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Elon Musk gave out $1 million checks on Sunday to two Wisconsin voters, declaring them spokespeople for his political group, ahead of a Wisconsin Supreme Court election that the tech billionaire cast as critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda and “the future of civilization.”“It’s a super big deal,” he told a roughly 2,000-person crowd in Green Bay on Sunday night, taking the stage in a yellow cheesehead hat. “I’m not phoning it in. I’m here in person.”Musk and groups he supports have spent more than $20 million to help conservative favorite Brad Schimel in Tuesday’s race, which will determine the ideological makeup of a court likely to decide key issues in a perennial battleground state. Musk has increasingly become the center of the contest, with liberal favorite Susan Crawford and her allies protesting Musk and what they say is the influence he wants to have on the court.“I think this will be important for the future of civilization,” he said. “It’s that’s significant.”He noted that the state high court may well take up redistricting of congressional districts, which could ultimately affect which party controls the U.S. House.“And if the (Wisconsin) Supreme Court is able to redraw the districts, they will gerrymander the district and deprive Wisconsin of two seats on the Republican side,” Musk said. “Then they will try to stop all the government reforms we are getting done for you, the American people.”A unanimous state Supreme Court on Sunday refused to hear a last-minute attempt by the state’s Democratic attorney general to stop Musk from handing over the checks to two voters, a ruling that came just minutes before the planned start of the rally.Two lower courts had already rejected the legal challenge by Democrat Josh Kaul, who argues that Musk’s offer violates a state law. “Wisconsin law prohibits offering anything of value to induce anyone to vote,” Kaul argued in his filing. “Yet, Elon Musk did just that.”But the state Supreme Court, which is currently controlled 43 by liberal justices, declined to take the case as an original action. The court gave no rationale for its decision.Kaul had no immediate comment on the court’s order.Musk’s attorneys argued in filings with the court that Musk was exercising his free speech rights with the giveaways and any attempt to restrict that would violate both the Wisconsin and U.S. constitutions.The payments are “intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate,” Musk’s attorneys argued in court filings.Musk’s political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the presidential election last year, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second amendments. A judge in Pennsylvania said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day.Liberals currently hold a 43 majority on the court. All four liberal justices have endorsed Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, the Democratic-backed candidate.Musk’s attorneys, about four hours before the rally was to begin, asked that two liberal justices who have campaigned for CrawfordJill Karofsky and Rebecca Dalletrecuse themselves from the case. His attorneys argued their work for Crawford creates “the specter of inappropriate bias.” If they did recuse, that would leave the court with a 3-2 conservative majority.Both justices rejected the request and said they would spell out their reasons why at a later date.One of the court’s conservative justices has endorsed Schimel, who wore a “Make America Great Again” hat while campaigning Sunday.Schimel said in a national television interview that he does not control “any of the spending from any outside group, whether it’s Elon Musk or anyone else” and that all Trump asked was whether he would “reject activist judges” and follow the law.“That’s exactly what I’ve committed to anybody, whether it’s President Trump, Elon Musk or any donors and donors or supporters or voters in Wisconsin. That’s my commitment,” Schimel told “Fox News Sunday.”The contest has shattered national spending records for a judicial election, with more than $81 million in spending.It comes as Wisconsin’s highest court is expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election in the state. Associated Press writer Gary Fields in Washington contributed to this report. Thomas Beaumont and Scott Bauer, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
On Friday, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar in the northern part of the country. Reuters reports the quakes epicenter was about 17.2 km (about 10.6 miles) from Mandalay, the countrys second-largest city with a population of about 1.5 million people. The quake destroyed buildings, roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure in the country. So far, 1,700 people have been confirmed dead and 3,400 injured, but officials say the final death toll may pass 10,000. The quake also hit neighboring Thailand, bringing down a 33-story building with people inside. In Myanmar, the effects of the natural disaster are intensified due to the civil war the country has been engulfed in since 2021. As a result of the conflict, many of the countrys public services, infrastructure, and access to aid were already operating under reduced efficiency. Outside observers, including journalists, have also been limited, which now makes it hard to get a full sense of the true devastation in the Southeast Asian nation. How to donate to Myanmar’s earthquake victims There are ways people outside the country can help Myanmar earthquake victims. This comes via donating to various international relief organizations. Here are five agencies you can donate to right now to help the earthquake victims in Myanmar. Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontires): The non-governmental organization (NGO) provides doctors on the ground to help those who are injured. You can donate to Doctors Without Borders here. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: The IFRC is accepting donations for Myanmar earthquake initiatives on its dedicated Myanmar earthquake portal. Donations will help the agency provide the urgent support that is needed on the ground. You can donate to the IFRC here. Project HOPE: The humanitarian organization is deploying staff in the region to help with supply chains and to get health professionals, medicines, and other medical supplies to the people who need it the most. You can donate to Project HOPE here. Save the Children: There are a large number of children in Myanmar who have been affected by the quake. The organizations Save the Childrens Emergency Fund is designed to provide assistance, including shelter. You can donate to Save the Children here. UN Crisis Relief: Run by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN Crisis Relief collects donations to distribute to organizations working on the front lines of humanitarian crises. Donations will go to support life-saving assistance for the victims of the quake. You can donate to UN Crisis Relief here.
Category:
E-Commerce
President Donald Trump says Wednesday will be “Liberation Day”a moment when he plans to roll out a set of tariffs that he promises will free the United States from foreign goods.The details of Trump’s next round of import taxes are still sketchy. Most economic analyses say average U.S. families would have to absorb the cost of his tariffs in the form of higher prices and lower incomes. But an undeterred Trump is inviting CEOs to the White House to say they are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in new projects to avoid the import taxes.It is also possible that the tariffs are short-lived if Trump feels he can cut a deal after imposing them.“I’m certainly open to it, if we can do something,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll get something for it.”At stake are family budgets, America’s prominence as the world’s leading financial power and the structure of the global economy.Here’s what you should know about the impending trade penalties: What exactly does Trump plan to do? He wants to announce import taxes, including “reciprocal” tariffs that would match the rates charged by other countries and account for other subsidies. Trump has talked about taxing the European Union, South Korea, Brazil, and India, among other countries.As he announced 25% auto tariffs last week, he alleged that America has been ripped off because it imports more goods than it exports.“This is the beginning of Liberation Day in America,” Trump said. “We’re going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things that they’ve been taking over the years. They’ve taken so much out of our country, friend and foe. And, frankly, friend has been oftentimes much worse than foe.”In an interview Saturday with NBC News, Trump said it did not bother him if tariffs caused vehicle prices to rise because autos with more U.S. content could possibly be more competitively priced.“I hope they raise their prices, because if they do, people are gonna buy American-made cars,” Trump said. “I couldn’t care less because if the prices on foreign cars go up, they’re going to buy American cars.”Trump has also suggested that he will be flexible with his tariffs, saying he will treat other nations better than they treated the United States. But he still has plenty of other taxes coming on imports.The Republican president plans to tax imported pharmaceutical drugs, copper, and lumber. He has put forth a 25% tariff on any country that imports oil from Venezuela, even though the United States also does so. Imports from China are being charged an additional 20% tax because of its role in fentanyl production. Trump has imposed separate tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico for the stated reason of stopping drug smuggling and illegal immigration. Trump also expanded his 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs to 25% on all imports.Some aides suggest the tariffs are tools for negotiation on trade and border security; others say the revenues will help reduce the federal budget deficit. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says they will force other nations to show Trump “respect.” What could tariffs do to the U.S. economy? Nothing good, according to most economists. They say the tariffs would get passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices for autos, groceries, housing, and other goods. Corporate profits could be lower and growth more sluggish. Trump maintains that more companies would open factories to avoid the taxes, though that process could take three years or more.Economist Art Laffer estimates the tariffs on autos, if fully implemented, could increase per vehicle costs by $4,711, though he said he views Trump as a smart and savvy negotiator. The investment bank Goldman Sachs estimates the economy will grow this quarter at an annual rate of just 0.6%, down from a rate of 2.4% at the end of last year.Mayor Andrew Ginther of Columbus, Ohio, said on Friday that tariffs could increase the median cost of a home by $21,000, making affordability more of an obstacle because building materials would cost more.White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox News Sunday that the auto tariffs would raise $100 billion annually and the other tariffs would bring in about $600 billion per year, or about $6 trillion over 10 years. As a share of the economy, that would be the largest tax increase since World War II, according to Jessica Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested that tariffs would be a onetime price adjustment, rather than the start of an inflationary spiral. But Bessent’s conclusion rests on tariffs being brief or contained, rather than leading other countries to retaliate with their own tariffs or seeping into other sectors of the economy.“There is a chance tariffs on goods begin to filter through to the pricing of services,” said Samuel Rines, a strategist at WisdomTree. “Auto parts get move expensive, then auto repair gets more expensive, then auto insurance feels the pressure. While goods are the focus, tariffs could have a longer-term effect on inflation.” How are other nations thinking about the new tariffs? Most foreign leaders see the tariffs as destructive for the global economy, even if they are prepared to impose their own countermeasures.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Trump’s tariff threats had ended the partnership between his country and the United States, even as the president on Friday talked about his phone call with Carney in relatively positive terms. Canada already has announced retaliatory tariffs.French President Emmanuel Macron said the tariffs were “not coherent” and would mean “breaking value chains, creating inflation in the short term and destroying jobs. It’s not good for the American economy, nor for the European, Canadian, or Mexican economies.” Yet Macron said his nation would defend itself with the goal of dismantling the tariffs.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has avoided the tit-for-tat responses on tariffs, but she sees it as critical to defend jobs in her country.The Chinese government said Trump’s tariffs would harm the global trading system and would not fix the economic challenges identified by Trump.“There are no winners in trade wars or tariff wars, and no country’s development and prosperity are achieved through imposing tariffs,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said. How did Trump land on it being called ‘Liberation Day’? Based off Trump’s public statements, April 2 is at least the third “liberation day” that he has identified.At a rally last year in Nevada, he said the day of the presidential election, November 5, would be “Liberation Day in America.” He later gave his inauguration the same label, declaring in hisaddress: “For American citizens, January 20, 2025, is Liberation Day.”His repeated designation of the term is a sign of just how much importance Trump places on tariffs, an obsession of his since the 1980s. Dozens of other countries recognize their own form of liberation days to recognize events such as overcoming Nazi Germany or the end of a previous political regime deemed oppressive.Trump sees his tariffs as providing national redemption, but the slumping consumer confidence and stock market indicate that much of the public believes the U.S. economy will pay the price for his ambitions.“I don’t see anything positive about Liberation Day,” said Phillip Braun, a finance professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. “It’s going to hurt the U.S. economy. Other countries are going to retaliate.” Josh Boak, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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