Monday morning news: April 6, 2026

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Iran rescue mission » New details are emerging about the daring rescue of two American aviators shot down over Iran. The U.S. pulled both crew members from behind enemy lines with no Americans killed.

The first aviator from a downed F-15 fighter jet was rescued in broad daylight in a seven-hour operation. The second, a weapons systems officer, hid in a mountain crevice, climbing seven-thousand feet despite injuries as the Iranian regime urged citizens to find him and turn him in for a cash reward.

U.S. Gen. Frank McKenzie:

MCKENZIE:  They put a out a broad appeal to their people to turn 'em in. Reward, asking for all kinds of leads. That does not appear to have been successful. And that would, I think that's maybe a sign of disaffection. Don't know, but you can't, uh, you can't be happy with that if you're a senior leader in Tehran.

The CIA ran a deception campaign inside Iran, spreading false word that the U.S. had already found him, buying time to pinpoint his location.

The U.S. then laid down heavy fire in the area surrounding the spot where they believed the aviator was hiding … to keep Iranian forces away.

Finally, hundreds of U.S. special operations forces swarmed in for the rescue.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated President Trump and U.S. forces.

NETANYAHU:  All Israelis rejoice in the incredible rescue of a brave American pilot by America's dauntless warriors. This proves that when free societies muster their courage and their resolve, they can confront seemingly insurmountable odds and overcome the forces of darkness and terror.

The aviator is said to be seriously wounded, but expected to recover.

Two Black Hawks came under fire but reached safe airspace, and the U.S. blew up two transport planes left behind after a technical malfunction. Iran claims it shot them down.

Other Iran latest » General McKenzie also told CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday that U.S. force have accomplished much of what they set out to do—namely, crushing Iran’s ability to inflict mass destruction.

MCKENZIE:  They have the ability to inflict damage, they do not have the ability to gain mass effects. And by mass effects, I mean firing many, many dozens of rockets, missiles, or drones. Uh, I think that capability has been eroded steadily since this campaign began.

Meantime, President Trump is giving Iran until Tuesday to open the Strait of Hormuz or face massive new strikes. Trump posted the threat online Sunday, vowing to hit Iran's power plants and bridges.

The president has issued such deadlines before, but extended them when mediators claimed progress.

Artemis II update » The crew of the Artemis II mission is closing in on the moon this morning, set for a historic lunar flyby later today. The crew of four is carrying out humanity's first deep-space mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.

NASA's acting head of Exploration Systems Development, Lori Glaze:

GLAZE: Our flight operations team and our science team are ready, uh, for the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

The flyby will break Apollo 13's all-time distance record from Earth.

At closest approach, the crew will come within four-thousand miles of the lunar surface, photographing parts of the far side no human eye has ever seen.

And crew members from inside their Orion capsule will also experience a total solar eclipse.

Mission Control will lose contact for about 40 minutes while the crew passes behind the moon.

And Lori Glaze added that health experiments aboard the capsule are laying the groundwork for future missions:

GLAZE:  All of these human health experiment experiments are informing how we can keep our crews healthy on the longer missions that are coming up in the future.

Artemis II is expected to splash down in the Pacific near San Diego on Friday.

DHS funding » In Washington, the Homeland Security department remains partially shut down this morning as Congress returns for a new week with no funding vote in sight. Republican leaders have a two-track plan: Pass a Senate bill funding most of DHS now, and then fund ICE and Border Patrol separately through budget reconciliation, bypassing Democrats entirely.

GOP Congressman Jimmy Patronis said Sunday:

PATRONIS:  We really need reconciliation to start first, and I think if reconciliation starts, we start to see the framework of it, then the members are gonna start to get more comfortable as we are trying to bring this all in for a landing.

The department has been without funding for nearly 50 days after Democrats refused to fund immigration enforcement unless Republicans agreed to a list of demanded changes.

President Trump signed a memo Friday to keep DHS paychecks flowing in the meantime. 

Guthrie returns to Today Show » Today Show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie returns to the air this morning, two months after her 84-year-old mother was abducted from her Tucson-area home.

Ahead of her return, Guthrie delivered an Easter message, admitting that she has felt "deep disappointment with God" since her mother's disappearance, but adds that she still believes:

GUTHRIE: Our faith gives us a spiritual conviction that we will be reborn, that God will redeem this pain, that every tear will be wiped away, that our Easter is coming.

That was a video message delivered to the Good Shepherd Church in New York City.

Nancy Guthrie has been missing since February 1^st, with investigators finding bloodstains at her residence and multiple ransom notes demanding cryptocurrency.

The FBI remains is still investigating. The Guthrie family has offered a $1 million-dollar reward for information leading to her safe return.

I'm Kent Covington.

And straight ahead: legal analysis of the landmark birthright citizenship case at the Supreme Court. Plus, the legacy left behind by Martin Luther King, Jr.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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