Greetings! Happy National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day to those celebrating.

Let’s get into today’s top stories.

Most creators spend years building an audience on platforms that own it. The reach is real. The relationship isn't. One algorithm change and the people who chose you stop seeing you.

A newsletter is different. Your list is yours. Every subscriber is earned and stays earned. And on beehiiv, the tools to grow it, monetize it, and own it completely are built in from day one.

30% off your first 3 months with code LIST30. Start building today.

🇯🇵 Japan gets the shake, then the warning. Japan absorbed a 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Monday. The first danger was coastal. The second was psychological. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged residents to evacuate after the quake struck off the northern coast. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami alert. That alone would have dominated any ordinary news day. Officials then added a more unsettling note. They warned of a slightly increased risk of a mega-quake. In Japan, that phrase lands with historical force. It tells the public that one event may be ending while a larger system still feels unstable. At one point, more than 180K people in five northern prefectures from Hokkaido to Fukushima were advised to take shelter. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later said the tsunami threat had passed. Japan then lifted all tsunami alerts and advisories. Nuclear authorities said power plants in the region were intact. So the immediate physical danger receded, but the anxiety did not.

🇨🇦 Carney says dependence is now danger. Mark Carney is trying to reframe Canada’s economic story. He is telling Canadians that closeness to America is no longer an automatic asset. In a 10-minute video address released Sunday, the Canadian prime minister said those ties once looked like strength. He now says they look like weakness that must be corrected. That is not a minor rhetorical adjustment. It is a strategic break with decades of assumption. Carney said the world is more dangerous and divided. He said American trade policy has shifted so sharply that tariffs are now back at levels last seen during the Great Depression. He singled out damage to auto and steel workers. He also said businesses are freezing investment under a cloud of uncertainty. President Trump’s comments about Canada becoming the 51st state have further angered many Canadians. Carney’s answer is diversification. He says his government will pursue new investment and more trade deals with other countries. He also promised regular updates on efforts to diversify away from America. Canada is still next door. Carney is arguing it should no longer behave like that fact settles the question.

📚 Book challenges still push the ceiling. The censorship fight in American libraries is no longer episodic. It is sustained, organized, and increasingly ideological. The American Library Association (ALA) says book bans and attempted bans remain at record highs. The group also says the campaigns to remove titles have grown more coordinated and more politicized. That language matters. It suggests a national movement, not scattered complaints. The ALA released its 2025 list during National Library Week, which runs through April 25th. It defines a challenge as an attempt to remove a library resource or restrict access because of objections from a person or group. This year’s most challenged title was Patricia McCormick’s “Sold,” a 2006 novel about sex trafficking in India. Other frequently targeted books included “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer,” and Sarah J. Maas’ “Empire of Storms.” ALA President Sam Helmick said libraries must remain places for knowledge, access, and all. The association also acknowledged that its numbers likely understate the real total because many incidents go unreported. So the headline is not simply that the record stands. It is that the true number may be higher still. The argument over books is now a proxy fight over who gets to define legitimacy in public culture.

🎖️ Guard duty becomes Washington routine. Washington’s National Guard deployment now looks built to linger. Eight months after President Trump declared a crime emergency in the capital and called in the Guard, more than 2,500 troops remain. What began as extraordinary is becoming administrative background noise. The White House says the deployment is working. It says the task force has made 12K arrests, including 62 known gang members, and seized thousands of illegal firearms. Guard members do not make arrests themselves. But they have responded to medical emergencies, assisted with arrests, helped enforce the city’s juvenile curfew, carried out beautification projects, and even helped clear snow in January. That breadth of duty is part of the point. The mission has expanded from visible deterrence to general civic muscle. Critics argue the administration is taking credit for crime declines that began before the deployment. They also note that local crime figures are under scrutiny after claims of manipulation. A court battle over the deployment is still underway. Without judicial intervention, it could continue as long as the White House wants. Asked how long it will last, a White House spokesperson said there were no announcements to make. In Washington, permanence often arrives disguised as temporary policy.

🏃 Boston ran straight into history. Boston got what major marathons always promise and rarely deliver at once. It got prestige, speed, and a record that actually felt untouchable until it fell. John Korir of Kenya won Monday’s race in 2:01:52. That made him the defending champion and the owner of the fastest finish in the event’s 130-year history. He beat Geoffrey Mutai’s celebrated 2011 mark by 70 seconds. The performance also stands as the fifth-fastest marathon ever run anywhere. Korir said he knew he was on record pace around the 40-kilometer mark. He only learned he had broken the record after crossing the finish, when Boston Athletic Association president Jack Fleming told him. Sharon Lokedi made the day even cleaner for Kenyan distance running. She repeated as women’s champion in 2:18:51. A year ago, she shattered the course record by more than 2 1/2 minutes. On Monday, she proved that was not a one-off peak. Both winners earned $150K and a gilded olive wreath from Marathon, Greece. Korir also took an extra $50K for the course record. Boston likes to sell itself as history. This year, it also looked like raw acceleration.

📉 Markets lose their swagger. Friday’s market relief did not survive the weekend. Oil prices rose again Monday, and Wall Street gave back a slice of its record-breaking rally. The reversal came after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again on Saturday. That move followed the American decision to keep the blockade on Iranian ports in place. Traders read the weekend not as closure, but as resumed instability. The next deadline is Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Eastern time, when the ceasefire between America and Iran is scheduled to expire. That clock is now part of the market. Even so, prices remain below their war highs. Brent crude briefly rose above $119 per barrel at the most panicked point of the conflict. It remains below that level now. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500) also remains above where it sat before the war began. That tells you investors still think a negotiated exit is possible. But it also tells you which companies feel the pressure fastest. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings dropped 3.8%, and Carnival Corp. lost 1%, as higher fuel costs hit travel names first. Monday did not erase optimism. It reminded investors that optimism in a war market is rented, not owned.

Help better understand our audience. Take this 1-minute survey here so we can provide our community with the best content, news, and stories that matter to you most.

Feel free to reply with your feedback. PM reads and responds to every email. :)

That’s all for today!

Much obliged and many thanks for reading and sharing today’s newsletter.

See you tomorrow!