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Here’s what you need to know
US inflation slowed more than expected in March. It’s the ninth consecutive month of slowing inflation, but the Federal Reserve probably isn’t finished hiking (rates, that is).
The world’s biggest banknote printer said cash demand hit a 20-year low. Saying so sent shares of De La Rue, the 202-year-old printing firm, down 20% on the London Stock Exchange.
A Namibian fishing scandal is raising a stink. The EU has yet to act against Iceland’s biggest fishing firm despite evidence of its corrupt deals in the African country.
A Fox Corp. shareholder isn’t happy about 2020 US election misinformation. Robert Schwarz is suing the company’s executives, including Rupert Murdoch, for knowingly peddling fake news.
Twitter’s ad business has an Elon Musk problem
28%: Expected decline in Twitter’s ad revenue this year compared to 2022, according to the market research firm Insider Intelligence
The biggest obstacle that the social media company faces in its ad business is the personal brand Elon Musk has intertwined with Twitter, one that, as Quartz’s Scott Nover explains, exudes chaos, not trust.
What to watch for
“Public libraries are not places of government indoctrination. They are not places where the people in power can dictate what their citizens are permitted to read about and learn. When government actors target public library books because they disagree with and intend to suppress the ideas contained within them, it jeopardizes the freedoms of everyone.”
—Excerpted from Texas residents’ lawsuit, part of an escalating book ban feud in Llano County. Officials are meeting today to consider whether to shut down the community’s three public libraries instead of restocking banned books. While the community is small—it has a population of 22,000—it’s an ominous sign of what’s to come in parts of the US where several other library wars are brewing. 📚
Americans decidedly see China as a foe
What’s growing this divide in the American consciousness? Quartz’s Mary Hui has some answers.
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Surprising discoveries
Michael Jordan’s NBA Final shoes sold for $2.2 million. They’re the most expensive sneakers ever auctioned, a feat LeBron James (who we’re obsessed with) just hasn’t been able to beat.
South Korea is paying young people $500 to socialize. The program is aimed at getting recluses out of the house.
China saw its first human death from a common bird flu strain. No human-to-human transmission of the illness has been detected.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was so mad about a pothole in his neighborhood, he filled it. He kind of looked like the Terminator while doing it.
The Super Mario Bros. theme song was added to the US Library of Congress. The original 1985 version is one of the “defining sounds of [the] nation’s history.” But what about the 1UP noise??
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