Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

Republicans expand House majority, but Musk’s man suffers in Wisconsin

Liberal candidate Judge Susan Crawford celebrates with Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Ann Walsh Bradley at her election night headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 1, 2025.

After voters elected her to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, liberal candidate Judge Susan Crawford celebrates with Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Ann Walsh Bradley at her election night headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 1, 2025.

REUTERS/Vincent Alban
Make us preferred on Google

What was all the fuss for? Republican Randy Fine cruised to a 14-point victory over Democrat Josh Weil in Tuesday’s special election for Florida’s 6th Congressional District, quashing the quixotic liberal dream of flipping a seat that US President Donald Trump won by 30 points in the 2024 presidential election. Combined with Jimmy Patronis’ Tuesday triumph in Florida’s 1st District, the GOP increased their House majority to 220-213 — heady days for US Speaker Mike Johnson.


The Fine print. Republicans will be relieved that Fine pulled through, but the margin of his victory may worry them. Fine’s supporters outspent pro-Weil groups on ads by a four-to-one ratio, amid concerns that the seat could be in play. Yet the Democrat still cut the victory margin in half, compared to where it was just five months ago. In the 1st District, Patronis also won by just 14 points — a paltry showing in an area that more closely resembles Alabama than parts of Florida.

Musk misfires. Despite plowing $25 million into the race, Elon Musk couldn’t help conservative candidate Brad Schimel over the line in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election yesterday, as liberal candidate Susan Crawford cruised to a 10-point victory. The result ensures that liberals maintain their 4-3 majority on the court with a suite of court hearings upcoming on abortion access, district maps, and collective bargaining.

“There is an unelected billionaire who should not and will not have a greater voice than the working people of Wisconsin,” former Vice President Kamala Harris said last night, a pointed remark against Musk.

The Tesla CEO wasn’t the only one who spent big on the race, as Crawford’s campaign committee raised $17 million as of March 17 and helped to make it the most expensive judicial election in US history. The greater concern for Musk isn’t the loss of cash — he has plenty left in the bank — but rather the political repercussions. Crawford and her supporters relentlessly attacked Trump’s right-hand man in their ads, and the bet paid off. Republicans’ private grumblings about the tech entrepreneur might just start to get louder.

More For You

Members of the Coalition of the Willing meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden, Moldova's President Maia Sandu, Finland's President Alexander Stubb, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi, EU Council President Antonio Costa and Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda, Latvia's Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs and Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard attend the Coalition of the Willing meeting, in Kyiv, Ukraine, August 24, 2026.

HENRY NICHOLLS/Pool via REUTERS
“Coalition of the Willing” summit begins in KyivThe gathering today, which falls on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, brings together nearly three dozen European countries supporting Ukraine with financial and military aid against Russia. Top on the agenda is Kyiv’s urgent request for more air defenses ahead of [...]
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025.

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
China rebuffs US economic threats over Iran Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump threatened “tremendous economic consequences” for countries that do business with Iran as Washington tries to squeeze Tehran economically. China, Iran’s biggest trading partner, quickly rejected the warning. On Thursday, Beijing said that US pressure would not [...]
Zhuque-3 rocket by China’s private rocket firm LandSpace, takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Zhuque-3 rocket by China’s private rocket firm LandSpace, takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China, December 3, 2025

LandSpace/Handout via REUTERS
China wants to reduce, reuse, and recycle — rocketsChinese aerospace company LandSpace successfully recovered the first stage of a rocket on land for the first time on Wednesday, marking a major step toward reusable rockets. Reusability is crucial in the growing space race because it can dramatically reduce the cost of putting satellites into [...]
Ukraine's Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov speaks at a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart Pal Jonson (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Ukraine's Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov speaks at a joint press conference with his Swedish counterpart Pal Jonson (not pictured), amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 1, 2026.

REUTERS/Alina Smutko
Zelensky faces mounting election pressureUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky finds himself between a rock and a hard place after recently fired Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov publicly called for new elections on Tuesday. Zelensky declared martial law shortly after the war began, which bans elections for security reasons. Critics have said [...]