MOOD SWINGS: Elections today in Florida and Wisconsin are being watched as a referendum on the first two months of the Trump administration.

  Florida is electing two replacement members of Congress and Wisconsin is voting on a new supreme court justice.

  Tesla billionaire Elon Musk handed out million dollar checks to two Wisconsin voters in his campaign to influence the Wisconsin vote. Musk said at a rally, “I think this will be important for civilization. It’s that significant.

  He and President Trump are backing the conservative candidate, Brad Schimel, whose election would tip the ideological balance of the court. Musk and entities associated with him have poured $20 million into what is believed to be the most expensive judicial race in US history. At least $80 million has been spent. 

  Liberal candidate Susan Crawford warns that what’s at stake is everything from abortion to voting rights.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE:

— In a continuing attack on liberal higher education, the Trump administration is reviewing nearly $9 billion in contracts and grants between the government and Harvard University because of what the administration believes is the school’s weak response to antisemitism on campus.

  This follows Columbia being cowed by the threat of being denied $400 million in funding.

 Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement, “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination – all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry – has put its reputation in serious jeopardy.” 

  Harvard President Alan Garber wrote a memo saying he would welcome the opportunity to work with the White House.

— The Department of Government efficiency has put on leave 70 employees of the Institute of Museum and Library Services in a move toward eliminating the organization that is  the main source of federal support for the country’s museums and libraries.

— The stock market yesterday closed out its worst quarter since spring of 2022 as President Trump’s  quixotic trade policies rattle Wall Street and set off fears of a recession. Trump’s 25 percent tariff on all foreign cars goes into effect tomorrow.

  Trump says that starting tomorrow also he’s imposing a 20 percent tariff on all imports, making food, cars, electronics, clothing … everything … more expensive.

  Economic reports also say that Americans are dialing back on personal spending, Americans are tapping the brakes on spending; dining, hotels and more as they brace for bombs to drop on the economy.

C’EST DOMMAGE: France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement by a criminal court yesterday and immediately barred from running for public office for five years. She was also sentenced to two years of house arrest.

  Le Pen, until yesterday, was considered the front-runner in France’s 2027 presidential election but the presiding judge said nobody is entitled to “immunity in violation of the rule of law.” She and her party, National Rally, were accused of embezzling close to $5 million in European Parliament funds over more than 10 years.

  Le Pen is an anti-immigrant, nationalist politician who has already failed three times to be elected president. But her party has the most seats in parliament. Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s likely replacement, said on social media, “Not only has Marine Le Pen been unjustly convicted, French democracy has been executed.”

  Right wingers around the world objected, including Hungary’s strongman leader Victor Orban. They’ve joined the chorus claiming that when a conservative is prosecuted they are being persecuted. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said, “More and more European capitals have opted for the violation of democratic norms,” agreeing with Elon Musk who said, “When the radical left can’t win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents.”

BELLY UP: The new conservative Muslim leaders in Syria closed about 60 bars in Damascus denying social recreation and alcohol to the considerable secular segment of the population. But unlike in Iran or Afghanistan, when the bar owners and customers objected, the saloons and lounges were allowed to re-open, even though they were not licensed even under the al Assad regime.

  One aligned with the severe al Qaeda, Syria’s post-dictator government is still finding its way and being gentler about disagreements. 

HOOP DREAMS: NCAA basketball is down to the final fours. For the men, Florida faces Auburn on Saturday and Houston plays Duke. 

  For the women, UCLA tips off against returning champions South Carolina on Friday night and UConn goes against UCLA.

BATTER UP: The New York Yankees hit nine home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday and the talk of baseball ever since has been the bats some of the players used. 

  The classic baseball bat has the barrel, the thicker part, in the outer third. A new kind of bat called the torpedo thickens just beyond the label, then tapers down again. The shape moves the sweet spot for hitting down the bat, giving the batter more wood to get a piece of the ball.

  The bats were first developed by Aaron Leanhardt, an MIT physicist who once worked for the Yankees and now works for the Florida Marlins. The torpedo bat may not be for everyone. Three of the Yankees’ 15 homers in their first three games were hit by Aaron Judge with a traditional bat.

THE SPIN RACK: President Trump says a magnolia tree believed to have been planted 200 years ago by President Andrew Jackson must be cut down becaue  “this tree is in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed.” At least he didn’t blame Joe Biden.  — Hooters, the restaurant chain famous for chicken wings, has declared bankruptcy. 

BELOW THE FOLD:  An underwater camera planted in Scotland’s Loch Ness 55 years ago in an attempt to photograph the elusive Loch Ness Monster was found accidentally by a robot submarine. Wait for the reveal … wait … wait. Okay, the camera did not get any pictures of the monster.

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