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New Details On Daring Rescue Of U.S. Airman Shot Down In Iran; Artemis II Astronauts To Make History Moon Flyby; Savannah Guthrie Returns To "TODAY" Amid Search For Missing Mom. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired April 06, 2026 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And in the midst of this growing energy supply crisis this weekend eight OPEC+ nations announced a new agreement to boost oil production by just over 200,000 barrels a day starting next month. That announcement though is coming with a warning that repairs to energy infrastructure damaged in this war is going to take a very long time.

CNN's Matt Egan joins me now with more on this. So what did the OPEC+ nations announce and what impact is it going to have?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well Kate, look -- I mean, the clock is really ticking to fix this supply crisis, but the truth is that OPEC -- they really can't come to the rescue here, right? So they're promising to increase production by about 206,000 barrels per day. And I know that sounds like a lot but in reality, this is a drop in the bucket compared with the size of the overall supply outage, right? Because the Strait of Hormuz is shut down, we're looking at an estimated 12 to 15 million barrels per day that had been knocked offline.

And at this point this promise to increase production -- it's really just theoretical because the Gulf oil producers, like Saudi Arabia -- they rely on the Strait of Hormuz to get their oil to market --

BOLDUAN: Right.

EGAN: -- but they can't do that right now because the strait remains basically shut down.

So this is really just a drop in the bucket. It's not going to fix anything. I mean, this would be like trying to put a fire with a water gun, and not even a water gun that there's right away -- a water gun that may or may not arrive at some point in the future.

And the other thing is yes, OPEC+ is warning that it's going to take a) time and b) money to fix the energy facilities that have been damaged by the war, and I think that's something that's also lost in the conversation.

Now, as you pointed out, oil prices starting this week at about $110 a barrel. That means U.S. oil prices -- they've almost doubled so far this year. Look at this -- up by 92 percent and it's only March. I mean, the consequences here are massive when you think about how important oil is to the cost of living. You know, gasoline -- but it's making -- it's more expensive to fly right now. It could be more expensive to go to the grocery store because diesel is more expensive. So this is really significant.

And gas prices -- they continue to go higher and higher with the new national average, $4.12 a gallon. That's up massively from just a month ago when it was at $3.32. And, of course, before the war, when gas prices were just $2.98 a gallon.

And Kate, look, analysts warn that if this energy crisis is not fixed soon then you could be starting the summer driving season on Memorial Day weekend with gas prices in the U.S. averaging $4.50 or even $5.00 a gallon. And I think there'd be pretty significant economic and maybe political consequences to that as well.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. I mean, yeah, exactly. I mean, there still might be political consequences if it stays at $4.12 --

EGAN: True.

BOLDUAN: -- at this point. But there's clearly a lot of time and a lot of things to happen.

Thank you so much, Matt.

EGAN: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: I really appreciate it -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah. I mean, obviously, the gas prices are underlying almost everything that's happening right now in Iran with the war very much still raging.

With us now CNN national security analyst and director of the counterterrorism program at the Atlantic Council, Alex Plitsas. Also here, retired Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson.

And I just want to back up to what we saw this weekend, Alex, because it truly is extraordinary although very much in line with all --

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, DIRECTOR, COUNTERTERRORISM PROGRAM, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- the training that our airmen and special forces do. This remarkable rescue that happened in the Esfahan Province of both the pilot, you know, and the weapons operator -- but really, the second individual, Saturday night into Sunday morning. It happened right here. You know, for all the planning it doesn't go perfectly, right, because there are aircraft used that have to be destroyed.

Why don't you just lay out what happened here?

PLITSAS: Sure. So what sources have revealed and we were aware of a lot of this -- what was going on during the day, but we withheld reporting just due to the fact there were still U.S. forces operating on the ground. This is going to go down as one of the most historic, courageous U.S. rescue operations in special operations history.

So the understanding is that the weapons system officer bailed out after the pilot didn't since it was still traveling and they ended up miles apart. He either broke his ankle or severely sprained it on landing and then somehow managed to escape and evade. He got to about 7,000 feet of elevation and ended up in a crevice where he activated his personal locater beacon and radio. And that's when U.S. forces were finally aware that he was OK.

From there another rescue operation had to be planned deep inside of Iran. It required a four-day refueling point, so special operators had to be flown in along with helicopters to go get him. Elements of special Navy SEAL teams as well as U.S. Army special operators were on the ground as a QRF. There were engagements with the IRGC in terms of fire fights. They managed to get all of them out. There were no U.S. killed as part of the operation.

But the Air Force -- it looks like they may have miscalculated the soil density and as a result of that the aircraft were then stuck, as you see here. They were unable to take off. So the decision was made to send in backup smaller aircraft, or Dash 8 as they're called, and then they had to be struck afterwards to prevent the Iranians from getting their hands on them. A couple hundred million dollars' worth of aircraft but it kept all the U.S. personnel alive.

BERMAN: And it got people out there.

General, I'm going to shift gears with you unless you have anything you want to add about this remarkable rescue.

[07:35:00]

BRIG. GEN. STEVE ANDERSON, U.S. ARMY (RET.) (via Webex by Cisco): Well, I'd simply like to say that it's an incredible -- you know, no mission -- no man left behind is our motto, as Alex knows very, very well.

But to me this accentuates not only the professionalism of our military but the difficulty of the task at hand fighting in Iraq. I mean, we had hundreds of people and dozens of aircraft involved. We lost $250 million in aircraft for -- to -- in order to retrieve this guy, which, of course, we needed to do. But it just shows how difficult conducting ground operations in fortress Iran is going to be.

BERMAN: All right, let's talk about the next few days in Iran, very much prefaced around this Easter message sent from President Trump.

He said, "Tuesday will be power plant day and bridge day." I want to underline those words right here. "...power plant and bridge day all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it! Open the f- in..." -- and I'm going to cross this out because its, you know, a morning show here -- "Open the strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in hell. Just watch! Praise be to Allah. President Donald Trump."

So General, hitting power plants and bridges. When is that a war crime and when is it not a war crime?

ANDERSON: Well John, it's a war crime if it's associated with a civilian-only target. If it's got any kind of military benefit, you can make an argument.

But every single target needs to be assessed and that's why you have staff at Judge Advocate -- you know, JAG officers that are present at the command. And every target, as Alex knows, needs to have a review -- a target assessment legally. And obviously, to take down any kind of infrastructure, particularly water desalination plants and energy infrastructure that's civilian-only, that would definitely constitute a war crime. We can't do it.

BERMAN: So Alex, this all has to do with opening the Strait of Hormuz which today, at least, seems to a war aim of President Trump. There was a time last week it wasn't. Apparently now it is again. And he's saying that Iran has to open the strait -- which, of course, it hasn't -- as part of this temporary ceasefire proposal that's been sent to both sides.

Why would this be difficult for Iran to agree to? They seem reluctant to agree to this, at least at this minute.

PLITSAS: So in speaking to mediators yesterday, they were a little bit confused -- the Iranians, that is -- were confused by some of the language the president was using. And the mediators had to explain he's giving you an opportunity for an off-ramp should you decide to take it, which is to open the straits and end the war.

The Iranians are looking for survival at this point. They see this as an existential threat to the Islamic Republic's existence. But the president has made it clear he's really not looking to engage in nation or state building; he just wants to work with an existing member provided that somebody in that form exists and will meet him on policy.

But this is their main pressure point that they've been successful in applying against the United States -- an asymmetric strategy -- or at least that's the way they feel. So for them, until they get terms that they find acceptable it's unlikely they're going to release pressure on the straits.

BERMAN: Yeah, this is it for them. I mean --

PLITSAS: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- when they -- if they were to give up the strait as part of a temporary deal they have nothing left essentially.

PLITSAS: Yeah. So what's being structured right now -- there's a final push right now from the Pakistanis and the Egyptians in a mediation effort before Tuesday's extension the president has given to try to get a temporary ceasefire. So a ceasefire from them and then subsequently opening the straits and then opening a period of negotiations to bring the war to a conclusion. It appears that earlier this morning the Iranians have rejected that. That seems to be formal statement that was released.

BERMAN: All right.

Alex Plitsas, Gen. Anderson, thank you both very much -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you, John.

In his first Easter mass as pontiff, Pope Leo urged world leaders to reject division and war and choose peace instead. He addressed thousands gathered in Saint Peter's Square and millions watching around the world on Sunday. He warned that the world is becoming increasingly desensitized to the human cost of conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV (through translator): We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it and becoming indifferent. Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people. Indifferent to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflict so. Indifferent to the economic and social consequences they produce, which we all feel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Pope Leo -- as you know, he's the first American pontiff -- has made peace a central theme of his early papacy.

All right. New this morning 15 people were injured, some seriously, after a car plowed through a parade hitting multiple pedestrians in Louisiana over the weekend. Video from an eyewitness shows first responders helping a person trapped beneath a car that had come rest in a ditch.

The driver now in custody. Police say the 57-year-old man was booked for driving while impaired, first-degree negligent injuring and careless operation, and open container. A preliminary investigation showed the incident does not appear to be an intentional act. The people were gathered to celebrate the Lao New Year -- Kate.

[07:40:00]

BOLDUAN: Let's talk about a historic day ahead. The Artemis II crew is about to break the record for how far humans have ever traveled from Earth as they fly around the far side of the moon. And during this flyby they will be seeing features of the lunar surface that human eyes have never seen before. The crew understandably in awe of what they've already experienced up there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY HANSEN, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: There's been a lot of disbelief up here. Just the fact that what we're seeing, where we are, it's hard to wrap your mind around. Like, I mean that sincerely. It really bends your mind. And the emotions that come along with that -- there's a lot of happiness. Just to experience these unique things just brings you joy as a human.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And we need more of that.

Joining us right now is Keith Cowing. He's a former NASA scientist and editor of Nasa Watch. Keith, today is the big day. Talk us through what they're going to be doing with this flyby and what it all entails.

KEITH COWING, FORMER NASA SCIENTIST, EDITOR, NASA WATCH (via Webex by Cisco): Well, we've done flybys of the moon before but I'm 70 and the last time we did this I was in high school. So, you know, a lot of us have been -- there's a lot of the anticipation for some of us but for three-quarters of the people in the world this is their first moon mission. So there's probably very few people who aren't excited in one way or another.

What we're going to be seeing is the spacecraft will get closer to the moon and about 7:00 Eastern tonight will be as close as about 4,000 miles. But what they're going to see is parts of the moon you normally would never see with human eyes from Earth. And you could say well, we flew around the moon before. Well, we're going at a different angle this time and we're going to see sights that the human eye has never looked. Just, you know, out the window, tourist mode, looking down. We've never done that.

But we have instruments that are doing all the science stuff. We'll go behind the moon. The signals will get cut off. And because of the coincidence of how they launched -- the date -- we're going to get a solar eclipse. Then they'll come around the other side, we'll all say hurray, and then they'll come back home.

It sounds simple but we haven't done this in half a century. And as that kid said, we're going on the fricking moon.

BOLDUAN: Exactly, because that's exactly -- that kid -- that kid is going to go down in not infamy; he's just going to go down in glorious infamy.

Let me ask you about that blackout that you were talking about. They're going to -- they're predicted to lose communication for -- what is it -- 40 minutes when they're on the far side of the moon.

COWING: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: That, to me, sounds absolutely terrifying but how significant and how big of a deal is that kind of blackout period?

COWING: Well, the only time I think they were ever worried about this during the Apollo era is because that's where they would fire the engine to come home. And the only time you didn't have to worry about that was Apollo 13, but they had other problems. So you, like, always wanted to talk to them.

This time they're on a free return. When they did their first burn -- that thing the other night where everybody was all happy. They will pretty much come back to Earth and hit the atmosphere perfectly if they do nothing else.

But being out of communications -- you know, I've been on expeditions where you don't have communications and quite frankly sometimes it's like good -- I am tired of talking to those people. I want to look out the window.

BOLDUAN: (Laughing).

COWING: But it's not a big deal. Yeah, it's true. But, you know, it's not a big deal. They're planning for it and it's a very short period of time. And if something does go wrong, they'll have 30-40 minutes to, you know, wait to get into contact with people. No biggie.

BOLDUAN: I mean, your version of no biggie I think is slightly skewed because I feel -- I still feel like it's a biggie deal that they're going to lose communication. But I do like the whole idea that they're up there being like man, at least we can't get some peace and quiet now from these guys for at least 40 minutes. I do love that.

COWING: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: So they've got this final list of targets for observation and pictures -- craters, lunar plains, mountains that they're supposed to be looking at and observing. But what really are they looking for? Why are these the targets?

COWING: Well first of all, this is a test flight so it's a bonus to look out the window with the four humans. But they are -- when we went to the moon before we went with robots first, then we sent people, then we stopped sending people, but we continued to send robots. And that's fine but at some point, you know, we've got to go back to the surface and we're doing a bit of a recon right now in addition to testing the spacecraft. So we're kind of looking down at the terrain saying hey, you know, that's kind of cool. Maybe we should go there.

But, you know, the question that I would have to ask you, if I could, this is your first moon mission. What's it like for you? I'm really curious.

BOLDUAN: Well, I'm just loving -- I mean, every morning I've woken up trying to find the latest update. All I want is just more, more, more. I want to hear more from the astronauts. I want to see more of whatever imagery we can get out. Every moment of it is so -- for me, obviously, I've never experienced it, so every moment of it is exciting.

[07:45:00]

I truly -- there is just this quality, and it happens any time we have a major moment when it comes to space exploration that it is -- there's the kind of like this gathering together and bringing us together. This feeling that we're all kind of coming together around one thing to support and celebrate this beautiful think happening in space that we really just don't get any time -- any time anymore. COWING: Well, it's cool. It's exactly -- because Victor Glover was -- sort of said well -- asked the other night well, what do you have to say. He goes I don't have anything prepared and then he went and said exactly what you said.

So again, I'll leave you with -- I'm a -- you've got a 15-year-old boy and a 70-year-old man here. We're both like, you know, let's do this. Let's do this. And I'm not alone and I'm glad to see that you're on the bus with us and it's going to a cool moment for all of us. And maybe a little bit of good news instead of all the not good news.

BOLDUAN: Amen. This bus that you're talking about, it sounds like quite a party bus. I'm very excited to be joining the group.

It's great to see you, Keith.

COWING: You, too.

BOLDUAN: All that happening today. Thank you so much.

John, would you like to join the bus?

BERMAN: I was told to pause for music there, but what I really wanted to say is I wanted to grasp hands with Kate and sing "Free to Be...You and Me" during that entire hit.

Meanwhile, the UCLA women -- they are the national champions of all of college basketball.

Let's get to Coy Wire for the latest.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS: They put on a dominant show, UCLA, winning their first national championship John in the NCAA era. Five players scoring in double figures, including the tournament's most outstanding player Lauren Betts -- 14 points, leading a suffocating defense. The Bruins simply overwhelmed South Carolina from start to finish -- 79-51 was the final.

Here is coach Cori Clos -- 15 years at the school and her first-ever title -- emotional after the win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CORI CLOSE, HEAD COACH, UCLA: It's beyond my wildest dreams and it's meaningful because of the people I've gotten to share it with. It's all about the heart and it would be shallow without an amazing village and incredible people that have poured into me my whole life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: And tonight, John, behind me in that Indianapolis Colts NFL stadium, it will be on. It started with 68 teams, down to just two, Michigan and UConn.

The coaches couldn't be more different in this one. UConn, winners of two of the last three national titles, led by the fiery Dan Hurley. He most recently went viral for going head-to-head with a ref after beating Duke, you may remember.

Now Michigan, they're looking for their first-ever title since 1989. They're led by the icy, cool, and calm Dusty May.

I caught up with both coaches to ask what they're about to be up against in the final -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: You're like the Zen master. You said you used to want to coach with fire, like Bobby Knight and you realized that didn't work for you.

DUSTY MAY, HEAD COACH, MICHIGAN WOLVERINES: We send a lot of time thinking about what our daily message to our team needs to be. Once we started teaching with positivity -- with the mindset that there's a culture there in practice and we want guys to play with freedom. To put their own special sauce in what we're doing but also learning from the mistakes they make. Because if they make them in practice, we point them out and we're grateful that they happened in that setting versus in the Final Four.

WIRE: Coach, on a scale of one to cotton candy, how soft, as you've said, is society becoming?

DAN HURLEY, HEAD COACH, CONNECTICUT HUSKIES: Oh, my God.

WIRE: Go on.

HURLEY: I don't know, mush. Cotton candy that's been left in a car in the hot summer with the windows up. I mean, yeah.

WIRE: What are some of the things you're seeing? Like, why do you say that?

HURLEY: I would just say that maybe some of the external reaction to how I coach, to how surprised people are that somebody that coaches their players hard but also loves them hard too is able to be successful. And then when these guys take the court on game night I flip. I become more of a cheerleader.

WIRE: You mentioned getting in people's faces.

HURLEY: Yeah.

WIRE: Coach, I am pumped. This was a freaking awesome interview. Do you know how pumped I was for this? Let's go. Yes, sir.

HURLEY: (Laughing).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: The passion was palpable sitting in that UConn locker room with Coach Hurley. He brings out the Huskie dog mentality in everyone, John.

Just 40 minutes to decide who gets the trophy, the confetti, and a place in history. UConn versus Michigan tonight on TBS -- John.

BERMAN: There is no insulation at all in that head butt. I mean, that was like a serious risk you were taking there skin-on-skin.

WIRE: Absolutely serious risk.

He's a quirky character. You may have heard about his lucky dragon red underwear. He's very superstitious and wears them for every game. He brings a portable washer and portable dryer, his wife Andrea, to get them game ready. He also has a lucky suit that he wears and it's falling apart at the seams so look out tonight to see if you see his lining coming out his arm sleeve pocket. Now, if his pants seams bust, well then, we may get a glimpse of those lucky red underwear as well, John.

[07:50:03]

BERMAN: That was a lot of information right there. I like the idea of game-ready underwear. It's something we all need.

Coy Wire, thank you very much. Game-ready!

BOLDUAN: Only Coy. I'm gonna -- I don't -- I think we should just stop because you know this entire conversation is going to go south and we should --

BERMAN: Coach them hard, love them hard?

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Let's just stick with that -- coach them hard.

BERMAN: Game-ready.

BOLDUAN: Game-ready.

BERMAN: All right.

BOLDUAN: Game-ready. Coy is shaking his head as he should. But it's Coy's fault so he should take the responsibility for it.

Let's turn to this -- the other big news that we are tracking this morning. Savannah Guthrie is back in the anchor chair on the "TODAY" show for the first time since her mother's disappearance. Her message in the show open -- we'll bring that to you.

And you could get paid to train robots how to do your household chores. Interested?

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:55:50]

SIDNER: This morning after spending two months away from the "TODAY" show to focus on the search for her missing 84-year-old mother Nancy, Savannah Guthrie returned to work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC ANCHOR, "TODAY": And it is good to be home.

CRAIG MELVIN, NBC ANCHOR, "TODAY": Yes. It is good to have you back at home.

GUTHRIE: Well, here we go ready or not.

MELVIN: Yeah.

GUTHRIE: Let's do the news.

MELVIN: Yes. So good to have you back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: On Sunday, Guthrie shared a deeply personal Easter message reflecting on her family's ongoing heartbreak, her faith, and moments where she admitted to feeling abandoned by God.

CNN's Omar Jimenez joining me now. This is really hard. This is really raw. Everybody's been watching her go through this. But she did return to work. How did she seem this morning?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT; Yeah. I mean, it seemed she was professional as she always is, but it seemed that the show just wanted to get right back to work. There was that acknowledgment and it's not like we didn't not play stuff. That's basically all it was. It's good to have you home and then they got into the news as they would almost any other Saturday -- or any other weekday morning.

But, I mean, think about this. This has played out so publicly for now more than two months. I was looking back at the date just to remind myself. It was January 31 was the last time that 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie was seen. And then since then, of course, there have been searches that have taken us in many different directions. There doesn't seem to be any prevailing lead from investigators.

And throughout it all Savannah Guthrie, a very public figure, has had to sort of toe that line between searching for her mom but also trying to be a part of her "TODAY" show family.

And then, of course, yesterday, Easter, she shared a very personal message I think just capturing the moment in a way that would have even been difficult coming back to work in the way she did. I just want to play a little bit of it now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUTHRIE: In my own season of trial I have wondered -- 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: That was shared with the Good Shepherd New York City Church. But obviously, again, look, it's the personal side of what she and her family have been going through. They've offered up to $1 million for any information leading to major clues in this. We've seen her and her family make pleas that someone knows something in regards to her mother's case.

But obviously, a big moment today coming back to work. And as professional as she may seem those wounds don't go away just because you're back at work.

SIDNER: Yeah. Everyone knows kind of something of what she's going through because they've heard it from her own words.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

SIDNER: But here she is doing her job and trying to just, you know, move on, on television. But obviously at home a whole different thing.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

SIDNER: Omar, thank you so much. Appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning the parents of a child who squeezed through a fence and stuck his hand into a wolf enclosure at ZooAmerica in Hershey, Pennsylvania now faces charges -- those parents do. The 17-month-old was injured after one of the wolves instinctively and naturally grabbed onto the child's hand with its mouth. That's what authorities there call it. Police say the parents appeared to be looking at their phones when the incident happened.

This morning thousands of people around the world getting paid to teach robots how to handle household chores by recording themselves doing those chores.

CNN's Stephanie Yang has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE YANG, CNN SENIOR ASIA BUSINESS EDITOR AND REPORTER: Looking for a side gig? You've seen humanoid robots do backflips, cartwheels, and Kung Fu. Now their next big mission is cleaning. But first, they'll have to learn how using videos of humans doing it first.

That's created a new kind of gig economy where people are paid by the hour to record themselves doing odd jobs around the house. All around the world thousands of workers are strapping cameras to their heads before starting on a list of basic tasks like cutting fruit, cleaning countertops, and watering plants. Then the footage is marked up so that robots can translate the visual cues into physical responses.

This type of human data is turning into a multibillion-dollar industry and companies say it's going to take billions of hours of training before robots can be deployed into people's homes.