About this transcript: This is a full AI-generated transcript of Morning News NOW Full Episode – April 2 from NBC News, published April 8, 2026. The transcript contains 18,221 words with timestamps and was generated using Whisper AI.
"Developing right now on Morning News Now, we have liftoff this morning. A historic lunar mission now officially underway. The crew of Artemis II now bound for the moon. Humanity's next great voyage begins. Right now, four astronauts making their way around the Earth, then the moon. It's NASA's..."
[0:02] Developing right now on Morning News Now, we have liftoff this morning.
[0:07] A historic lunar mission now officially underway.
[0:12] The crew of Artemis II now bound for the moon.
[0:15] Humanity's next great voyage begins.
[0:18] Right now, four astronauts making their way around the Earth, then the moon.
[0:23] It's NASA's first crewed mission in more than half a century.
[0:26] Last night's lunar launch, a spectacle for all of us here.
[0:30] Earth's side as millions from coast to coast gather to watch history unfold.
[0:35] We'll have an update on the epic 10-day moon mission as a new phase of space exploration begins.
[0:42] Also developing, President Trump making his case for the war with Iran.
[0:47] Addressing the nation, he says the fighting will soon be over,
[0:50] but at the same time, warning, more strikes are ahead.
[0:53] We are on track to complete all of America's military objectives shortly, very shortly.
[1:00] When it's all over, the United States will be safer, stronger, more prosperous,
[1:05] and greater than it has ever been before.
[1:08] We'll have more from the president's primetime address and the latest from the Middle East.
[1:13] Plus, new this morning, Risky Bet, those popular prediction markets now billing themselves as the future of polling.
[1:21] But is it really that simple?
[1:22] We track the data to find out.
[1:25] And it's a new option for people struggling to lose weight.
[1:29] More on the Weight Loss pill by pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, just approved by the FDA.
[1:35] Morning, good to have you with us.
[1:36] I'm Joe Fryer.
[1:37] Savannah is off today.
[1:39] We start this morning with the historic launch of Artemis to a mission that is capturing the imagination of the entire country.
[1:46] We saw liftoff yesterday at 6.35 p.m. Eastern.
[1:50] That's when the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center.
[1:56] It is now on a journey that will take it around the moon, then back to Earth.
[2:01] It's the first time in more than 50 years humans have left our planet, and the moon has been on the itinerary.
[2:07] The Orion spacecraft, nicknamed Integrity, will be the home of these four astronauts over the next 10 days.
[2:13] While the crew won't be landing on the moon itself,
[2:15] this lunar flyby will be a monumental step in NASA's attempt to extend humanity's reach into the final frontier farther than ever before.
[2:25] We have our team of space experts standing by for more on this historic launch.
[2:29] First, let's check in with our senior correspondent, Tom Costello, who watched the liftoff up close in Florida.
[2:35] Tom, good morning.
[2:38] Yeah, Joe, boy, they are celebrating here at NASA and also in Houston.
[2:42] What a tremendous launch.
[2:44] Everything went exactly as planned.
[2:46] Liftoff, as you know, was about 6.35 or so p.m. Eastern time last night.
[2:51] And then very quickly, we saw the Artemis crew heading straight towards a very high apogee,
[2:57] which means a very high orbit over the Earth.
[3:00] And that's where they are right now.
[3:02] And they will be until this evening when they go into what's called the translunar injection.
[3:07] That sounds like a really fancy word.
[3:09] You probably heard it dating all the way back to Apollo.
[3:12] That essentially means they light the fire to head to the moon, right?
[3:16] And that will be at Mach 33, more than 24,000 miles headed to the moon.
[3:22] That will take about four days.
[3:24] And then while they're at the moon, they will do this very big loop around the moon,
[3:28] including looping around the far side of the moon and putting human eyes on a part of the far side of the moon
[3:35] that humans have never seen before.
[3:37] So that will be the priority.
[3:39] The other thing that they did overnight that went very well, apparently,
[3:42] is Victor Glover, who was the pilot, actually manually flew the spaceship for a time.
[3:47] They wanted to test out all of the systems, including the ability to manually fly Orion.
[3:53] That went well.
[3:54] But for the most part, Orion is in an automatic mode controlled by computers and, of course, controlled by Houston.
[4:00] Again, so far so good.
[4:02] Four astronauts right now safe and sound in Earth orbit.
[4:04] They continue to test out their systems before they go into that TLI burn to the moon this evening, Joe.
[4:10] All right, Tom.
[4:11] Thank you so much.
[4:12] So let's continue this conversation now with our team of experts.
[4:15] We want to talk about what they saw yesterday and have them walk us through what we can expect from the rest of this journey.
[4:20] Joined by astronomer and astrophysicist Dr. Emily Rice here on set and Jose Hernandez, a former NASA astronaut.
[4:26] Good to have both of you with us.
[4:27] I'm going to ask both of you, and we'll start with you, Dr. Rice, just what it was like watching this launch last night.
[4:33] You have been giving us space fashion all week long here.
[4:36] We've got the sequined spaceship on your shirt now.
[4:40] Clearly, you're excited.
[4:41] What was going through your mind as you were watching the launch?
[4:44] I am in celebration mode today.
[4:45] It was really, really fun to watch.
[4:47] So I was watching here in the green room.
[4:50] We had nice TVs here.
[4:52] But it was very, very fun because I was also watching with, like, a space community online.
[4:56] And so I know a lot of space enthusiasts, space experts, space commentators.
[5:01] And so seeing where they all were and what they were wearing and what they were doing, who they were watching with was really, really fun.
[5:07] I will also shout out to my cousin who was watching at the beach on Florida in Florida with her four-year-old.
[5:12] And so they got to see their first launch from very close by, which sounded very, very fun.
[5:17] And I made sure that my husband had my kids watch, too.
[5:19] That is amazing.
[5:20] That's something, by the way, that that four-year-old will never forget.
[5:22] Jose, what was it like for you?
[5:23] Oh, it was great.
[5:26] Even though it's a brand-new vehicle, it brought—I got very nostalgic because I'm saying, man, I wish I was on that ship and heading to the moon.
[5:35] It's a new era of space exploration.
[5:39] Very excited because we're going to be doing some great things on the surface of the moon once we start going to the moon on a regular basis.
[5:48] But this is a test flight.
[5:49] You've got to remember it's a test flight.
[5:50] So the astronauts are going to be testing out radiation protection systems, their medical kits to make sure they have everything.
[5:59] And on day three to six, they're going to be heading towards the moon and then do that flyby and come back on days six through nine.
[6:08] And then finally on day 10, they're going to splash down off the coast of San Diego, and they're going to be able to tell us how it was.
[6:15] And looking on the dark side of the moon, man, isn't that exciting?
[6:18] We've never been there before, and we're going to be the first ones there.
[6:22] Dr. Rice, let's talk about what we'll see today.
[6:24] We know we're kind of in the testing phase right now.
[6:26] NASA says the astronauts scheduled to be awake in just minutes from their first sleep for an orbital burn.
[6:31] What's that?
[6:32] What is it?
[6:32] What's on the schedule, I guess, for them today?
[6:34] Yeah, so it sounds like what they're doing is they're just adjusting their course around the Earth.
[6:39] And so they started out, like, relatively close by.
[6:42] They're getting further and further at certain points along the orbit.
[6:45] So they get further away, they get the spacecraft going faster, and then they're going to get ready for that big translunar injection burn that's going to take them out of orbit from the Earth and towards the moon.
[6:56] And that'll be later today.
[6:57] And if you keep hearing TLI, that's what that's talking about, when they just sort of blast them out there.
[7:02] Jose, many of us mere mortal non-astronauts here on Earth have to rely on TV or movies to get a taste of what a journey into space might be like.
[7:10] Is there any amount of training that can really, truly prepare you for the moment when you leave our atmosphere and you see our planet from way up there?
[7:18] What are they experiencing right now?
[7:20] Well, you can't train for the view you're going to see, and that's the most exciting part.
[7:25] But I'll tell you, NASA does a great job at training you for different contingencies, for different types of failures,
[7:31] that you feel very, very prepared for anything that comes at you.
[7:36] So these astronauts have been preparing for about three years for this mission.
[7:43] So there's no doubt that they've thought of any failure that could happen along the way.
[7:48] But I'll tell you, what they're not prepared for is when they see the surface of the moon with the Earth in the background.
[7:56] That's going to be a spectacular view for them and something they're never going to forget.
[8:00] What was that moment like for you?
[8:03] It was amazing.
[8:04] It was amazing.
[8:05] I looked at the Earth, and I became an instant environmentalist.
[8:10] I saw how thin our atmosphere is, how delicately balanced it is.
[8:15] And I said, you know, we need to take care of our planet.
[8:18] And this is why the past 50 years our focus has been studying our Earth, understanding it.
[8:23] And now it's time to go to the moon, establish a long-duration lunar base as a test bed to test and develop technologies.
[8:31] That's going to take us to Mars and beyond.
[8:33] And, man, this is very exciting.
[8:36] No kidding.
[8:37] And, Dr. Rice, echoing what he just said there, this is about getting us to the moon and then back.
[8:41] So when that part of the journey starts and the crew actually starts accelerating toward the moon for that three-, four-day journey, how fast are they going to be going?
[8:50] What is that process going to be like?
[8:52] That's going to be a big one.
[8:53] So this is the big burn to get out of Earth's orbit towards the moon.
[8:56] I think it's going to be something upwards of 20,000 miles per hour.
[8:59] I don't think they're going to feel as much G-force as when they left the Earth because the strongest gravity that you have to get out of is right at the surface of the Earth.
[9:09] And so from there on out, like, they probably will feel a little bit during these burns, but not too much, which is a surprising thing.
[9:16] Like, when you're in motion and you don't have an acceleration, you don't feel it.
[9:20] As we keep reiterating to people, they won't actually be visiting the man on the moon.
[9:24] They won't be touching the moon, but they will be going around it.
[9:27] Why is that so important?
[9:29] What do we gather from this mission that helps prepare them for the next mission?
[9:33] This is going to be very, very huge.
[9:34] For them to go around the moon, see that far side for the first time with human eyes in a long, long time is very, very exciting.
[9:41] And so they're going to be taking pictures.
[9:44] They've already studied the lunar geography.
[9:45] They studied with geologists in order to know what to look for.
[9:50] And then there are going to be geologists on the ground at mission control at NASA Johnson to kind of guide them to take more pictures and look at certain places, look at other things in more detail as they fly around the moon.
[10:02] They will be still pretty far away, like 4,000 miles from the moon's surface.
[10:06] But still, having humans be able to take pictures of the far side of the moon is enormous.
[10:11] It's still pretty darn close there.
[10:12] Jose, I know it was only, what, 17 years ago you ventured into space.
[10:16] You conducted three spacewalks during your time on the International Space Station.
[10:21] And did you think at that time a mission like this would come this soon?
[10:26] Yes, I did.
[10:27] I thought that it actually was going to come even sooner.
[10:32] There's been some delays.
[10:33] But it had always been in the books that, you know, after the space shuttle, International Space Station, moon was the next objective.
[10:42] And it's coming to fruition, and I think in a timely fashion, because things are going to be moving very quickly after this.
[10:53] You know, once we, this is a test flight, I want to emphasize that.
[10:57] Once all these tests are done and it's certified for human space flight, we're going to be going very frequent to the moon.
[11:06] And it's going to become almost a normal thing when we say, oh, there's another mission, astronauts going to the surface of the moon.
[11:13] And that is very exciting.
[11:16] Jose, real quick, how did we compare this to Apollo more than 50 years ago?
[11:21] We have a lot of more technology developed.
[11:24] I mean, 50 years ago we were using vacuum tube technology.
[11:27] There's more computation power in your cell phone than there was on the whole Apollo system.
[11:32] And now we've caught up and we've got this great technology that's going to allow us to stay for long periods of time on the surface of the moon.
[11:41] Dr. Emily Rice, Jose Hernandez, thank you both for your incredible experience and your perspective as we celebrate this milestone this morning.
[11:49] In an address to the nation last night, President Trump made his case for the war in Iran, which is now in its second month.
[11:56] The speech was short on specifics.
[11:58] The president did not give a definite timeline when the conflict would come to an end.
[12:02] But he said it will end shortly.
[12:05] Polls show most Americans are against the war.
[12:07] But as NBC's Chris Pallone reports, more strikes are expected over the coming weeks.
[12:13] My fellow Americans, good evening.
[12:16] In his first primetime address to the nation since the war in Iran started a month ago,
[12:20] President Trump repeated yet again his reasons for launching the attack.
[12:24] These actions will cripple Iran military, crush their ability to support terrorist proxies,
[12:29] and deny them the ability to build a nuclear bomb.
[12:32] While asserting the nation's goals are nearing completion in Iran, the president stops short
[12:37] of declaring victory, offering few specifics of what exactly will bring the war to an end,
[12:42] warning U.S. attacks will continue for now.
[12:44] We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.
[12:49] The president saying he's open to negotiating with the Iranian regime while making this threat.
[12:54] If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating
[12:59] plants very hard and probably simultaneously.
[13:02] A recent Reuters-Ipsos poll shows the vast majority of Americans oppose the war,
[13:06] with just 35 percent saying they approve and 60 percent saying they disapprove.
[13:11] Since the war began, gas prices in the U.S. are up 65 percent, now averaging $4.06 a gallon.
[13:18] President Trump says the pain will be worth it in the end.
[13:20] Gas prices will rapidly come back down.
[13:23] Stock prices will rapidly go back up.
[13:25] And regarding the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade route now closed by the Iranians,
[13:30] President Trump says countries that get oil through the Strait should take the lead in opening
[13:34] it back up.
[13:35] Build up some delayed courage.
[13:37] Go to the Strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves.
[13:42] To this point, many U.S. allies have refused to get involved.
[13:46] Chris Pallone, NBC News.
[13:48] For more on the president's speech, let's bring in Jeff Mason,
[13:51] White House and Washington correspondent for Bloomberg News.
[13:53] Jeff, good to have you with us this morning.
[13:55] So, I mean, this speech was the president's chance to try and make his clearest public
[13:59] case yet for this ongoing conflict.
[14:01] Mr. Trump argued the war is necessary for the security of the free world.
[14:04] He called it a, quote, true investment in your children and your grandchildren's future.
[14:09] What are the key takeaways from what you heard?
[14:11] Did we learn anything new here?
[14:14] You know, there wasn't a lot new.
[14:15] He did absolutely make his case, as you said.
[14:18] And I think some of the elements of that case included listing the length of previous wars
[14:25] within the last century.
[14:27] He talked about how long World War II was, how long World War I was, how long the Vietnam
[14:32] War was, how long the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq were.
[14:37] And I think that was part of his sales pitch to say, look, I may have started this war in
[14:42] Iran, which I said, and as a presidential candidate in 2024, I wouldn't do, but it's
[14:48] not going to last that long.
[14:50] That said, he stuck to his roughly two to three week timeline while also describing the fact
[14:57] that the United States planned to do multiple more harsh strikes against Iran.
[15:02] And that's rattling markets again today because of the ambiguity sort of reflected in those
[15:08] mixed messages.
[15:09] You know, Jeff, once upon a time when a president demanded a primetime slot from the TV networks,
[15:13] it was because there was like an urgent message for the American people.
[15:17] And a lot of what the president said last night echoed remarks about the war in recent weeks
[15:21] during daily events is, to be fair, frequent interactions with the media over the last few
[15:25] weeks.
[15:25] So was this a recognition on the part of the White House that, as we just saw those polling
[15:29] numbers there, the war is becoming a political problem for him?
[15:33] I think it was a recognition that they wanted to reset their messaging in some way.
[15:38] And I'm not sure that they accomplished that, given, as you just said, the fact that he mostly
[15:43] went over talking points and objectives that he has already done.
[15:48] I was in the Oval Office just a couple of days ago when he first floated the two to three
[15:53] week time frame and asked him about that.
[15:55] And as I said, he stuck with that again in his remarks last night.
[15:59] This was the first time that he's made a primetime address about the war since launching it more
[16:05] than a month ago.
[16:06] He launched it essentially with a post on social media and a video that he had pre-taped and
[16:13] put out on that.
[16:14] And I think there were some people who were expecting that he would do an address like
[16:18] this earlier in the process.
[16:20] But then this is an untraditional president.
[16:22] This is an untraditional war.
[16:24] He did not go to Congress and seek permission.
[16:26] He did not address the American public at the beginning, as I said, of the process to
[16:32] say this is what's coming.
[16:33] So the fact that it's coming now is sort of in line with the untraditional presidency and
[16:39] the way that that this war has been conducted of Donald J. Trump.
[16:43] And there always is just the risk of interrupting the TV shows people like to watch at night.
[16:47] Sometimes that can just be unpopular on the surface right there unless you come across with a
[16:51] really compelling message.
[16:52] We know President Trump expressed confidence that the war is going to be a success.
[16:56] We just heard there in Chris's piece, Iran is going to be hit hard over the next few
[17:00] weeks.
[17:00] We don't know much about the details about what happens after that.
[17:03] So at this point, based on your reporting, what's the White House going to consider a
[17:07] victory for the U.S. in this war?
[17:10] Well, I think they've started to lay that out.
[17:12] I mean, the president has begun to say that there has been regime change, even though the new
[17:18] Ayatollah or the new supreme leader in Iran is the son of the previous one.
[17:23] That suggests that the same hardline leadership is still in charge, even if it's a different
[17:27] person at the very top.
[17:30] Otherwise, he talked about some of the military victories.
[17:33] He talked about having decimated Iran, talked about getting rid of their ballistic missile
[17:38] program.
[17:39] But it still leaves a lot of questions about what will be left in terms of Iran's nuclear
[17:44] capabilities and whether or not you can get really obtain all of those military objectives
[17:50] in the now two to three week timeline that he has laid out.
[17:54] I know that there's some concern within conservative circles that who wanted this war that he is now
[18:00] actually leaving too early when he's already gotten in there and has the chance to do more.
[18:05] Jeff Mason, good to have you with us.
[18:07] Thanks for joining us this morning.
[18:08] Appreciate it.
[18:09] Overseas, the strikes do continue across the Middle East.
[18:12] They continued last night as President Trump delivered that primetime address.
[18:15] While the president's audience was the American people, his speech certainly carried global
[18:19] implications.
[18:20] Oil prices are spiking and stocks tumbling after he threatened to keep striking Iran over the
[18:25] next two or three weeks.
[18:27] Hours before his speech, Mr. Trump told the British newspaper, The Telegraph, that he was
[18:31] strongly considering pulling the U.S. out of NATO.
[18:33] And on True Social Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump said Iran had asked the U.S. for a ceasefire.
[18:38] A spokesperson for Iran's president denied Mr. Trump's claim.
[18:42] Both topics noticeably missing from the president's remarks last night.
[18:45] Let's bring in NBC News international correspondent Raf Sanchez, who's in Doha, Qatar for us again,
[18:50] with the latest from the region.
[18:51] Raf, good morning.
[18:52] One of the points the president made last night was that the threat from Iran was nearly
[18:56] eliminated.
[18:56] Is that what observers think?
[18:59] I mean, what is the latest across the region?
[19:04] Well, Jeff, the reality here is that Iran retains the ability to threaten its neighbors.
[19:08] We saw the Iranians firing ballistic missiles at Israel late Wednesday night while people
[19:13] in that country were celebrating Passover, one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar.
[19:18] Overnight also, authorities in Saudi Arabia say one ballistic missile, five drones fired there.
[19:24] And in the days leading up to the president's speech, Iran hitting several oil tankers, one
[19:29] here in Qatar, one in Dubai.
[19:31] And it just shows that while there is no doubt that Iran's military capabilities have been
[19:37] degraded, they are still able to strike.
[19:40] They are still able to threaten the Strait of Hormuz.
[19:43] The president threatened more intense attacks in the coming weeks.
[19:47] One data point, there are now very large American B-52 bombers that are flying slow loops over
[19:53] Iran.
[19:54] That is something they were not able to do in the early days of the war because of Iran's
[19:58] air defenses.
[19:59] Those air defenses now largely destroyed the United States and Israel, had basically free
[20:04] movement in the skies over Iran.
[20:07] But, Joe, it's also worth saying that the president continues to talk up the prospect of
[20:12] negotiations with the Iranians.
[20:14] The Iranian foreign ministry denying that there are any substantial talks going on.
[20:19] And I can tell you, here in the region, there is certainly not much optimism that the United
[20:24] States and Iran are going to reach some kind of ceasefire agreement anytime soon.
[20:27] So, Raf, I mean, President Trump claimed the Strait of Hormuz will open, in his words,
[20:31] naturally once the war with Iran ends.
[20:34] From what you've seen near the strait, from what you've heard from experts, is that likely?
[20:39] A lot of skepticism here in the region about that, Joe.
[20:44] It's worth just walking our viewers through what the situation was before the war, what
[20:48] it is now.
[20:49] Before the war, you had about 110 ships every day passing through the Strait of Hormuz,
[20:54] and they were going through the middle of the strait in what was recognized as a kind
[21:00] of international transit point.
[21:02] Today, you have 10 ships, often fewer, going through the strait.
[21:06] And rather than going through the middle, they are being forced to pass through Iran's
[21:10] territorial waters, passing through a narrow series of islands controlled by the Revolutionary
[21:16] Guard.
[21:17] And some of them are being charged $2 million for that transit in what's being called the
[21:21] Tehran toll booth.
[21:23] Jeff.
[21:23] Raf, as I mentioned, ahead of President Trump's primetime address, Iran's president released
[21:27] his own message to the American people.
[21:29] What did he say?
[21:33] Yeah, it's kind of an interesting document.
[21:34] It's about a thousand words long.
[21:36] It's in English.
[21:37] The Iranian president said Iran does not bear any enmity towards the American people
[21:42] and that the world is at something of a crossroads between conflict and engagement.
[21:47] So it had a sort of conciliatory tone to it.
[21:51] But, Joe, it's really important to remember the president in Iran is not somebody who held
[21:55] a lot of power before the war.
[21:57] He holds even less power now.
[22:00] This is a regime where the decision making, as far as we can tell, seems to be concentrated
[22:05] around the Revolutionary Guard, around the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, who is
[22:10] a hardliner, one of the few surviving senior officials in the regime.
[22:14] And to some extent, the circle around the new Ayatollah, who appears to have been wounded
[22:20] in the opening hours of the war and the strike that killed his father.
[22:23] He hasn't been seen or heard in public for several weeks now.
[22:27] But the fact that the president is making conciliatory noises does not mean that the rest of the
[22:32] Iranian regime is ready to talk.
[22:34] Jeff, right.
[22:35] Raf, good to have you with us.
[22:36] Thank you.
[22:37] Other political news now.
[22:38] Republican leaders in Congress say they are moving forward with a new plan to end the Department
[22:43] of Homeland Security shutdown.
[22:44] That closure has caused major disruption at airports nationwide.
[22:49] House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune say Republicans will work
[22:53] to fully fund DHS.
[22:54] They're going to use a two-track approach that does appear to mirror a Senate proposal that
[22:59] was introduced last week.
[23:01] NBC News senior national politics reporter Jonathan Allen joins us now.
[23:04] John, good morning.
[23:05] So what more are we learning about this plan and how it would work?
[23:08] Good morning, Joe.
[23:09] Those two tracks that they're talking about, one is through the appropriations process that
[23:14] would fund the Department of Homeland Security except for ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
[23:20] Those two agencies would be left for the reconciliation process.
[23:25] These are sort of insider terms, but basically the importance here is in the appropriations
[23:30] process where you do everything but ICE and CBP.
[23:33] That's a measure that only needs, I'm sorry, needs 60 votes in the Senate to pass.
[23:40] The later reconciliation process is one that Republicans could do by themselves if they
[23:45] can get the votes that they need, 50 or more, 50 plus one in the House, 50 percent plus one
[23:51] in the House and 50 plus one in the Senate.
[23:54] This is some advanced schoolhouse rock, John, is what you're telling us right here.
[23:58] So after, I mean, initially.
[23:59] I'm not a bill, but I am sitting on Capitol Hill, Joe.
[24:01] There you go.
[24:01] Yeah, I love that.
[24:02] All right.
[24:02] Thank you, John.
[24:03] So after initially rejecting the Senate plan, and we should know quite dramatically when House
[24:07] Speaker Mike Johnson came out late last week, now it looks like House Republicans
[24:10] are just reversing course.
[24:11] They are going to take up the measure.
[24:13] What changed?
[24:13] Yeah, the technical term for that, Joe, is folding.
[24:17] Yeah.
[24:17] I think what happened more than anything else is the TMZification of the congressional departure.
[24:24] There were pictures of members of Congress all over the place doing things that felt leisurely
[24:30] while there were members of the government, members of the administration, for instance,
[24:34] TSA workers and Coast Guard officials working without pay, and of course, Americans standing
[24:40] in line at airports.
[24:41] Some of the places members of Congress went included a delegation trip to Scotland and
[24:46] Senator Lindsey Graham, who was photographed at Disney World.
[24:50] I think basically what they felt was a political pressure for Congress not to have such a bad
[24:57] look of frolicking while others were working hard and doing so without pay and while Americans
[25:04] were suffering with the long lines at airports.
[25:07] I mean, the TMZ thing is fascinating, and I'm curious to see what kind of impact it's going
[25:11] to have on policymakers moving forward.
[25:13] John, when's this vote going to happen?
[25:15] And what does the timeline look like here?
[25:18] So the House and Senate are both out until April 13th, but they could, if they get unanimous
[25:23] consent from their members, come back in before then and pass the agreement from the House
[25:29] and Senate.
[25:29] So it's possible it could happen any time, but for the time being, they are scheduled to
[25:34] be in recess until April 13th.
[25:36] As far as the ICE and CBP pieces, the Democrats have been arguing for reforms, including agents
[25:44] wearing masks and wearing body cameras.
[25:46] I mean, not wearing masks and wearing body cameras.
[25:49] And so that's the part Republicans need to do on their own.
[25:52] The president has said he wants to see reconciliation done by June 1st.
[25:56] That bill, that reconciliation bill that only needs Republican votes will essentially become
[26:01] a catch-all for the rest of his legislative agenda for the year.
[26:04] It is not clear that Republicans will have the votes for all the things that the president
[26:08] and various members of Congress want to put in them.
[26:11] So putting a date on it is tough.
[26:13] But again, the president wants to see that by June 1st.
[26:16] All right, John, good to have you with us.
[26:17] Thank you.
[26:18] Time now for a check on your forecast.
[26:19] Avere storms are threatening millions in the Midwest this morning.
[26:23] Angie Lastman's tracking it all for us.
[26:24] Angie, good morning.
[26:25] Hey, Joe.
[26:26] Good morning to you.
[26:26] We've got another active day ahead of us, and we've even got some wintry weather that
[26:30] some folks are going to wake up and get out the door to.
[26:32] So let's start with exactly what we're seeing.
[26:34] We've got some of this snow across parts of the upper Midwest.
[26:36] Notice the freezing rain as well.
[26:38] And then a whole lot of rain and even some thunderstorms extending down from parts of the plains
[26:42] all the way down to the south, really Texas, Dallas, one of the locations that waking up
[26:47] to maybe some rumbles of thunder this morning.
[26:49] But notice the snow and the freezing rain that's kind of lifting north.
[26:53] We've got Duluth to Minneapolis, Green Bay, Grand Rapids, all included in that wintry weather.
[26:57] So 12 million people waking up to these winter alerts.
[27:00] We've got the potential to pick up some ice accumulations, and we've got the possibility
[27:04] of some scattered power outages because of that.
[27:07] So something to note through at least this morning and into the afternoon hours.
[27:11] Then we've got the chance to see some stronger storms get going as we head into the second
[27:15] half of our day.
[27:16] So notice most of this is centered across parts of the Midwest, but essentially we've
[27:20] got a slight risk for Detroit, Grand Rapids, Waterloo, Quincy, St. Louis, Champaign,
[27:25] Fort Wayne.
[27:25] But Chicago, Davenport, and Peoria, those are some spots that I would specifically watch
[27:30] into this afternoon to see the chance for a couple of these tornadoes and strong tornadoes
[27:34] at that developing and the really strong wind gusts, 75 miles per hour and higher.
[27:39] And of course, we can't roll out some hail.
[27:41] Then we turn our attention to kind of a couple, we've got a couple of storms.
[27:45] So the first storm is going to be the one that you just saw the impacts from today.
[27:49] And that's kind of where we're setting the stage for it to slide across parts of this region
[27:53] into the mid-Atlantic and the northeast by tomorrow.
[27:56] It will bring us a couple of stronger storms again for tomorrow in the Ohio Valley.
[28:01] But then we turn our attention, keep up with me here, we've got our second of two storms
[28:05] that starts to develop in parts of the plains.
[28:08] And this is going to leave us with, again, severe storms from Iowa to Texas.
[28:11] You'll see that severe risk is quite expansive for tomorrow.
[28:15] Texas up through Oklahoma, Missouri, again, Iowa included in that.
[28:19] And that enhanced risk, places like Kansas City, you're going to be close to that.
[28:23] And we'll see a couple of strong tornadoes, as well as the hail and wind gusts on the table.
[28:27] This will continue marching to the east for Saturday.
[28:29] So it's a wet day for Detroit, Cincinnati, stretching down Nashville.
[28:33] And then unfortunately, Joe, as we get into Sunday, Easter, we could be looking at some
[28:37] soggy conditions up and down the east coast.
[28:39] So multiple storms that we're keeping track of and bringing severe weather with them wherever
[28:44] they go.
[28:44] So umbrellas for the Easter bonnets.
[28:46] Exactly.
[28:47] Thank you so much.
[28:48] Appreciate it.
[28:49] Much more to come here on Morning News Now.
[28:50] Later this hour, developing news, a powerful and deadly earthquake rocking Indonesia.
[28:56] We're going to show you the aftermath.
[28:58] Up first, after the break, new developments in the battle over birthright citizenship as
[29:03] the Supreme Court hears arguments with President Trump watching in the front row.
[29:07] We're going to have the latest next.
[29:13] We are back with the latest in the legal battle over the Trump administration's attempt to restrict
[29:18] birthright citizenship.
[29:19] Protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court yesterday, while inside justices appeared to
[29:24] be skeptical of the Trump administration's arguments to end that longstanding practice
[29:29] of granting citizenship to almost anyone born in the U.S.
[29:33] In a historic move, President Trump actually showed up and took a front row seat during the
[29:38] oral arguments.
[29:38] That makes him the first sitting president to attend a Supreme Court hearing.
[29:42] The White House shared these photos of his arrival.
[29:45] President Trump later posted on social media, quote,
[29:48] we are the only country in the world stupid enough to allow birthright citizenship.
[29:53] That, of course, is not true.
[29:54] There are roughly three dozen countries with unconditional birthright citizenships,
[29:58] many of them in the Western Hemisphere.
[30:00] For more on this, I want to bring in NBC News legal affairs reporter Gary Grumbach and our
[30:04] legal analyst Danny Savalos.
[30:06] Good morning to both of you.
[30:07] Gary, let's start with you.
[30:08] What was it about the questions the justices asked, the comments they made that suggest
[30:13] they are skeptical of the Trump administration's arguments here?
[30:16] It was remarkable, Joe, just how critical justices appointed by both Democrats and Republican
[30:21] presidents were to the arguments the Solicitor General John DeSauer was making here.
[30:25] First, on the issue of practicality, just how is this going to work?
[30:29] Justice Barrett said she believes this is going to be a messy process if they rule in Trump's
[30:34] favor.
[30:35] Justice Jackson started going down the path of what does this actually look like?
[30:39] Do pregnant women have to bring documents into a hospital room?
[30:42] Are they going to be deposed there in the hospital room?
[30:44] How is this actually going to work in practice?
[30:48] Chief Justice John Roberts talked about the idea, which is something that the Solicitor
[30:52] General brought up a lot, of birth tourism.
[30:53] He said just how prevalent is birth tourism?
[30:56] John Sauer said, yeah, that happens.
[30:58] About 1.5 million people from China coming in, citing media reports.
[31:02] Of course, media reports is not how the Supreme Court operates.
[31:06] And to that point, there was a lot of question about the amount of case law and evidence that
[31:11] existed in defense of President Trump's executive order to limit birthright citizenship.
[31:15] Here's what they had to say about that.
[31:16] If you have someone who enters illegally by the 1880s, there are restrictions on immigration.
[31:22] If you've entered illegally, it's kind of, you know, a well-established principle of law going back to the Code of Justinian that says you're not allowed to be there.
[31:29] You cannot, you don't have the legal capacity to create domicile.
[31:32] You're using some pretty obscure sources to get to this concept.
[31:37] In 1868, you're telling me is what I should look and the test for domicile.
[31:42] And the stuff you have about unlawfully present, it's like Roman law sources you're going.
[31:47] Would we use contemporary sources on what qualifies as domicile in a state, or do we look in 1868?
[31:54] Now, we expect the court to rule on this by the end of June or early July.
[31:57] Danny, let's bring you in here so this really centers around the Trump administration's sort of interpretation of that 14th Amendment clause subject to the jurisdiction thereof.
[32:07] In your view, how did each side do arguing their case?
[32:10] Yeah, I'm so glad Gary pulled that sound because that's exactly the moment that I was listening to where I thought he's lost Gorsuch.
[32:17] When you start criticizing one party for citing things like Roman law or a letter from Abraham Lincoln or something like that,
[32:25] those are not what we call mandatory authorities.
[32:28] Those may be persuasive.
[32:30] But look, I've been in a situation where the law really isn't on my side, and I'm writing a brief, and I'm looking for anything I can,
[32:36] and maybe I quote a Sports Illustrated article instead of something that actually has controlling authority.
[32:42] And that's what you saw there.
[32:43] That's how you know that the White House, the administration, is having a difficult time with this case.
[32:49] They are the underdog.
[32:50] They are the 16th seed.
[32:51] Gary, let's talk about not the elephant in the room, but the president in the room.
[32:54] We mentioned President Trump there for at least part of these arguments.
[32:57] Usually the justices are the center of attention.
[32:59] So what kind of impact, if any, did the president's appearance have?
[33:04] I think it didn't have much.
[33:05] I think it does say a lot about the state-of-art democracy right now.
[33:07] This guy walked into the courtroom, sat in the first row of the public section towards the back of the courtroom,
[33:12] and he was treated like pretty much everybody else, right?
[33:14] He sat there.
[33:15] He didn't make any sounds.
[33:16] He was attentive throughout the oral arguments.
[33:18] And then he listened to the government's argument and left just after Cecilia Wang from the ACLU started speaking.
[33:25] There is, though, a reason this has never happened before, right?
[33:28] The Supreme Court has always seen as this independent third branch of government that is away from the politics, away from the policy of it all.
[33:34] But the president walked in there, was very obviously caring about this issue big time, wanted to hear what they had to say, and he got a chance to do that.
[33:42] Danny, thoughts on what the final verdict is going to be here and just what this is going to mean for an issue we've talked so much about over the last year,
[33:50] which is the limits of presidential power.
[33:53] To me, the question is whether it's going to be 8-1 or 9-0.
[33:57] Birthright citizenship will survive this challenge, I predict.
[34:01] And I don't think that's even that outlandish a prediction, given the oral argument that we heard yesterday.
[34:07] So moving forward, here's the important thing.
[34:10] No one was ever looking for birthright citizenship to be eradicated completely.
[34:14] And at the same time, there's never been the case that it's birthright citizenship for absolutely everyone that is born here.
[34:20] I would look to and expect the status quo to remain what it has been for hundreds of years now.
[34:27] All right, Danny and Gary walking us through this case.
[34:30] Thank you both.
[34:31] In a Hawaii courtroom, a doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a birthday hike took the stand in his own defense.
[34:38] Yesterday, on direct examination, Dr. Gerhard Koenig told the jury he acted in self-defense.
[34:44] Here's some of what he had to say.
[34:45] You have a plan to kill your wife on the mountain that day?
[34:49] No.
[34:50] Did you try to throw her off a cliff?
[34:52] No.
[34:54] Did you try to stab her with syringes?
[34:55] No.
[34:57] Koenig claimed that his wife attacked him first, saying he reacted in the heat of the moment.
[35:02] Prosecutors argue it was a deliberate assault and another chapter in a troubled marriage.
[35:07] This case centers on a 2025 violent struggle that left Ariel Koenig seriously injured.
[35:13] He has pleaded not guilty to attempted second-degree murder.
[35:16] He's expected to face cross-examination today, and jurors could get the case as soon as next week.
[35:23] International news now, starting with new developments on the war in Ukraine.
[35:26] NBC's Matt Bodner joins us to take us around the world in 60 seconds.
[35:30] Matt, good morning.
[35:30] Joe, good morning.
[35:32] Fighting continues in eastern Ukraine.
[35:35] Russia yesterday claimed to have finally achieved its goal of seizing the remainder of Luhansk region.
[35:40] However, Ukraine denies any change to the situation.
[35:43] This is actually not the first time that Russia or one of its regional proxies have claimed major advances in Luhansk.
[35:48] Ukrainian officials have said that Russia makes these claims to convince U.S. negotiators, such as Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, that Moscow's victory is inevitable.
[35:58] Moving along now to Indonesia, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit the Maluka Sea that's not far from Indonesia's Ternate Island that happened overnight, killing at least one person and injuring another.
[36:09] Local residents describe a powerful quake, but tsunami warnings have since been downgraded in the area.
[36:14] We'll wrap up this hour in the South Atlantic.
[36:16] You may have heard that Jonathan, the world's oldest known tortoise, had passed away at the age of 193.
[36:22] I have the pleasure now of reporting that he's very much still alive.
[36:26] The false alarm is traced to a post on X by an account that was representing itself as Joe Hollins.
[36:31] That would be the veterinarian who cares for Jonathan.
[36:33] Hollins has since told several outlets this was a scam.
[36:36] The account on X in question was asking for crypto donations.
[36:40] Hollins said, quote, it's not even an April Fool's joke.
[36:43] It's a con.
[36:44] Back to you, Joe.
[36:44] Using a tortoise for a con, that's horrible.
[36:47] I'm glad Jonathan's okay, though.
[36:48] Thanks, Matt.
[36:49] Appreciate it.
[36:50] Coming up, a potential game changer for people struggling to lose weight.
[36:53] What doctors want you to know about Eli Lilly's new weight loss pill just approved by the FDA.
[36:58] You're watching Morning News now.
[37:04] We are back with a new option for people who are struggling to lose weight.
[37:07] The FDA just approved a new GLP-1 pill from drugmaker Eli Lilly.
[37:12] It's known as Foundeo.
[37:13] It is the second drug of its kind to become available in recent months after Rogovi launched a similar pill back in December.
[37:20] Now, some experts say the growing desire to slim down means the weight loss drug industry could be worth more than $200 billion by 2030.
[37:30] NBC News medical contributor Dr. Kavita Patel joins us now with more on this new medication.
[37:34] Dr. Patel, good morning.
[37:36] We know millions of Americans take some form of a GLP-1 medication, whether it's a pill or, more commonly, till now, a shot.
[37:43] What should people know about this new pill?
[37:44] Yeah, it's a big deal.
[37:47] So it's known as Foundeo, as you said.
[37:48] The generic name is Orphaglipuron.
[37:50] It's a daily pill, so once a day, offered in six different doses that your doctor prescribes.
[37:55] Here's a thing that you can take it at any time.
[37:57] This is different than the other oral pill available.
[37:59] There's no food or water restrictions.
[38:02] That gives you a lot of flexibility.
[38:03] And then in terms of how much it costs, the starting dose is about $149 a month, and it goes up a little bit after that.
[38:09] But adults, on average, who have been on the highest dose, lost about 12% to 14% of their body weight.
[38:15] So it's on par with the other oral pill that's available from Novo Nordisk.
[38:19] So how do these oral weight loss medications compare with the injectable versions, first of all, when it comes to how effective they are?
[38:26] But also, I mean, is the reason this is available because people don't like shots, or what are the reasons for this?
[38:31] Yeah, a little bit of both, right.
[38:33] So what we do know from the trial data that's available so far, and remember, trials are optimized for kind of perfect conditions.
[38:38] So what you're going to see, and what I see in the patients in the real world, is you can see a little bit of everything with people who are on orals and injectables.
[38:45] But in general, injectables are better and more superior in terms of total body weight loss.
[38:51] You see up to about 22% at the highest doses of weight loss with the injectable medication known as Trezapatide or Manjaro or ZepBound.
[38:59] So those are indeed more kind of preferred if you are achieving that type of weight loss, and that is called by your doctor.
[39:06] But, of course, as you mentioned, a lot of people, even a weekly injectable, is something that they just will not be able to do.
[39:13] And, of course, cost is becoming a bigger and bigger issue, although the drug manufacturers, by offering these options, both oral and injectable, Joe, are trying to get the costs down.
[39:22] And as you're seeing these themes, $149, $199, $249 a month, that's about the average cost.
[39:27] So the side effects, though, as we'll talk about in a second here, are pretty similar from pill to injectable.
[39:35] So that, I think, people should not use as a discerning factor.
[39:38] It's really about the convenience and the dosing and the target weight loss.
[39:42] Yeah, walk us through those side effects.
[39:44] Yes.
[39:44] So nausea, so we see the same GI side effects across the injectables and the orals.
[39:48] We're going to have to kind of observe what happens with Foundeo, but we do expect some to have nausea, constipation, some of the diarrhea and vomiting.
[39:56] That's obviously anybody that's experiencing that, I would just say talk to your doctor about what you should do in that situation.
[40:01] There are some other issues that came up in the Foundeo trial around indigestion, hair loss.
[40:06] Some of that is attributed to the weight loss itself, headaches.
[40:09] And then there, of course, are indications, if you've had previous histories of certain thyroid conditions.
[40:15] All of these things are kind of similar to what we see across this kind of GLP class of medications.
[40:21] We've got the future on our minds these days with the space launch happening.
[40:25] So let's look in the future.
[40:26] I mean, some experts predict the number of Americans taking a GLP-1 medication will more than double in the next five years.
[40:32] And I guess that's not surprising considering all the benefits we keep seeing from these.
[40:35] So what should people consider before taking it, especially if maybe they don't have a medical condition that does require treatment?
[40:43] Yeah, and I'll clarify that a medical condition that can offer treatment indications for this is obesity.
[40:48] So I think that people, the reason you're seeing this doubling statistic is that because we do have at least one out of three Americans that are obese.
[40:57] And then when you take into consideration Americans who are overweight, that number creeps up.
[41:01] So I do think that there are probably a lot more people with these indications than not.
[41:06] However, I think because of social media, you're seeing a lot of people who think of this as a short-term vanity play.
[41:11] Let's lose five pounds.
[41:13] Let me try to get my weight down to fit into a certain set of clothing.
[41:16] That absolutely is the wrong approach because we know from trial data that if you do something, even in a short-term period, that when you stop it,
[41:24] you are more likely to regain even more weight when you do not return back on the medication.
[41:29] So I tell all patients, think of this like a chronic medication, like you would your blood pressure medication or insulin.
[41:35] And when you put that mindset on, then you'll get the right people on the right medication at the right time.
[41:40] Good advice.
[41:41] Dr. Patel, thank you so much.
[41:42] Coming up, some call it the future of polling.
[41:45] But are those popular prediction markets really as accurate as they say?
[41:50] What you should know before you go all in next on Morning News Now.
[41:53] Back now with a look at the growing popularity of prediction markets when it comes to forecasting election wins.
[42:04] The platforms pitch themselves as a faster and more accurate alternative to traditional polling.
[42:10] But new reporting from NBC News in collaboration with our decision desk shows the picture is a bit more complicated and potentially risky.
[42:19] NBC News business and economy reporter Ali Canal has been reporting on this story, joins us now.
[42:23] First, we should give people just a little background here because maybe not everyone is familiar with this.
[42:27] So tell us the role that prediction markets are playing when it comes to elections, why some people are turning to those instead of polling.
[42:34] Right. Well, prediction markets, they allow you to bet on the outcome of a real world event that includes elections.
[42:39] And you're putting real money on the line here.
[42:41] So the argument is that people are really saying what they think is going to happen, not what they hope is going to happen.
[42:48] And in and of itself, that creates a more honest, real-time signal than polling, which has faced criticism in recent elections for missing some of those key dynamics.
[42:58] But this is important.
[42:59] These markets only capture the views of people who are able and willing and at that moment betting on that outcome, not the entire electorate.
[43:08] So supporters are arguing that prediction markets are more accurate.
[43:11] You and the team have been digging into this.
[43:14] What is it you found?
[43:15] What's the reality?
[43:15] Because there's some misses here.
[43:16] Yeah. So it's interesting. There's wins and misses.
[43:18] There are some cases where markets got it right, like the Texas Democratic Senate primary, for example.
[43:23] Kalshi backed Representative James Tallarico from the start.
[43:27] He ended up winning that election.
[43:28] But there have also been some major misses both in Texas and New Jersey as well.
[43:32] So take the New Jersey 11th District Democratic primary.
[43:36] You had Tom Malinowski trading at a near 100 percent chance of winning.
[43:40] And then he ultimately lost.
[43:42] So what happens is that these markets can react very quickly to new information in real time.
[43:49] But that information is not always accurate, complete.
[43:52] It can be misinterpreted.
[43:53] And that's really the tension point here that these prediction markets face.
[43:57] A hundred percent saying someone's going to win and they lose.
[43:59] That's a problem.
[44:00] All right.
[44:00] So how much should people trust these markets?
[44:02] I think you can't take it in isolation.
[44:05] It has to be one more tool.
[44:06] Even supporters of prediction markets say that these are not going to replace traditional polling.
[44:11] It can just be another way to understand what the crowd is thinking.
[44:14] And even with economic data, for example, there was a point in time where people looked at the jobs report as gospel.
[44:21] Now you can't just look at that.
[44:22] You have to look at all the other economic data points.
[44:25] You have to look at earnings calls.
[44:26] You have to look at everything to tell you that more accurate picture of the economy.
[44:30] Same thing here with the election.
[44:31] You can't use anything in isolation.
[44:33] Life is not in shades of gray.
[44:35] Prediction markets, binary bet, yes or no, often hard.
[44:38] Yeah.
[44:39] Dewey beats Truman.
[44:40] We all remember it.
[44:42] Insider trading is just a concern broadly when it comes to prediction markets that people who know something will bet on something and have an advantage.
[44:49] Is that also a possibility here?
[44:51] Yes.
[44:52] And that's probably the biggest concern here.
[44:54] These are financial markets.
[44:55] These are regulated at the federal level, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
[44:59] So insider trading is banned on these platforms.
[45:02] Cal, she says, it continuously monitors for it.
[45:05] But just last month, the company said it opened about 200 investigations into potential insider trading cases.
[45:11] And some experts are warning that these markets may even be shifting how people think about insider trading, potentially maybe normalizing it in ways that we haven't seen in traditional financial markets.
[45:23] And that actually could be very damaging over the long term.
[45:27] So it comes back to the same idea.
[45:28] These prediction markets, they're moving very fast.
[45:31] And people are trying to understand it in real time.
[45:33] We have states coming out with legal cases against sites like Calci and Polymarket.
[45:38] So the future is rapidly evolving.
[45:40] And we need to be careful when we fully trust these platforms.
[45:44] Interesting report, Allie.
[45:45] Thank you so much.
[45:46] Thanks.
[45:46] All right.
[45:46] Coming up, one giant leap when we return, how that historic Artemis II moon mission could bring us closer to humans living on the lunar surface.
[45:54] So don't space out.
[45:56] Morning News Now will be right back.
[46:02] Let's end this hour with a closer look at the future of space tourism.
[46:06] If yesterday's Artemis II launch made you want to take a trip to the stars, brace yourself.
[46:12] Yeah, the cost can run more than a mortgage, even a mortgage that has a really fancy house.
[46:16] Some trips go for tens of millions of dollars.
[46:19] Despite that intimidating price tag, experts say the space tourism industry could reach a whopping $46 billion globally by 2034.
[46:28] Nearly half that money coming from North America.
[46:31] For more on the future of space tourism, let's bring in Roman Ciparuca.
[46:35] He is the founder of Space VIP, a company that arranges space travel.
[46:40] Chip, good to have you with us this morning since we have this on our minds right now.
[46:44] We know NASA has just this ambitious plan for the next 10 years, including setting up a moon base, then traveling to Mars.
[46:51] In your mind, how realistic is that plan and what needs to happen to make space travel more frequent and more accessible?
[46:58] Good morning.
[46:59] Thanks for having me.
[47:00] I think NASA's plan is really important because we move away from rare missions to a repeatable transportation system.
[47:08] So the cadence becomes substantially better.
[47:11] It's not a one-off trip, but it's something more consistent.
[47:14] And, yes, it's terribly exciting.
[47:16] Space is back in the cultural zeitgeist.
[47:19] Everyone's talking about it.
[47:20] Everyone's interested to learn more, and that's what's going to be important to move to people.
[47:24] What are some of the things you think that the private space industry can learn from the Artemis program?
[47:30] Well, I think now it depends on an ecosystem, not a single company.
[47:37] We've actually seen a lot more action from the private space companies doing things that NASA couldn't do in certain parts due to budgetary restraints.
[47:46] And now all of these organizations are working together to actualize all of these trips.
[47:52] Right now, and this is perhaps no surprise, but the price of space tourism for a private citizen is sky high.
[47:58] It can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes maybe even millions of dollars.
[48:03] Obviously, that's not affordable for the average American.
[48:05] And in your mind, what makes space tourism a worthwhile endeavor?
[48:11] We are meant to be a space-faring species.
[48:15] We continue to explore.
[48:17] We continue to be interested in discovery and exploration.
[48:21] And I think the opportunity here is to take the time to learn about why space is important.
[48:29] This interview is only possible thanks to the technology that came from space.
[48:33] The delivery that will bring food to you during lunch is thanks to GPS, which is the unlikely child of the space race.
[48:40] I could stand here for an hour telling you all of the fascinating things that we take for granted on a daily basis that all came from space technology.
[48:48] So it's imperative for us to take an interest to learn more.
[48:52] If we learn more, there will be opportunities and we'll have buying power, essentially.
[48:59] Once you're interested, you want to buy.
[49:01] Once you buy, we have much more interest from a variety of people.
[49:07] And that creates demand.
[49:09] And that will help Elon.
[49:10] Do you see a time when it becomes more accessible?
[49:15] Sure.
[49:16] Listen, the more people that take an interest in it, the more people will want to buy and will create economies of scale.
[49:25] Right now, I think the only issue is that chemical combustion.
[49:29] You need a lot of fuel to get up there.
[49:31] So I think if more people are interested, there will be opportunities for everyone to come together and really create demand.
[49:41] So hopefully in the next eight to ten.
[49:45] Eight to ten years.
[49:46] That would be great.
[49:46] Real quick, you mentioned Elon Musk aiming for that sort of trillion dollar listing very quickly.
[49:51] How could that affect private space industry?
[49:54] I mean, it brings capital and legitimacy.
[49:57] It also pushes the company to prioritize scalable revenue-producing transport devices.
[50:04] And that whole ecosystem becomes viable and helps support people going up to space.
[50:09] It's meant to happen.
[50:10] It's just a matter of time and interest.
[50:13] And I think it's happening now.
[50:15] All right.
[50:16] Roman Chipparruca, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
[50:18] Fascinating conversation.
[50:19] We appreciate it.
[50:20] That's going to do it for this hour of Morning News Now.
[50:23] Stick with us.
[50:23] The news continues right now.
[50:35] Good Thursday morning.
[50:36] I'm Joe Fryer.
[50:37] Savannah is off today.
[50:38] Right now on Morning News Now, reaching for the moon.
[50:42] Artemis II in flight this morning, catapulting a crew of NASA astronauts toward Earth's lunar
[50:48] neighbor for the first time in decades.
[50:50] Three, two, three, two, one.
[50:55] Booster ignition and liftoff.
[50:58] That launch reigniting deep space ambitions with plans to test technology meant to establish
[51:05] a long-term presence on the moon and beyond.
[51:08] We are live from the Kennedy Space Center breaking down what could come next as we witness another
[51:13] giant leap for mankind.
[51:16] Making his case, President Trump assuring Americans the war with Iran is nearing completion in his
[51:22] first primetime address on the conflict.
[51:24] But the lack of details on a possible exit strategy is sending the price of oil through
[51:29] the roof.
[51:30] His timeline and the growing skepticism here at home coming up.
[51:34] Also this hour, postponing proceedings.
[51:37] The judges overseeing the trials of Luigi Mangione agreeing to delay their start dates.
[51:43] More on why Mangione's legal team pushed for the new timetable and what it could mean for
[51:48] the cases against him.
[51:50] And today is World Autism Awareness Day.
[51:53] So we're sharing the story of a nonverbal author inspiring acceptance through his debut novel.
[51:59] It will give us a peek inside the minds of an often overlooked community later in the
[52:04] hour.
[52:05] Let's start with this hour with that historic launch of Artemis II on a mission around the
[52:10] moon.
[52:11] We witnessed the very beginning of the crew's 10-day journey in Florida last night, successfully
[52:16] launching from the Kennedy Space Center.
[52:18] It's not only a moment that will be remembered for generations, it also marks a significant
[52:23] milestone in the effort to get humans back on the lunar surface for the first time in
[52:29] more than 50 years.
[52:30] Our senior correspondent, Tom Costello, was there for the launch.
[52:34] He joins us with more.
[52:35] Tom, good morning.
[52:36] How are things looking at the Space Center today?
[52:39] Yeah, listen, this mission is turning out that it is going as well as hoped.
[52:44] Right now, the astronauts are up.
[52:47] They spent about four hours sleeping.
[52:48] They had to get up, do a bit of work.
[52:50] They will go back, get another four hours of sleep.
[52:53] A couple of things have happened here.
[52:54] First of all, pilot Victor Glover has already manually flown Orion, checking out the systems.
[53:00] That went well.
[53:01] We can also tell you that they have now gone into this elliptical orbit around the Earth.
[53:06] So not, for example, going around a golf ball, but more like going around an egg.
[53:11] The whole point of that is to prepare for what they call the translunar injection.
[53:16] That's a fancy way of saying they headed off towards the moon.
[53:19] That'll happen this evening.
[53:20] But as you know, yesterday was nothing short of spectacular.
[53:25] Four, three, two, one.
[53:29] Booster ignition and lift off.
[53:32] In spectacular fashion, NASA powered off the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center
[53:37] with the new Artemis generation of explorers.
[53:40] The crew of Artemis 2 now bound for the moon.
[53:44] Humanity's next great voyage begins.
[53:47] Artemis 2, NASA's most powerful rocket ever, roared off with nearly 9 million pounds of thrust.
[53:54] On board, four astronauts inside the Orion space capsule on a mission to loop around the moon.
[54:01] Isis stable so far.
[54:03] Overnight, reflecting on their journey.
[54:05] Outside the space center, hundreds of thousands lined the coast to witness the crew's history-making climb into the heavens.
[54:22] After a brief 54-year intermission, NASA is back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon.
[54:29] The 10-day journey starts with an orbit around the Earth and then powering up for a 24,000-mile-per-hour ride
[54:37] further into space that anyone has ever gone before and that loop around the far side of the moon.
[54:44] We are going for all humanity.
[54:47] On board Orion for that 600,000-mile round trip,
[54:50] Commander Reed Weissman, Pilot Victor Glover,
[54:54] Mission Specialist Christina Cook,
[54:56] and Mission Specialist Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
[54:59] Before the launch, they all took part in a traditional last card game to play out any bad hands.
[55:06] NASA's Artemis 2 crew.
[55:09] After a final goodbye to family members, the astronauts in their orange spacesuits rode the launch tower,
[55:15] then climbed into the Orion capsule high atop Artemis.
[55:19] While this flyby trip will not include a lunar landing,
[55:23] it will chart a path for humans to return to the moon in 2028
[55:27] and eventually use a surface base as a launching pad onto Mars.
[55:33] The sun is rising on integrity.
[55:35] All right, a couple of other updates here.
[55:38] As you may have heard, they had some communications failures yesterday.
[55:41] Those were resolved quickly.
[55:43] Everything is working well.
[55:44] In addition to that, and this is kind of a big deal,
[55:47] they have this brand-new toilet on board Orion.
[55:50] Obviously, this is the first time that Orion has had humans on board.
[55:54] They had to test that system out.
[55:56] There was a glitch.
[55:57] Thankfully, they've solved the glitch.
[55:58] The toilet is working.
[55:59] So, at this moment, all systems are go for this TLI burn to the moon,
[56:04] and that should come up tonight.
[56:06] Guys, back to you.
[56:07] All right, Tom, thank you.
[56:08] We've talked a lot about that toilet lately.
[56:09] For more, let's bring in our team of experts, our space friends,
[56:12] to break down the first day of the mission and where things go from here.
[56:15] I'm joined by astronomer, astrophysicist Dr. Emily Rice here on set,
[56:19] and Jose Hernandez, a former NASA astronaut.
[56:21] Good to have both of you with us again.
[56:23] All right, Dr. Rice, so this is kind of like a slower morning.
[56:26] It's like that first day of vacation, you're a little jet lag, maybe you get a little more rest.
[56:30] But what is day one all about for them?
[56:32] What are they doing right now?
[56:34] They should be working right now.
[56:36] They had a little bit of a nap.
[56:37] They woke up at 7 from the NASA schedule.
[56:40] They get to sleep again at 940.
[56:41] But right now, I believe they're doing a perigee burn.
[56:44] So, they are adjusting the orbit a little bit.
[56:46] That means the rockets that they have on board are going to fire.
[56:49] And so, this is when they feel something a little bit.
[56:52] They might feel a little bit of acceleration.
[56:53] And they're getting their orbit ready to do that translunar injection later today to get them to the moon.
[57:00] Are you feeling good about the breaking toilet news right now?
[57:02] Are we all relieved about it?
[57:04] I loved it.
[57:04] Oh, my goodness.
[57:05] I just think it's the perfect fit.
[57:07] Like, they were up at 3 o'clock in the morning to fix the toilet.
[57:10] I know a lot of parents were up at 3 o'clock in the morning also dealing with human waste issues.
[57:15] Same thing.
[57:15] All right.
[57:16] Well, we'll move on.
[57:17] We'll stop talking about that now.
[57:18] Jose, unless you want to chime in here.
[57:19] You spent several days aboard the International Space Station during your time with NASA.
[57:24] Are all launches created equal?
[57:26] Can you even compare one with another?
[57:29] Well, Joe, you know, physics is physics.
[57:34] And whether you're on an Apollo rocket, you're on the space shuttle or Artemis,
[57:39] your body is going to go through at least three Gs of forces.
[57:44] And I'll tell you, the most important part is the first day in space because that's when your body is adjusting.
[57:51] The fluids are redistributing.
[57:53] That's why you get that puffy face at the very beginning of a space flight.
[57:58] Your inner ear is recalibrating, so you're susceptible to space adaptation sickness.
[58:06] And then after the first day, you kind of start getting in the groove and adjusting to a microgravity zero-G environment.
[58:17] And everything starts to look normal now being out in space.
[58:21] Of course, the view never gets normal.
[58:23] You never get used to that view because you say, man, I can't believe I'm here.
[58:28] And, yes, we are trained to be plumbers in space.
[58:33] So if something happens with the toilet, we're going to fix it.
[58:36] I love that.
[58:38] I know pretty much everything up there, including plumbing.
[58:41] Jose, beyond that, bring us inside integrity now.
[58:44] The Orion capsule, the rockets are all new.
[58:46] Walk us through how advanced this technology has become
[58:49] and just what that means for the astronauts for the rest of the voyage moving forward.
[58:53] Well, sure.
[58:54] You know, you can characterize an Apollo mission as a controlled chaos, bumpy ride, and you feel the Gs.
[59:03] Same thing happens with Artemis, except it's a little bit more smooth.
[59:08] Now you've got glass cockpits displays.
[59:11] You have automated systems.
[59:13] And so the technology is going to be so much more helpful on the way to the moon and especially once we start landing on the moon.
[59:24] So it's a whole new ballgame 53 years later.
[59:28] And it's going to be so much more.
[59:30] We're going to learn so much more about being on the surface of the moon for longer periods of time.
[59:37] All right, Dr. Rice, we are more than 430,000 miles from the moon.
[59:42] So as the crew does inch or perhaps more than inch closer to the moon, what's going to change for them?
[59:49] Yeah, we're about a quarter of a million miles from the moon.
[59:51] We want to make sure we get our numbers right.
[59:54] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[59:54] We're okay to mess up.
[59:56] NASA's got to get them right.
[59:57] They got it right.
[59:57] We can fix things on the fly.
[59:58] As they get closer, like, this is actually going to be a fairly smooth ride.
[1:00:03] They have the one more burn later today, this translunar injection, which NASA loves a good TLA.
[1:00:07] That stands for the three-letter acronyms that they give for everything.
[1:00:11] And once they do that one, they're just kind of heading to the moon.
[1:00:14] They're actually going to be slowing down as they leave the Earth's orbit.
[1:00:17] They're not going beyond escape velocity, and that's so that they can come back to Earth if they need to.
[1:00:24] So they will be kind of gently slowing down as they get to the moon,
[1:00:27] do a little slingshot around the far side of the moon,
[1:00:30] going further potentially than humans have gone before, which is very, very exciting.
[1:00:34] They'll have this really cool view of the far side of the moon.
[1:00:37] And then when they come back, they're doing this really cool free return trajectory,
[1:00:41] which means no rockets needed.
[1:00:43] Wow.
[1:00:44] And they're just going to accelerate back towards the Earth.
[1:00:46] So this is where it gets bumpy, is that this might actually be the fastest reentry ever at 25,000 miles per hour.
[1:00:54] Yeah, when they come back into this Earth's orbit.
[1:00:55] So that's going to be one to watch when they splash down in 10 days from now.
[1:01:00] Is it fast because they're coming from so far away then?
[1:01:02] Yep.
[1:01:02] They're coming from so far away, and the Earth is accelerating them the whole time.
[1:01:06] Okay.
[1:01:06] And so they're falling back to Earth, basically.
[1:01:08] But instead of from, you know, low Earth orbit just 250 miles away,
[1:01:12] they're going to fall from 250,000 miles away.
[1:01:15] Like a really long roller coaster.
[1:01:17] Jose, what is the most challenging part about spending those first 24 hours in space?
[1:01:21] Well, I think it's kind of like from the physiology perspective,
[1:01:29] you don't have the gravity to give you the cues of your body.
[1:01:35] For example, when you've got to go to the restroom, gravity helps you have that sensation.
[1:01:41] In space, you've got to train yourself.
[1:01:44] You say, oh, gee, it's about time I should go to the restroom.
[1:01:47] So you go and use the restroom.
[1:01:49] It's those type of things that you've got to get used to.
[1:01:52] And then you've got the food that you've got to worry about in terms of what you're going to be eating.
[1:01:58] And everything's color-coded, so you definitely don't want to eat the commander's food.
[1:02:03] He has a red dot on his food, and I had a green dot.
[1:02:07] So you don't mix things of that nature up.
[1:02:10] But the first day, everything's new to you.
[1:02:14] You do have a timeline.
[1:02:16] You're very busy, but you're enjoying every minute.
[1:02:21] And let me tell you, it's hard to go to sleep the first day.
[1:02:24] The adrenaline is still pumping through your body.
[1:02:27] And when they tell you, hey, it lights out, you say, you've got to be kidding me.
[1:02:30] I want to be watching Earth there in the foreground.
[1:02:35] And so it's hard to go to sleep that first evening.
[1:02:38] Afterwards, you kind of get used to it, and you do fall asleep.
[1:02:42] And let me tell you, it's the best sleep in the world, outside the world, because you have no pressure points.
[1:02:48] It's the best mattress anyone can give you because of the fact that it feels like you're sleeping on a cloud or on feathers.
[1:02:57] That is awesome.
[1:02:58] I love to hear that.
[1:02:59] But I also like to hear that out there.
[1:03:00] It's just like the work refrigerator where you have to label your stuff and, like, who ate my yogurt, that kind of thing.
[1:03:05] Dr. Rice, real quickly here, before they get to the moon, what's the most critical part of the mission, do you think?
[1:03:12] I'm very excited for them to see the moon.
[1:03:14] But the process leading up to the moon, I think the astronauts are both the science subjects and the scientists, which is really cool.
[1:03:24] Like Jose said, a lot of this mission is about testing the system, but we're also testing the astronauts and how they fare in space for this long and for this far away.
[1:03:33] And so they are taking all kinds of data.
[1:03:34] They're monitoring their health.
[1:03:36] They're taking saliva samples and blood samples.
[1:03:37] They actually have an experiment that is a tissue on a chip as well, where they have their stem cells, and they are exposing their stem cells to the radiation that they experience in space, the microgravity that they experience in space.
[1:03:51] And so they're going to study their own bodies and how their tissue reacts to being in space for this long, which is very, very cool.
[1:03:58] Dr. Emily Rice, Jose Hernandez, this is fascinating.
[1:04:01] I could talk with you all hour, but we do have to get to some other news.
[1:04:03] But thank you both for guiding us through everything this morning.
[1:04:06] All right.
[1:04:06] Oil prices are spiking this morning after President Trump made his case to the American people over the month-long war in Iran.
[1:04:13] In his primetime speech from the White House, the president said the conflict will last several more weeks without giving specifics on how the war will end.
[1:04:21] This all comes as attacks continue to spread throughout the Middle East.
[1:04:24] NBC News senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez joins us now with the latest.
[1:04:28] Gabe, good morning.
[1:04:29] Joe, good morning.
[1:04:30] That speech from the White House rehashed many points the president had made recently,
[1:04:33] and he offered no specifics on how crucial that, on how that crucial Strait of Hormuz will reopen.
[1:04:40] But a senior White House official does tell me the president's intended audience was the American people who are not following the war's developments day to day.
[1:04:51] Overnight, President Trump, in a rare formal address from the White House, declaring the war with Iran a massive military success.
[1:05:00] Tonight, I'm pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion.
[1:05:06] Among those objectives, he says, destroying Iran's navy and missile program, as well as preventing the regime from building a nuclear bomb.
[1:05:14] We are on track to complete all of America's military objectives shortly, very shortly.
[1:05:21] We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.
[1:05:26] We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.
[1:05:30] A U.S. official telling NBC News the military checklist for the war is almost complete.
[1:05:35] Overnight, Iran responding to the president, saying the U.S. has not destroyed key targets, adding, assuming they have, will, quote,
[1:05:42] only deepen the quagmire in which you have trapped yourselves, and warning the U.S. to expect more forceful, broader, and more destructive actions from us.
[1:05:51] Iran has also said it won't open the Strait of Hormuz for the U.S., blocking the critical global shipping lane.
[1:05:58] The president increasingly frustrated with global allies, who have been reluctant to join the war and help protect the passageway.
[1:06:05] The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage.
[1:06:11] They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it.
[1:06:15] Also predicting the Strait will open when the conflict is over.
[1:06:19] It'll just open up naturally.
[1:06:20] Overnight, global markets fell sharply, rattled by the uncertainty.
[1:06:24] All of it coming amid rising gas prices here at home, and growing skepticism over the conflict.
[1:06:30] Yesterday, in a speech to faith leaders at the White House, the president saying the federal government needs to focus on the military,
[1:06:36] while discussing fraud and funding for domestic programs, which he says states should run.
[1:06:41] We're fighting wars. We can't take care of daycare.
[1:06:45] It's not possible for us to take care of daycare.
[1:06:47] Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things, they can do it on a state basis.
[1:06:53] You can't do it on a federal.
[1:06:55] We have to take care of one thing, military protection.
[1:06:58] The White House posting, then removing the speech, which was closed to the press.
[1:07:02] The remarks coming as the president is also pressuring Republicans to end the partial government shutdown.
[1:07:08] While TSA officers are now getting paid, easing those long airport lines, overnight, GOP leaders in the House and Senate announcing a deal that would fund the Department of Homeland Security.
[1:07:18] Accept ICE and Customs and Border Protection, key sticking points where Democrats want reforms.
[1:07:25] During last night's primetime address, the president made no mention of the potential for American boots on the ground in Iran.
[1:07:32] He does say the new regime is less radical and much more reasonable, though multiple Western officials, U.S. intelligence assessments, and regional analysts tell NBC News there is no indication that new leaders in Iran have made a break with the Islamic Republic's ideology.
[1:07:49] Joe?
[1:07:49] All right, Gabe, thank you so much.
[1:07:51] For more on this, let's bring in NBC News contributor, Humaan Maj.
[1:07:54] Humaan, good to have you with us again.
[1:07:56] I mean, President Trump, as we heard there, threatened more attacks over the coming weeks.
[1:07:59] We heard the quote, we're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages.
[1:08:03] Still no real specific timeline on when or how this war will end.
[1:08:07] What were your impressions of what we heard last night?
[1:08:11] Well, I mean, it was kind of like all over the place.
[1:08:14] It didn't really make a lot of sense because I'm not even sure why the president chose to speak to the American people.
[1:08:20] American people, obviously the only real effect for the American people right now is the price of gas.
[1:08:25] It eventually will be the price of food and other things, the farm equipment, everything that goes through that Strait of Hormuz.
[1:08:33] He made no real attempt to explain to people what the Strait of Hormuz is for the average American person.
[1:08:40] He offended the Iranian people, including the people who are very much against this regime and people that he had encouraged to rise up against the regime when he first started bombing, when the Israel and the United States first started bombing.
[1:08:54] By saying that he's going to bomb the country back to the Stone Ages, I mean, you should see the reaction of people, Iranians, on social media, highly, highly offensive to say a 2,500-year-old civilization, more than 2,500-year-old civilization, is going to be bombed back to the Stone Ages.
[1:09:15] And, you know, that's actually what's happening now.
[1:09:18] They're bombing infrastructure, the Israelis and the United States.
[1:09:22] They're bombing, you know, steel plants, important infrastructure inside Iran, bridges.
[1:09:30] The Pasteur Institute was bombed last night.
[1:09:32] That's where I got a vaccination when I was a kid in 1963.
[1:09:37] You know, these are basically, you know, things that are important to the Iranian people.
[1:09:42] And if you bomb those things, then there won't be very much left of Iran in terms of actual national infrastructure.
[1:09:50] So the speech didn't really say anything to the Iranian people other than to offend them and to tell them there's more war coming.
[1:09:57] And for the American people, there's more pain at the gas pump, really, and nothing much more than that.
[1:10:03] I think it just goes to show that the administration doesn't really know what their own endgame is here and was not planned out.
[1:10:12] The war was not planned out.
[1:10:13] The idea of saying that we've been in Vietnam for 19 years, well, we also lost that war after 19 years.
[1:10:20] Or we were in Korea.
[1:10:22] That was a stalemate for X number of years.
[1:10:25] You know, Iraq, Afghanistan, these wars, you know, generally haven't gone very well ever since World War II.
[1:10:31] We should also ask you, I mean, President Trump spent a lot of time criticizing NATO.
[1:10:36] He didn't specifically mention that in his primetime address, but we did hear the comments earlier yesterday to The Telegraph.
[1:10:41] He's also telling countries that receive oil through the Strait of Hormuz, grab it and cherish it.
[1:10:47] What's he trying to, what's the message you think he's trying to send to allies here?
[1:10:51] The message he's trying to send is that we're, you know, the United States isn't going to do anything about the Strait of Hormuz.
[1:10:55] It was because to do anything about the Strait of Hormuz means boots on the ground, either on the islands around the Strait of Hormuz or on the Iranian shore that lines the Strait of Hormuz.
[1:11:05] So he seems like he's ruling that out.
[1:11:08] He's basically saying one thing is true.
[1:11:10] He said that if the war is over, yeah, the Strait will open up.
[1:11:13] That's true.
[1:11:13] Obviously, if the war's over, Iran's not going to be keep shooting missiles at ships that are passing through, including its own ships that need to go through.
[1:11:21] So, yeah, that's true.
[1:11:23] But I think that was just an indication that the United States, at this time anyway, does not want to put boots on the ground.
[1:11:29] I'm sure the military has explained to him that, you know, to open the Strait of Hormuz means, you know, grabbing it.
[1:11:35] And grabbing it, he's asking the Allies to do that, not the United States, because he doesn't want to risk, you know, American servicemen coming back in coffins.
[1:11:43] I mean, that's the reality of the situation today.
[1:11:47] If you don't plan for a war that the Iranians had already said, if they're ever attacked, they're going to close the Strait of Hormuz.
[1:11:54] They're going to hit the regional countries.
[1:11:56] They're going to bomb desalination plants.
[1:11:58] They're going to make it a regional war if they are attacked first.
[1:12:03] He seems very surprised by all that and doesn't sort of know what to do.
[1:12:09] Human Maj, appreciate you joining us this morning.
[1:12:11] Thank you so much.
[1:12:12] My pleasure.
[1:12:12] The Trump administration is facing some tough questions from the Supreme Court over attempts to limit birthright citizenship.
[1:12:19] Yesterday, justices appeared to be skeptical of the government's argument at a hearing over the president's 2025 executive order.
[1:12:26] Mr. Trump actually made an unprecedented appearance taking a front row seat during those oral arguments.
[1:12:32] NBC News Chief Justice and National Affairs Correspondent Kelly O'Donnell has the details.
[1:12:37] Today, a new countdown toward a decision from the Supreme Court.
[1:12:41] The president's controversial order to end birthright citizenship was front and center.
[1:12:47] And so was he, captured in black and white and court sketches as the first sitting president to attend a Supreme Court argument.
[1:12:56] His frustration spilled out online.
[1:12:59] We are the only country in the world stupid enough to allow birthright citizenship.
[1:13:04] That's false.
[1:13:05] More than 30 nations do.
[1:13:06] Trump appointee Justice Kavanaugh said it does not matter if other countries deny birthright citizenship.
[1:13:13] We try to interpret American law with American precedent based on American history.
[1:13:21] Several justices appeared skeptical of the Trump administration's case.
[1:13:24] The examples you give to support that strike me as very quirky.
[1:13:29] So the text of the clause, I think, does not support you.
[1:13:33] The Constitution's 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all persons born in the U.S.
[1:13:38] The Solicitor General argued that a key clause in that text should deny citizenship if a baby is born to parents without legal residence in the U.S.
[1:13:48] He also cited birth tourism.
[1:13:51] Where 8 billion people are one plane ride away from having a child as a U.S. citizen.
[1:13:56] Well, it's a new world.
[1:13:57] It's the same Constitution.
[1:13:58] Conservative Justice Sam Alito appeared more sympathetic.
[1:14:02] Our immigration laws have been ineffectively and in some instances unenthusiastically enforced by federal officials.
[1:14:14] Energy outside the court.
[1:14:17] The ACLU upbeat about its fight to protect citizenship rights.
[1:14:22] We have a nation of millions on our side and we couldn't be more confident about our arguments here.
[1:14:29] Our thanks to Kelly O'Donnell for that report.
[1:14:31] And the justices are expected to announce their decision by the end of June.
[1:14:35] It's going to check on those severe storms moving across the Midwest this morning.
[1:14:39] Meteorologist Angie Lastman is tracking the threat for us.
[1:14:42] Angie, good morning.
[1:14:43] Hey, Joe.
[1:14:43] Good morning to you.
[1:14:44] We've got an active one this morning.
[1:14:45] And that really takes us into the afternoon hours and even into tomorrow where we're watching multiple storm systems.
[1:14:51] Let's start with what we have right now, though.
[1:14:52] You can see busy on the radar.
[1:14:54] We've got some showers and even thunderstorms stretching from Texas all the way up into parts of the Midwest.
[1:14:59] And by the way, the Midwest, not done with winter just yet.
[1:15:02] You've got some of that snow.
[1:15:03] You have some of the freezing rain happening across really parts of the plains stretching into the Great Lakes.
[1:15:08] And that's going to leave the commute kind of difficult this morning and will give us the potential of some power outages with this ice accumulation from that freezing rain.
[1:15:16] So 12 million people under these winter alerts right now.
[1:15:21] We shift to a more spring-like severe threat.
[1:15:24] We've got that chance for some of these stronger storms to develop, specifically the enhanced risk from Madison to Peoria and out to Chicago.
[1:15:32] But notice how expansive that slight risk is as well.
[1:15:35] And we're watching for a couple of strong tornadoes, but the wind and the hail also on the table for our friends across the Midwest.
[1:15:41] Meanwhile, we've got kind of this system working a little farther to the east here as we get into tomorrow.
[1:15:47] So the scattered showers across the mid-Atlantic and the northeast and still a couple of stronger storms for the Ohio Valley.
[1:15:54] Then we turn our attention back to the west where we've got this secondary storm kind of developing.
[1:15:58] It'll be across parts of the northern plains bringing that wintry weather.
[1:16:02] And then some of the stronger storms from Iowa to Texas we'll have to watch for tomorrow.
[1:16:06] So if you live in Wichita Falls, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, stretching farther north into Iowa, you're going to see the potential for a couple of strong tornadoes and really all the threats on the table.
[1:16:16] We've got the hail and the wind gusts possible, too.
[1:16:19] That system will work its way east here as we get into Saturday, bringing a little of that wintry weather for the northern side and some stronger storms from Texas to Michigan.
[1:16:27] And then here's your Easter forecast.
[1:16:29] Sunday, we'll see that front kind of work its way closer to the east coast.
[1:16:33] It does bring us kind of a soggy day for folks celebrating Easter up and down the east coast and not quite as much severe threat for us from the system at that point.
[1:16:43] But we'll still see some gusty afternoon storms kind of focused across the Gulf Coast.
[1:16:48] So busy, busy over the next couple of days and leading into a holiday weekend.
[1:16:51] Don't worry. The Easter bunny still works in the rain.
[1:16:53] That's right.
[1:16:53] Still makes the rounds.
[1:16:54] Nothing stops the Easter bunny.
[1:16:55] All good. Thank you.
[1:16:57] We're back with a dramatic case playing out in a Hawaii courtroom.
[1:17:01] The Maui doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a birthday hike last year, facing cross-examination later this morning.
[1:17:08] Dr. Gerhard Koenig took the stand yesterday, telling jurors he acted in self-defense.
[1:17:13] Let's bring in NBC News correspondent Steve Patterson with the latest on this.
[1:17:17] Steve, good morning.
[1:17:19] Joe, good morning to you.
[1:17:20] That's right.
[1:17:20] The jury heard from two of the witnesses before Gerhard Koenig took the stand, including a forensic pathologist who called into question some aspects of Ariel Koenig's version of that hike.
[1:17:30] But after lunch, the defendant then took the stand, hoping to convince the jury he's not guilty of attempted murder.
[1:17:39] I felt like a shove and I was almost pushed over the edge.
[1:17:44] After weeks of dramatic state witness testimony in the heat of a Hawaii courtroom, Maui doctor Gerhard Koenig is now speaking out on his own behalf.
[1:17:53] Did you have a plan to kill your wife on the mountain that day?
[1:17:56] No.
[1:17:57] Did you try to throw her off a cliff?
[1:17:59] No.
[1:18:00] Did you try to stab her with syringes?
[1:18:02] No.
[1:18:03] When you hit her with a rock twice, why did you do it?
[1:18:06] In self-defense.
[1:18:08] Telling the jury that it was his wife, Ariel, who attacked him first.
[1:18:11] And her bloody injuries were caused by a sudden violent scuffle that started moments after the couple took a selfie during a birthday hike on this Oahu trail.
[1:18:20] Koenig saying the two had been having problems because of Ariel's relationship with another man, but he still hoped they could work things out.
[1:18:27] Did you plan this trip on Oahu to try and kill your wife?
[1:18:30] No.
[1:18:30] Were you trying to do something nice for her birthday?
[1:18:34] Yes.
[1:18:35] But prosecutors and Ariel say it was a deliberate, vengeful attack.
[1:18:39] He takes a deep breath and then he just starts hitting my face and my head with a rock.
[1:18:46] Witnesses for the state included Gerhard's son from a previous marriage who testified his father FaceTimed him immediately following the attack.
[1:18:53] What did the defendant tell you during that call?
[1:18:56] That Ari, my stepmom, had been cheating on him and that he tried to kill her.
[1:19:01] Dr. Koenig growing emotional as he testified he was in severe distress during the call, contemplating suicide, and his son misunderstood what he was saying.
[1:19:10] He saved my life that day, but I put him in this position where he is now, where he thinks I tried to kill her.
[1:19:19] The doctor, hoping to convince the jury to believe his version of events.
[1:19:24] You reacted to defend yourself in the heat of that moment, you said yes?
[1:19:29] Yes.
[1:19:30] But did you still feel bad about it?
[1:19:32] Yes.
[1:19:34] And the judge is now indicating to the jury that the case is entering its final hour.
[1:19:38] Koenig will be cross-examined by prosecutors.
[1:19:40] His court resumes today, likely followed by closing arguments before the court goes dark on Friday.
[1:19:46] He estimates the jury is likely to have the case sometime next week.
[1:19:49] Joe?
[1:19:50] All right, Steve, thank you.
[1:19:51] It's going to take a little longer to learn the fate of Luigi Mangione.
[1:19:54] He is the 27-year-old man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson back in December of 2024.
[1:20:01] Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both federal and state cases.
[1:20:05] Now the judges overseeing those trials are postponing the start of both cases.
[1:20:10] Jury selection for his federal trial now set to begin on October 5th.
[1:20:14] His state trial also pushed back from June 8th to September 8th.
[1:20:18] NBC News legal analyst Danny Savalos joins us now with more.
[1:20:21] So walk us through again why it is that his attorneys were arguing for these delays
[1:20:25] and what that's going to mean for Mangione's case moving forward.
[1:20:28] The defense wanted to move the federal case because jury selection would have begun.
[1:20:34] And by jury selection, I mean when you start reviewing the questionnaires,
[1:20:37] that was going to begin around the same time as the state trial.
[1:20:41] And that's a really legitimate complaint that his lawyers can't be in two places at once.
[1:20:46] So everything that happened in the federal case yesterday made sense.
[1:20:50] And in an abundance of caution, even though these courts don't have to coordinate,
[1:20:55] and they don't coordinate in the sense that one judge doesn't pick up the phone and call the other judge,
[1:21:00] that's not how this works.
[1:21:02] However, given that they would have to prepare for two trials and go through one trial
[1:21:06] and prepare for the other at the same time, the federal court moved it.
[1:21:08] Where things got confusing and where I don't fully understand what happened
[1:21:13] is why the state court, hours later, moved that trial.
[1:21:17] And now they've recreated the exact same problem they had two days ago before the hearings yesterday.
[1:21:23] So this is probably not a done deal then as far as figuring out the schedule.
[1:21:26] Likely not.
[1:21:27] I mean, if I'm the defense, I'm thinking, I don't know what just happened.
[1:21:30] We have to go back to the courts and figure this out.
[1:21:32] And an interesting wrinkle.
[1:21:33] The defense has argued that if for some reason the federal case goes before the state case,
[1:21:38] they have a state double jeopardy claim and they may be able to preclude the state prosecution,
[1:21:44] but only if the federal case goes first and not under the federal constitution,
[1:21:48] under the New York state double jeopardy protections.
[1:21:51] For a lot of viewers, this may beg the question to begin with, why are there two separate cases?
[1:21:55] We've got nine felony counts at the state level, two stalking counts at the federal level.
[1:22:00] Why is that?
[1:22:00] Well, really, because we have a system of separate sovereign state prosecutors and federal
[1:22:06] prosecutors are considered different kingdoms.
[1:22:08] So a prosecution doesn't necessarily violate the double jeopardy clause.
[1:22:13] But and I think you've seen this in the federal case.
[1:22:16] It is a bit unwieldy because this is not a typical federal case.
[1:22:20] Now, federal prosecutors got creative and made this into basically a murder with a firearm
[1:22:25] under the firearm statute, not some federal murder statute.
[1:22:28] But you can see they're having some procedural difficulties.
[1:22:31] And in fact, they've already lost the death penalty in that federal case.
[1:22:35] Murder is almost always a state law crime.
[1:22:37] But because this was so high profile, the federal government exercised its power,
[1:22:40] found a statute that fit.
[1:22:42] And now we have two prosecutions.
[1:22:43] And remind us again why the death penalty is off the table and what are the punishments
[1:22:46] that he could face in this case?
[1:22:48] Right.
[1:22:48] So in New York, New York doesn't have the death penalty.
[1:22:50] So he's looking at a term of years in prison.
[1:22:53] And he's also looking in the federal case.
[1:22:54] The reason the federal case is no longer a death penalty case is that stalking.
[1:22:59] So, again, this is the clunky way you get to murder in federal court because they don't
[1:23:03] really have a murder statute.
[1:23:05] So it's murder through a firearm and a crime of violence.
[1:23:10] The crime of violence they cited was stalking.
[1:23:12] And the defense successfully argued that stalking is not categorically a crime of violence.
[1:23:16] Very interesting legal argument.
[1:23:18] You can stalk someone without violence.
[1:23:19] It's scary, but it's possible to commit stalking without violence.
[1:23:23] Therefore, they could not use that enhancement.
[1:23:26] All right, Danny, good to have you with us.
[1:23:27] It's complicated.
[1:23:28] It is complicated.
[1:23:29] That's why we have Danny.
[1:23:29] All right.
[1:23:30] Thank you so much.
[1:23:31] Coming up, high profile threats.
[1:23:33] How hackers allegedly working from inside Iran are attacking American businesses and
[1:23:38] government agencies and why the extent of their damage might be a little overhyped.
[1:23:43] Our latest reporting next.
[1:23:45] Now, the closer look at what's making news in the world of politics this morning, starting
[1:23:59] with the New York Democrat who's splitting from her party when it comes to the military
[1:24:03] alliance between the U.S. and Israel.
[1:24:05] NBC News senior national politics reporter Jonathan Allen joins us with more.
[1:24:08] John, good morning.
[1:24:11] Hey, Joe.
[1:24:11] This morning, a new move to the left on Israel from AOC.
[1:24:15] That's Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
[1:24:18] The New York Democrat says she opposes all U.S. military aid to Israel.
[1:24:23] In the past, she had made exceptions for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.
[1:24:27] But now she says the Israelis can fund that themselves, citing a law that bans U.S. military
[1:24:33] aid to countries that violate human rights.
[1:24:36] The issue is quickly becoming a litmus test for potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates,
[1:24:42] a group that includes AOC.
[1:24:45] Now, on the Republican side of the early jockeying for 2028, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a voter
[1:24:50] I.D. law in Florida on Wednesday.
[1:24:52] DeSantis shall remember him lost his bid against Donald Trump in 2024, and many political experts
[1:24:58] expect him to try again in two years.
[1:25:01] Now, here's where the politics comes in.
[1:25:03] The new law is a Florida-sized version of President Trump's federal Save America bill.
[1:25:08] That measure stalled in the U.S. Senate, but it is extremely popular with the GOP base.
[1:25:14] DeSantis says his new law will ensure that only citizens can vote.
[1:25:18] Critics say some groups of citizens, including Puerto Ricans who moved to Florida and black
[1:25:23] voters born before the civil rights era, may have more difficulty meeting the new I.D.
[1:25:28] requirements.
[1:25:29] That's why the League of Women Voters of Florida and the ACLU have filed a federal lawsuit to
[1:25:34] block the new standards.
[1:25:36] And, Joe, what's a political roundup without a Kid Rock controversy?
[1:25:40] There will be no punishment for the Army helicopter crews that buzzed the 55-year-old kid's home
[1:25:47] in Tennessee.
[1:25:48] The rocker, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, had posted video of one military chopper hovering
[1:25:53] just beyond his swimming pool and another one flying close by.
[1:25:57] Initially, the Army frowned on the friendly gesture to one of President Trump's most prominent
[1:26:02] supporters, announcing that the crews had been suspended.
[1:26:06] But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overruled the lower brass.
[1:26:09] No punishment, no investigation, Hegseth wrote on X. Carry on, patriots.
[1:26:15] Or, loosely translated into Kid Rock's parlance, bah with the bah.
[1:26:19] Joe?
[1:26:19] Ah, that's what that word means.
[1:26:22] Patriots.
[1:26:23] Who knew?
[1:26:24] All right, John.
[1:26:25] Thanks so much.
[1:26:25] Appreciate it.
[1:26:26] Let's head back overseas with a closer look at how computer hackers, allegedly working from
[1:26:31] inside Iran, are attacking American businesses and government agencies.
[1:26:35] But the high-profile hits may not be as successful as the hackers claim.
[1:26:40] For more, let's bring in NBC News, cybersecurity and technology reporter Kevin Collier.
[1:26:44] Kevin, good morning.
[1:26:44] So, do we know exactly who's behind these attacks and just how much of a threat they pose to American
[1:26:49] cybersecurity?
[1:26:49] Yeah, the FBI says it's the Ministry of Security, and, sorry, intelligence security.
[1:26:57] How much of a threat do they pose?
[1:26:59] Well, they are very active.
[1:27:01] They really want to inflate themselves as, hey, we are hacking government contractors.
[1:27:05] We are hacking the FBI.
[1:27:07] So far, they have had one really successful attack, which is a medical company called Stryker.
[1:27:11] They shut down remote devices all across the world that their employees were using.
[1:27:17] But that's about it.
[1:27:18] Otherwise, they have mostly been getting little bits and pieces and really claiming much more
[1:27:23] than they've actually accomplished.
[1:27:24] Kevin, one of their biggest hacks was leaking FBI Director Cash Patel's personal e-mails and
[1:27:29] photos.
[1:27:30] We know defense contractor Lockheed Martin was also targeted.
[1:27:33] So, what does that tell us about their capabilities?
[1:27:36] It tells us they go after targets of opportunity that might look big.
[1:27:40] So, Lockheed Martin, big name, and one of the biggest contractors.
[1:27:43] What they leaked were a few passports that they say were from employees who were working
[1:27:47] overseas.
[1:27:48] Lockheed Martin doesn't deny that those are authentic, but that doesn't imply that they
[1:27:51] got into Lockheed systems.
[1:27:52] They were able to cause destruction.
[1:27:54] It looks like it was a kind of third-party verification system.
[1:27:56] As for Patel's e-mails, again, the FBI confirmed that they were real, but this wasn't
[1:28:00] some breach of the FBI systems.
[1:28:02] This was his old Gmail account.
[1:28:05] I looked through all the files they released, about 300 e-mails.
[1:28:08] It was e-mails from his family.
[1:28:10] You know, he was CC'd on.
[1:28:11] People talk about home renovations.
[1:28:12] It was not some trove of national secrets.
[1:28:16] Got it.
[1:28:16] So, in your article, I mean, you say the group is likely a front for Iran's Ministry of Intelligence
[1:28:20] and Security.
[1:28:22] What purpose would this group serve from a military perspective?
[1:28:27] You think about what cyber can accomplish in wartime, and it's asymmetrical, right?
[1:28:31] Like, Iran is not sending missiles that are hitting the United States.
[1:28:34] So, what can they do?
[1:28:35] Well, they can hack whatever they can hack from their, you know, limited facilities that
[1:28:40] they've got, and they can try to cause a stink.
[1:28:42] And that's exactly what they are doing.
[1:28:43] They really want to inflate their capabilities and kind of present to the American people
[1:28:47] and to Iranians that they're doing something in retaliation when their actual military
[1:28:52] capabilities are pretty limited.
[1:28:53] So, Kevin, just how seriously is the American government taking the threat of a full-scale
[1:28:58] cyber war here?
[1:29:00] Maybe not terribly.
[1:29:03] The FBI has seized this group's website several times.
[1:29:06] Twitter keeps, or sorry, X, keeps banning their accounts.
[1:29:10] Their accounts are still live on Telegram.
[1:29:12] They just make new accounts.
[1:29:13] They make new websites.
[1:29:15] CISA, which is the largest, you know, U.S. civilian cyber defense agency, has been pretty
[1:29:20] gutted under the Trump administration and then has even further employees furloughed during
[1:29:25] the DHS shutdown.
[1:29:26] We're not really seeing significant messaging from the federal government about how to harden
[1:29:30] your systems or that we should be worried either.
[1:29:33] All right, Kevin, thank you so much.
[1:29:34] More of your reporting on NBCnews.com.
[1:29:37] Coming up, we've got the latest from Wall Street this morning, including why Hershey is
[1:29:41] returning to an original recipe for one of its most popular candies.
[1:29:45] That's next.
[1:29:45] We are back with a new option for people who are struggling to lose weight.
[1:29:54] The FDA has approved a GLP-1 oral medication, a pill from drugmaker Eli Lilly.
[1:29:59] It is the second weight loss pill to hit the market since December, when Wagovi launched the
[1:30:04] first version.
[1:30:05] NBC News correspondent Anne Thompson has more details on this new pill.
[1:30:09] Anne, good morning.
[1:30:09] Hey there, the desire to slim down is growing the weight loss drug business.
[1:30:15] An estimated one in eight Americans have tried those GLP-1 injections, but now new and easier
[1:30:22] applications could expand that market even more.
[1:30:27] This morning, a new option for millions looking to try those popular weight loss drugs without
[1:30:32] having to use a needle.
[1:30:34] Still to this day, I get shot anxiety.
[1:30:37] The FDA approving Eli Lilly's new GLP-1 pill, called Founday-o, set to hit the market next
[1:30:44] week.
[1:30:44] It follows the red-hot debut of the Wagovi pill earlier this year from Novo Nordisk.
[1:30:50] Day five of taking the Wagovi pill.
[1:30:54] Founday-o's selling point takes convenience one step further.
[1:30:58] Unlike Wagovi, you don't have to take Founday-o on an empty stomach and then wait 30 minutes
[1:31:03] to eat or drink.
[1:31:04] You can take it any time of day without regard to food.
[1:31:07] It's just simple, like we're used to with other prescription medications.
[1:31:11] That fact could help propel the already booming weight loss drug industry from $73 billion this
[1:31:17] year to $250 billion by 2034.
[1:31:22] How significant is this?
[1:31:24] I think that, you know, people are generally very excited about an oral GLP-1, but the fact
[1:31:31] that this can be taken so easily is incredibly important because so many people have other
[1:31:36] medications that they need to worry about taking.
[1:31:39] Founday-o helped 77-year-old Maggie Linton.
[1:31:43] She says she lost 60 pounds over two years during a clinical trial.
[1:31:47] Did you ever try an injectable weight loss medicine?
[1:31:52] No, I never tried an injectable, and mainly because I just don't like Weedle's.
[1:31:57] While not as effective as the injections, both pills help people lose weight.
[1:32:02] Studies show patients who took the highest dose of Founday-o lost 12% of their body weight
[1:32:08] on average, some 27 pounds.
[1:32:11] Costs could still be a barrier for many.
[1:32:13] The new Lilly pills are priced similar to Wagovi.
[1:32:17] Cash customers will pay $149 for a month's worth of the starter dose.
[1:32:22] The prices go up with the dosage to as much as $349 a month.
[1:32:29] As for the side effects, they're said to be the same.
[1:32:32] Nausea, gastrointestinal issues.
[1:32:35] Lilly thinks the pill could be used for maintenance after people lose the bulk of their weight with
[1:32:40] an injectable.
[1:32:41] It could also appeal to people who have just 25 to 30 pounds to drop versus those who have
[1:32:47] 50 or more.
[1:32:49] Back to you.
[1:32:49] All right, Anne, thank you.
[1:32:51] More money news now.
[1:32:52] Elon Musk, SpaceX one step closer to delivering the largest Wall Street listing ever.
[1:32:58] NBC News business and economy reporter Allie Canal is here with your Money Minute.
[1:33:02] Good morning, Allie.
[1:33:02] Good morning, Joe.
[1:33:04] Yeah, crazy here if this happens.
[1:33:06] Elon Musk, SpaceX reportedly moving toward an initial public offering.
[1:33:10] And what you said could be one of the largest IPOs ever.
[1:33:13] The company has confidentially filed with regulators.
[1:33:15] That's according to multiple reports, with a stock sale potentially coming as soon as this
[1:33:20] summer.
[1:33:21] SpaceX, which recently merged with Musk's AI company, XAI, is valued at more than $1 trillion
[1:33:27] combined.
[1:33:28] NBC News did not receive a response to multiple requests for comments.
[1:33:32] And turning to retail, a big swing for one toy maker.
[1:33:35] Chinese toy company Potmart is seeing a sharp sell-off with shares plunging and about $33
[1:33:41] billion in value wiped out since its August peak.
[1:33:45] This comes as investors worry its viral LeBouBou doll craze may be losing steam.
[1:33:50] The company has become heavily reliant on that one-hit product, raising questions about whether
[1:33:55] it can keep up momentum.
[1:33:57] And back here at home, a sweet course correction.
[1:34:00] The Hershey Company says it will return to its classic recipe for all Reese's Peanut Butter
[1:34:05] Cups products.
[1:34:07] After criticism, it had started using cheaper ingredients in some of those items.
[1:34:11] The company says by 2027, all products will be made with its original milk and dark chocolate,
[1:34:17] as it also invests more in product development.
[1:34:19] So, along with that consumer pushback, you also have this company dealing with higher
[1:34:23] cocoa prices across the board.
[1:34:26] But people want their real chocolate.
[1:34:27] Are you a peanut butter cup fan?
[1:34:29] I am.
[1:34:29] You are?
[1:34:30] Okay.
[1:34:30] I do.
[1:34:30] I do love a good chocolate.
[1:34:32] Easter's coming up.
[1:34:33] I've been like, okay, here and there.
[1:34:34] Easter, you get the eggs that have the peanut butter in them.
[1:34:37] There's a lot.
[1:34:37] And that was actually part of the controversy here, was that the mini eggs, they said contained
[1:34:41] less chocolate.
[1:34:42] Ah, there you go.
[1:34:44] All right.
[1:34:44] So, don't come for anything else, but not my little mini Easter eggs.
[1:34:47] All right, Allie.
[1:34:48] Thank you so much.
[1:34:48] Of course.
[1:34:48] Coming up, Inspiring Acceptance.
[1:34:51] We're honoring World Autism Awareness Day by getting to know the nonverbal author whose
[1:34:56] debut novel is offering insights into his community.
[1:34:59] We've got his story next.
[1:35:02] Finally this hour, April is Autism Acceptance Month.
[1:35:11] And to mark the occasion, our Today Show colleague, Jenna Bush Hager, is diving into a powerful
[1:35:16] new book by Woody Brown, a non-speaking author with autism.
[1:35:19] The book, Upward Bound, offers a glimpse into a fictional community where connection
[1:35:24] and friendship go beyond words.
[1:35:27] Here's Jenna with more.
[1:35:28] People were one letter at a time.
[1:35:33] Woody Brown articulates what's on his mind and what's in his heart.
[1:35:37] I never thought it possible.
[1:35:44] Brown is autistic and non-speaking, and with the help of his mom, Mary, uses a letter board
[1:35:50] to communicate.
[1:35:51] It's also how he wrote his debut novel, Upward Bound.
[1:35:55] Upward Bound, this beautiful book that you dedicated to your mom, Woody.
[1:36:00] How come?
[1:36:01] Without her, there is no me.
[1:36:06] Woody was diagnosed with autism when he was two years old.
[1:36:09] We were told that he was intellectually disabled.
[1:36:13] He would never learn to read.
[1:36:15] He would never graduate high school.
[1:36:17] Mary became his fiercest advocate.
[1:36:19] I learned how to do this, and then I had the school district give me the textbooks that
[1:36:25] the typical kids were working out of, and we would do little lessons.
[1:36:29] For lessons paid off, Woody did graduate high school with the class of 2017.
[1:36:34] But when Mary realized Woody's next step would be an adult daycare, she quit her job to be
[1:36:40] a voice for her son.
[1:36:41] With his mom by his side, Woody attended UCLA.
[1:36:44] To finally be in the room where the learning was happening.
[1:36:52] I felt like I was in heaven.
[1:36:57] We came to realize that he had real potential for a productive and happy life.
[1:37:02] And an unbelievable creative mind.
[1:37:05] Who knew?
[1:37:05] I did, but it took a while for the world to see it.
[1:37:16] Woody broke barriers every day.
[1:37:18] He received the English department's top writing honors, made history as UCLA's first ever
[1:37:23] non-speaking autistic graduate, and went on to complete his MFA in creative writing at
[1:37:28] Columbia University.
[1:37:30] His novel is about an adult daycare facility for the disabled, providing insight into the
[1:37:35] hearts and minds of an often overlooked community.
[1:37:40] There's this passage in the book that I want to read.
[1:37:43] Autism on my end of the spectrum is like ADHD times a thousand.
[1:37:47] It's nearly impossible for me to untangle the many channels in my brain so that I can stay
[1:37:53] on a single station.
[1:37:54] It's like sitting in front of a bank of monitors that are showing different events,
[1:37:58] all playing at the top volume.
[1:38:00] Yes, that's me.
[1:38:03] I want mostly for neurotypical people to see that we have inner lives and dreams like anyone
[1:38:17] else.
[1:38:18] So they are more inclined to treat us like human beings.
[1:38:25] This book is hilarious.
[1:38:28] Humor is a big part of your writing.
[1:38:30] I'm a funny guy.
[1:38:32] And everyone likes to laugh, even when the subject is so serious.
[1:38:42] You're about to publish your first novel.
[1:38:44] What are you reflecting on in this moment?
[1:38:46] How far I've come from special ed and being constantly underestimated and disrespected.
[1:38:58] I never thought there could be a life like this.
[1:39:04] I love that.
[1:39:06] Thanks to Jenna for that introduction.
[1:39:08] You may have noticed also the tablet on Woody's lap during his interview.
[1:39:11] He says he often has a hard time focusing on just one thing.
[1:39:14] The videos help him, in his words, neutralize the chaos.
[1:39:18] Upward Bound is out now.
[1:39:21] That is going to do it for this hour of morning news now.
[1:39:23] But don't go anywhere.
[1:39:24] The news continues right now.
[1:39:28] We thank you for watching.
[1:39:30] And remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app
[1:39:34] or watch live on our YouTube channel.
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