Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Iran Conflict: President Trump Says "We're Blowing Up The Whole Country" If No Iran Deal By Tomorrow
As his latest deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz approached, President Trump ratcheted up his threats over the weekend. Trump warned of massive strikes on Iran's power plants, bridges, and oil facilities if the country did not comply or reach a deal. In an expletive-filled post on Truth Social yesterday, Trump set a new cutoff of 8 p.m. tomorrow, threatening in blunt terms that Iran would face severe consequences for keeping the waterway closed. Behind the scenes, indirect negotiations have continued with Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey as go-betweens, with Vice President JD Vance and Iran's parliamentary speaker as the main parties. Iran has denied holding direct negotiations and has rejected calls for a ceasefire, while its military has threatened to strike Gulf energy infrastructure in return if the U.S. attacks its power plants.
2 US Fighter Jet Crew Member Missing After Plane Was Shot Down Found Safely
The second crew member from a U.S. F-15E fighter jet shot down over Iran was rescued by American forces early yesterday. The jet's pilot had been rescued on Friday, but the second crew member, a weapons systems officer, had remained missing in remote terrain inside Iran. During Friday's rescue of the pilot, a U.S. helicopter carrying him home was struck by small arms fire, wounding crew members on board, though the aircraft landed safely. An A-10 Warthog that had been flying in support of the search mission also took fire, and its pilot ejected over the Persian Gulf before being recovered. Iranian Revolutionary Guards took credit for shooting down the aircraft Friday, and photos of debris were consistent with an F-15, according to weapons experts. The downing of the F-15E marks the first time a U.S. fighter jet has been shot down in enemy combat in more than 20 years. At least four U.S. jets have been lost since the Iran war began on Feb. 28th, though three of those were in a friendly-fire incident involving Kuwaiti air defenses in early March
3 Artemis II Crew Held A Dehydrated Scrambled Egg Hunt Yesterday As They Approach The Moon
The Artemis II crew marked Easter Sunday in style, hiding dehydrated scrambled eggs around the Orion capsule for a low-gravity egg hunt. Astronaut Christina Koch sent Easter greetings to mission control and said the crew had switched from tracking their distance from Earth to measuring how close they were getting to the moon, and Commander Reid Wiseman had astronaut wings for Canadian crewmate Jeremy Hansen, making his first spaceflight. The crew woke up to a recorded message from Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke, and they also got good news: the space toilet, which had been giving them trouble since launch, was finally back to full working order. The Orion capsule is expected to pass the distance record from Earth this afternoon just before 1 pm, with the closest approach to the moon happening around 6 pm.