Tuesday briefing: What Reform UK might get from Elon Musk’s $100m – and what he might want in return

In today's newsletter: With rumours of the political party courting a game-changing investment, people are asking not only what they might do with the money, but what the tech titan might get in return

Good morning. I don't know how long Elon Musk spent mulling over his rumoured suggestion that he might give $100m to Reform, but since it amounts to about 0.02% of his total wealth, I imagine it will have taken about as much time as most people spend mulling over a Christmas book token for their favourite nephew. But if $100m is chicken feed for the world's richest man, it is enough money to be transformative for Nigel Farage and his cohorts - and for UK politics more generally.

In the weeks since the story first broke, a growing chorus has urged Labour to update the rules on political donations to limit the influence of international money on British political parties. Meanwhile, Reform have unsurprisingly forgotten about their general view of foreigners who don't understand British culture, and suggested that this might just be the start.

Water industry | Thames Water intentionally diverted millions of pounds pledged for environmental clean-ups towards other costs including bonuses and dividends, the Guardian can reveal. The embattled water company is trying to secure 3bn in emergency funding and at least 3.25bn more in equity investment to prevent its collapse.

US politics | A House ethics committee report on Matt Gaetz, the former Florida Republican congressman, found substantial evidence" that he paid for sex with a minor. Gaetz, briefly Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, broke rules prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress", the report said.

Gaza | Palestinian medics said Israeli airstrikes on Gaza killed at least 20 people overnight, including a strike on an encampment in an Israel-declared humanitarian zone that killed eight people, including two children.

US news | Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare Brian Thompson, pleaded not guilty to murder and terror charges in a state case that will run parallel to his federal prosecution.

Education | Children with special education needs and disabilities (Send) have been victims of a vicious downward spiral" of declining support over the past decade, Anne Longfield, the former children's commissioner for England, has said, as she urged the government to take action.