Artemis II's moon shot, the great KitKat caper: Week in review

Robert Abitbol, USA TODAYSat, April 4, 2026 at 9:02 AM UTC

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Artemis crew is bound for the moon

“Houston is a go for the burn.” And with those words from Mission Control on April 2, the Artemis II astronauts were given the green light to fire up their engine, leave Earth orbit and head for their historic rendezvous with the moon. The translunar injection maneuver, or TLI, began at 7:49 p.m. ET., lasted just under six minutes and was “flawless,” NASA said. Now the wonders of orbital mechanics will carry the crew to the moon, around the far side and back to Earth. If all goes well, the moon flyby will begin on Monday, April 6. Reported Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen to Houston: “The crew‘s feeling pretty good up here.”

‘Godspeed, Artemis II’: The historic launch in images: Americans look to the sky

New COVID strain ‘Cicada’ is out there

COVID-19 hasn’t been in the headlines much lately, but health authorities now say a new variant is gaining a foothold after being detected in at least 25 states. The “Cicada” strain, known scientifically as BA.3.2, is “highly mutated,” experts said, and can more easily beat vaccines and resistance built up in human immune systems. It’s named for the infamous periodically emerging insects because it has largely remained undetected, or “underground,” Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr. of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases told USA TODAY. He said new infections could bring the nation another “summer surge.”

Reported missing: 413,793 KitKat bars

Twelve tons of KitKat bars shaped like Formula One cars never made it to the finish line: They were stolen first. Swiss food producer Nestlé, which distributes the bars worldwide, reported that a truckload of the bars − 413,793 of them − was stolen after it left a production site in central Italy. (KitKat has a partnership with F1 as its official candy bar.) The company has even launched a “stolen KitKat tracker” that consumers can use by entering the eight-digit batch code on the back of the bars. Though KitKat bemoaned a rise in cargo theft, it did note it appreciated the criminals’ “exceptional taste.”

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The great chocolate caper: Nestlé says shipment of 413,793 KitKat bars was stolen

King Charles will visit White House

King Charles has visited the United States plenty of times, but never as His Majesty. Now Buckingham Palace has confirmed Charles and Queen Camilla will make the trip across the pond in late April, the first state visit for Charles, 77, since he became king in 2022. “Their Majesties the King and Queen have accepted President Trump’s generous invitation,” said Christian Turner, Britain’s U.S. ambassador. Charles visited the United States 19 times as Prince of Wales; his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, made four state visits over her 70-year reign. Trump visited Britain in September, his second state visit.

Fond farewells to Sugar the Surfing Dog

Huntington Beach, California, was in mourning for Sugar the Surfing Dog, the first dog to be inducted into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame. She died of cancer on March 30 at age 16. Sugar, who was found as a stray, became a therapy dog for veterans and gained fame as a five-time dog surfing world champion after she took to riding the swells with her owner, Ryan Rustan. “She lived to put smiles on faces,“ Rustan posted on Instagram. Said the City of Huntington Beach: “Sugar wasn’t just a champion on the waves − she was a symbol of joy, resilience and purpose.“ − Compiled and written by Robert Abitbol

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Artemis II's moon shot, the great KitKat caper: Week in review

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