Local elections to watch today. And, concerns over Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs

Local elections to watch today. And, concerns over Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs
Source: NPR

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Wisconsin voters are casting their ballots in the state's Supreme Court election. It's been the most expensive court race in U.S. history. Billionaire Elon Musk and other donors have spent millions to decide the next justice. Musk held a rally in the state on Sunday, pitching conservative favorite Brad Schimel over the alternative candidate, Susan Crawford.

Meanwhile, in Florida, Democrats believe they have a chance to pick up at least one congressional seat as voters cast their ballots in two special elections. Both seats have been held by Republicans -- former Congressmen Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz. In both contests, the Democratic candidate has raised more money than their Republican counterpart.

Investors are bracing for Trump's next phase in his trade war, which he's calling "Liberation Day." He is expected to unveil a new set of tariffs tomorrow to match the duties other countries have placed on American goods.

The three men who work on an Elephant Response Team in Livingstone, Zambia, don't have your typical 9-to-5 job. They maintain peace in a growing and sometimes dangerous conflict between humans and elephants, the largest land animals on Earth. Recent urban expansion and years of inadequate rainy seasons have significantly increased human-wildlife conflict in the area. Chamunolwa Jimayi, one of the team members, frequently drives a pickup truck to guide elephants away from residential areas. Last year, photographer Tommy Trenchard captured photos depicting the clash between hungry elephants and the residents of Livingstone. His work has been recognized as a 2025 World Press Photo contest winner.

If you picked up a tool at the hardware store and asked, "What's the purpose of this?" you'd get your answer and get on with your day. But if you were to ask that of a person: What's YOUR purpose? Well...that feels awfully intimate, even rude. But a new play on Broadway suggests that's something you need to ask yourself, especially if you are carrying the weight of a family history you didn't choose but cannot escape.

Purpose is the brainchild of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who won a Tony last season for Appropriate, his hit Broadway play. Appropriate is an intense but oddly funny work about a white Southern family that gathers at their family home as it's being readied for sale, only to find a collection of unsavory artifacts that force them to confront some hard truths about who they are and their place in the world.

In Purpose, Jacobs-Jenkins, who is Black, flips the script. He focuses on a Black family but asks similar questions: Who are you, really? What have you actually built versus what have you inherited? And what are you going to do with that legacy?

The story loosely -- very loosely -- recalls part of the Rev. Jesse Jackson's family history: There's an aging patriarch at the twilight of his public career, an underestimated wife and two very different sons. One son has the charisma and drive to become a successful politician, only to sabotage himself by embezzling campaign money and implicating his (justifiably) infuriated wife. Another who wants no part of that high-profile, high-volume life but can't seem to get away from it no matter how hard he tries.

You always hesitate to draw too tight a line between any creative project and current headlines. The play was written a while ago -- but the issues it raises are hard to ignore. It asks us: Whose vision of history -- family history, collective history -- gets to prevail, and at what cost?