Human Race: Artemis II returns to Earth

The four Artemis II mission astronauts returned safely to Earth on April 10, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen, made history when their Orion spacecraft flew around the dark side of the moon, marking the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth. The 10-day Artemis mission broke the previous distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970, according to NASA. Just before they passed behind the moon, Glover spoke of Jesus’ love in a message broadcast to Earth before the crew entered a 40-minute communication blackout. While the astronauts were working to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, Glover said, one of the greatest mysteries on Earth was love. “And to all of you down there on Earth … we love you from the moon,” he added. Glover, Wiseman, and Hansen also shared Easter messages from space. During the mission, the crew snapped the first photos of the far side of the moon taken by people in space. They also witnessed a solar eclipse when the moon blocked out the sun as they traveled around it. Before the mission launched, NASA head Jared Isaacman said the goal of the Artemis space missions is to return mankind to the moon by 2028, and lay the groundwork for a future lunar colony.

Daring rescue

A U.S. airman who was wounded after his F-15E strike jet crashed in Iran on Good Friday is back home and on the mend following a daring rescue. The Defense Department has not named him, but in a statement, President Donald Trump characterized the airman as a brave and highly respected colonel. The jet went down in a mountainous region, and Iranian officials offered a reward for anyone who could capture him. But the weapons officer avoided discovery for nearly two days by hiding among the rocks. His rescue followed the recovery of the plane’s pilot several hours after the crash. In the first message rescuers received from him, the weapons officer said, “God is good.” According to the president, the rescue mission involved four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, and 13 rescue aircraft. Two aircraft that got stuck after landing were destroyed to prevent Iran from getting them. —Travis Kircher

Cheer pioneer dies

Jeff Webb, a cheerleading pioneer and early mentor to Charlie Kirk, died on March 19 at age 76 from a head injury sustained while playing pickleball. Webb founded Varsity Spirit, an American cheerleading company, in 1974 and went on to help transform the activity into a global, multibillion‑­dollar industry. According to his obituary, one of Webb’s crowning achievements came in 2021, when the International Olympic Committee formally recognized cheerleading as a sport. Webb first met Charlie Kirk when the future Turning Point USA founder was 24. After Kirk’s assassination, Webb told reporters Kirk “had it all—charisma, faith, respect for everyone,” adding that we “may have lost a future president.” —Kim Henderson

War crimes

Benjamin Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment corporal and Australia’s most decorated living veteran, has been charged with five counts of war crime murder. Roberts-Smith, 47, received the Medal of Gallantry and the Victoria Cross for Australia, the country’s highest medal, for his service in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. But in 2017, several Australian newspapers claimed he murdered five unarmed Afghans. Judges dismissed Roberts-Smith’s subsequent civil defamation case when evidence revealed his probable guilt. Judges denied his appeals. Police arrested the former soldier on April 7 as he exited a plane in Sydney. If convicted of criminal charges, he could face life in prison. —Amy Lewis

Language barrier

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will retire this year amid criticism of his inability to speak both English and French. The company announced his resignation plans March 30. A week earlier, an Air Canada flight crash-landed at LaGuardia Airport in New York, killing the plane’s two pilots. Rousseau offered his condolences in English in a video with French subtitles. Since Canada is officially a bilingual nation, Air Canada must legally serve customers in both English and French. Rousseau apologized in a March 26 statement, but Canada’s National Assembly voted in favor of a resolution calling for Rousseau to step down. Air Canada’s board plans to hire a CEO who has the “ability to communicate in French.” —Bekah Bernhardt

Killer confesses

Rex Heuermann, a 62-year-old New York architect, appeared in court April 8 and admitted to murdering seven women between 1993 and 2011. Heuermann also admitted to another murder not previously connected to the so-called Gilgo Beach serial killer, for which charges have not been brought. The murders remained unsolved for over a decade after police discovered at least 10 sets of human remains on an isolated stretch of highway on Long Island’s Gilgo Beach. Police arrested Heuermann in 2023 after DNA evidence from the scene matched a sample of his DNA taken from a half-eaten slice of pizza investigators dug out of a trash can. —Christina Grube

No charges

Police in Brentwood, Tenn., do not believe accusations of sexual assault against former DC Talk singer Michael Tait will end in prosecution. A police department spokesperson told WORLD that all seven of the alleged cases either fell outside the Tennessee statute of limitations or were not in the local department’s jurisdiction. In June 2025, Tait wrote a social media post admitting to instances of touching men without their consent, along with alcohol and drug abuse. Police in Brentwood, the Nashville suburb where Tait once lived, opened an investigation last year. The local district attorney’s office is still reviewing the findings. —Elizabeth Black

Reporter freed

An American journalist kidnapped on the streets of Baghdad is now free, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in a post to X on April 7. Shelly Kittleson, 49, is from Mount Horeb, Wis., and worked as a freelancer covering conflicts in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq. On March 31, members of the Iran-backed Iraqi ­militia Kataib Hezbollah abducted her during a reporting trip. U.S. officials said they repeatedly warned Kittleson of threats against her. According to the Associated Press, Iraqi authorities agreed to release six Kataib Hezbollah members in exchange for Kittleson. —Grace Snell