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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Wed Apr 2 2025

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. I want to sit in peace with these elephants.

Take a glimpse at Wednesday's news:

•	Americans and the rest of the world will wait for Trump to formally unveil a big tariff expansion on Wednesday.
•	Liberal judge Susan Crawford won Wisconsin's high-stakes state Supreme Court race.
•	A biblical amount of rain is coming for parts of America.

President Trump decides size of tariffs

President Donald Trump plans to launch sweeping reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday.

Though details surrounding Trump's economic policy remain unclear, Trump has promoted his Wednesday announcement as "the big one," calling the day "Liberation Day" for Americans.

•	Why is Trump doing this? Trump has argued steep tariffs are needed to combat the nation's growing trade deficit and boost U.S. domestic manufacturing that has depleted in recent decades.
•	What this means for you: Most economists worry large-scale reciprocal tariffs ‒ which are likely to trigger retaliatory tariffs from U.S. trading partners ‒ could further hurt a weakening economy, send the stock market plummeting and lead to higher prices for consumers.
•	Markets are on high alert: Investors had kicked off the year with high hopes for pro-growth policies from the Trump administration but have been spooked by a barrage of tariff-related headlines.

Liberal wins Wisconsin Supreme Court seat; GOP holds in Florida

Despite being a nonpartisan race, Wisconsin's Supreme Court election was widely viewed as a referendum on President Donald Trump, his adviser Elon Musk, as well as Democrats on the hunt for a national comeback. The latter came out victorious, with liberal judge Susan Crawford winning the top court seat. She beat her conservative opponent, despite billionaire Musk pouring around $20 million into the campaign. In Florida, the GOP held two congressional seats contested in Tuesday's special election, critical victories for Republicans given their narrow majorities on Capitol Hill. Here's what the victories mean for the national parties going forward.

Liberal judge Susan Crawford speaks at her election night watch party in Madison, Wisconsin on Tuesday.

Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

More news to know now

•	President Trump will consider potential buyers of TikTok at a Wednesday meeting.
•	Trump's team acknowledged an "administrative error" led to a Maryland man's deportation to El Salvador.
•	Alabama can't prosecute anyone who helps people travel across state lines to end a pregnancy.
•	A federal judge ruled that a Columbia University graduate's case against the government will be heard in New Jersey, not Louisiana.
•	Israel will expand its Gaza military operation with large-scale evacuations.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

HHS cuts will 'harm' Americans, experts say

Some health experts sounded the alarm as a plan to cut 10,000 jobs from the Department of Health and Human Services began on Tuesday.

What happened: Thousands of workers, specialists and scientists were handed DOGE pink slips Tuesday morning. The layoffs were part of an effort by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to cut his department's headcount in line with Trump and Elon Musk's mission to pare the federal government.

•	Members of the FDA's bird flu response team are gone.
•	The FDA's chief tobacco regulator is out.
•	Staffers who had been considered essential to ensuring the safety of medicines, food and medical devices used by Americans were also cut.
•	Infectious disease experts, including those addressing HIV, argued the latest HHS cuts will make the country less safe from infectious and chronic diseases.

HHS employee Julie Siegel was denied access and her badge was taken away outside the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

Kevin Lamarque, REUTERS

Luigi Mangione draws support as he awaits trial

Some spectators at Luigi Mangione's court proceedings have behaved like fans, and a donation page to help the 26-year-old man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson with legal expenses showed nearly $800,000 in contributions as of Tuesday. Support for Mangione has sparked fear for other insurers, prompting them to beef up their security. In bringing potentially harsh penalties against Mangione, prosecutors have signaled they want to send a message when it comes to potential violence motivated by social or political concerns. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has instructed the Justice Department to pursue the death penalty against Mangione.

Today's talkers

•	Val Kilmer, "Top Gun," "Batman Forever" star, has died at 65.
•	We're listening to "recession pop."
•	The deepest U.S. lake is closing to tourists for at least 3 years.
•	Our favorite travel pillow now comes in spring colors.
•	Here's when to watch the men's and women's Final Four.

You've never seen April showers like this

"Generational" rainfall amounts are forecast to fall across portions of the central U.S. from Wednesday to Saturday, resulting in historic and life-threatening flooding across the region, the National Weather Service in Memphis said. According to AccuWeather, up to four months' worth of rain will fall in five days along portions of a 1,000-mile-long swath from Texas to Ohio. Time to build an ark?

Photo of the day: Talking for more than a day

Sen. Cory Booker on Tuesday delivered the longest recorded floor speech in Senate history, breaking the record set by segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond in 1957. Booker said that he decided to undertake the marathon speech because Democrats have a "responsibility" to "do something different" in the face of President Donald Trump's policies.

Cory Booker ends his record-setting speech

Senate TV / Reuters

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here . Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.