60 MINUTES

You would never think some of America's biggest comedy stars found their start in the Netherlands — a country not known for its sense of humor. And yet, there's Boom Chicago, an unassuming improv theater in the heart of Amsterdam that helped launch the careers of Jordan Peele, Ike Barinholtz, and Seth Meyers, now the host of NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers." In an interview with correspondent Jon Wertheim, Meyers said his time at Boom gave him a "road map" to his big break: a job with "Saturday Night Live." "We were just so ambitious, and wanted to be funny every night… I kind of forgot that they were also giving us this road map of how to do other things," Meyers told Wertheim before a Boom Chicago reunion show. https://lnkd.in/eFu6fAU8 #Comedy #Amsterdam #Comedian

This month, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration is aiming to launch four astronauts atop a 32-story rocket on a 10-day mission around the far side of the moon. The flight of Artemis II will be NASA's first human mission to the moon since Apollo 17, 53 years ago. NASA sees it as a critical stepping stone toward its ultimate goal: landing astronauts on the lunar surface again, establishing a sustained presence there and using the moon as a gateway to future Mars missions. After a number of delays, President Trump set a goal of returning Americans to the moon by 2028, while China plans a lunar landing by 2030, making Artemis II a key leg in a 21st century space race. https://lnkd.in/e5xNDCaV #NASA #moon #spaceexploration

In 2021, 60 Minutes visited the offices of robotics company Boston Dynamics and met an early model of its humanoid robot, Atlas. It could run, jump and maintain its balance when pushed. But it was bulky, with stiff, mechanical movements. Now, Atlas can cartwheel, dance, run with human-like fluidity, twist its arms, head and torso 360 degrees, and pick itself up off of the floor using only its feet. "They call it a humanoid, but he stands up in a way no human could possibly stand up," correspondent Bill Whitaker told Overtime. "His limbs can bend in ways ours can't." https://lnkd.in/emArtWn6 #HumanoidRobot #Robotics #Humanoid #AI

When national champion Alysa Liu abruptly quit figure skating, it shocked the sport. But when she returned a few years later and became a world champion, it was even more surprising. "It's unheard of," said Olympic men's skating gold medalist Brian Boitano. "It's the biggest comeback in sports history." Even Liu admits she did not see it coming. "I didn't, you know, foresee winning Worlds, or really winning any competition," she said. https://lnkd.in/eaDahPUz #FigureSkating #FigureSkater #Comeback

Will humanoid robots take human jobs? As fears grow that AI will displace workers, Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics, says robots will change the kind of work people do. “The really repetitive, really back-breaking labor is really, is going to end up being done by robots. But these robots are not so autonomous that they don't need to be managed. They need to be built. They need to be trained. They need to be serviced,” he says. https://lnkd.in/e7MG6x7m #humanoid #robotics #AI

“I just can't believe what my eyes are seeing,” says correspondent Bill Whitaker while getting an up-close look at Atlas, a 5 feet, 9 inches, 200-pound AI-powered humanoid created by Boston Dynamics. The Massachusetts-based company is developing Atlas with the backing of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company, which owns an 88% stake in Boston Dynamics. Atlas can walk, run, and dance. We watched as the humanoid practiced autonomously sorting roof racks for Hyundai's assembly line. The robot can gain knowledge through experience. https://lnkd.in/e7MG6x7m #Humanoid #Robotics #AI #Robot

Astronaut Suni Williams says when she looked at America while in orbit, she thought of the innovation behind the U.S. space program. She wonders "where we as a country will be" in the next 250 years. 60Minutes.com #Space #Astronaut

In December 2024, 60 Minutes producer Jacqueline Williams had read an article about Nima Rinji Sherpa, a 19-year-old mountaineer from a family of Sherpas, Nepalese mountain guides who have lived and worked on Mount Everest for generations. The mountain climber had recently become the youngest person to summit the world's 14 highest mountains. "I thought… 'This kid is pretty interesting.' And [I] got in touch with him. And he happened to be on a mountain," she told 60 Minutes Overtime.  Nima told Williams that he would be going to Everest Base Camp in the spring of 2025. "And I'm thinking, 'Wow, how amazing. We could go to Everest Base Camp,'" Williams told Overtime. "But in order to do this, you need a correspondent." After Williams successfully pitched the story, she reached out to correspondent Cecilia Vega to see if she'd be interested. Within minutes, Vega responded "...YES!!" https://lnkd.in/ehzZWXJp #MountEverestBaseCamp #Mountaineering

This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Scott Pelley reports on cutting-edge drugs that can repair or replace defective genes and potentially save the lives of children with often fatal genetic diseases. But as Pelley reports on the broadcast, some of the drugs cost millions for a single dose, and some insurance plans refuse to pay for them. Along with producer Aaron Weisz and associate producer Ian Flickinger, the 60 Minutes team spoke with dozens of families who have received gene therapies to help treat a variety of genetic disorders, including sickle cell disease and blindness. Watch the full report: https://lnkd.in/e3uEbyS7

For decades, Indiana University Bloomington's college football program was the stuff of legend, but not in a good way. Correspondent Jon Wertheim was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, where IU is located. "For many, many, many years, this was a really lousy football program," Wertheim said. Indiana started this season as the losingest program in major college football history, having racked up over 700 losses. But in an epic turnaround, the Hoosiers are now undefeated, the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs, and Big Ten Champions after their win against defending national champs Ohio State. Star quarterback and winner of this year's Heisman trophy, Fernando Mendoza, said the vibe on Indiana's campus is "electric," a complete change from what it once was. "In January, I would be [walking around campus] and no one would even blink an eye, no one would even know who I was, even if I introduced myself," Mendoza said. "They were like, 'Oh, cool. Alright. Cool. Whatever.'" "And then now, whenever [they] see any of our players… a lot of people are excited about the football team, excited about the future, and excited about the playoffs." https://lnkd.in/exPPkgWV