Donald Trump is expected to announce new tariffs. Elon Musk’s millions weren’t enough for victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. And two women speak out about the Trump administration’s failed attempt deport them. 

Here’s what to know today.

Trump to announce new tariffs on ‘Liberation Day’ in intensifying trade war

It’s April 2 — the day President Donald Trump has dubbed “Liberation Day,” during which he’s expected to roll out the largest set of new trade barriers in generations. The anticipated announcement is a culmination of months of the president’s big talk about tariffs and adds to the duties he has already imposed. 

The details of this latest round of tariffs aren’t yet clear. Trump has already announced his intention to impose tariffs on imported cars and auto parts, and he has suggested other new tariffs would be both reciprocal with other nations and include duties on specific sectors like pharmaceuticals or computer chips. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged yesterday that Trump and his advisers were still “perfecting” the policies. 

Some countries are trying to get ahead of the new duties, with Vietnam and Israel indicating they would relax duties on U.S. goods, while leaders in Europe were still holding out hope for negotiations. 

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In the U.S., the impending tariffs are causing uncertainty in the economy. Stock markets have tanked. Consumer confidence is down. The Federal Reserve shifted its inflation forecasts higher. And businesses said they’re already seeing higher prices. 

Trump’s reasons for imposing trade duties are varied. When imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada, he cited a desire to curb the flow of fentanyl and undocumented into the country. Trump has also been fixated on reversing America’s trade deficit, and he has accused countries of “taking advantage of” the U.S. and “ripping us off.” 

Economists have cast doubt on Trump’s policies, saying his views on trade are outdated at best. One expert, who suggested Trump’s policy ambitions are part of “some misplaced nostalgia,” said, “We should not wish for American workers to be sewing tennis shoes together — they can have better jobs than that.” 

Read the full story here, and follow our live blog for updates from Trump’s announcement and reactions to the new policies.

More tariffs coverage:

• Here’s how tariffs work, who pays for them in the short and long run and why they’re used in the first place.
• Metal recycling businesses stand to benefit from Trump’s tariffs, but they fear retaliatory tariffs would blunt whatever advantages they may gain.

Takeaways from the special elections in Wisconsin and Florida

Yesterday’s special elections in Wisconsin and Florida saw both Democrats and Republicans claim victories that hinted at shifting mindsets since the 2024 election.

In Wisconsin, Susan Crawford won a seat on the state Supreme Court, allowing liberals to maintain their narrow majority in the battleground state’s highest court.

With Crawford’s win, Democrats have a new boogeyman in Elon Musk, who spent millions to bolster Crawford’s opponent, Brad Schimel. After the election, the Trump White House was quick to downplay Schimel’s loss, saying the off-year race was “predictive of nothing” and that Musk would continue to help in Republican campaigns. Whether Democrats can replicate their strategy in other elections in which Musk isn’t playing such a major role will become clearer in time.

The Wisconsin race also saw Republicans try to use their 2024 playbook, with ads that hit on transgender issues and crime, only for the strategy to not work.

However, the GOP’s playbook was successful in Florida. Republicans Jimmy Patronis won in the state’s 1st District, and state Sen. Randy Fine won in the state’s 6th District to replace former Rep. Matt Gaetz and former Rep. Michael Waltz, respectively, and bolster Republicans’ narrow lead in the House. Patronis and Fine head to Congress at a key moment for Republicans as they try to pass a budget that solidifies Trump’s top policy ambitions. 

Yesterday’s special election also offered hints about Democrats’ strengths and revealed record turnout. Read the full story here.

More politics news:

• Sen. Cory Booker’s record filibuster, which lasted 25 hours and 5 minutes, offered a rare moment of hope for the Democratic Party, which has been adrift since the 2024 election.
• At least six federal agencies are offering workers a new “deferred resignation” opportunity as the government continues its downsizing efforts. 
• A legal dispute arising from an effort by anti-abortion Republican officials in South Carolina to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds goes before the Supreme Court today.
• A band of GOP representatives opposed efforts by House Speaker Mike Johnson to kill a plan to allow remote voting for lawmakers who become new parents, barring the legislation from moving forward. 
• The Trump administration carried out mass layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services, aiming to slash about 10,000 full-time jobs. The cuts included included the entire staff at the HHS’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, casting doubt on its ability to assist millions of households.

Two women speak out after Trump admin tried to send them to an El Salvador prison

Two women said the Trump administration lied to them when they were loaded onto planes with more than 200 other Venezuelan men suspected of being part of the Tren de Aragua gang and sent to El Salvador — only for the women to be sent back to the U.S. because El Salvador apparently refused to take them.

Heymar Padilla Moyetones and Scarleth Rodriguez are now speaking out for the first time to NBC News about their experience. They said they witnessed at least some delay and confusion within ICE in the days leading up to the flights and said that, once aboard their flight, they were told they were going to Venezuela but realized they were deceived when they arrived in El Salvador. Now back in the U.S., the women currently share a cell at a detention center in Laredo, Texas.

Moyetones and Rodriguez’s account of being mistakenly taken to El Salvador, as well as men on the flights declaring their innocence, stands in contrast to the Trump administration’s claims of certainty about the fairness of the deportations. This week, the government acknowledged it erred in sending one man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, to El Salvador, but the administration has not acknowledged the women’s situation. Read the full story here. 

More immigration news:

• Court documents show U.S. immigration officials relied on a scorecard-like system to accuse Venezuelan nationals of belonging to Tren de Aragua and justify their deportations.
• At least three students recently detained by the Trump administration have been taken to highly remote detention centers in Louisiana that advocates and experts have accused of major human rights abuses.
• The judge presiding over a lawsuit in New Jersey challenging the detention of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil denied the government’s motion to dismiss his petition.

Val Kilmer, of ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Batman Forever’ fame, dies at 65

Val Kilmer, the movie star who famously played Iceman in “Top Gun,” beat villains as Batman, and who quipped “I’m your Huckleberry” as Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,” died last night at the age of 65.

Kilmer died from pneumonia in Los Angeles, surrounded by family and friends, daughter Mercedes Kilmer said in an the Associated Press.

Kilmer has said “I’ve lived a magical life” and moviegoers would recognize him from a range of some of the most popular movies of his generation and beyond.

He played opposite Tom Cruise as “Iceman” in “Top Gun,” released in 1986, which catapulted him to fame. He returned to the role in “Top Gun: Maverick,” the sequel released in 2022. Read the full story here.

Read All About It 

• Attorney General Pam Bondi directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione, the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December.
• Three South Carolina teens and a fourth juvenile were charged with a misdemeanor in connection with South Carolina’s Table Rock Fire after authorities said they failed to properly put out their cigarettes.
• Honeybee populations are dwindling at an unprecedented rate. As the backbone of the food ecosystem, the bees’ decline could cause soaring prices at the grocery store. 
• A family taking photos with the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., noticed a famous face in the background of their pictures: former President Barack Obama.

Staff Pick: Why shrimpers want in on Trump’s trade war

Wall Street. Home builders. Mom-and-pop business owners. They’re all going to be watching closely what happens today as the Trump administration announces new tariffs. So will Henry Barnes, the mayor of Bayou La Batre, Alabama — population roughly 2,000, just south of Mobile.

At a moment when many are nervous about a trade war, I wanted to understand why shrimpers in this struggling fishing community are hoping to benefit from the disruption. To get that answer, I made several stops along the town’s aptly named Shell Boat Road, from local docks to a shrimp processing facility. I spent some time at Barnes’ net shop too. “People are going to be happy or sad one or the other,” he told me of what he expects to come on “Liberation Day.”

We’ll see. — Bracey Harris, national reporter

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

Do scalp massagers actually help your hair grow? For most people, it won’t be the sole reason for hair growth, but it will certainly help you get stronger, shinier and thicker hair, experts said. Plus, NBC Select associate SEO reporter Ashley Morris, gives a full review of her favorite Audio-Technica record player, which she has used for eight years.

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