SpaceX and Tesla May Merge, Witkoff Visits Russia, and Kansas Eyes a Political Upset

Elon Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, has made its first profit ever. Musk is now strongly hinting that SpaceX and his electric car company, Tesla, could merge into one giant company. Both companies have set up special teams to study whether a deal makes sense. Experts say this could become the largest corporate merger in history.

There are two big hurdles to any SpaceX-Tesla deal. First, China is a problem because SpaceX does key work for the U.S. military while Tesla builds many cars in China. Second, regulators across the globe would need to approve a deal covering defense, space, AI, and more. Editor Joe Brock called it an 'incredibly complex deal' that officials in many countries would study closely.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin. This came one day after he held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Oslo, Norway. Zelensky said Ukraine is once again getting early warnings about Russian missile attacks. These warnings help protect people from harm.

Ukraine says Starlink satellite internet stopped working on some fast-moving drones it uses in battle. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Trump administration did not order a Starlink slowdown. The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk himself ordered a slowdown of Starshield, the military version of Starlink. Reuters could not confirm the report, and no one from Musk's team responded to questions.

NATO is sending more aircraft, drones, and radar to the Black Sea after deadly drone strikes hit commercial ships. Two chemical tankers were struck near Romania's coast last week, and dozens of sailors are missing or dead. NATO has not publicly blamed anyone for the attacks. Military analysts believe Russia carried them out, but Moscow has not admitted responsibility.

In Kansas, a close Senate race is turning heads across the country. It has been 94 years since the state elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. This year, Democrat and pastor Adam Hamilton is trying to break that long losing streak. Polls show the race is surprisingly tight in one of the most Republican states in the nation.

Kansas farmers say rising fuel costs are hurting their businesses. Tariffs have made gas and diesel more expensive for farm equipment. Wheat farmers Vance and Louise Ehmke said fuel has added $50,000 in unexpected costs to their farm this year. Louise Ehmke said they plan to vote for 'the candidate that is pro-farmer.'

Immigration raids have also changed the mood in parts of Kansas. ICE agents conducted raids in Garden City, Dodge City, and Liberal — towns with large meat-packing plants that employ many immigrants. Community organizers say more people have signed up to vote because of the raids. Both immigration and farm costs are pushing some traditional Republican voters to look at new choices.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll asked Americans what should happen when an execution fails. About one-third said the government should try again, while 39 percent said the prisoner should serve life in prison. The rest were not sure. The question got attention after a Tennessee inmate survived two failed lethal injection attempts last month.

China's biggest tech companies have ordered more than three million of Nvidia's newest graphics chips. The chips have not even been released yet, showing how desperate companies are for technology to build AI systems. U.S. rules limit which Nvidia chips can be sold in China, so firms are rushing to buy allowed models. Nvidia has warned it may not be able to fill all the orders because demand already exceeds its planned supply.