comments. And then just after a year after that apology, he posted that he loved Hitler. So this is someone who has in the past made an apology and returned to him. to hateful rhetoric. The question now, will this time actually be different? Tom.

All right, Jesse Kirsch for us, Jesse, thank you. Not at Top Stories Global Watch. We start in India where video captured the terrifying moment of Ferris wheel suddenly collapsed. Watch as the ride appears to buckle before toppling to the ground, sending crowds at the fair scrambling to get out of the way. Local media reporting several people were hurt. Investigators now working to figure out what happened. And new intelligence information from South Korea finding that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will likely select his daughter as his successor. The teen has made several appearances at military and government events alongside her father since about late 2022. If his daughter succeeds his father, her father, it would extend the family's

rule to a fourth generation. And more than three dozen passengers and crew members evacuated from a luxury cruise ship after it got stuck on a reef in Fiji. The boat's owner says it ran aground over the weekend near the same island that Tom Hanks was famously stranded on in the movie Castaway. Authorities say the ship is seriously damaged and taking on water, but crews are still trying to recover it safely. Still ahead tonight, the surprise 911 calls. This dispatcher will never forget how familiar voices on the end of the line brought her to tears of joy as she marks a major milestone.

We're going to explain that. Finally, tonight, one 911 dispatcher retiring after 30 years, getting some very special calls on her final day at work. Take a listen. For 30 years, dispatcher Haley Franklin was a trusted voice on the other side of the phone answering 911 calls in Stanley County, North Carolina. What's your name? The job met decades of 12-hour shifts. Station 90, brush fire, straightening it. Helping people in some of their hardest moments. But on her last day, when her final calls came in, the voices on the other end were familiar. This is your first born for over 30 years, your voice guided strangers through their darkest hours.

Your heart carried the weight of thousand stories and your strength never wavered. One by one. Her loved ones, dialing in to share how much her years of service matter. Congratulations, hon. You made it. I'm so proud of all of your accomplishments. I felt my heart just about come out of my chest. Just to know that those people cared enough to do that for me, it just blew my mind.

The phone call surprise now going viral. I still feel like I'm on cloud nine from it. It's still very emotional and still feels almost like a dream sometimes. You never know what people are going through. So just be nice. Happy retirement, Mama. I love you. Great lesson right there. Just be nice.

Okay, thanks so much for watching Top Story. I'm Tom Yammis in New York. Stay right there. More news on the way.