The Artemis II mission to the moon is nearing completion, but first comes a safe splashdown off the San Diego coast.

The Orion spacecraft, carrying four astronauts, is expected to return Friday, with the U.S. Navy helping recover the capsule and crew from the Pacific Ocean.

San Diego, a city with deep Navy roots, is playing a central role in that effort. Several bases in the area are helping lead the recovery, bringing a sense of pride and excitement to the community.

Locals and visitors from across the country are expected to gather along the coastline and at museums throughout the area to witness the crew’s homecoming.

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“We’re back in the game of deep space,” said Jim Kidrick, president and CEO of the San Diego Air and Space Museum. “You go back to General Patton, World War II, you know, Americans love a winner… and will not tolerate a loser.”

The mission marks the latest chapter in space exploration, wrapping up, at least for now, off the Southern California coast.

The astronauts aboard Orion are on their way home after traveling around the moon, reaching more than 252,000 miles from Earth.

“I think people have been rejuvenated by one word that’s going on in space today, and that’s the moon,” Kidrick added.

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At the museum, the story of the Apollo program is once again front and center, as attention shifts back to deep space more than 50 years later.

“There are so many…historic moments that have happened. So it’s kind of cool to just be a part of one of them,” said Abigail Lawrence, who is visiting from Utah.

Others visiting San Diego for the splashdown shared similar excitement.

“You know what? What could be better than coming back to San Diego? I don’t know, I can’t think of anything. Anything,” said Sheila Haas.

San Diego-based sailors are also on the front lines, working with NASA to recover the Orion capsule from the Pacific and bring it aboard the USS John P. Murtha, a Navy landing platform dock (LPD).

“I’m just happy to see that the Navy is able to use an LPD for such a peaceful mission,” said Navy veteran David Haas. “The LPD are good all around ships for all sorts of things. And so it just makes me happy.”

After re-entry, Navy recovery teams will secure the spacecraft and help the crew out safely.

“Our Navy certainly, with the NASA rescue team, all making sure that those astronauts finish up that mission wonderfully well and very safely,” Kidrick said.

Back at the Air and Space Museum, thousands of eyes are expected to be on the sky Friday evening, with a sense of hope that a new generation will continue the push into deep space.

“We can help inspire, educate, get them excited… those young boys and girls who are really going to be those next generations,” Kidrick said. “There can’t just be one greatest generation…The generations that follow you are gonna have a wonderful future because somebody will land on Mars.” 

For Artemis II to land off the San Diego coast, there cannot be any rain or thunderstorms within 35 miles of the splashdown zone.

Forecasters are currently monitoring a storm in the Pacific, but so far, conditions for Friday appear to be on track.

It was, and I don’t say this lightly, a jaw-dropping moment. 

I’m sitting here with the TV on and all of a sudden there’s a live shot of Melania Trump, reading a speech at the White House. 

A speech about Jeffrey Epstein. A speech about how she’s being smeared in connection with the late pedophile. 

None of the journalists knew what to say. The first lady, talking about Epstein. Reporters were told she would be making remarks, but not the subject matter. Only that it would be newsy.

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“I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, [Ghislaine] Maxwell. My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence. My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a travel note. I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at a New York City party in 1998,” the first lady said in her speech.

There was pain in her voice. The three-minute speech, read in her accented English, was not easy for her. 

When the Epstein files were released, there was correspondence between Maxwell, who called her “Sweet pea,” and Melania signed hers “Love.” Hardly a big deal.

I didn’t know there were any rumors about Melania Trump and Epstein. It seemed clear that the first lady was trying to get out ahead of something — but what?

This had the feeling of the tip of an iceberg. 

They first crossed paths in 2000: “I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings. Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been calculating [circulating]on social media for years now. Be cautious about what you believe. These images and stories are completely false.”

Epstein pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in 2008 and served an absurdly light sentence of 13 months in Florida. And Donald Trump knew of his relationship with underage girls, having called Palm Beach authorities about it back in 2006. 

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Still, Melania said, “I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant. Was never on Epstein’s plane and never visited his private island. I have never been legally accused or convinced [convicted] of a crime in connection with Epstein. Sex trafficking, abuse of minors and other repulsive behavior. The false smears about me from mean-spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name, to gain financially and climb politically, must stop.”

She added that she and her lawyers “have fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success.”

The New York Times reaction: “It was not clear why she chose to speak out now, or to what reports she was referring.” 

NBC’s Garrett Haake tweeted that the speech was “breathing new life into the Epstein saga.”

By the way, it was not a news conference, as the Washington Post and other outlets kept calling it. She took no questions.

The first lady’s senior adviser, Marc Beckman, said in a statement noted by NBC that she is speaking out now because “enough is enough” and “the lies must stop.”

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Needless to say, this catapults the story right back into the media narrative — and at a time when it finally seemed to be fading as the country’s attention is riveted on the Iran war and the shaky ceasefire. 

Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said he agrees with the first lady and wants to “schedule a public hearing immediately.”

The Republican chairman, James Comer, who recently subpoenaed Hillary Clinton to testify about Epstein, canceled a scheduled deposition with Pam Bondi after she was fired as attorney general. 

When Bondi testified at a disastrous hearing, she spent her time attacking the Democrats and refused to turn around and look at the victims seated behind her. 

Todd Blanche, her likely successor and now acting attorney general, has said there is no need for DOJ to do anything further on Epstein. Blanche, who interviewed Epstein’s convicted enabler, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was later transferred to a less restrictive prison, has also proclaimed his love for the president.

But the last thing Donald Trump wants is a renewed media spotlight on Epstein’s victims. 

So there is clearly some kind of distancing going on. 

What remains hazy is why Melania Trump decided to deliver this speech at the White House rather than, say, putting out a statement.

Is there an accusation, true or false, that she is trying to preempt? There is much we still don’t know. 

But like everyone else who was watching, or has since seen the clips, I view it as a stunning moment in an administration that serves them up with amazing regularity. 

A Washington state man was shot and killed by a neighbor after allegedly opening fire on two women during a domestic dispute that spilled into a nearby driveway, police said.

Officers with the Puyallup Police Department (PPD) responded around 9:10 a.m. April 2, when investigators allege 47-year-old Arnino Guanlao shot two adult female relatives after a family argument escalated outside the home.

A neighbor, who had been inside at the time, went outside and intervened, fatally shooting Guanlao, according to police.

One of the victims, 23-year-old Christiannel Lyle Macapagal Maningat, died at the scene. The second woman was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

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Authorities said the case remains under investigation, including a review of the neighbor’s use of force.

Washington law allows a person to use force to protect himself or others if he reasonably believes it is necessary, but deadly force is only justified when facing an immediate threat of serious injury or death.

“That’s under investigation as to exactly how the circumstances took place,” PPD Capt. Kevin Gill said during a press briefing.

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Witnesses described a chaotic scene as gunfire erupted in the neighborhood.

“There was a girl here who was face down, and she was still breathing a little and trying to move a little, but she wasn’t doing much. And then pretty quick a cop came on scene, and he and I pulled her out, turned her over and found her gunshot wound on her abdomen,” neighbor Michelle Weingarden-Bandes told FOX 13 Seattle.

“We are all not just in shock about what we saw, those of us who were out here this morning, but that this has happened in our neighborhood.”

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Investigators said the neighbor who shot the suspect is cooperating as detectives work to determine the circumstances of the use of force, according to FOX 13 Seattle.

Detectives are also working to determine what led to the dispute and are processing multiple sites linked to the incident, the outlet reported.

Residents reported hearing multiple gunshots during the incident.

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Law enforcement officials said detectives are continuing to interview witnesses, many of whom were left distraught by the violence.

Additional reporting by Law & Crime identified Guanlao as the victims’ stepfather and said he had been firing at his adult stepdaughters when the neighbor intervened.

Authorities have not said what sparked the initial dispute.

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The PPD said detectives with its Criminal Investigations Division, along with the Metro Cities Crime Response Unit, are continuing to investigate the incident.

Fox News Digital has reached out to police for additional information.

The violence has left the victims’ family reeling.

A GoFundMe created for the family says the victims’ mother is now caring for her surviving daughters while grieving the loss of one child and remaining at the bedside of another who is still hospitalized.

The fundraiser, which has raised nearly $19,000, says the family’s lives “changed in a matter of moments” and describes the emotional toll on the two other daughters now coping with the aftermath of the violence.

Organizers said the funds will help cover funeral costs, medical expenses and basic living needs as the family navigates the aftermath of the shooting.