Nightline Full Broadcast — Wednesday, April 1, 2026

[0:04] This is Nightline. [0:06] Tonight, 3, 2, 1, liftoff. [0:10] Humanity's next great voyage begins. [0:12] For the first time in more than 50 years, man is headed back to the moon. [0:17] We want to know what's out there just beyond the horizon. [0:21] Decades after the Apollo program's first lunar mission. [0:25] That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. [0:29] The new space race to land on the moon and why this mission is a test of survival. [0:36] Plus, breaking news. [0:38] President Trump addresses the nation about the war in Iran. [0:41] We're going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. [0:46] We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong. [0:50] And the economic fallout here at home. [0:53] Gas prices will rapidly come back down. [0:56] Plus, you've seen the viral trends for maxing out on protein, looks, even fiber. [1:01] This is for my tried and true fiber girls. [1:05] But now, the latest, doing nothing. [1:08] In like 20, 30 minutes in, you kind of feel a lot of your muscles let go. [1:14] Why those who love it say they're on to something. [1:17] From ABC News headquarters in New York, this is Nightline. [1:24] Good evening. Thank you for joining us. [1:26] Breaking news this evening, President Trump addressing the nation. [1:29] Saying the United States has decimated Iran, though there's still no clear timeline for ending the conflict. [1:35] ABC News Senior White House. [1:38] Correspondent Selena Wang joins us now from Washington. [1:41] Selena. [1:42] Byron, President Trump just gave his first primetime address to the American people five weeks into this war with Iran. [1:49] The president said the U.S. will, quote, hit Iran extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. [1:54] But then in the same breath, he said discussions are ongoing. [1:57] He also claimed that the U.S. has resolved the nuclear threat from Iran without providing any public evidence. [2:03] While downplaying the highly enriched stockpile of uranium, [2:07] that Iran still has buried deep underground. [2:10] But we do know from sources that President Trump has been recently briefed on a variety of ground troop options [2:16] that includes potentially seizing Iran's highly enriched uranium. [2:19] But during his remarks, the president did not mention ground troops. [2:23] The bottom line here is that the president has left the American people with more questions than answers [2:29] about how this war is going to end. [2:32] Selena, thank you. [2:33] This is day 33 of the war with Iran. [2:36] Thank you. [2:38] We're going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. [2:42] We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong. [2:47] Tonight, five weeks into the war with Iran, [2:49] President Trump for the first time addressing the nation, [2:52] touting what he describes as the triumphs of Operation Epic Fury. [2:57] Tonight, Iran's navy is gone. [3:00] Their air force is in ruins. [3:02] Their leaders, most of them terrorist regime they led, [3:09] are now dead. [3:10] Their command and control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is being decimated as we speak. [3:19] The president also addressing the global oil crisis, calling on the countries desperate for oil to, quote, [3:25] take back the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway now effectively in Iran's chokehold. [3:31] Go to the Strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves. [3:37] Iran has been essentially decimated. [3:40] The heart of Iran is in ruins. [3:40] Iran is in ruins. [3:40] Iran is in ruins. [3:40] Iran is in ruins. [3:40] Iran is in ruins. [3:40] Iran is in ruins. [3:40] Iran is in ruins. [3:40] Iran is in ruins. [3:41] Iran is in ruins. [3:41] Iran is in ruins. [3:41] Iran is in ruins. [3:41] Iran is in ruins. [3:41] The hard part is done, so it should be easy. [3:43] And in any event, when this conflict is over, the Strait will open up naturally. [3:49] Stating the rising gas prices here in the U.S., now topping $4 a gallon, is only temporary. [3:56] Remember, because of our drill baby drill program, America has plenty of gas. [4:00] We have so much gas. [4:02] Under my leadership, we are number one producer of oil and gas on the planet. [4:07] Polls showing Americans are eager for this war to end. [4:10] 60% of Americans disapprove of this military operation, and two-thirds say the U.S. should work to end this conflict quickly. [4:19] The president's saying in the meantime, discussions are ongoing, and if no deal is made, the attacks will continue. [4:26] Because of the actions we have taken, we are on the cusp of ending Iran's sinister threat to America and the world. [4:34] And I'll tell you, the world is watching, and when we do, when it's all over, [4:40] the United States is going to be the one that's going to win. [4:40] The United States will be safer, stronger, more prosperous, and greater than it has ever been before. [4:47] We're joined now by ABC's Matt Rivers from Doha. [4:51] Byron, very intense talk, very intense words from the president of the United States earlier. [4:55] But what we have heard from Iran, every time the president goes after Iran, they have been defiant in response. [5:00] And we have seen that in just the last couple of days, with Iran sending missiles all around this region, [5:06] targeting two different oil tankers in just the past two days. [5:08] A reminder that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. [5:12] The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the heart of the military, [5:15] responding to those mentions of the ceasefire agreement that the president of the U.S. says Iran wants. [5:20] The IRGC basically saying that's not true. [5:22] They're going to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. [5:24] It is the biggest point of leverage that the Iranians have. [5:27] They know it. [5:28] They want to create that political pressure inside of the United States. [5:31] They're not going to go down, Byron, without a fight. [5:35] Matt, thank you. [5:36] Stay with Nightline and ABC News for continuing coverage of the war with Iran. [5:41] We switch gears now to the making of... [5:43] Space History. [5:44] Artemis II today launching with four astronauts aboard to travel to the moon and back. [5:49] The first lunar mission since 1972, with millions cheering them on from around the world. [5:58] Four, three, two, one. [6:02] Booster ignition. [6:03] And liftoff. [6:05] The crew of Artemis II now bound for the moon. [6:10] Humanity's next great voyage begins. [6:15] We have liftoff. [6:16] For the first time in more than 50 years, [6:22] a crewed spacecraft, [6:23] is heading to the moon. [6:25] The excitement on the ground and electric. [6:27] Spacecraft blasted through our atmosphere on its way to the cosmos. [6:31] The astronauts won't be landing on the moon's surface this time. [6:37] NASA is calling this a flight test. [6:39] A 10-day mission to make sure the Orion spacecraft can keep its crew alive in deep space. [6:45] They'll be doing a lunar flyby that sends them around the far side of the moon [6:50] for the first time in over a half century. [6:52] And back to Earth. [6:53] A rehearsal for future missions, [6:55] that could take people back to the moon's surface, and beyond. [6:59] Artemis is building on an already solid legacy. [7:02] The exploration we're doing is the first few steps on the path of getting humans to Mars. [7:07] Despite all the preparations and systems in place, [7:11] the Artemis II mission, like all manned space flight, still faces risk. [7:16] Good luck. [7:18] Godspeed Artemis II, let's go. [7:21] The mission is part of the new space race. [7:23] NASA is planning to eventually build a moon base and send astronauts to the moon, [7:27] the moon's surface only 24 people have ever made the trip to the moon no one in more than 50 years [7:34] the last moon missions happening with the apollo program in the 60s and 70s apollo 11 launched [7:41] neil armstrong buzz aldrin and michael collins to make the historic landing eagle has landed [7:49] neil armstrong the first human to set foot on the moon one small step or man armstrong and [8:02] aldrin spent two and a half hours exploring the lunar surface planning the american flag [8:07] taking these now iconic photos the landing broadcasts worldwide on live tv an estimated 650 [8:15] million people around the world watching more than five decades later leading this historic [8:24] artemis ii mission commander reed wiseman a retired u.s navy pilot he spent 165 days [8:30] working as a flight engineer on the international space station in 2014. [8:35] and conducted two spacewalks every astronaut's dream is to get to do a spacewalk second in [8:41] command is mission pilot victor j glover jr a u.s navy captain an engineer with thousands of flight [8:47] hours the pilot's role is to back up the commander as the second in command of the crew and also to [8:54] understand the status of the vehicle and if need be to to manually control the vehicle [8:58] he previously piloted the nasa spacex crew one mission spending nearly six months aboard the [9:04] international space station in corinth for the first time in the history of the space station [9:06] completing multiple spacewalks glover will be the first person of color to travel beyond low [9:11] earth orbit we want to know what's out there just beyond the horizon nasa astronaut and engineer [9:17] christina cook holds the record for the longest single space flight by a woman after spending [9:22] nearly a year in space aboard the international space station she was part of the first all-female [9:28] spacewalk cook is serving as a mission specialist for the artemis ii flight i think our skills [9:34] really complement each other i hope to be the first person in the space station to complete multiple spacewalks [9:36] someone on the crew that really is that engineering expert the final member of the team [9:42] is mission specialist jeremy hansen the first canadian astronaut to ever travel to the moon [9:48] your mission specialist jeremy hansen sharing that with my wife and three kids was also a very [9:57] special moment for me but before they reach the moon they have to leave earth before launch nasa [10:05] space launch system or sls waited on the mobile launcher that's what will get them [10:10] there the rocket and two solid rocket boosters sent the astronauts into orbit the most powerful [10:16] system ever to launch humans into space atop the 322-foot sls is the orion spacecraft the capsule [10:25] where the astronauts will live and work this unique footage from nat geo's collaboration with [10:30] nasa showing the crew inside a mock-up of artemis ii orion capsule ahead of the launch orion's four [10:38] solar arrays giant solar panels deployed a power plant in the center of the moon's solar system and [10:41] the spacecraft and charge the ship's batteries for later in the mission when orion moves out of [10:47] direct sunlight so it can keep being powered about a day after the launch the crew will perform the [10:53] critical translunar injection burn that will help boost the spacecraft out of earth orbit and towards [10:59] the moon this trajectory of figure 8 stretching more than 230 000 miles from earth will pull the [11:06] spacecraft back to earth using both the earth and the moon's gravity after the flyby even [11:12] if something goes wrong with the engine the crew will travel about 4 100 miles beyond the moon [11:17] a record and the first humans in over a half century to lay eyes on the lunar far side [11:25] there's a big focus on this mission on the space environment this is the furthest we're sending [11:30] humans out in the last you know 54 years we've come a long way in terms of technology and a we [11:36] have a much better understanding of the human body and how it's impacted by space so there's a ton [11:42] of other things that we have to learn and we have to learn to adapt for longer and longer missions [11:46] once they round the far side earth's gravity takes over and orion heads home orion will hit earth's [11:53] atmosphere at nearly 25 000 miles per hour the atmosphere will help it slow down it will also [11:59] heat up the capsule the heat shield will protect the crew from the temperatures of up to 5 000 [12:04] degrees fahrenheit but the superheated air temporarily knocks out communications 16 minutes [12:11] Orion splashes down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. [12:15] Splashdown. [12:16] Orion Artemis II mission completed. [12:19] It's towed aboard for its trip back to Kennedy Space Center. [12:22] When we come back, we're inside the high-tech training center where flight crews learn what to do when emergencies strike, [12:33] how they say you can stay safest during air scares. [12:37] Welcome back. [12:45] With the number of air scares recently, we're all too aware of how quickly things can change in a plane. [12:51] But crews go through extensive training to keep you safe. [12:54] It's dramatic and realistic. [12:56] They put ABC's Gio Benitez through some of that training. [13:03] Aviation emergencies can be terrifying. [13:06] Earlier this month, passengers forced to evacuate on slides after a smoking emergency forced an emergency landing. [13:12] Last week's tragedy at LaGuardia, leaving two pilots dead, all passengers escaping. [13:17] In 2025, this crash resulted in the plane flipped on the runway. [13:23] Its passengers evacuating while walking on the sea. [13:26] And then there's that Alaska Airlines flight two years ago when a door plug flew out. [13:33] And Alaska Airlines giving ABC News an exclusive look at how its crews prepare for real-world emergencies at their training facility outside Seattle. [13:48] That crew, knowing what to do because they were trained well on our procedures, did everything right. [13:56] I joined these flight attendants to train on a hyper-realistic mock aircraft. [14:00] All to help you stay safe in an emergency. [14:03] We need everything. [14:04] Watch as the cabin fills with smoke and we evacuate. [14:07] You two, stay up on them. Help people out. [14:09] One type of emergency they train for, lithium-ion battery fires. [14:14] Experts say keep lithium-ion batteries under the seat and accessible, not in the overhead bins. [14:20] Can I get you out of the seats here, please? [14:22] Watch as flight attendants use a fire extinguisher, protective gloves, and a fireproof containment bag. [14:28] Last year, there were nearly 100 incidents involving lithium-ion batteries on planes. [14:33] And Alaska estimates that there are between 500 and 800 devices on each flight. [14:39] Sometimes you have smoke filling the cabin, or there's a battery fire, or a number of things that happen. [14:45] So why is that training so important? [14:48] It's important because in the air, you can rely on each other and your team to kind of take care of these items. [14:53] We want them to be prepared for anything. [14:55] Another life-saving tip, knowing how many rows there are between your seat and the nearest exit. [14:59] So if the cabin fills with smoke and you can't see... [15:03] You can at least feel with your hands and count your way to safety. [15:06] Here we go. [15:07] Training also includes water landings. [15:09] So if there were a water landing, this raft would be inflated and you would be able to set up this canopy once you have everybody inside. [15:18] It fits about 56 people. There are survival kits inside of here. [15:23] And here's why it's so important to leave all carry-on bags and personal items behind in the event of an evacuation. [15:29] Leave yourself! [15:30] Just like in this real emergency... [15:35] It slows down the exit process, and if a fire was spreading quickly, it could mean the difference between life and death. [15:41] The message for passengers, while you may be tempted to tune out those seemingly obvious pre-flight safety instructions, [15:48] bringing them front of mind could save you critical seconds in the event of a real emergency. [15:54] Our thanks to Gio. [15:56] When we come back, it sent Elaine spiraling in Seinfeld. [16:00] It's gonna sit there, staring at the back of the seat. [16:07] That's it! [16:08] I can't take this! [16:10] But now, doing nothing is going viral. [16:12] And finally tonight, nothing maxing. [16:24] It's turning into something. [16:26] Here's ABC's Will Gantz. [16:28] Are you gonna take a nap? [16:30] It's a concept Seinfeld first introduced us to 30 years ago. [16:34] You're just gonna sit there, staring at the back of the seat? [16:37] But what drove Julia Louis-Dreyfus crazy then... [16:41] That's it! I can't take this! [16:44] ...is now trending to the max on social media. [16:47] It's called Nothing Maxing. [16:49] Content creators making the deliberate decision to unplug, giving their brain time to do absolutely nothing. [16:56] Day like one, two, and three. [16:58] For the first like 30 minutes, my mind is like racing. [17:02] I'm thinking about everything that I need to do. [17:04] But honestly on day four, five, and six, it started to get easier. [17:08] There comes a point probably I'll say in like 20, 30 minutes in, and you kind of feel a lot of your muscles let go. [17:15] Searches on TikTok for how to do it. [17:17] For how to enjoy being busy doing nothing spiking more than a thousand percent this week. [17:22] Joining the latest in a line of maxing trends from fiber maxing... [17:26] But this is for my tried and true fiber girls. [17:31] ...to sleep maxing... [17:32] Watch how much your sleep quality just skyrockets. [17:35] ...even yogurt maxing. [17:37] Yogurt is not a phase, it's a lifestyle. [17:40] But what is maxing anyway? [17:42] Most simply it means maximalizing. [17:44] To go all in. [17:45] On a lifestyle or activity. [17:47] But nothing maxing, which has also been dubbed modern meditation, is a trend that experts agree can be quite healthy, helping reduce depression symptoms, cutting the risk of heart attack and stroke, and training your brain to be less reactive under pressure. [18:02] Your thoughts are clear. [18:03] You're leaving space to have that clarity. [18:06] Our thanks to Will. [18:07] And that's Nightline for this evening. [18:08] Thanks for the company, America. [18:10] Good night.