Another Political Bombshell In France

Good Tuesday morning. Yes, it is April Fool's Day. No, we will not pull any funny business in this newsletter. But here is a look at the origins of the annual occasion. Have a great day.

In Today’s Brief

• Pennsylvania: Amish robberies

• Spain: Mine explosion

• Arizona: House race

• Lockheed Martin: Missile deal

• Women’s hoops: Final Four

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Rally halted

The leading candidate to be France's next president is suddenly off the board.

• The news: Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally party, and others were found guilty of embezzling European Union funds by a Paris court yesterday. An immediate five-year ban on running for office was part of her sentence, barring her from the 2027 national election. She also received a four-year prison sentence, but it does not involve actual jail time. The allegations involved EU funds being directed toward party work rather than EU-related work.

• The impact: NR is arguably the strongest far-right party in Europe and polls suggested Le Pen had a serious chance to replace term-limited President Emmanuel Macron in two years. Le Pen can challenge the ban (and verdict), but she is expected to have a difficult time getting an appeal heard before the election. Protege Jordan Bardella, only 29, will likely become NR's presidential candidate.

• Big picture: Many say NR is woefully unprepared for a race without Le Pen, even though the outcome was widely expected. But while she can no longer run, it could be a politically advantageous outcome for NR, which can message itself as persecuted in ways similar to President Donald Trump during his re-election campaign. Bardella could also prove an able replacement. And NR still has enough support to make France ungovernable, as it effectively did last year when Macron called snap elections.

2) Big day

President Trump and Republicans will get early feedback from a trio of nationally-prominent elections.

• Midwestern battle: Both parties have spent millions and expended significant energy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. State judges Susan Crawford, a liberal, and Brad Schimel, a conservative, are seeking the vacant seat in the critical swing state. The seven-person panel is officially non-partisan but currently has a 3-3 ideological divide. A recent poll gave Crawford a 51-49 edge on Schimel.

• The stakes: Billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk claimed that "this Wisconsin Supreme Court race might decide the future of America and Western Civilization!” in a post on X, the social media platform he owns. Wisconsin will also elect its state schools superintendent and weigh a constitutional amendment on voter ID.

• Some discomfort: The GOP is expected to win a pair of House special elections in Florida to fill the seats vacated by failed Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. But there have been signs of concern that State Sen. Randy Fine is struggling to hold off a stiff Democratic challenge for Waltz's old spot. 

• Big picture: Republicans need to win the two Florida races to pad and protect their thin House majority. That should not be an issue, but Trump did pull New York Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination to be United Nations Ambassador last week. The Wisconsin high court race is the only statewide contest before the fall -- and an opportunity to see how Trump's first two months in office may be playing with voters.

3) New frontier

A private SpaceX flight that will make history launched last night.

• The news: Fram2 took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida last night. The mission will be the first ever to fly over Earth's polar regions. The spacecraft is scheduled to spend about four days in space before splash landing off the coast of Southern California.

• The crew: A Maltese-based cryptocurrency investor is funding the mission. The crew also consists of an Australian adventurer, a German robotics engineer and a Norwegian filmmaker. This is the first trip to space for all four astronauts. The crew will also attempt to grow mushrooms in flight and undergo a battery of exercises, tests and tracking to examine space's impact on the body.

• The significance: Flight patterns over the poles require significantly more fuel than other space missions -- the reason it has never happened before. Experts said there is little scientific value, but it is still a first. "It's a notch above gimmick, but not exactly a groundbreaking milestone," one researcher told CNN.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

• An armed man allegedly robbed two Amish buggies in Pennsylvania. The incidents happened last week near the Ohio border in the early evening; no one was injured (More)

• Air traffic controllers reportedly scuffled at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport last week. The incident occurred in the control tower; one controller was charged with assault and battery and placed on administrative leave (More)

• The FBI raided homes owned by an Indiana University computer science professor and his wife last week. The school fired the professor on the same day; the reason for the law enforcement operation is unknown (More)

World News

• Five people died in a mine explosion in Spain. Four people were injured in the incident about 280 miles northwest of Madrid; methane inside the mine may have caused the blast (More)

• Three of four missing American soldiers were found dead in Lithuania. Their armored vehicle collapsed into a peat bog during a training exercise last week; search efforts for the final service member continue (More)

• President Trump will visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar next week; he may also go to the United Arab Emirates. It will be the first foreign trip of his second term; Israel plans to re-occupy Gaza territory to force Hamas to release hostages (More | More)

Political News

• Late Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva's daughter will try to fill his seat. Adelita Grijalva will enter the Democratic primary special election in the state's reliably blue 7th Congressional District after her father died of cancer earlier this year (More)

• Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna quit the House Freedom Caucus. The Republican has clashed with the group and party leadership over efforts to allow members who are new parents to vote by proxy (More)

• GOP leaders in Congress downplayed President Trump's comments about seeking an unconstitutional third term. Several lawmakers said there is no path for the president to do so; Trump also walked his comments back slightly (More)

Business & Markets

• Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. The S&P 500 ended the day up after briefly hitting a six-month low (Dow+1.00%, Nasdaq -0.14%, S&P 500 +0.55%).

• The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin an almost $5B missile contract. The Maryland-based aerospace and defense firm will produce precision-strike weapons that can hit enemies from over 250 miles away (More)

• Rocket will buy rival mortgage company Mr. Cooper in a $9.4B all-stock deal. The combined business will represent one of every six mortgages in the U.S. and give Rocket an additional 7M clients (More)

Entertainment & Sports

• The NCAA women’s basketball Final Four is set. UConn and Texas won their regional final games to advance to the national semifinals this weekend in Tampa; the Huskies will play UCLA why the Longhorns get reigning national champion South Carolina (More)

• Zack Snyder will direct a UFC-inspired project. The filmmaker will co-write and produce Brawler; he will team with the mixed martial arts circuit and the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia (More)

• A New Mexico judge ruled images of late actor Gene Hackman's body will not be released. But autopsy reports for the Academy Award winner and late wife Betsy Arakawa will be made public, along with other photos related to their deaths (More)

Quick Hitters

• Fun Stuff: A British man drove around with a pile of lottery tickets for months. Then he needed to grab some potato chips, one thing led to another and he found a $1.3M winner.

• Be Safe: Various liquid egg products have been recalled due to potential bleach contamination.

• Go Deep: The Kentucky Derby is in a few weeks. The event, and others like it, was made possible by an evolutionary mistake that helped turn horses into world-class athletes.

• Schedule Quirk: Many holidays have an annual cadence or a permanent date. Easter is not one of them; here is a look at why.

• Life Hack: Cast iron skillets are essential for many cooks, but they can be tricky to clean. Here are some tips on how to do so the right way.

Watch This

An Egyptian man recently set the world record for underwater pull-ups in one breath with 33.

Links

• The White House is moving on from Signalgate 📱

• New FAA legislation could help Taylor Swift 🐍

• Hooters' founders want to save the restaurant chain 🦉

• Stanford enlists a familiar name for a football coaching stint 🏈

• How duty-free shopping works 🥃

• Amazon's plan to shake up the James Bond franchise 🍿

• NASA's no-longer-stranded astronauts broke their silence 👨‍🚀

• Magnets power the world's tiniest flying robot 🧲

• The nut that packs the biggest protein punch 🥜

• There is no such thing as a fully American-made car 🚘

Looking Ahead …

President Trump is expected to levy significant tariffs tomorrow. Details are scarce beyond a scheduled Rose Garden rollout and a 25% tax on all imported cars, but there will apparently be no exemptions to start.

Question of the Day

Yesterday’s results:

Which men's basketball team will win the national title?

• Duke (47%)

• Florida (24%)

• Auburn (17%)

• Houston (12%)