
News Wrap: NASA optimistic ahead of Artemis II reentry
Clip: 4/9/2026 | 5m 28sVideo has Closed Captions
News Wrap: NASA optimistic ahead of Artemis II reentry
In our news wrap Thursday, NASA says it's feeling optimistic as final preparations are underway for the reentry of the Artemis astronauts, the Justice Department is reportedly investigating whether the NFL used anticompetitive tactics in its media rights deals and the UK and Norway said they foiled a Russian submarine operation to sabotage undersea cables in the North Atlantic.
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Major corporate funding for the PBS News Hour is provided by BDO, BNSF, Consumer Cellular, American Cruise Lines, and Raymond James. Funding for the PBS NewsHour Weekend is provided by...

News Wrap: NASA optimistic ahead of Artemis II reentry
Clip: 4/9/2026 | 5m 28sVideo has Closed Captions
In our news wrap Thursday, NASA says it's feeling optimistic as final preparations are underway for the reentry of the Artemis astronauts, the Justice Department is reportedly investigating whether the NFL used anticompetitive tactics in its media rights deals and the UK and Norway said they foiled a Russian submarine operation to sabotage undersea cables in the North Atlantic.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipIn the today's other headlines, NASA scientists say they're feeling optimistic as final preparations are underway for the return of the Aremis 2 astronauts tomorrow.
Re-entry into Earth's atmosphere is one of the most dangerous parts of the mission.
Their Orion capsule is set to hit speeds of nearly 24,000 mph.
At a press conference today, officials said they had quote high confidence that all will go smoothly.
Tomorrow, the crew is going to put their lives behind that confidence.
Until then, the flight control team, the engineering team, the recovery forces in the Pacific, to every engineer, every technician that's touched this machine, tomorrow belongs to you.
The crew has done their part.
Now we have to do ours.
NASA also released new photos today showing the astronauts at work during their journey around the moon.
They're expected to splash down on Friday evening off the coast of San Diego.
The Justice Department is reportedly investigating whether the NFL used anti-competitive tactics in its media rights deals.
That's according to several news outlets and was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Fans, regulators, and members of Congress have voiced concerns in recent months over the cost of watching games now that they're offered across various broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms.
In a statement, the league defended its practices, saying that, quote, "With over 87% of our games on free broadcast television, the NFL has for decades put our fans front and center."
The UK and Norway said today they foiled a covert Russian submarine operation to potentially sabotage undersea cables in the North Atlantic.
Britain's defense minister, John Healey, told reporters that military operation lasted more than a month and involved a Royal Navy frigot, aircraft, and hundreds of personnel.
He said the Russian vessels eventually left with no evidence of any damage to cables or pipes.
At one point, Healey addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin directly.
We see you.
We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.
Russia has dismissed previous claims of sabotage.
Undersea cables are crucial for electricity, internet, and global communications, especially for the UK.
More than 90% of its day-to-day internet traffic travels through such cables.
Back here, the nation's fertility rate fell to another record low last year.
That's according to provisional data out today from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There were just over 53 births per 1,000 women of childbearing age in 2025.
That is down from nearly 54 births the year before and continues a trend that dates back to 2007.
The overall number of babies born in the US last year also slipped to around 3.6 million.
One factor driving the decline has been lower birth rates for teens and women in their 20s.
Emperor penguins are now considered an endangered species as climate change threatens their natural habitat.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature cited a decline in sea ice for its change of status.
The world's largest and most recognizable penguin species.
Emperor penguins rely on this ice to live, hunt, and breed.
Scientists warned that without major cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, emperor penguin numbers could be cut in half by the end of this century.
The group also added the Antarctic fur seal to its endangered species list as rising o ocean temperatures affect its food sources.
On Wall Street today, stocks ended higher amid cautious hopes for a lasting ceasefire in Iran.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 275 points on the day.
The Nasdaq rose nearly 200 points or almost 1%.
The S&P 500 also ended firmly in positive territory.
And K-pop super group BTS kicked off its reunion world tour today after a nearly 4-year hiatus.
BTS.
Tens of thousands of fans from all over the world brave the rain at today's kickoff performance near Soul.
The downpours didn't dampen the mood for its army of fans, as they're known, and the band didn't disappoint with a set list of more than 20 songs.
BTS burst back on the scene with a massive one-off concert last month in Seoul.
All seven members had recently completed South Korea's mandatory military service.
They head next to Tokyo before bringing their tour here to North America.
Still to come on the NewsHour, the president's aggressive rhetoric about the war in Iran faces increasing congressional scrutiny.
We take a look at how people in Israel have been marking Passover in the shadow of war.
And we go inside Chicago's innovative Steenwolf Theater Company as it celebrates 50 years.
This is the PBS NewsHour from the David M. Rubenstein studio at Weta in Washington, headquarters of PBS News.
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