Trump and Musk's relationship flames out just as intensely and publicly as it started

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s alliance took off like one of SpaceX’s rockets. It was supercharged and soared high. And then it blew up.

The spectacular flameout Thursday peaked as Trump threatened to cut Musk’s government contracts and Musk claimed that Trump's administration hasn't released all the records related to sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein because Trump is mentioned in them.

The tech entrepreneur even shared a post on social media calling for Trump's impeachment and skewered the president's signature tariffs, predicting a recession this year.

The messy blow-up between the president of the United States and the world’s richest man played out on their respective social media platforms after Trump was asked during a White House meeting with Germany’s new leader about Musk's criticism of his spending bill.

Trump had largely remained silent as Musk stewed over the last few days on his social media platform X, condemning the president's so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” But Trump clapped back Thursday in the Oval Office, saying he was “very disappointed in Musk.”

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Russian missile and drone attack across Ukraine wounds at least 3 and causes damage

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine was under an ongoing Russian ballistic missile and drone attack early Friday that wounded at least three people, officials said.

Multiple explosions were heard in the capital, Kyiv, where falling debris sparked fires across several districts as air defense systems attempted to intercept incoming targets, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration.

Three people were wounded, local officials said. They urged residents to seek shelter.

“Our air defense crews are doing everything possible. But we must protect one another — stay safe,” Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.

Authorities reported damage in several districts, and rescue workers were responding at multiple locations.

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Man accused of yelling ‘Free Palestine’ and firebombing demonstrators charged with attempted murder

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A man accused of yelling “Free Palestine” and throwing Molotov cocktails at demonstrators calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza was charged with 118 counts including attempted murder in a Colorado court Thursday.

Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, who has been jailed since his arrest following Sunday's attack, was advised of the charges during a hearing in Boulder, where he appeared in person. Investigators say Soliman, who posed as a gardener, planned it for a year.

The 118 counts include attempt to commit murder, assault in the first and third degrees, use of explosive or incendiary devices and animal cruelty. He has also been charged with a hate crime in federal court and is jailed on a $10 million cash bond.

Soliman’s attorney, Kathryn Herold, waived a formal reading of the charges Thursday. A preliminary hearing has been set for July 15 to determine whether the state has enough evidence to move forward.

“The charges reflect the evidence that we have regarding this horrific attack that took place and the seriousness of it,” Michael Dougherty, the Boulder County district attorney, said at a news conference after the hearing.

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Harvard files legal challenge over Trump's ban on foreign students. Overseas, admitted students wait

Winning admission to Harvard University fulfilled a longtime goal for Yonas Nuguse, a student in Ethiopia who endured a war in the country's Tigray region, internet and phone shutdowns, and the COVID-19 pandemic — all of which made it impossible to finish high school on time.

Now, it’s unclear if he will make it this fall to the Ivy League campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He and other admitted students around the world are anxiously tracking the school's feud with the Trump administration, which is seeking to keep it from enrolling international students.

On Thursday, Harvard challenged President Donald Trump's latest move to bar foreign students from entering the U.S. to attend the college, calling it illegal retaliation for Harvard’s rejection of White House demands. In an amended lawsuit filed Thursday, Harvard said the president was attempting an end-run around a previous court order. Last month, a federal judge blocked the Department of Homeland Security from revoking Harvard’s certification to host foreign students.

Increasingly, the nation’s oldest and best-known university has attracted some of the brightest minds from around the world, with international students accounting for one-quarter of its enrollment. As Harvard’s fight with the administration plays out, foreign students can only wait to find out if they'll be able to attend the school at all. Some are weighing other options.

For Nuguse, 21, the war in Ethiopia forced schools to close in many parts of the province. After schooling resumed, he then took a gap year to study and save money to pay for his TOEFL English proficiency test in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.

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Netanyahu says Israel has 'activated' some Palestinian clans opposed to Hamas

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel has “activated” some clans of Palestinians in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas, though it was not immediately clear what role they would play.

His comments on social media were the first public acknowledgment of Israel’s backing of armed Palestinian groups within Gaza, based around powerful clans or extended families.

Such clans often wield some control in corners of Gaza, and some have had clashes or tensions with Hamas in the past. Palestinians and aid workers have accused clans of carrying out criminal attacks and stealing aid from trucks. Several clans have issued public statements rejecting cooperation with the Israelis or denouncing looting.

An Israeli official said that one group that Netanyahu was referring to was the so-called Popular Forces, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a local clan leader in Gaza's southernmost city, Rafah. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

In recent weeks, the Abu Shabab group announced online that its fighters were helping protect shipments to the new, Israeli-backed food distribution centers run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Rafah area. But some Palestinians say the group has also been involved in attacking and looting aid convoys.

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A Massachusetts student arrested by ICE on his way to volleyball practice has been released

CHELMSFORD, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts high school student who was arrested by immigration agents on his way to volleyball practice has been released from custody after a judge granted him bond Thursday.

Marcelo Gomes da Silva, 18, who came to the U.S. from Brazil at age 7, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Saturday. Authorities have said the agents were looking for the Milford High School teenager's father, who owns the car Gomes da Silva was driving at the time and had parked in a friend's driveway.

Speaking with members of the media outside the detention center shortly after his release on $2,000 bond, Gomes da Silva described “humiliating” conditions and said his faith helped him through his six days of detention.

On his wrist, he wore a bracelet made from the thin sheet of metallic blanket he was given to sleep on the cement floor.

“I’ll always remember this place,” he said. “I’ll always remember how it was.”

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Supreme Court makes it easier to claim 'reverse discrimination' in employment, in a case from Ohio

WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court made it easier Thursday to bring lawsuits over so-called reverse discrimination, siding with an Ohio woman who claims she didn’t get a job and then was demoted because she is straight.

The justices’ decision affects lawsuits in 20 states and the District of Columbia where, until now, courts had set a higher bar when members of a majority group, including those who are white and heterosexual, sue for discrimination under federal law.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote for the court that federal civil rights law draws no distinction between members of majority and minority groups.

“By establishing the same protections for every ‘individual’ — without regard to that individual’s membership in a minority or majority group — Congress left no room for courts to impose special requirements on majority-group plaintiffs alone,” Jackson wrote.

The court ruled in an appeal from Marlean Ames, who has worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services for more than 20 years.

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Trump announces travel ban and restrictions on 19 countries set to go into effect Monday

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term, announcing that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions.

The ban takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m., a cushion that may avoid the chaos that unfolded at airports nationwide when a similar measure took effect with virtually no notice in 2017. Trump, who signaled plans for a new ban upon taking office in January, appears to be on firmer ground this time after the Supreme Court sided with him.

Some, but not all, 12 countries also appeared on the list of banned countries in Trump's first term. The new ban includes Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

There will be heightened restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

In a video released on social media, Trump tied the new ban to Sunday's terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. The suspect in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump’s restricted list. The Department of Homeland Security says he overstayed a tourist visa.

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Private lunar lander from Japan crashes into moon in failed mission

A private lunar lander from Japan crashed while attempting a touchdown Friday, the latest casualty in the commercial rush to the moon.

The Tokyo-based company ispace declared the mission a failure several hours after communication was lost with the lander. Flight controllers scrambled to gain contact, but were met with only silence and said they were concluding the mission.

Communications ceased less than two minutes before the spacecraft’s scheduled landing on the moon with a mini rover. Until then, the descent from lunar orbit seemed to be going well.

CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada apologized to everyone who contributed to the mission, the second lunar strikeout for ispace.

Two years ago, the company’s first moonshot ended in a crash landing, giving rise to the name “Resilience” for its successor lander. Resilience carried a rover with a shovel to gather lunar dirt as well as a Swedish artist’s toy-size red house for placement on the moon’s dusty surface.

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Aaron Rodgers ends months-long dance with Steelers by agreeing to a 1-year deal

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin are taking their long-simmering bromance to the next level.

The four-time NFL MVP ended months of “Will he? Or won’t he?” speculation by agreeing to a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, pending the 41-year-old passing a physical.

The Steelers and Rodgers had been circling each other for months. Rodgers even visited the team’s facility in late March, driving in undercover in a nondescript sedan wearing a hat and sunglasses.

While there were plenty of nice words from both sides in the aftermath, Rodgers didn’t rush to put pen to paper, telling “The Pat McAfee Show” in April that his attention was focused on helping people in his inner circle who were “battling some difficult stuff” and that he didn’t want to decide until he knew he could fully commit.

With mandatory minicamp coming next week, Rodgers apparently finds himself in a place where he can give the Steelers his full attention.

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