Elon Musk and Sen. Mark Kelly sparred on X today, with the tech billionaire calling Kelly, a former Navy combat pilot, a "traitor" over a series of posts the Democratic senator wrote about his recent visit to Ukraine.

In his initial post, Kelly said that his trip to the war-torn country had reaffirmed his commitment to not give up on the Ukrainian people, adding that any peace deal "has to protect Ukraine’s security and can’t be a giveaway to Putin." Kelly also criticized Trump, saying the president was "trying to weaken Ukraine's hand."

"You are a traitor," Musk wrote in response to Kelly's posts.

"Traitor? Elon, if you don’t understand that defending freedom is a basic tenet of what makes America great and keeps us safe, maybe you should leave it to those of us who do," Kelly responded.

Vice President JD Vance was interrupted by protesters while delivering remarks this afternoon focused on housing costs at the National League of Cities conference in Washington, D.C.

The first of two interruptions came when Vance argued that illegal immigration was one of the drivers of increased housing demand and rising prices.

“You see a very consistent relationship between a massive increase in immigration and a massive increase in housing prices, and we have to be honest about that,” Vance was saying, as he was interrupted by a shouting protester.

Trump’s sweeping pardon of participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot does not extend to the separate crimes of one rioter who plotted to murder the law enforcement agents who investigated him, U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan ruled today.

Edward Kelley, who was convicted on Jan. 6 charges after the government presented extensive evidence showing he was the fourth rioter to breach the Capitol after assaulting law enforcement, was pardoned by Trump along with more than 1,500 other convicted rioters. But Kelley had separately been charged with plotting to murder law enforcement officers involved in the investigation in a separate case. Kelley was convicted on those charges by a federal jury in Tennessee in November, and he is set to be sentenced on May 7.

The Justice Department has flip-flopped on the extent of Trump’s Jan. 6 pardon in other cases involving guns found in the homes of Capitol rioters, arguing that the president’s action should also give defendants a clean slate on other crimes or charges discovered in the course of Jan. 6 investigations.

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As part of Pentagon's efforts to reduce costs, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to announce an initiative to cut as many as 10% of all general officer and flag officer billets, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning.

The effort, which has not been announced publicly, would call for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Space Force to cut the total number of generals and admirals 8% to 10%, the officials explained.

NASA is shutting down three of its offices to comply with Trump's executive orders that aim to slash the federal workforce.

The agency said that it is beginning a "phased approach to a reduction in force," and is closing NASA's Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy; the Office of the Chief Scientist, and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Branch of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

In a statement to NBC News, NASA officials said "a small number of individuals" were affected by the cuts, but did not specify how many workers were laid off.

In an email distributed to NASA employees, and obtained by NBC News, NASA’s acting administrator Janet Petro said the agency is “making difficult adjustments,” and “doing what is statutorily required of us, while also providing American citizens with an efficient and effective agency.”

"Our colleagues impacted by these changes have been valued members of our team. Their hard work has helped shape our successes in recent years, and we are deeply grateful for all they have contributed," Petro wrote in the email.

The reduction in force underway at NASA is distinct from sweeping cuts at other agencies, led by DOGE, which implemented mass terminations of “probationary” employees who were relatively new to their government jobs or roles.

Trump’s sweeping pardons of Jan. 6 rioters do not extend to the activities of a Capitol rioter who then plotted to murder the FBI special agents who investigated him, U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan of the Eastern District of Tennessee ruled Monday.

Edward Kelley was the fourth rioter to breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Trump pardoned him and more than 1,500 other Capitol rioter defendants for their crimes on the day of his inauguration. But this case is about wholly separate conduct: His conviction for plotting to murder law enforcement officers involved in the investigation. Kelley was convicted for those crimes in November, and is set to be sentenced on May 7. 

While the Justice Department has reversed itself on the extent of Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons on other cases, they’ve consistently maintained that Trump did not intend to pardon Kelley (nor another Jan. 6er facing child pornography charges). 

The acting administrator of the General Services Administration informed employees today that those who are eligible can take an early retirement, noting that "additional restructuring and reductions" at the agency are coming.

In an email shared with NBC News, Stephen Ehikian, the acting GSA administrator, wrote that as the agency prepares "for additional restructuring and reductions, it is important to share that GSA has received authority from" the Office of Personnel Management to offer the voluntary early retirement program "to all eligible employees, including those impacted by the" reduction in force.

Ehikian noted that the early retirement program, VERA, "is often used by agencies undergoing reductions and restructuring as a means of achieving their workforce goals with less disruption to individuals and work units."

"I encourage each of you to consider your options as we move forward," Ehikian wrote. "The new GSA will be slimmer, more efficient, and laser-focused on efficiency and high-value outcomes."

Three separate outages appear to have hit Elon Musk’s X social media site today.

Thousands of reports of trouble accessing or using the site were first registered by Downdetector.com around 5:30 a.m. ET. It took about an hour before those issues subsided.

Then, around 9:30 a.m., the issues appeared to flare up again, with as many as 40,000 outage reports detected. It again took about an hour for that incident to dissipate.

Finally, around 11:10 a.m., the issues cropped up again, according to Downdetector.

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