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High Stakes Negotiations in Pakistan over Iran War; Civilians Pay Heavy Price for Israeli Strikes in Lebanon; Russia Pounds Odessa ahead of Possible Easter Truce; Artemis II Astronauts Return to Earth; Inflation Spiking over Iran War; Rory McIlroy Ahead at Masters. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 11, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hey, everybody. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM and it's good to be with you this weekend. Here's what's coming your way.

American and Iranian negotiators, they are in Pakistan at this hour for peace talks. The world now waiting to see if they can deliver a plan.

And how's this for a picture perfect reentry of Artemis II?

NASA's astronauts back safe on Earth. We'll tell you what happens next.

And we'll also have the highlights from the Masters, where Rory McIlroy is breaking records.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from New York, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval

SANDOVAL: And we do want to begin with high-stakes peace talks between the U.S. and Iran as they're set to kick off this hour in Islamabad, Pakistan. Vice president JD Vance arrived in the capital just a little while ago. A senior Pakistani source praising fans for his role in pushing for a diplomatic solution to the war.

Meanwhile, president Trump has warned that he will likely renew and intensify U.S. strikes if a deal can't be reached. Well, he said that his focus for these talks is ensuring that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.

But his other main issue and one that's hitting pocketbooks really around the world is reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has vowed that that will happen with or without Iran's cooperation. Let's go now to Islamabad, where CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, is following those talks closely. Nic, it's great to see you. I mean, look, the Iranians sent a lot of

their top senior officials.

So is that a sign that they're serious about finding some potential common ground?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, the Iranians say that they're coming into this with a 10-point plan that they want to see realized.

And I think the size of the delegations are two Iranian aircraft arriving last night, a delegation involving 71 different people, some of them experts in former nuclear talks negotiations.

So Iran has come with a deep bench strength. And it's giving the impression that it wants to cover a lot of ground. It's giving the impression that that these talks could go on for some time; whereas the U.S. delegation, JD Vance arriving here about 1.5 hours ago, touching down here, a much smaller delegation.

And he's indicated before he got on the plane and left the U.S., he indicated, look, the United States believes it can test pretty quickly whether or whether or not Iran is serious about engaging.

So I think there's both sides with a deep level of distrust between them, come into this with fundamentally different approaches to how they want to achieve their goals. Iran giving the impression that it's ready to get into detail, substantial detail.

And the U.S. giving the impression that it's going to have a pretty quick litmus test of where Iran stands on all of this. And the negotiators here are faced with how to bring the sides together.

We should be expecting the talks, I think, to begin in the next couple of hours. They will be indirect and not in the same room. And then we're expecting them to become direct face-to-face. And that would be pretty historic in terms of senior level players on both the U.S. and the Iranian side.

You had the Iranian speaker of the parliament, the Iranian foreign minister, these have been the two principal interlocutors that have emerged over the past couple of weeks. But again, there's so much to be tested here.

Do these political figures that are -- that have come for the talks on the Iranian side that are leading their delegation, do they really speak for the military power inside Iran at the moment?

The impression and what I'm understanding from sources I'm speaking with is that the Iranians come in, come into this feeling in a very strong position, that they feel that they have got leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.

They do want to see their demands that Israel stops attacking their proxy, Hezbollah, inside of Lebanon, they want to see that pulled into the bigger ceasefire picture. But, of course, key for president Trump is the Strait of Hormuz, finding a deal to secure the flow of oil to international markets and stabilize the economy in the U.S. and beyond.

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So different negotiating styles, different objectives but a sense that this could be a historic day or days ahead. And again, that's going to come down to negotiating styles and trust. Trust needs to be built. It's in utter deficit at the moment.

SANDOVAL: As you point out, a complete lack of trust. Nic, before we let you go, I'm wondering if you could just expand on that last point you made on how Lebanon folds into this.

What are you hearing from your sources about how Iran may potentially present that during these negotiations?

And what would be an ideal outcome for them or an ideal part of the deal that has to do with Israel's ongoing offensive in southern Lebanon?

ROBERTSON: Yes. Iran's ideal goal here would be to have an absolute permanent, super secure, locked-in ceasefire that would cease any military strikes by the U.S. and Israel against Iran and against any Iranian proxy in the region and principally Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has been a major player for Iran for decades now. They were supposed to hand over their weapons in a Lebanon civil war ceasefire deal back in the early '90s. That never happened. They've been such a powerful, militarized proxy, dominating the politics of Lebanon, sidelining the effectiveness of the Lebanese army.

And most diplomats in the region see stability in Lebanon coming through the marginalization of Hezbollah, from a military force backed by Iran to a political representation within the parliamentary structure of Lebanon.

But that's not Iran's view. Iran would like to see Hezbollah secured from the war, secured from the multiple strikes and the -- and the attacks that it's taken over the past couple of years from Israel that have decimated its leadership, tried to take down its ability to fire missiles into Israel.

But Iran wants them to survive. And Iran would ideally, under its current thinking, want them to survive and prosper. So that's what's at stake here for Iran.

But of course, any Iranian proxy in the region, be it Hezbollah, be it Hamas, be it the Houthis, that's an anathema to this entire region. The Gulf states have been horrified and shocked at how Iran has attacked them and need to see and want to see its proxies put beyond use. That's the way that they see stability in the region.

SANDOVAL: Yes, it's all part of the same war. Nic Robertson, thank you so much, there with a live report from Islamabad as he closely follows the talks that are just getting underway. And as the world watches for a possible breakthrough, let's discuss

these talks with H.A. Hellyer. He's a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies.

H.R. it's always great to have you join us.

HA HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE FOR DEFENCE AND SECURITY STUDIES: My pleasure. Thank you for having me.

SANDOVAL: So you heard from my colleague on the ground there. There's a lot going into this with a complete lack of trust. These are two delegations that have a completely or very different list of priorities. You have the vice president, who said that he expects a positive negotiation.

What's the best case scenario that could come out of this?

HELLYER: The best case scenario is that we have a full deal that stops all strikes on Lebanon by the Israelis, ensures that the Strait of Hormuz is opened completely, no restrictions on traffic, where we have commitments to no attacks on Gulf states by the Iranian regime.

And a complete cessation of hostilities by the Americans and the Israelis. I don't think we're getting all of that. I think that, realistically, a good case scenario would be that there won't be further strikes on Lebanon by the Israelis.

There's been huge suffering there over the last few days, 250 people apparently killed in 10 minutes by these strikes by the Israelis on Lebanon. They couched them as a counterterrorism operation.

Only the most severe of ideologues would term, you know, the blanket bombing of Lebanon to be a counterterrorism operation.

I think you're absolutely right that the severe lack of trust between the two sides, I think that, frankly, that's quite normal. The negotiations have begun before in earnest. And they were interrupted by strikes. We saw that twice this year and last year between these -- between the Americans and the Iranians.

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So I'm not surprised that the Iranians will feel very dubious about these sorts of negotiations. I also, of course, when it comes to suspicions around the Iranians, the Iranian regime has been responsible for a great deal of suffering within the region.

And, of course, the Gulf Arab states are feeling very, very conflicted about these ceasefire negotiations, simply because I don't think that they think the Iranians really take them as seriously ought to, especially when it comes to opening up the Strait of Hormuz.

So any situation that gives the Iranians control over the strait after this, I think, will be very concerning to all the Gulf Arab states and to the world more generally. SANDOVAL: Right. To underscore that point, the importance of having

the Strait of Hormuz included in some potential framework that come out of this. But then back to the earlier thing that you mentioned.

And if we do see the Israelis agree to scale back on some of their ongoing offensives in Lebanon, I assume certainly Israeli forces would want something in return. And that leads us to the nuclear stockpile.

Do you see that also being discussed and the Iranians addressing their nuclear stockpile as part of a potential deal?

HELLYER: I think it's possible. I think lots of things are on the table because, keep in mind, what we're talking about, in practicality, is an amount of enrichment -- enriched uranium that seems to be, you know, very much buried.

And we're getting very conflicting reports about this, right? Last year we were told by the Trump administration that this was all sorted. It was fine. It was no longer an issue, that this would be completely sorted after the strikes last summer.

That has come up again as, you know, an issue that they want to put on top of the table. So it's on top of the list at their table.

So you know, which one is it?

There's not a lot of transparency when it comes to this. I also think, though, that there needs to be a decoupling here on one level. The acts of the Iranians, frankly, ought not to be relevant to Israel's stopping its offensive on Lebanon.

Lebanon is a sovereign country and ought to be treated as such. They're not responsible for the Iranians. Hezbollah is a problem. It's a problem for the Lebanese state, I think, first and foremost.

But you know, bombing --

SANDOVAL: Yes.

HELLYER: -- occupying, you know, forcing more than a million people of south Lebanon up into the north, none of this is legitimate. None of this is justified, which is why you've seen so much of the world, European leaders, Arab leaders but just internationally, come out so forcefully against it. And many accusing the Israelis of war crimes.

SANDOVAL: It is an ongoing humanitarian crisis that's unfolding, not just there but throughout much of the Middle East. H.A. Hellyer, as always, it's a pleasure to have you on. Thank you so much for your time and your perspective.

HELLYER: My pleasure. Thank you.

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HOWARD HU, ORION PROGRAM MANAGER, NASA: This mission has been historic and has demonstrated new capabilities for Orion spacecraft, has taken our crew farther than any crews that have ever gone to the moon and packed safely 252,756 miles and that is a fantastic feat. We got a lot more to do.

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SANDOVAL: NASA officials, they are looking to the future of space exploration now that the astronauts of the Artemis II mission have returned safely back to Earth after their historic journey around the moon.

The crew, you see them here, splashing down off the coast of San Diego, California, shortly after 8 pm Eastern, 5 pm there on the West Coast. And this after they flew around the moon and traveled farther from the Earth than any human has ever done before.

They will be reuniting with their families in the coming days, possibly tomorrow. We expect to hear from them directly in the next week or two. One senior official says that this mission now paves the way for returning to the surface of the moon and eventually a permanent lunar base.

NASA they're going to be now evaluating all the data, all the technology from the mission as they gear up for the next phase, which is Artemis III. And that is set to launch next year. Pretty incredible video.

A possible holiday ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, it is officially just hours away but one of Ukraine's largest cities is not getting a break from Moscow strikes. We'll explain.

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SANDOVAL: The Israeli military has instructed people in southern Lebanon to leave the area as its operations against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group continue. And the death toll there continues to rise.

The Lebanese health ministry says that at least 1,800 people have been killed. About 6,000 have been injured and more than a million people have been displaced. Civilians, they are paying a heavy price, as CNN's Nada Bashir reports from Beirut.

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NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The pained cries of one of Lebanon's youngest casualties. She was injured after an Israeli

airstrike hit a college in Beirut, where she and her family had been sheltering. We're not identifying them as they've requested privacy. BASHIR: This little girl is one of the hundreds of wounded patients that were brought into hospitals across Beirut following Wednesday's devastating

attack on the city but her mother considers her one of the lucky ones. She was able to survive the attack but there were more than 300 who were

killed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When I heard the first strike, I ran out screaming, my daughter, my daughter. I couldn't see anything. Just

Black everywhere, I could hear her voice. She was calling for me, "Mama, mama."

I was digging through the debris with my hands. I could just see her face, her head. I pulled her out with my hands and carried her. I was in shock.

BASHIR (voice-over): At just three years old, her daughter has now lived through two wars between Israel and Lebanon. Israel claims it is targeting

Hezbollah forces.

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But across the country, civilians are paying a heavy price.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): What have our children done to deserve this?

What have they done?

Why should my daughter have to cover her

ears for fear of the sound when she goes to sleep?

BASHIR (voice-over): Doctors and nurses here at the Makassed Hospital say they were inundated with casualties. Civilians, they tell us, poured into

the hospital, many of them in a critical condition.

SABEEN ABOU AWDEH, EMERGENCY ROOM MANAGER, MAKASSED GENERAL HOSPITAL: There were like very, very bad injuries. And, of course, our own psychological

needs were not met as well. We had no time to see if our parents are OK. We didn't know where the blasts were. It was all over Lebanon.

There's no place safe anymore. Like the last war, there were no targets. Now we don't know where -- where there's going to be a bombing. BASHIR (voice-over): Nurse Sabeen Abou Awdeh has reason to be fearful. The military has accused Hezbollah forces of using ambulances for cover,

warning that they too could be targeted.

And now an expanded evacuation warning in southern Beirut has placed the nearby Rafik Hariri University Hospital in the line of fire. Doctors here

say they have received dozens of bodies, many of them still waiting to be identified by their inconsolable families.

Mohammed Nasreddine (ph) tells me his friend Abbas was killed in a strike which hit a local grocery store. He was just 19.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We pulled him out from beneath the rubble. We only found him today. He was under the rubble since Wednesday.

Now he's a martyr. What can we do?

BASHIR (voice-over): Nada Bashir, CNN, in Beirut.

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SANDOVAL: Ukraine's third largest city has taken fire from Russia, just hours ahead of a possible ceasefire for orthodox Easter.

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SANDOVAL (voice-over): Those are some of the sounds of Russian drones hitting Odessa just ahead of the 32-hour truce that was declared by Russian president Vladimir Putin. Earlier, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed an Easter ceasefire, saying that he was hoping it could lead to a real movement toward peace.

And that's happening as U.S. efforts to broker a peace deal are taking a back seat to diplomacy in the Middle East. Putin also declared an Easter ceasefire last year but each side accused the other of breaking said ceasefire.

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SANDOVAL: For more, now we're joined from Odessa by global affairs analyst Michael Bociurkiw. He's also a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Michael, thank you so much for joining us again.

MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, SENIOR FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Good to be with you. Thank you.

SANDOVAL: I was just curious where you are, what's the situation on the ground there right now?

BOCIURKIW: Well, it was a very violent night. I can't remember the last time we had drones attacking Odessa, not only deep into the night but also this morning into daylight hours, which may explain why I look a bit tired.

But I really feel for the residents of Odessa, who have been putting up with this for weeks and weeks and weeks on end. Also, 24 hours ago, world Port Odessa, the very port that delivers food and fertilizer to the world, was also struck.

So, you know, you mentioned the ceasefire. But when they're attacking up until the start of the ceasefire a few hours before it, it doesn't give us much confidence.

I should remind everybody that not only is this world Port Odessa delivering so many vital supplies to the world but it's also basically an open air museum, built by many, many different great nations, including Greece and Turkiye.

And it's really sad for me. This is my base to walk around. And you don't have to look far anymore for the destruction that was inflicted by Russia. It's very, very sad to see.

SANDOVAL: And Michael, you're providing what is an absolutely heartbreaking reminder that this war continues to rage on and that U.S.-led efforts to broker an end to said war, so far, they've pretty much failed.

So in your expert analysis, do you think that there are any other potential pathways to diplomacy that still haven't been explored, especially since much of what they've tried to do hasn't worked?

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BOCIURKIW: Absolutely. I mean, how can you -- sorry; how can Ukrainians possibly rely on the United States as a credible broker when, at the same time, president -- vice president Vance went to Hungary nearby here just a few days ago.

And condemned Ukraine for allegedly mixing themselves in U.S. elections and Hungarian elections and not even criticizing Russia whatsoever.

But yes, you know, I think, you know, we're seeing right now play out in real time that Pakistan, not a traditional kind of broker of peace, is right in the middle, leading peace talks in the Middle East. And I have advocated on CNN and elsewhere for a long, long time.

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Let's get the Gulf countries back in or let's get Turkiye back in to be in the middle of those talks, because they all have skin in the game, especially Turkiye in terms of Black Sea security.

One more thing that could put a lot of pressure on the Russians to stop the pummeling of Ukrainian cities is, OK, UAE; for the time being, if you want a U.S. security shield, pull out the red carpet from the rich Russians who are in Putin's inner circle.

Pull out the tourism visas and everything else, at least temporarily. And I think that would also send a strong message to the Kremlin and also put pressure on President Putin to stop the fighting here.

Because the Gulf countries are now relying on Ukrainian technology to stop those Iranian drones. So Ukraine has leverage to push them to, in turn, put pressure on Russia.

SANDOVAL: Right. We saw president Zelenskyy, early in this conflict, send in some of those drone experts to assist the U.S. and its allies. Ukraine's president expressed some concern last week.

And I'm sure you heard that this long-term war with Iran means that his country won't be a priority.

When you speak to Ukrainians on the ground, Michael, what do they have to say about what's happening?

BOCIURKIW: Yes. You know, I was thinking about that overnight. As you know, I sat on my balcony and heard, you know, these drones coming across. A lot of firepower is being expended to bring down those waves of drones.

And it does bring up the question, are there enough supplies left to also supply Ukraine with these very, very crucial munitions and rockets and everything else that brings them down?

Since so much is going to the Middle East -- and then ordinary Ukrainians, I think they're fed up with the Trump administration. They don't see them as a credible interlocutor. You know, Mr. Trump has at least twice said no more weapons for Ukraine. So again, it's time, I think, for Turkiye and others in the region to take a leading role.

SANDOVAL: Michael Bociurkiw, we wish you continued safety. Thank you so much for your time. And thank you for joining us.

For our international viewers, "CONNECTING AFRICA" is next. For our viewers in North America, I'll join you in just a moment.

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SANDOVAL (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York and these are today's top stories.

U.S. vice president JD Vance just arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, for peace talks with Iran. Vance is leading the U.S. delegation, along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and president Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The Iranian delegation, which has 71 people, arrived in Pakistan early on Saturday.

Israeli and Lebanese diplomats are set to meet on Tuesday in Washington to discuss another ceasefire. Iran-backed Hezbollah has urged the Lebanese government to refrain from negotiating after days of intense bombardment by Israel. More than 350 people have died in the country since the U.S. and Israel agreed to the ceasefire with Iran.

And the husband of a missing American woman will remain in police custody in the Bahamas for more questioning, at least until Monday. Local investigators are trying to determine if what -- exactly what led to his wife's disappearance.

Brian Hooker told investigators that his wife, 55-year-old Lynette Hooker, fell out of their small boat and vanished in rough waters several days ago.

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SANDOVAL: With cheers and celebrations at NASA as the astronauts of the Artemis II mission returned safely back to Earth, they splashed down just off the coast of San Diego, California, shortly after 8 pm Eastern time Friday, about 5 pm there on the West Coast.

After flying around the moon and then traveling farther than anybody has far from Earth, one senior official says that the mission paves the way for returning to the surface of the moon and eventually a permanent lunar base.

NASA will be evaluating the data and technology from the mission, in particular the capsule's heat shield. And this as they gear up for the next phase with Artemis III, which is set to launch next year. CNN's Randi Kaye reporting from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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RANDI KAYE, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The crew of Artemis II safely home and, as NASA said, it was a picture perfect landing. They said that this was a textbook landing in the Pacific Ocean just after 8 pm last night.

And they also said that the commander, Reid Wiseman, reported that there were four green crew members as soon as they landed. That means that they were all in good shape, healthy and good to go.

This is, of course, great news because there was a lot of concern before they had their reentry that there would be some issues with the AVCOAT material that is used to protect the Orion capsule and also the astronauts. It's part of the heat shield. And they were coming in with temperatures outside the capsule of about 5,000 F.

So they were wondering how the heat shield would hold up. This is a similar heat shield that was used for Artemis I and it did have some problems. Then big chunks of it came off. There were some cracks.

So what they did was, this time around, they changed the trajectory and the angle as they came in to land in the Pacific Ocean. And so that exposed them to the heat for a shorter amount of time. That seemed to have worked.

But, of course, they will have to take a closer look at the Orion capsule once they have a chance to do so. But the good news is the astronauts appear to be in good shape and NASA had a few things to say about the journey and the mission in a late-night press conference. Watch this.

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LORI GLAZE, ACTING ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, EXPLORATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT MISSION DIRECTORATE, NASA: I think the weight of this mission and just how incredibly impactful it is that we have actually achieved this, you know, during the -- during our lifetimes here, we have done this, right?

You know, when I was -- Apollo was when I was a child. And to be here now and say, we actually did this, we've gone back and we're going to go build a moon base. We are going to have an enduring presence on the moon, just incredibly powerful.

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KAYE: And NASA is already talking about returning to the moon and, from there, to Mars -- Randi Kaye, CNN, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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SANDOVAL: Let's now bring in retired NASA astronaut Terry Virts, who's also a retired Air Force colonel.

Col. Virts, thank you so much for taking the time.

COL. TERRY VIRTS (RET.), FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Yes, great to be here. Thanks for having me on.

SANDOVAL: What a day it was. I'm curious, based on your experience, just give us a sense of maybe what the next 24 hours may be like for this crew.

Before, we heard just a short while ago from NASA, officials say that their priority number one is to get them back with their families.

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What else can we expect for the crew?

VIRTS: Yes, watching them get on the Navy ship and walk over, it reminded me a lot of my first spaceflight. We landed the space shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center and then had to get off the shuttle.

And I remember the chief astronaut was there and I told her, I said, "Just stand next to me." I'm OK. I can walk, I can walk around but I want someone there because

I was feeling very, very dizzy and very heavy. That night we went back to crew quarters a few hours after I did some medical checks and my family was there.

And it was funny, my wife had told the kids, hey, don't, don't jump on Dad. He's dizzy. And as soon as the elevator door opened up, the kids just jumped in my arms and I was able to hold them. I didn't fall over.

But when I finally went to bed that night, I was plastered to the bed and it felt like I was in a superhero movie and I was a superhero. And there was -- like the evil guy had a magnetic ray gun that he just had me pulled into the bed and I couldn't move because I felt so heavy.

So they're going to be dealing with all that stuff and they're going to have a great time getting reunited with their family after almost two weeks leaving planet Earth.

SANDOVAL: Yes, after nearly two weeks in space, how long does it usually take to readjust?

How long was it for you?

VIRTS: You know, I readjusted pretty quickly. My second flight was a 200-day mission, so I was in space for over six months. And we landed in Kazakhstan. It took 24 hours to get back to Houston. That was a few years later.

So by that time, my son had gotten his driver's license. So I land in Houston. I went and did my workout at the gym and it was, I mean, talk about feeling dizzy. But I was, you know, running around. We were throwing medicine balls. I was able to do that stuff. It wasn't fun but I was able to do it.

And my son was like, all right, Dad, we're going car shopping. So I got in the car. He drove, you know, for the -- I had never seen him drive before. I was off of Earth. And he drove us to the Ford dealership to look for F-150s. So that was my -- that was my return to Earth.

And it was great. I was kind of worried that I'd be missing space or whatever and it was like a light switch. I was in space and then, all of a sudden, I'm back on Earth, dealing with teenagers. And it was great.

SANDOVAL: Yes. Nothing would remind you that you're back on Earth better than seeing the menu (ph) for -- the MSRP on a brand new F-150.

I am curious though, in terms of --

(CROSSTALK)

VIRTS: He was paying, it wasn't me. So...

SANDOVAL: -- oh, OK. All right, all right. That makes sense then. I'm curious if you could just give us a sense, too, of just the

historic weight of the last 10 days, Colonel.

And maybe how much of it was, watching these pictures, for older generations, perhaps, who witnessed the Apollo era, how much of a flashback was this?

But at the same time, for those of us who have never experienced this before and seen these kinds of images, how does this mark a new era in space travel?

VIRTS: Yes. So the Apollo was a little bit before my time, although I wanted to become an astronaut because I had read books about Apollo. But there's really two things I think that that Orion and Artemis and this mission really matter.

First is the human aspect. It's something inspirational. We see the worst of humanity every day on the CNN network. You guys report on the worst of humanity all day, every day. This is the best of humanity. And it's really nice. It's very inspirational to have a story like this.

Back in 1968, when we had the Vietnam War going on, we had race riots, you know, social tension. Apollo VIII went and it flew the first orbit around the moon. And some people said Apollo VIII saved 1968.

And so maybe in some ways, Artemis II can save 2026 for us. But the other technical side, the technical meaning of this -- and the test pilot in me is excited about it -- this isn't just about this mission.

This mission is just step one of what will hopefully be many steps, both human missions, robotic missions, building habitats on the moon, where we can, you know, live, having robots go there to explore, do science, maybe find a commercial use of the moon. So there's a lot more exploration to do. So hopefully this is just step one of many.

SANDOVAL: Colonel, I have about 30 seconds left with you. NASA hoping to put boots back on the moon by 2028.

After witnessing today, do you think that's a realistic goal?

VIRTS: If there was an over-under, I'd probably think that it might be later than 2028. We have to fly the lunar landers on a test flight in Earth orbit. And they're not ready to go yet. And then we have to test them, without astronauts on board, on the moon. And then we actually have to go back to the moon.

So there's a lot of things that have to happen. The good news is the new administrator is lighting a fire. He's saying, we can't just wait years between missions. We need to start flying them with months and not years in between. So there's a fire lit now. I hope we can get things moving and get back as soon as we can.

SANDOVAL: Miles O'Brien told me just a few days ago, we have -- they have a lot of wood left to chop before they get to that. Obviously the to-do list is very long. [03:40:00]

Retired NASA astronaut Terry Virts, thank you so much. Really appreciate you sharing your story and coming on to reflect what was truly an amazing day. Thank you.

VIRTS: Thanks for having me on. It's a great day for all of humanity.

SANDOVAL: It really is.

By the way, the final numbers are in from NASA; 700,000 total miles for that crew.

So on the way, America's affordability crisis just took a turn for the worse. We'll break down the latest inflation numbers and explain why consumers are feeling so frustrated.

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SANDOVAL: Congressional Democrats are questioning president Trump's fitness for office. They're calling for him to undergo a cognitive test amid concerns over his rhetoric on the war with Iran.

Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin even asking the White House physician to step in and conduct a comprehensive cognitive assessment of the president.

He wrote in a letter, quote, "At a time when our country is at war, especially when the war is initiated by the president without congressional declaration or consent, the American people must be able to trust that the commander in chief has the mental capacity to discharge the essential duties of his office."

Inflation in the United States is spiking, largely driven by the U.S.- Israeli war with Iran. As Matt Egan explains, it's left consumer sentiment at its lowest point in history

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MATT EGAN, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is the highest that inflation has ever been under president Trump in either of his two terms in the White House. And it's all about the war in the Middle East.

Consumer prices surged by almost 1 percent between February and March. That's triple the pre-war monthly inflation rate and it's the highest in almost four years. The annual inflation rate, it was actually a little bit lower than expected but still surged to 3.3 percent. That is the highest level in nearly two years.

And when you look at the trend for annual inflation, you can see that, at the start of the year it was trending in the right direction. And then, boom, the war hit and inflation went straight up.

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Now not surprisingly, the biggest driver here is the fact that gasoline just got so much more expensive. This is a 21 percent increase between February and March. That's the most since when the BLS started tracking back in the 1960s.

It's not just about gas, though. Delivery costs going up by 3 percent and that's likely linked to some of those fuel surcharges. Also, airfare going up by 3 percent. That's strong demand.

And it's starting to be the early impact of the fact that jet fuel costs have almost doubled since the war started.

Toys also went up in price. And we know a lot of toys are imported, so that could be linked to the president's historically high tariffs.

The news wasn't all bad. Eggs went down dramatically in price again and groceries, overall, groceries actually got a little bit cheaper in March. Unfortunately, that's not likely to continue because we know that diesel has skyrocketed.

And that's going to make it more expensive for farmers to operate their machinery and more expensive to get all that food to the grocery store.

Now the good news here is that core inflation, which excludes food and energy, core inflation remains relatively tame. So that does suggest that this inflation shock, at least in March, was mostly contained to food and energy.

The bad news is that's not likely to continue as the energy shock continues to ripple through the economy. We're likely to see those price increases spread out beyond food and energy.

Now the fact the cost of living has gotten worse is the biggest reason why consumer sentiment unexpectedly plunged in early April to all-time lows. University of Michigan says sentiment fell by 11 percent from March. And these were widespread declines across income group ages and political affiliation.

The survey found that consumers are bracing for higher prices to come and they're blaming the war in the Middle East. Now we should note that this survey took place early in the month. Most of the responses came in before the ceasefire was announced.

And this is a preliminary figure. As it gets finalized, it could get revised higher, depending upon what happens next in the war and gasoline prices.

But look at the trend for consumer sentiment. This chart goes back to 1980. Here we are. Now you can see that consumer sentiment in early April was lower than at any other point in history, which is pretty stunning when you think about it. Right? Lower than when gasoline was at $5 a gallon a few years ago, lower than the worst points of COVID, lower than even during the Great Recession. This is a reflection of how sensitive consumers are to high prices. Now this is not just an economic problem. It's a political problem for the White House, too, right?

President Trump, he promised to not just fix the cost of living. He promised to make prices plunge. But the latest reports show that the war in the Middle East is making inflation worse and that the American public is increasingly frustrated. Back to you.

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SANDOVAL: Kamala Harris says that she's thinking of running in the 2020 presidential election. The former vice president was speaking to reverend Al Sharpton at the National Action Network Convention. She has previously hinted at making a return bid for the White House.

In an interview with the BBC last year, Harris receiving this warm reception from the crowd when she made those comments.

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KAMALA HARRIS, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Listen, I might, I might. I'm thinking about it. I'm thinking about it.

Look, the American people have a right to expect that anyone who wants to run for office and be a leader, that it can't be about themselves and what they want for themselves. It's got to be about the American people and that's how I think of it.

And I am thinking about it in the context of then, you know, is who and where and how, can the best job be done for the American people.

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SANDOVAL: The best golfers in the world, they are in Augusta, Georgia, right now but Rory McIlroy is separating himself from the field as he tries to make history at the Masters.

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SANDOVAL: A powerful storm is currently lashing Hawaii, bringing over a month's worth of rain to parts of the islands. The storm has lasted for several days now and flash flood watches are in effect for most of the Hawaiian islands through Saturday morning local time.

CNN affiliate Hawaii news now reporting that one community in Oahu's North Shore was forced to evacuate due to some rising waters there. And this comes as Hawaii is still recovering from major storms from just last month.

And a multi-day severe weather outbreak is building across the central parts of the United States. This weekend's storms will bring heavy rain, high winds and the risk of hail, flooding and even possible tornadoes.

The severe weather threat will begin in parts of West Texas and eastern New Mexico on Saturday, before expanding eventually through Kansas and up to the Midwest. The storm system is expected to last for several days and will likely be intensifying, raising the risk for tornadoes on Monday and Tuesday.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, ground.

Do you see this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had two trucks just cut us off. We had to slam on the brakes not to hit them. It happened so fast both of us were just like, holy shit, and we slammed on the brakes. I'm going to have to call the flight attendants to make sure everybody is all right in the back. It was real close. Closest I've ever seen.

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SANDOVAL: The FAA investigating a close call at Los Angeles International Airport after a passenger jet almost crashed into two trucks near the runway. This happened late Thursday night as the Frontier flight was preparing for takeoff.

According to the pilot, who you just heard from, the plane was on a nearby taxiway when the trucks drove out in front of the jet. The FAA says that the vehicles are supposed to give way to the planes.

But air traffic controllers don't communicate with the drivers to warn them of when the planes will be taking off. No one was injured and the flight was able to take off normally.

What was another dominant display for Rory McIlroy during the round two of the Masters.

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At the halfway point of the competition, the reigning champ set under -- he was under -- he was 12 under, I should say, and also has a six- stroke lead. CNN's Don Riddell with the latest from the Masters.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It took Rory McIlroy 17 attempts to win his first Masters title and when he finally did it last year, it was by the skin of his teeth. But this year, he's making it look easy. At the halfway stage of the tournament, McIlroy is utterly dominant and he goes into the weekend with an extraordinary six stroke lead.

On Friday at Augusta, the 36-year-old McIlroy was back to the swaggering golfer of his earlier days, building on his five under par score of Thursday and posting a breathless round of 65.

On the second nine, he was just exceptional, birdying six of his last seven holes for a tournament score of 12 under par and nobody has ever been so far ahead after 36 holes in the history of this tournament.

What for you would be more fun, eking out a victory by the skin of your teeth or potentially running away with it and lapping the field?

RORY MCILROY, 2025 MASTERS WINNER: What do you think?

Look, I've built up a nice cushion at this point. And I guess my mindset is just trying to keep playing well and keeping my foot on the gas.

RIDDELL: And having secured the rare feet of winning the career Grand Slam last year, McIlroy has now put himself in pole position for another very rare feat. If he can see this through until Sunday, he would join only Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only men to have won back to back green jackets. Back to you.

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SANDOVAL: Thanks to Don Riddell.

And thank you so much for joining me for the last hour of news. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Our coverage continues with Becky Anderson and Ben Hunte in a moment.