By Jeff Zeleny, Kit Maher, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump sought to reshape the Kentucky Senate race on Friday to fill the seat of Sen. Mitch McConnell, delivering an endorsement of Rep. Andy Barr moments after offering a rival candidate an ambassadorship as an enticement to leave the race.

The president offered his endorsement of Barr after announcing that he had asked Nate Morris, an ally of Vice President JD Vance, to step aside and join the Trump administration. The Republican candidates are vying to fill the seat of McConnell, who is retiring after more than four decades. McConnell helped shepherd Trump’s first term agenda, including the approval of three Supreme Court nominees, but has since clashed with Trump and has not played a central role in the Kentucky race to replace him.

“I’ve asked Nate to step aside from that Race to take a role in my Administration as an Ambassador,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday night moments before endorsing Barr, whom he called “the only Candidate who will easily defeat the Democrat in what will be one of the most important Elections in American History.”

While Trump’s announcements on Friday night involved the Senate race, the White House has kept an even closer watch on a key House primary unfolding in Kentucky.

Trump visited the state in March to personally campaign against a Republican incumbent, Rep. Thomas Massie. Trump has labeled Massie “a moron” and a “disgrace” for often going against the grain of the party on spending bills and other issues, including pushing for the release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files.

Massie is locked in a close GOP primary with Ed Gallrein, whom Trump helped recruit into the race and endorse. But Massie is campaigning aggressively ahead of the May 19 primary, creating concern among some White House advisers that Trump could be embarrassed if Gallrein does not prevail.

The decision Friday to suddenly weigh in on the Senate race, by endorsing Barr and offering Morris an ambassadorship, underscored how important a Kentucky win has become for Trump.

A Republican strategist with longtime ties to Kentucky races told CNN the maneuvering in the Senate race was done with the Massie contest in mind.

The president’s actions came suddenly, with Morris, Barr and a third candidate, Daniel Cameron, actively campaigning for the May 19 primary.

Morris said Friday night he was proud to join the Trump administration “representing Kentucky and America on the global stage” but did not specify what exact role he would be taking.

“When President Trump asks you to serve your nation, you answer the call,” Morris wrote on X.

This is not the first time Trump has attempted to reshape a key race by offering a candidate a job in his administration. In March, Trump announced on Truth Social that he asked Hope Scheppelman, someone he had already endorsed for Colorado’s 3rd District, to step aside and make way for GOP Rep. Jeff Hurd. In exchange, he said he would be announcing roles for Scheppelman and her husband in the administration. It’s not yet clear what roles they will be taking on.

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VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (KEYT) – A Falcon 9 launch of the CAS500-2 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East is scheduled for the first half hour of Sunday, May 3, 2026.

The 37-minute launch window will being in the final minute of Saturday, May 2, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time and end in the first 36 minutes of Sunday, May 3, 2026 at 12:36 a.m. and a backup window has been designated at the same time starting the final minute of Sunday, May 3 and extending into the first half hour of Monday, May 4.

According to Vandenberg Space Force Base, the two-day spanning launch window is to accomodate the satellites insertion into a sun-synchronous orbit.

The Korean Aerospace Research Institute's second Compact Advanced Satellite 500, or CAS500-2, is a satellite destined for a sun-synchronous, low-Earth orbit and will capture images of our planet in panchromatic and multispectral modes using an onboard, advanced Earth imaging sensor system.

The Next-Generation Medium-Sized Satellite program was initially launched in 2015 and is the result of the Korea Multi-purpose Satellite program first established in 1994, detailed the Korean Aerospace Research Institute.

This will be the second of two 500 kilogram satellites part of the first-phase of the South Korean program which intends to move to the deployment of three medium-sized satellites in the program's second stage shared the Korean Aerospace Research Institute.

The first CAS500 satellite was launched in 2020 using two Soyuz-2-1a Fregat rockets from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and sanctions pushed the launch of the CAS500-2 mission back from its originally scheduled launch time and resulted in the use of SpaceX's Falcon 9 booster.

There will be a total of 45 payloads aboard the CAS500-2 mission from both governmental and private organizations noted SpaceX.

A full history of the South Korean space agency can be found here.

A live webcast of the launch will begin about 15 minutes before liftoff. You can tune in to watch here or on SpaceX's X/Twitter account.

Following first-stage separation, the booster assigned to this mission will return to Earth to land at Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

A depiction of that launch sequence is shown in the image below.

By Marnie Hunter, CNN

(CNN) — The weekend has turned into a white-knuckle affair for travelers with Spirit Airlines tickets as they wait to see how the airline’s financial troubles will play out.

A proposed government bailout of the airline, which has been struggling to emerge from its second bankruptcy, was uncertain on Friday, with reports that Spirit Airlines was preparing to shutter operations early Saturday.

Thousands of passengers could immediately be stranded if Spirit halts service.

“If you have a ticket booked on Spirit, I would be rebooking on another airline if you really have to travel,” Becky Blaine, managing editor of The Points Guy, told CNN on Friday.

Earlier Friday, a Spirit Airlines spokesperson told CNN the airline had no direct comment on published reports of a possible shutdown. “Spirit is operating as usual,” the spokesperson said.

But traveler anxiety is no doubt much higher than usual. Here’s what passengers need to know right now:

Will other airlines step in to help stranded passengers?

Yes, other US carriers told CNN they would support affected passengers.

Exact measures weren’t spelled out in every case, but American Airlines said it had “immediately implemented fare caps on Main Cabin tickets for Spirit routes where we also offer nonstop service.”

United, Allegiant and Frontier also said they would try to help affected passengers.

US Department of Transportation guidance about airline service cessations encourages travelers to check with other airlines “to see if they will accept your ticket, on a confirmed or standby basis, or will offer you a discount on a new ticket by waiving advance purchase requirements or other restrictions.”

Katy Nastro, a travel expert with Going.com, referred to those accommodations as “rescue fares” and said they may be limited. “Rebook with those carriers ASAP.”

If an airline stops operating, can I get my money back?

Maybe.

“In these cases, travelers aren’t left with many options to get their money back,” Nastro said of airlines ceasing service.

“Technically your right to a refund stands, yet if no airline exists to pay out for the cancellation, travelers usually are the end of the line to see any money,” Nastro said.

The DOT points to the best options in its guidance.

“Even if the airline has ceased flying, you may be able to obtain a refund through the credit card company you used to purchase the ticket or from your travel insurance company,” the DOT says, adding some guidance about how to go about seeking refunds. Do it quickly: You generally have 60 days on credit card charges, although sometimes that limit is waived for future transportation, the DOT notes.

That lines up with Nastro’s advice.

She said credit cards are usually the only way to see a refund — through the Fair Credit Billing Act.

“Don’t cancel anything as you need proof of having had ‘services not rendered,’” Nastro warned. Wait for Spirit to cancel, otherwise passengers may lose what little recourse they have, she said.

Blaine added that travel insurance coverage is iffy. “If you book with a credit card, the bankruptcy of an airline is specifically not covered under the travel insurance policy by your credit card,” she said. “If you have additional travel insurance, you can check that; it might be covered.”

CNN’s Chris Isidore, Aaron Cooper and Alexandra Skores contributed to this report.

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By Todd Symons, Fred He and Martha Zhou, CNN

Beijing (CNN) — In the flagship Beijing store of the world’s biggest drone maker, display racks designed to showcase DJI’s famous flying products sit awkwardly empty.

The Chinese capital is now effectively drone-free. Under sweeping new rules that took effect May 1, you cannot buy, rent, or fly them without approval within the city’s sprawling jurisdiction – a stunning turnaround considering China is both the birthplace of and the dominant force in the consumer drone industry.

Diehard enthusiasts rushed to electronics stores across Beijing this week for last-chance purchases before the remaining stock was pulled from the shelves.

Zoe Zhao, 44, said “many models had already sold out” by the time she got to the DJI store, adding that she only managed to buy one because someone who had reserved it couldn’t make it back to Beijing.

The Beijing resident then had to register with local police and on an official app, before completing a 30-minute exam at home.

The strict regulations are designed to “strengthen the management of unmanned aerial vehicles” and “safeguard the security of the capital,” municipal authorities said.

But they also reflect China’s tightening grip on drones and cast uncertainty over the country’s low-altitude economy – a national “priority” sector encompassing UAVs and flying cars.

Drones have become ubiquitous in China – popular with recreational photographers, used in food delivery and farming, and even replacing fireworks as the star attraction during holidays and celebrations.

By the end of 2025, the number of drones officially registered reached over three million nationwide. And the rapid spread in recent years has heightened security concerns across the country, particularly in the capital, where sensitive military and political sites are concentrated.

Official concerns appear to stem from not just the spying capabilities of drones but also the lethal potential they have –– as displayed on the battlefields of the Russia-Ukraine war, where retrofitted recreational drones have been used to kill.

Sweeping ban

The capital already had tighter restrictions, with a no-fly zone that kept expanding over recent years.

Under the new rules, drones and key components cannot even be transported into Beijing without permission. They can now only be carried by registered owners who have verified themselves with local police.

The all-out ban also prohibits them from being kept at “storage sites” in the city’s urban core and forbids the “hacking” of drone systems.

The new policy raises questions for international travelers visiting or transiting through Beijing with drones in their luggage, an issue not explicitly clarified in the regulation announcement. CNN sought comment from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, but it has not yet responded.

It also adds to the frustrations of existing drone users in Beijing. Under the new rules, they won’t even be able to repair or replace their drones in the city, a store worker told Chinese state-backed media Cover News. Many users in the city also complained online about confusion over how the rules should be interpreted.

Steven Wang, a university student and drone enthusiast, used to fly his drone in designated areas on the outskirts of the capital before the ban put an end to that.

Now, all three of his drones are stored at home in Hebei, the province surrounding Beijing, which also has tightened regulations. “I have to apply for permission for each flight, which is very inconveni

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