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Well before this month's restrictions on Ukraine's military access to Elon Musk's satellite communications system, the Biden and Trump administrations had repeatedly asked SpaceX to turn its Starlink service on or off in various countries, according to six former senior...

Jonathan Capehart of MS NOW and National Review editor Ramesh Ponnuru join Geoff Bennett to discuss the week in politics, including the Trump administration's legal fight over a closely watched Senate race in Alaska, reports that Elon Musk restricted Ukraine's access to Starlink and Vivek Ramaswamy's personal ad attacking his opponent in the Ohio governor's race.

Gen. Ben Hodges (Ret.) says restrictions on Starlink service have dealt a significant blow to Ukraine's counter-drone capabilities and disrupted an early-warning system for incoming ballistic missiles. Hodges says it is bizarre for President Donald Trump to defend Elon Musk as a "good person" who would not do anything wrong, pointing to Trump's praise of Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un and comments from a Trump negotiator calling Putin a humanitarian. Hodges says he applauds first lady Melania Trump's role in helping secure relief for Ukrainian civilians, but says it represents only a small fraction of the suffering caused by Russia's war. He speaks with Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg’s "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that service remained slow from Starshield, SpaceX's military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service.

Ukraine’s military on Friday struggled with a still-slowed Starlink satellite system despite President Trump’s promise a day earlier that SpaceX owner Elon Musk had restored the service. Connections with Starshield — the military version of Starlink, a major tool for Ukraine to defend itself from missile and drone attacks from Russia — continued to fail...

Plus: All eyes on Musk amid Starlink saga {beacon} It’s Friday, and it's shaping up to be a busy one with lots of news breaking before lunchtime. Let's dive in, shall we? In today's issue: Trump heads to Florida Fight over Starlink in Ukraine drags on Omar hit with another Trump accusation LeBron shrugs...

Trump reportedly asked Musk to lift restrictions on military-grade Starlink assets in Ukraine that impacted the country’s drone capabilities.

Communications system still faces speed restrictions despite Trump claim that Musk had resumed full service Trump, Musk, Zelenskyy: who is blaming who in the Ukraine-Starlink row? Ukrainian forces continue to report widespread disruptions to the Starlink satellite network , despite Donald Trump’s claim that Elon Musk had lifted restrictions on the service. The slowdown, which has affected the key communications system used by Ukrainian troops, began last week after Trump and Starlink founder Musk publicly criticised Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, over continued strikes on Russian oil refineries. Continue reading...

The satellite service was still operating at a cap of 161km/hr, crippling key air defences But Macron’s government has ramped up restrictions and security measures to try and stop the widespread looting and ransacking we saw on the fringes of the wider peaceful demonstrations last week. What protests are planned? Both student groups and trade unions have planned rallies across the country. France’s ⁠main student union, UNEF, has called for demonstrations on Saturday and the Yellow Vest movement also filed plans to march through central Paris. There are already overnight curfews in place in Paris and many other cities. In Marseille and Lyon, the second and third-largest cities, all demonstrations have been banned for the weekend. The Marseille city government also initially said it would stop public transport running on Saturday; they’ve hastily reversed that severely unpopular decision this morning. In Paris, protesters have been told they can only march a designated route between the Bastille and Nation squares. Le Monde has this handy map on their site with all the curbs and restrictions and local curfew times Many shops and businesses, tourist sites and events are boarding up and closing for the weekend. Marseille’s business council advised shops to do so. In Paris, the Louvre Museum will be shut while the Art Basel Paris art fair is also finishing up early. On top of the protest bans and restrictions in place, the government says they’ll deploy 20% more police onto the streets this weekend Macron held a Security Council meeting on Thursday with senior ministers; he’s chairing a Defence Council meeting this morning discussing other measures with law enforcement This afternoon the French president is also due to host student protest leaders for the first time for negotiations at the Elysee. Continue reading...

A war of words has erupted over who is responsible for the restrictions on Starshield access in Ukraine A war of words has erupted between the Trump administration, officials in Kyiv and Elon Musk over who is to blame for limiting Ukraine’s access to Space X’s military-grade version of Starlink. The restrictions to Starshield have rendered many of the drones used by Kyiv to strike behind the frontlines inoperable and hampered air defence systems that stop Russian attacks, according to Ukrainian officials . Continue reading...

"Balance of Power" focuses on the intersection of politics and global business. On today's show, Celinda Lake, founder of Lake Research and a Democratic pollster whose firm has done polling for Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate campaign, says Republicans are in deep trouble, but Democrats have a lot to prove. Evelyn Farkas, McCain Institute executive director and former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, says it's a moral problem for the US that Starlink speeds were slowed while Ukrainians were trying to intercept missiles and drones targeting civilians. Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union and fifth-generation farmer in Polk County, Iowa, says both diesel prices and tariffs have been devastating for farmers. (Source: Bloomberg)

Evelyn Farkas, McCain Institute executive director and former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, says it's a moral problem for the US that Starlink speeds were slowed while Ukrainians were trying to intercept missiles and drones targeting civilians. Farkas says Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to signal openness to negotiations while maintaining his maximalist claims and continuing attacks on Ukrainians. Farkas says Putin is trying to get European countries to stop supporting Ukraine and says a diesel deal with President Donald Trump came out of a call between the two leaders. She speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on Bloomberg’s "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)

SpaceX investor Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki, said he is “disgusted” by the recent events surrounding the slowdown of Starlink services in Ukraine, which impacted the country’s military capabilities. “As a SpaceX shareholder I am disgusted,” Gerber said Wednesday during an appearance on CNN. “I think that these decisions were strategically horrendous and from...

President Trump wouldn’t say Thursday whether he was the one who called SpaceX founder Elon Musk to restore Starlink for Ukraine. “Well, I don’t want to say, but I know it was a very interesting situation,” he told reporters before departing the White House. “I don’t want to comment one way or the other.” “Whether...

Elon Musk, a critic of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had ordered the slowdown of SpaceX's Starlink, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

President Donald Trump asked Elon Musk on Wednesday to lift restrictions on Starlink satellite services in Ukraine after the SpaceX founder allegedly ordered a slowdown that hampered Ukrainian defenses against Russian attacks, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday the Trump administration was not responsible for throttled Starlink connectivity in Ukraine.

President Donald Trump reportedly called Elon Musk on Wednesday and asked the SpaceX chief to lift restrictions on a satellite communications system that had disrupted Ukrainian drone operations. Service improved Thursday, although some Ukrainian officials said it had not returned to full functionality, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. and Ukrainian officials. Trump confirmed ...

President Donald Trump spoke to SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on his company’s Starlink satellite system, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Asked if Elon Musk ordered the slowdown, Trump said, "I don't know who did it, but I was not involved."

Trump has blasted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for recently ordering strikes against Russian diesel refineries.