SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Here is what you need to know in the Apr. 10, 2026, Streamline newsletter:
The countdown begins until NASA's Artemis II mission returns to Earth, and it's expected to splash down off the coast of San Diego around 5 p.m. today.
Negotiations between Iran and the U.S. are set to begin tomorrow in Pakistan, while Israel and Hezbollah continue to exchange strikes since the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire began.
A cooling trend will continue into the weekend for San Diego County with strong winds in the mountains and deserts during the afternoons and evenings through Sunday.
THE STREAMLINE
WATCH — ABC 10News brings you The Streamline for Friday, Apr. 10 -- everything you need to know in under 10 minutes:
TOP STORY
SAN DIEGO (CNS) - NASA's Artemis II mission, piloted by a Southern California native, is expected to return to Earth around 5 p.m. Friday, with a splashdown planned off the coast of San Diego after traveling around the far side of the moon and farther from Earth than any humans in history.
The mission surpassed the previous distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970 at 248,655 miles during its lunar flyby on Monday, according to NASA.
The roughly six-hour lunar loop marked a key milestone in NASA's first crewed mission to the moon since the Apollo era, sending three Americans and one Canadian around the moon as part of plans to land astronauts near the lunar south pole within the next two years.
Among the astronauts aboard is Victor Glover, a Southern California native who was born in Pomona, attended Ontario High School and graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Serving as pilot of the Orion spacecraft, he is the first person of color to take part in a lunar mission.
Glover is joined by Commander Reid Wiseman and mission specialists Christina Hammock Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
NASA and the U.S. Navy began making arrangements this week to recover the astronauts and their Orion capsule, known as "Integrity," following a planned splashdown Friday.
The amphibious transport dock USS John P. Murtha has been designated to retrieve the crew and spacecraft.
In a statement Monday, the Navy said the ship has "unique advantages" that will assist NASA in the Orion space capsule's recovery and collection of "critical data to help ensure it's ready to recover the astronauts and capsule during future Artemis missions."
The ship's commanding officer, Capt. Erik Kenny, said the ship's mission this week was "a fitting tribute" to its namesake, Pennsylvania Congressman John P. Murtha.
"We are honored to carry on his legacy by supporting NASA and the Artemis II mission," Kenny said.
A U.S. Navy helicopter squadron based out of Naval Air Station North Island will assist in tracking the capsule while it travels through Earth's atmosphere, then recover the four astronauts and bring them to the ship for assessment, the Navy said.
Navy divers will also recover and transport the Orion space capsule from the water to the ship's deck.
NASA used cameras mounted on the spacecraft this week to examine its exterior for any signs of damage or irregularities that could threaten the astronauts' safety ahead of Friday's return. Re-entry is one of the most demanding phases of a mission, as spacecraft are subjected to extreme heat and pressure while passing through Earth's atmosphere.
The inspection found the spacecraft to be in good condition, according to Debbie Korth, deputy manager of the Orion program.
"No concerns," Korth said at a news conference on Wednesday. "No issues seen that would make us have any pause for the re-entry phase."
The Artemis II crew has drawn widespread attention on Earth through broadcasts and news conferences from inside their capsule, which offers roughly the same living space as two minivans.
Asked on Wednesday what she would miss most about the mission, Koch pointed to the bond among the crew and with colleagues on the ground.
"We are close like brothers and sisters, and that is a privilege we will never have again," she said.
On Thursday, the crew began preparing the cabin for re-entry and reviewing entry procedures.
The astronauts will stow equipment, install their seats and secure loose items ahead of splashdown, which is scheduled for 5:07 p.m. Friday.
NASA plans to stream the crew's return to Earth live beginning at 4:30 p.m.
San Diegans will have several options to watch the mission as it returns to earth:
- The Fleet Science Center will hold a live splashdown event on its Heikoff Giant Dome screen from 3-5:30 p.m. The Fleet will have limited-time Artemis II exhibits through Saturday; and
- The San Diego Air & Space Museum will host a live welcome-home party for the four-person crew of Artemis II. Guests will gather in the museum's Pavilion of Flight to watch a live-stream of NASA's feed of the splashdown from 4 to 7 p.m.
Additionally, Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists will take part in a multi-institutional project to deploy acoustic sensors off the Southern California coast to record the sonic boom created by Orion's re-entry.
During the mission's flyby, Artemis II astronauts photographed the lunar surface and recorded observations while briefly losing contact with mission control for about 40 minutes as the capsule passed behind the moon.
As they emerged from the far side, the crew joined the small group of humans to witness an "Earthrise."
Glover previously spent more than five months aboard the International Space Station in 2020-21, traveling there on the first full crew rotation flight by a U.S. commercial spacecraft.
He also has extensive ties to Southern California beyond his upbringing, having served as a test pilot at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in the Mojave Desert and earning a master's degree from Air University at Edwards Air Force Base.
Communications for the mission are being handled in part by NASA's Deep Space Network, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
The current schedule calls for the Artemis III launch sometime next year, with lunar landers under development by Hawthorne-based SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
Artemis IV is expected to launch in early 2028, marking a return of astronauts to the lunar surface.
Artemis V, another lunar surface mission, is projected for late 2028, with additional missions planned roughly once a year after that.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
MICROCLIMATE FORECASTS
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BREAKING OVERNIGHT
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Negotiators from Iran and the U.S. prepared for high-level talks with their ceasefire still shaky Friday, as Israel and Hezbollah traded fire and Tehran maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
There remain many issues that could derail the truce — as well as negotiations for a broader deal to permanently end the war.
Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency, close to the Revolutionary Guard, claimed that talks set for Saturday wouldn’t happen unless Israel stopped its attacks in Lebanon. And U.S. President Donald Trump complained that Iran was “doing a very poor job” by not allowing the free flow of ships through the strait, through which 20% of the world’s traded oil once passed.
Kuwait, meanwhile, said it faced a drone attack Thursday night that it blamed on Iran and its militia allies in the region. Though Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard denied launching any assault, it has carried out attacks across the Mideast in the past that it did not claim.
And yet, preparations for the talks between Iran and the U.S. in Pakistan appeared to move forward, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance set to take off from Washington. Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, meanwhile, are expected to begin next week in Washington, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the matter.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a sticking point
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent oil prices skyrocketing, driven stocks down, and roiled the world economy. Tehran's control over the waterway has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war.
The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was around $97 Friday, up more than 30% since the war started.
Before the conflict, over 100 ships passed through the strait each day — many carrying oil to Asia. With the ceasefire in place, only 12 have been recorded passing through.
Underscoring the precarious situation, a Botswana-flagged liquefied natural gas tanker attempted to travel out of the Persian Gulf via a route ordered by the Revolutionary Guard, but suddenly turned around early Friday, ship-tracking data showed.
The head of the United Arab Emirates’ major oil company, Sultan al-Jaber, said some 230 ships loaded with oil were waiting to get through the strait and must be allowed “to navigate this corridor without condition.”
U.S. President Donald Trump complained about that situation, writing on his social media platform: “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz.”
The ceasefire deal is still fragile
Questions also remain over the fate of Iran’s missile and nuclear programs, which the U.S. and Israel sought to eliminate in going to war.
The U.S. insists Iran must never be able to build nuclear weapons and wants to remove Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to make them. Iran insists its program is peaceful.
Trump has said that the U.S. would work with Iran to remove the uranium, though Tehran has not confirmed that.
The chief of Iran’s nuclear agency, Mohammad Eslami, said Thursday that protecting Tehran’s right to enrich uranium is “necessary” for any ceasefire talks.
More than 3,000 people have been killed in Iran, according to a top Iranian medical official. Iran’s government has not provided any definitive death toll from the weekslong war.
Story by the Associated Press
CONSUMER
Spring is here. With the warmer weather, some may be looking to freshen up their outdoor space with items like new plants, grills, or decorations.
WATCH — Scripps News Group's Jane Caffrey takes a look at what to buy as stores roll out deals:
WE FOLLOW THROUGH
A year-long pilot program between the City of San Diego and Caltrans, which clears homeless encampments from freeways in Downtown, has decreased encampment-related fires.
WATCH — ABC 10News Reporter Ryan Hill follows through with the numbers that show the success of the program:
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