A historic splashdown is just days away off San Diego — and the Navy is ready to be a part of the action.
The San Diego-based USS John P. Murtha will be front and center to recover NASA’s Artemis II astronauts after their spacecraft hits the Pacific later this week, Navy officials confirmed Monday.
Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock have been drilling nonstop ahead of the high-stakes return, with the crew’s capsule expected to splash down just after 5 p.m. Friday.
In a statement, the Navy said the ship has “unique advantages” that will help with recovering the Orion capsule and gathering “critical data to help ensure it’s ready to recover the astronauts and capsule during future Artemis missions.”
An Orion test capsule floats in the ocean within the well deck of the USS John P. Murtha USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26)Crew members in hard hats and safety vests conduct recovery tests aboard the USS John P. Murtha. USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26)Naval officers explain the purpose of the bridge to a NASA associate administrator. Commander, Naval Surface Force,
The ship’s commanding officer, Capt. Erik Kenny, called the mission “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 Navy helicopter squadron based out of Naval Air Station North Island will track the capsule as it streaks through Earth’s atmosphere, then pick up the four astronauts and deliver them to the ship for evaluation, the Navy said.
Navy divers will also plunge into the ocean to recover the Orion capsule and haul it onto the ship’s deck.
Training has been nonstop in support of Space Command’s human space flight recovery mission to retrieve NASA’s Artemis II crew and spacecraft. USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26)
The dramatic return follows a history-making moment Monday, when the astronauts soared farther from Earth than any humans ever — breaking the Apollo 13 record of 248,655 miles set in 1970 during a lunar flyby, according to NASA.
Travelers wait in line at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, Texas, US, on Thursday, March 26, 2026.
Mark Felix | Bloomberg | Getty Images
TOKYO/NEW YORK — Genevieve Price considers herself a great flight hacker.
The 35-year-old naturopathic doctor based in San Diego usually buys basic economy tickets when she visits her family in New Jersey and then uses her Alaska Airlines frequent flier status to pick a seat, something that’s usually not allowed for those no-frills fares.
“I like to travel a lot,” Price told CNBC at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, where she was returning from Rome.
But Price said she has her limits, and is planning to cap the spending she does on future flights, such as no more than $900 to Rome, where her partner is from.
Consumers’ willingness to fly is being put to the test this spring as soaring fuel prices are leading to higher airfares. Cathay Pacific, SAS, Finnair and others are among the carriers that have already raised fares.
Travelers also have to contend with hourslong airport security lines in the U.S. because of the second government shutdown in half a year that’s hitting the Transportation Security Administration, leaving many frustrated.
Fuel and fares
Fuel at major U.S. airports was going for $3.98 on Wednesday, up nearly 60% since before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.
The conflict has meant crisis for the aviation industry, particularly in the Middle East, where airspace closures have forced carriers to cancel flights and take longer and costlier routes.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told reporters at a company event in Los Angeles this week that airfare could go up 20% this year. Customers appear willing to keep booking even though carriers are passing those high fuel costs along to travelers, he added.
Other airlines have also said demand has held up.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told a JPMorgan industry conference earlier this month that demand has remained strong in recent weeks and that the airline is “well-positioned” to recapture the spike in fuel from its own sales.
U.S. airlines have seen solid demand for years. International travel has been a strong point, particularly for high-end leisure travel, which has brought so many visitors that governments from Japan to Spain have taken steps to reduce overtourism, while locals have protested.
But airline executives said they will prune flights if demand falls.
“We’re certainly going to be nimble in terms of capacity to make sure that supply and demand stay in balance,” American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said at the JPMorgan conference.
United, for its part, is preparing for fuel prices to remain elevated through next year and is cutting about 3 percentage points off of its capacity in off-peak travel times, like midweek and redeye flights, Kirby told employees this month.
Fares up
Some of the higher fares are already here.
Fares for flights across the Atlantic from the U.S. were going for $1,059, with three weeks advanced purchase, up 26.5% from the prior week, according to a Deutche Bank note on Monday.
Domestic routes, including transcontinental flights and flights to and from Hawaii, were also up, the report said.
Mary Jean Erschen-Cooke, a nurse from Cuba City, Wisconsin, who was setting out earlier this month from Tokyo on a 10-day trip through Japan with her husband, Paul, said she has a host of domestic U.S. family trips this year.
“We haven’t booked our flights, but we should,” she said, adding that she and her husband would consider driving for one of them. She noted that gasoline prices are also up, which will affect driving.
Security snarls
The TSA PreCheck line at terminal B in LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, on March 27, 2026.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
Along with higher airfare, travelers are facing challenges at airports this spring.
TSA officers have been working without regular pay since Feb. 14 because of an impasse in Congress over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Nearly 500 TSA officers have quit, according to DHS and elevated call-outs have left airports short-staffed.
That’s led to long security lines at major airports around the U.S., including in Houston, New York, and Atlanta. Wait times have exceeded three hours in some locations — longer than some of the flights those airports offered — as lines have snaked through terminals and outside of airports.
Elizabeth Leddy, a 38-year-old classical pianist based in New York, said she flies several times a year. The long security lines, which were running nearly 90 minutes at LaGuardia Airport for TSA PreCheck flyers on Friday, could be a deterrent for her doing that in the future.
Leddy said that if the security line was three to four hours long, “I feel like I could just drive.”
DHS has blamed Democrats for the closure, which has become the longest partial shutdown in U.S. history. As of Friday afternoon, the Senate had passed a potential deal to end the shutdown, thought its fate was unclear.
President Donald Trump separately said he would sign an order to get the more than 50,000 TSA officers paid. TSA officers will start getting paychecks as early as Monday, DHS said Friday.
The Trump administration this week sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to several U.S. airports, though DHS hasn’t specified what their duties are. ICE officers, who also sit under the DHS umbrella, are still getting paid during the partial shutdown.
ICE officers were seen at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Friday morning watching security lines.
“Even if this manages to slightly reduce wait times (we’re still reading about terrible wait times, so we’re far from big improvement), ICE presence could cause some individuals to fear traveling and upset TSA workers not getting paid,” Bernstein said in a note on Thursday. “Seems possible passenger throughput softens over the coming days and TSA screening YoY growth for this week turns slightly negative.”
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Major League Baseball star Merrill Kelly will pocket nearly $2.5 million more per year over the next two seasons of his $40 million deal by signing in Arizona instead of California.
The massive difference in cash reflects the spread in state income taxes as well as California’s disability insurance levy and typical property tax differences on a luxury home.
However, the overwhelming driver of the disparity is state income tax.
California’s top marginal rate reaches 13.3% — a 12.3% bracket plus an additional 1% Mental Health Services Tax on income above $1 million. On a $20 million salary, that translates to roughly $2.63 million owed to the state.
Merrill Kelly cited California’s tax burden as a key reason he spurned the San Diego Padres and returned home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Getty Images
Arizona, by contrast, imposes a flat 2.5% income tax regardless of earnings. On the same $20 million contract, the bill comes to about $500,000.
That difference alone — approximately $2.13 million per year — accounts for nearly all of the gap.
California also withholds 1.3% for State Disability Insurance, with no wage cap. On a $20 million salary, that’s another roughly $260,000 — a levy Arizona does not impose.
Property taxes and sales taxes pale in comparison.
On a $10 million home, California’s effective property tax rate of roughly 0.70% would translate to about $70,000 annually, versus roughly $44,000 in Arizona at an effective rate near 0.44% — a difference of around $26,000 per year.
Kelly will save nearly $2.5 million more annually by signing with Arizona instead of a California club. AP
Even if the home price climbs higher, the property tax gap amounts to tens of thousands
Sales taxes vary by city and spending habits, but they are unlikely to materially alter the overall gap.
For example, if a player spent $1 million annually on taxable goods, a roughly 1 to 1.5 percentage-point difference between jurisdictions would amount to about $10,000 to $15,000 per year.
Even with lavish consumption, the sales tax impact would likely total tens of thousands.
The eye-popping gap came into focus after veteran right-hander Kelly cited California’s tax burden as a key reason he spurned the San Diego Padres and returned home to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“It’s just, like I said, they take too much money out of my pocket, man,” Kelly said. “The taxes over there are a different level.” IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“I don’t think it’s any secret on how much money you get taken out of your pocket when you go to California,” the 37-year-old said.
“It’s just, like I said, they take too much money out of my pocket, man. The taxes over there are a different level.”
After mulling over a potential tax bill, the decision became clear.
“We had my numbers guy run the numbers, and it just made more sense to come home,” Kelly said.
Kelly isn’t the only professional athlete that has been impacted by the taxman in the Golden State.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold will owe California roughly $249,000 in “jock taxes” after winning Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara — about $71,000 more than the $178,000 he earned for the game.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold will owe California roughly $249,000 in “jock taxes” after winning Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara. Getty Images
The bill stems from California’s rule that forces out-of-state athletes to pay state income tax based on the number of “duty days” they work in the state, with Darnold and the Seahawks accumulating eight days during their Super Bowl trip.
The $249,000 California bill was calculated by taking Darnold’s $35 million annual salary, dividing it by his total duty days for the year (roughly 200), then multiplying by the 8 duty days in California, and applying California’s13.3% rate.
If you swap in Arizona’s 2.5% rate with the same formula, Darnold’s bill would have been roughly $47,000 instead of $249,000 — about 80% less. He still would have come out ahead of his $178,000 Super Bowl bonus rather than losing money on it.
So the difference between playing the Super Bowl in California vs. Arizona would have been roughly $200,000 in Darnold’s pocket.
