France's Le Pen barred from public office

Plus, Musk gives away $1 million checks to voters in judicial race.

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello. In politics, Elon Musk gives away two $1 million checks to Wisconsin voters in a high profile judicial race, while a French court has barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running for office for five years after a graft conviction. Plus, Chinese suppliers and their American clients realize this trade war will hit hard Today's Top News   French far-right leader Marine Le Pen at the courthouse in Paris. March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq  A French court found far-right leader Marine Le Pen guilty of misappropriating EU funds. The court said the crimes committed by Le Pen and other defendants merit an immediate ban from public office. Elon Musk handed out million-dollar checks to two voters in Wisconsin and promised smaller payments to others who help elect a conservative candidate to the state's top court in a closely watched election. President Donald Trump said he was not joking about seeking a third presidential term, which is barred by the US Constitution, but that it was too early to think about doing so. Trump said he was "pissed off" at Russian President Vladimir Putin and will impose secondary tariffs of 25% to 50% on buyers of Russian oil if he feels Moscow is blocking his efforts to end the war in Ukraine. In Turkey, Kurds are pushing for concessions as President Tayyip Erdogan continues his crackdown. Editor Daren Butler is on the Reuters World News podcast explaining how mass protests against the arrest and detention of Erdogan's political rival are sowing seeds of distrust in the Kurdish heartland. People were pulled alive out of rubble in Myanmar and signs of life were detected in the ruins of a skyscraper in Bangkok as efforts intensified to find survivors three days after a massive earthquake that killed around 2,000. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the US would receive a strong blow if it acts on Trump's threat to bomb unless Tehran reaches a new nuclear deal with Washington. Business & Markets   On February 4, Trump applied a new 10% tariff to the $400 billion worth of Chinese goods exported annually to the US, with an additional 10% tariff announced on March 4 and further reciprocal tariffs expected on April 2. Chinese suppliers and their American clients are now coming to grips with the grim reality that this trade war will hit harder than in Trump's first term in 2018. Working-class car buyers will be the hardest hit by Trump's 25% tariff on imported vehicles because almost all low-cost new cars sold in the US are built elsewhere. The "Buy Canadian" movement is sending new ripples of concern through the executive offices of US-based consumer companies that banked on selling their products on Canadian retail shelves. A more independent, less US-reliant Europe is taking shape and investors sense opportunities in a long-shunned region that go beyond just snapping up defense shares. The head of fast fashion chain Primark, Paul Marchant, has resigned with immediate effect after he admitted an "error of judgment" towards a woman in a social environment. Reuters spoke to more than 20 farmers, officials, agronomists, irrigation experts and coffee company executives to examine how rapid shifts in rainfall patterns due to climate change are transforming coffee farming. The highest dose of an experimental drug developed by Eli Lilly significantly reduced levels of a genetically inherited risk factor for heart disease in a mid stage trial, according to data presented at a major medical meeting. How the Trump family took over a crypto firm as it raised hundreds of millions   Trump returning to the White House, March 30, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard As World Liberty Financial raised more than half a billion dollars, President Trump's family took control of the crypto venture and grabbed the lion's share of those funds, aided by governance terms that industry experts say favor insiders. Launched last fall, World Liberty's goal is to allow people to access financial services using cryptocurrencies and without intermediaries like banks in what is called decentralized finance, or DeFi. But it has yet to launch a public platform and has reported only a small staff, a review of the project shows. Read more And Finally... Jason Momoa attends the world premiere of ''A Minecraft Movie'' with his mother, in London, March 30, 2025. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska Hollywood stars Jason Momoa and Jack Black used humor and big performances to bring to life a corner of Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time, in "A Minecraft Movie." 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