5 things to know for April 2: Elections, Tariffs, Israel, Federal layoffs, Health funding
By Jade Walker, CNN
(CNN) — More than 100 hours after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar, search teams rescued a survivor from the rubble in Naypyidaw. As the tired and disheveled man was extricated from the broken slabs of concrete, he and the rescuers received a round of applause.
Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.
1. Elections
Judge Susan Crawford will defeat Judge Brad Schimel and win Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race, CNN projects. Her victory will maintain a 4-3 liberal majority on the court in the battleground state. Although the contest was officially nonpartisan, Schimel had the backing of tech billionaire-turned-White House adviser Elon Musk, who poured millions into the race, as well as President Donald Trump. With those outside forces involved, it became the most expensive judicial contest in US history. “Wisconsinites stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price — our courts are not for sale,” Crawford said in her acceptance speech on Tuesday night. In Florida, voters selected Republicans Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine to replace former Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz. With the wins, the GOP will have a bit more breathing room in the House where it holds a narrow majority.
2. Tariffs
President Trump’s much-hyped “Liberation Day” has arrived, and with it, the expected revelation of his latest tariff plans. Under his “America First” doctrine, Trump has announced 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports and a 25% tariff on foreign cars, which is set to go into effect on Thursday. A 25% tariff on foreign auto parts is scheduled to begin in early May. He’s also levied an additional 20% tariff on Chinese goods and threatened to issue 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. In a possible escalation of the trade war, these countries, along with the EU, Japan and South Korea, have begun preparing retaliatory plans. The current and proposed tariffs have already diminished much of the goodwill the US had with its neighbors. Canadian citizens have responded to Trump’s tariff threats — and his suggestion that Canada should become America’s 51st state — by canceling travel to the US, ditching American-made products and booing the national anthem at basketball and hockey games.
3. Israel
Israel announced a major expansion of its military operation in Gaza today, one that will involve seizing large areas of land from the Palestinians in an effort to “crush and clear the area of terrorists and terror infrastructure.” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the operation will involve a “large-scale evacuation of Gaza’s population,” after which time these areas will be “incorporated into Israel’s security zones.” Since breaking the two-month-old ceasefire with Hamas two weeks ago, Israel has resumed its attacks on Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians, according to officials in the enclave. Israel has also continued to block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, and the UN has warned that food supplies are running out. A lack of flour and fuel has also caused all 25 of the World Food Programme’s bakeries in Gaza to shut down. The closures are likely to accelerate the spread of famine, the head of the local Bakery Owners’ Association told the Palestinian Press Agency Safa.
4. Federal layoffs
The Trump administration initiated another wave of drastic workforce reductions on Tuesday, this time focusing on employees at US health agencies. Although the exact number of layoffs was not released, one FDA employee called it a “bloodbath.” Broad cuts were enacted at CDC divisions working on chronic illness, workplace health and safety, HIV, injury prevention, reproductive health, smoking and violence prevention. At the FDA, the entire staff of the press office as well as employees working in the Office of New Drugs, the Office of Policy & International Engagement and the Office of Regulatory Programs were put on leave. Everyone at the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides millions of poor and working-class Americans with assistance for their heating and cooling bills, was terminated. Layoffs also hit the entire staff at the HHS Administration for Children and Families, a division that provides support for child care, family violence prevention, refugee resettlement and Head Start programs.
5. Health funding
Democratic attorneys general and governors in 23 states and Washington, DC, filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the department’s sudden rollback of $12 billion in public health funding. The states are seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the decision to pull back funding that was allocated to state and community health departments during the Covid-19 pandemic. They claim the loss of funds will force the end of key public health services and cost thousands of health care workers their jobs. HHS said Tuesday it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
‘Farewell, junk food!’
In an effort to fight child obesity, Mexico has banned the sale of salty and sweet treats in schools. The ban also requires schools to serve more nutritious fare and offer water as a drink option. Will other countries follow suit?
Big changes coming to the NFL
The NFL announced its latest updates to the game for the 2025 season, including kickoffs, overtime, how the ball is spotted and instant replay. But a decision on banning the so-called “tush push” play has been tabled for now.
Beatles biopic series casts its Fab 4
Director Sam Mendes is planning to make four feature-length biopics that will chronicle the story of The Beatles, as told through each of its members. Here’s who’s going to play John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison.
Black brings ‘the heat’ to late-night TV
Jack Black, star of “A Minecraft Movie,” made quite the entrance during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” Monday night, playing the guitar, mugging for the camera and then losing his pants as he approached the stage. Black will host “Saturday Night Live” this weekend.
That’s not her name!
Rapper and actor MGK and actress Megan Fox recently announced the birth of their first child together — or as he called her “our little celestial seed.” Apparently, some fans were confused and thought “Celestial Seed” was the baby’s name. He took to social media this week to disabuse them of that notion.
IN MEMORIAM
Actor Val Kilmer, who masterfully portrayed Doc Holliday, Jim Morrison, Iceman, Moses, Mark Twain and Batman, has died at 65. A big box office draw in the 1980s and 1990s, the talented and handsome movie star’s films made nearly $2 billion.
TODAY’S NUMBER
30%
That’s how much of the US Air Force’s stealth bomber fleet the Pentagon has sent to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia in a massive show of force to Houthis and Iran.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“I looked into his very intelligent brown eyes, and I felt a really deep connection.”
—Conservationist Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, on the first time she saw a mountain gorilla deep in the jungle of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
TODAY’S WEATHER
Check your local forecast here>>>
AND FINALLY …
Booker breaks record for longest speech on Senate floor
Democratic Sen. Cory Booker fasted and curbed his water intake for days to prepare for the 25-hour and 5-minute speech protesting the policies of President Trump and his administration.
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