Good morning. It’s always great to be alive for a history-making sports milestone. Yesterday, Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin became the NHL’s all-time leader in goals with 895, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 that stood for more than 25 years. And how’s this for symmetry: Ovi broke the record in his 1,487th game, which is the exact same number of games Gretzky played in his career (not adjusted for inflation).
Markets: Last week’s market bloodbath will go down in the history books. The S&P 500’s 10% plunge on Thursday and Friday, after President Trump announced massive tariffs, ranks among the steepest two-day decline in the last 70 years, on par with Black Monday in 1987, the post-Lehman Brothers rout in 2008, and the Covid plunge in March 2020. More than $6 trillion was wiped out from stocks over two days, and the Nasdaq entered a bear market, down 20% from a previous high. Trading restarts at 9:30am ET for what Bill Ackman predicts will be “one of the more interesting days in our country’s economic history.”
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Presumably, the word “tariff” popped up more than usual in your conversations with friends and family this weekend. Here are the latest updates on President Trump’s trade war that has the global economy on edge.
Ten-percent tariffs go into effect: Just after midnight on Saturday, baseline 10% tariffs on virtually all goods imported into the US went into effect. Much higher “reciprocal” tariffs, such as 46% on exporting powerhouse Vietnam, will go into effect on Wednesday, April 9.
Oil is in freefall, down 14% in two days. Oil prices have plunged to their lowest levels in almost four years due to 1) tariffs threatening to lower global demand for fuel and 2) OPEC+ deciding to boost output. Middle East benchmark indexes fell the most since 2020 on Sunday.
Trump’s economic officials vow to keep calm and carry on. On Meet The Press, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent rejected fears of an economic downturn, saying, “I see no reason that we have to price in a recession.” Other Trump advisors sounded a similar tune on the Sunday talk shows, brushing off the stock market’s recent plunge as a minor blip.
Jaguar Land Rover suspends shipments to the US. The British carmaker said it was implementing a shipment pause in April due to tariff uncertainty. Jaguar Land Rover relies on the US for nearly 25% of its sales, but produces no vehicles there, making it highly exposed to tariffs, per the Financial Times.
Elon Musk calls for free trade with Europe, disses Trump trade advisor. Speaking virtually at an event in Italy, the Tesla CEO and top Trump aide said he hopes for a “zero-tariff” system with the US and Europe, “effectively creating a free-trade zone between Europe and North America.” On X, he also slammed the credentials of Peter Navarro, a key architect of Trump’s trade policies, writing, “A PhD in Econ from Harvard is a bad thing, not a good thing.”
The White House phone is ringing off the hook. Since Wednesday, over 50 countries have reached out to the White House to talk trade, its top economic advisor, Kevin Hassett, told ABC News. Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will become the first world leader to meet IRL with Trump since the tariff announcement. Israel preemptively scrapped all its remaining tariffs on US imports before the plan was unveiled, but was still hit with a 17% tariff.
What this means for your money: Read this and this for how investing pros say you should navigate the turbulence.—NF
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A Minecraft Movie makes bank, breaks a record. Despite a lukewarm response from critics, the flick starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa crafted $157 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend after analysts predicted an $80 million haul. That’s the best debut ever for a video game adaptation and any movie released in 2025. The film industry needed the stunning success, as North American box-office revenue was down 11% over the first three months of this year compared to last year, with big-budget movies Snow White and Mickey 17 flopping, along with other smaller productions.—DL
After pulling an all-nighter, the Senate passed a budget blueprint. Early on Saturday, Republican senators advanced a budget resolution that gets the president’s 2017 tax cuts one step closer to becoming permanent. It also includes funds for “a transformational investment in our border, national, and energy security,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said. The plan would also raise the US’ debt ceiling to $5 trillion to avoid defaulting later this year. The House of Representatives will have to pass an identical resolution in order to access reconciliation and avoid a filibuster by Democrats on the path to enacting the plan. But that may not work, as some House Republicans are calling for $1.5 trillion in federal spending cuts, while the Senate’s resolution plans for just $4 billion. Key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will expire on Dec. 31, 2025, if additional legislation isn’t passed.—HVL
Mega Millions revamp means more expensive tickets but bigger prizes. Tomorrow marks the first time the multi-state lottery game will be played since it underwent a significant overhaul. The tickets, formerly $2 each, will now cost $5, but prizes will get bigger and jackpots will grow faster, according to Mega Millions. Players who would have won $2 or $500 in the old format will now win between $10 and $50 and between $1,000 and $5,000, respectively. The odds of winning the Mega Millions jackpot also improved from 1 in 302.6 million to 1 in 290 million. The game is available in 45 states (but not Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, or Utah), the US Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. Drawings are held on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11pm ET.—HVL
If you’ve been nervous about your mother’s Temu addiction, she will soon be over it: The tariff loophole that powered Shein and Temu to massive sales in the US is getting closed up soon.
The popular de minimis exemption has allowed goods worth less than $800 to enter the US tariff-free as long as they are shipped directly to the consumer, but that perk ends for shipments from China and Hong Kong on May 2.
Now, those packages will be “subject to a duty rate of either 30% of their value or $25 per item,” which will increase to $50 per item after June 1, according to the White House.
Not a drill. President Trump issued an executive order in February to end de minimis, but reversed course soon after because the unexpected announcement caused “a pileup of packages at the borders,” according to the New York Times. Now, “adequate systems are in place to collect tariff revenue” and the loophole can be closed, according to the Commerce Department and the White House.
What it means for Add to Cart obsessions: Chinese goods considered cheap will likely get pricier, and shipping times may get longer, since those packages will be subjected to more paperwork and scrutiny.
While Amazon stands to gain market share as the next-best source of cheap stuff online, it and other US retailers face their own difficulties. The 54% tariffs on Chinese goods also announced last week mean every company that imports products will be paying more for their inventories.—HVL
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Wall Street faces another daunting week: What else is new, right? On Wednesday, President Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs will go into effect on virtually every region of the world, even those without human inhabitants. In non-penguin geopolitical news, Thursday’s consumer price index reading will show inflation rates for March, setting a baseline ahead of expected price hikes from the trade war. And on Friday, big banks like JPMorgan kick off earnings season, which will be closely watched for what CEOs say about the tariff impacts on their businesses.
Food is still dirt cheap at The Masters: In golf news, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are the favorites to win The Masters, a “tradition unlike any other” that begins on Thursday in Augusta, GA. We know what’s important here—let’s talk concessions. The pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches are still just $1.50 each, holding steady since 2002. But there’s also innovation, as a savory tomato pie debuts on the menu for $3. When it comes to libations, beer and wine remain $6 apiece after they increased from $5 last year. Back in 2000, beer was $1.75, or seven ball markers.
Everything else…
It’s Florida vs. Houston in the NCAA men’s national championship game tonight after both teams overcame double-digit deficits in their Final Four matchups on Saturday.
The first three episodes of the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale are out tomorrow on Hulu. The seventh season of Black Mirror debuts on Netflix on Thursday.
Coachella kicks off on Friday, but without FKA Twigs, who dropped out and canceled her North American performance dates due to visa issues.
This time, the rich did not get richer. The world’s 500 most affluent people lost $536 billion in wealth last week after the global markets were devastated on Thursday and Friday, the biggest two-day drop in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The sell-off triggered by the Trump administration’s new tariffs was worse for the superyacht set than a pair of previous record-setting, two-trading-day stretches during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Elon Musk took the biggest hit, losing $31 billion in net worth, the most of anyone on the list. Also scathed were Mark Zuckerberg ($27 billion) and Jeff Bezos ($23 billion). Carvana CEO Ernest Garcia III lost a mere $2 billion, but it was enough to knock him out of the Top 500 index, a sort of rich people’s relegation to a lower division.—DL
A second child died in the Texas measles outbreak. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has voiced vaccine skepticism in the past, visited the girl’s hometown and attended her funeral. In an X post, he wrote, “The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.”
Meta debuted the first two AI models built from its latest Llama 4 software and hinted at the impending release of a more powerful one.
Bitcoin fell below $79,000 yesterday, 39% off the all-time high it set in January.
The UConn Huskies triumphed over South Carolina in the women’s NCAA championship to claim their 12th title, making them the winningest team in college basketball history.
Kevin Bacon said it “sucked” to lose the money he invested with Bernie Madoff.
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Play: It’s Tradle, a game from the OEC that tests your export knowledge.
Quit: Crunching the data to decide when you should give up on a TV show.
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Turntable: Red alert—it’s a gerunds kind of day at Turntable. “I,” “N,” and “G” are all in play. Find the words hidden here.
Subway system trivia
New York City’s new subway map has transit on our minds, so here’s a trivia question about subways: New York City has more subway riders than anywhere else in the country. Which US city has the second busiest subway system, by number of annual trips? What about third?
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Today’s Word of the Day is: libations, which means “drinks, especially those containing alcohol.” Thanks to Jeff P. from Highland Park, IL, and Dale from Huron, OH, for the intoxicating suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.
A Minecraft Movie makes bank, breaks a record. Despite a lukewarm response from critics, the flick starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa 
After pulling an all-nighter, the Senate passed a budget blueprint. Early on Saturday, Republican senators 
Mega Millions revamp means more expensive tickets but bigger prizes. Tomorrow marks the first time the multi-state lottery game will be played since it underwent 
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