Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Friday.
One of two Americans rescued after Iran downs a U.S. jetThe U.S. military launched a massive and potentially perilous search and rescue operation in Iran today after Iranian forces shot down an Air Force F-15E fighter jet carrying two American crew members who both ejected. It was the first known instance of a U.S. combat aircraft going down in hostile territory since the war began five weeks ago. The rescue efforts recovered one of the two American aviators who were in the downed jet. The fate of the other one was unclear. An American helicopter was hit during the search operation but managed to escape safely. Follow here for the latest updates. Videos verified by The Times show U.S. military aircraft flying low over southwestern Iran, apparently part of the search and rescue effort. The easily spotted aircraft, and the troops aboard, are potential targets. An Iranian broadcaster read a statement today calling on residents to capture the “enemy’s pilot or pilots” and turn them over in return for a reward. The U.S. aviators were trained to try to evade capture. Just days ago, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran’s air defenses were so degraded that the U.S. was sending lumbering B-52 bombers over the country. The downing of the much more agile F-15E suggested that Iran’s weakened military could still fight back. Another U.S. warplane, an A-10 Warthog attack plane, also crashed near the Strait of Hormuz around the same time, and the lone pilot was safely rescued, officials said. For more on the war:
Job growth reboundsThe labor market significantly outperformed expectations last month, according to a new government report. U.S. employers added 178,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3 percent, a robust showing after a run of weakness. The health care sector continued to lead the job gains, adding 76,000 positions. Manufacturing, which had been trending down, added 15,000 jobs and construction grew by 26,000.
White House asks for significant increase in military spendingPresident Trump’s new budget request, which was sent to Congress today, calls for about $1.5 trillion in funding for the military in the 2027 fiscal year. The request would amount to a roughly 40 percent increase. Trump also called for $73 billion in cuts across many domestic programs, including those focused on health, housing and education. “It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all of these individual things,” Trump said at a private lunch before releasing the plan. “They can do it on a state basis.” Presidential budgets, however, are advisory: Congress is very likely to come up with its own priorities. In other Trump administration news:
NASA releases the first Earth photos from Artemis IIThe astronauts aboard Artemis II awoke this afternoon for the third day of their journey toward — and eventually around — the moon. Hours earlier, NASA released images of Earth taken by the mission’s commander. One shows green streaks of aurora in the atmosphere. “You look amazing, you look beautiful,” the pilot said of our planet. When this newsletter was sent, the spacecraft was 117,223 miles from Earth. More top news
Mark Mongiardo left his job as a high school athletic director after colleagues repeatedly told him that players could smell alcohol on him. Soon after, he was twice penalized for driving while intoxicated. Even his family noticed that he often seemed drunk. But Mongiardo hadn’t been drinking. He only later found out that he had auto-brewery syndrome, a mystifying condition where someone’s gut can produce alcohol — and cause intoxication — without them having a single sip. Here’s what to know about the syndrome.
Can Mario strike box-office gold again?Last time Mario and Luigi teamed up on the big screen, it resulted in one of the highest-performing animated movies of all time. Now, the directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are hoping to recapture some of that magic in the sequel, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which arrived in theaters this week. The film reintroduces a princess named Rosalina who was first introduced in a 2007 Wii game. She is part of Nintendo’s effort to gradually introduce more depth to its sparse cast of female characters. Read our review.
Traveling many miles to learn from Werner HerzogEarlier this year, the acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog hosted an 11-day workshop on São Miguel, a remote North Atlantic island with more cows than people. Fifty artists flew in from around the world to learn from an icon and face questions like “How will you get a cow up the steps and into the church?” Herzog’s advice boiled down to something like this: Take your camera, get the shot, forgo storyboards, don’t overdo it and, above all else, do the doable. For many this advice was, if not groundbreaking, certainly liberating. My colleagues were there to talk to the participants and see what it was like.
Dinner table topics
Cook: For Easter brunch, try this baked croissant French toast with blueberries. Sip some great yet affordable wine with these tips. Watch these movies and shows coming to Netflix this month. |
