diff --git a/includes/Core/Notifications/EmailRenderer.php b/includes/Core/Notifications/EmailRenderer.php
index 95a5452..0e69fa0 100644
--- a/includes/Core/Notifications/EmailRenderer.php
+++ b/includes/Core/Notifications/EmailRenderer.php
@@ -311,6 +311,13 @@ class EmailRenderer {
 					esc_attr($hero_gradient_end)
 				);
 				$content_style .= sprintf(' color: %s;', esc_attr($hero_text_color));
+				
+				// Add inline color to all headings and paragraphs for email client compatibility
+				$content = preg_replace(
+					'/<(h[1-6]|p)([^>]*)>/',
+					'<$1$2 style="color: ' . esc_attr($hero_text_color) . ';">',
+					$content
+				);
 			}
 		}
 		
diff --git a/includes/Core/Notifications/MarkdownParser.php b/includes/Core/Notifications/MarkdownParser.php
index a53e62b..20512ce 100644
--- a/includes/Core/Notifications/MarkdownParser.php
+++ b/includes/Core/Notifications/MarkdownParser.php
@@ -71,59 +71,110 @@ class MarkdownParser {
 	private static function parse_basics($text) {
 		$html = $text;
 		
+		// Protect variables from markdown parsing by temporarily replacing them
+		$variables = [];
+		$var_index = 0;
+		$html = preg_replace_callback('/\{([^}]+)\}/', function($matches) use (&$variables, &$var_index) {
+			$placeholder = '<!--VAR' . $var_index . '-->';
+			$variables[$placeholder] = $matches[0];
+			$var_index++;
+			return $placeholder;
+		}, $html);
+		
 		// Headings (must be done in order from h4 to h1 to avoid conflicts)
 		$html = preg_replace('/^#### (.*)$/m', '<h4>$1</h4>', $html);
 		$html = preg_replace('/^### (.*)$/m', '<h3>$1</h3>', $html);
 		$html = preg_replace('/^## (.*)$/m', '<h2>$1</h2>', $html);
 		$html = preg_replace('/^# (.*)$/m', '<h1>$1</h1>', $html);
 		
-		// Bold
-		$html = preg_replace('/\*\*(.*?)\*\*/s', '<strong>$1</strong>', $html);
-		$html = preg_replace('/__(.*?)__/s', '<strong>$1</strong>', $html);
+		// Bold (don't match across newlines)
+		$html = preg_replace('/\*\*([^\n*]+?)\*\*/', '<strong>$1</strong>', $html);
+		$html = preg_replace('/__([^\n_]+?)__/', '<strong>$1</strong>', $html);
 		
-		// Italic
-		$html = preg_replace('/\*([^\*]+?)\*/', '<em>$1</em>', $html);
-		$html = preg_replace('/_([^_]+?)_/', '<em>$1</em>', $html);
+		// Italic (don't match across newlines)
+		$html = preg_replace('/\*([^\n*]+?)\*/', '<em>$1</em>', $html);
+		$html = preg_replace('/_([^\n_]+?)_/', '<em>$1</em>', $html);
+		
+		// Horizontal rules
+		$html = preg_replace('/^---$/m', '<hr>', $html);
 		
 		// Links (but not button syntax)
 		$html = preg_replace('/\[(?!button)([^\]]+)\]\(([^)]+)\)/', '<a href="$2">$1</a>', $html);
 		
-		// Unordered lists (including checkmarks and bullets)
-		$html = preg_replace('/^[\*\-•✓✔] (.*)$/m', '<li>$1</li>', $html);
-		
-		// Wrap consecutive <li> in <ul>
-		$html = preg_replace('/(<li>.*?<\/li>\s*)+/s', '<ul>$0</ul>', $html);
-		
-		// Ordered lists
-		$html = preg_replace('/^\d+\. (.*)$/m', '<li>$1</li>', $html);
-		
-		// Paragraphs (lines not already in tags)
+		// Process lines for paragraphs and lists
 		$lines = explode("\n", $html);
+		$in_list = false;
+		$paragraph_content = '';
 		$processed_lines = [];
 		
+		$close_paragraph = function() use (&$paragraph_content, &$processed_lines) {
+			if ($paragraph_content) {
+				$processed_lines[] = '<p>' . $paragraph_content . '</p>';
+				$paragraph_content = '';
+			}
+		};
+		
 		foreach ($lines as $line) {
 			$trimmed = trim($line);
 			
-			// Skip empty lines
+			// Empty line - close paragraph or list
 			if (empty($trimmed)) {
+				if ($in_list) {
+					$processed_lines[] = '</ul>';
+					$in_list = false;
+				}
+				$close_paragraph();
 				$processed_lines[] = '';
 				continue;
 			}
 			
-			// Skip lines that are already HTML tags or shortcodes
-			if (preg_match('/^</', $trimmed) || preg_match('/^\[/', $trimmed)) {
+			// Check if line is a list item
+			if (preg_match('/^[\*\-•✓✔]\s/', $trimmed)) {
+				$close_paragraph();
+				$content = preg_replace('/^[\*\-•✓✔]\s/', '', $trimmed);
+				if (!$in_list) {
+					$processed_lines[] = '<ul>';
+					$in_list = true;
+				}
+				$processed_lines[] = '<li>' . $content . '</li>';
+				continue;
+			}
+			
+			// Close list if we're in one
+			if ($in_list) {
+				$processed_lines[] = '</ul>';
+				$in_list = false;
+			}
+			
+			// Block-level HTML tags - don't wrap in paragraph
+			if (preg_match('/^<(div|h1|h2|h3|h4|h5|h6|p|ul|ol|li|hr|table|blockquote)/i', $trimmed)) {
+				$close_paragraph();
 				$processed_lines[] = $line;
 				continue;
 			}
 			
-			// Wrap in paragraph
-			$processed_lines[] = '<p>' . $line . '</p>';
+			// Regular text line - accumulate in paragraph
+			if ($paragraph_content) {
+				// Add line break before continuation (THIS IS THE KEY FIX!)
+				$paragraph_content .= '<br>' . $trimmed;
+			} else {
+				// Start new paragraph
+				$paragraph_content = $trimmed;
+			}
 		}
 		
+		// Close any open tags
+		if ($in_list) {
+			$processed_lines[] = '</ul>';
+		}
+		$close_paragraph();
+		
 		$html = implode("\n", $processed_lines);
 		
-		// Clean up extra newlines in HTML
-		$html = preg_replace('/\n{3,}/', "\n\n", $html);
+		// Restore variables
+		foreach ($variables as $placeholder => $original) {
+			$html = str_replace($placeholder, $original, $html);
+		}
 		
 		return $html;
 	}
diff --git a/templates/emails/base.html b/templates/emails/base.html
index 434cdde..19e1f89 100644
--- a/templates/emails/base.html
+++ b/templates/emails/base.html
@@ -99,17 +99,14 @@
         
         .card-info {
             background-color: #f0f7ff;
-            border: 1px solid #0071e3;
         }
         
         .card-warning {
             background-color: #fff8e1;
-            border: 1px solid #ff9800;
         }
         
         .card-success {
             background-color: #e8f5e9;
-            border: 1px solid #4caf50;
         }
         
         .card-bg {