5 things to know for April 2: Elections, Tariffs, Israel, Federal layoffs, Health funding

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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. 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. 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. 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. 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.