- Conservative television producer (and spouse of cursed adult child Eric Trump), Lara Trump as one of the deadliest hurricanes on record sweeps through Florida.

There’s a level of economic panic happening around the world that is, to use the official financial terminology, not chill. 
 

• The values of currencies are plunging, inflation is still a major problem, and in the United States, the shameful $7.25 federal minimum wage hasn’t been worth less in 60 years. The three major stock indexes are down more than 20%, and while the stock market is not actually the standard bearer for “the economy” as a whole that many in the finance industry would have you believe (the stock market was doing off-the-charts numbers during the pandemic when tens of millions of Americans were living hand-to-mouth), its poor performance does directly impact the retirement accounts of average Americans.
   

• The difference between now and another economic inflection point like the 2008 recession is multifaceted. Unemployment remains at historic lows. The stock market is down, but it hasn’t taken a truly precipitous fall (knocks furiously on wood). There seems to be a growing global consensus that the major central banks are at least partly at fault, with the U.S. Federal Reserve front-and-center. The Fed’s mandate and mission is to calm markets, to keep the economy on track and course-correct when it falls off. But as we’ve covered, Chairman of the Fed Jerome Powell has made the aggressive decision to pursue steep interest rate increases, multiple times. The Fed’s dual mandate is to “promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates,” but Powell only seems to be concerned about stable prices. 
   

• The Fed’s overt desire “to get wages down” while corporate profits continue to soar to their highest level since 1950 strikes many average Americans and economists alike as the wrong kind of intervention. The degree to which corporate profits and corporate greed have fueled inflation is verifiable, but has received only modest traction from the media and Congress. The Fed wants labor to cost less, but even vice chairman Lael Brainard admitted that the prices of consumer goods “have risen significantly more than the average hourly wage that retailers pay workers to stock shelves and serve customers over the past year.” That leaves many to ask: where is the effort to restrain corporate profits instead of wages?

The usual economic indicators of a recession just aren’t in play right now, but the Fed’s hawkish intervention could lead us there. Ultimately, Jerome Powell and the entire Federal Reserve are supposed to be acting in the best interest of the American people. If they fail to do so and seem to be actively working against a pillar of their mandate, our elected officials should step in.

Gift cards are now available at Crooked Coffee! Whether you’re shopping for picky loved ones or need a last-minute gift, Crooked Coffee is exactly what they want. Pick a value - $10, $25, $50, or $100 - and we’ll let the recipient know coffee’s on you. Don’t worry — we won’t tell your dad you bought it seconds before you showed up to family dinner. Give the gift of less chaotic mornings.

Today, a federal appellate court heard arguments concerning the rights of transgender student-athletes, but the plaintiffs aren’t trans students. They’re a group of young cisgender women represented by the conservative Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom (lol). They claim that allowing trans athletes to compete on teams that aligns with their gender identity violates the rights of cis girls and young women, so much so that it violates their Title IX rights requiring schools to provide “equal opportunity for members of both sexes.” The case, Soule et al v. Connecticut Association of Schools et al, was initially thrown out by a judge last year, but the ADF appealed it to the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals. The American Civil Liberties Union is representing the defendants, and has argued repeatedly that the case is based on a false premise: that the plaintiffs “can’t win” against trans girls. In fact, they point to an “extensive record of victories” in which they outperformed their trans competitors. On the basis of legal precedent, the defendants are likely to win, but regardless of outcome, the case has already shaped the rhetoric used to discuss trans participation in sports, and not for the better. There’s no doubt that the case will continue to be referenced by conservatives in their bigoted culture war messaging. 

Lawyers for disgraced former president Trump are resisting a federal judge’s instruction to submit a sworn declaration on whether they believe the government’s list of property taken from Mar-a-Lago is accurate - and then federal judge/Trump-appointee Aileen Cannon supported his choice not to! I’m starting to think this lady isn’t on the up-and-up

Ginni Thomas met with the January 6th committee today!!!

Queen Elizabeth II’s official death certificate was released and confirmed that her official cause of death was “old age.” We were really hoping the official cause would turn out to be “partying too hard.”

New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman’s new book alleges that disgraced former president Trump put equally-disgraced Rudy Giuliani in charge of his legal team because no one else would help him try to overturn the election. Those two really found each other, didn’t they?

The Rohingya muslims of Myanmar are asking Facebook parent company Meta to pay reparations for its role in facilitating violence committed against them, which the U.S. declared a genocide earlier this year.
 

An appeals court in Washington, D.C. has been asked to help decide whether Donald Trump was doing his job as president when he denied raping a woman and besmirched her character. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will formally move to seize four Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions this Friday, in violation of international law. 

Conspiracy theorist du jour Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) husband of 27 years filed for divorce yesterday. Was it something she said?

President Biden said today that early reports show that Hurricane Ian has caused substantial loss of life in Florida, and could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida history. More than 2.7 million Floridians were ordered to evacuate, and at least 15,000 people are currently sheltering in place. More than 2.6 million people remain without power. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said that the storm “changed the character of a significant part” of the state, and will require years of coordinated efforts to rebuild. He called the damage “indescribable.” But the scope of the devastation is still yet unknown. Biden will send FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell to Florida tomorrow to assess the damage and gauge where the state needs more support. The president also approved a major disaster declaration for Florida amid what the Hurricane Center called “catastrophic flooding.” Now the hurricane, still a Category 4, is moving towards South Carolina and should make a second U.S. landfall near Charleston around midday tomorrow. Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) said this afternoon he was not ordering evacuations of coastal communities, but urged residents to “prepare,” for the hurricane to hit the region. Great. Thanks for your help.

Cozy season’s in full swing, and CARIUMA is making the cool, seriously comfortable shoes you need right now.
 

You already know Cariuma as the sustainable sneaker worn by skaters and surfers. They’re reimagining classic sneakers with you and the planet in mind.
 

People love the best-seller OCA Low, and with over 20,000 five-star reviews and a waitlist of over 77,000, it's no secret. But the wait is over! The OCA comes in organic cotton canvas or ultra-soft, responsibly sourced suede. Low tops are a given, but the OCA family includes a padded high-top silhouette, for a cozier fit. CARIUMA also gave us a little insight into their top-selling colors this season: check out their Rose, Grey, and Off-White canvas styles, or treat yourself to a pair of Navy or Camel suede. The classic look means you need only one pair, but try them on and you might wonder if one is enough…

But the biggest difference between these sneakers and the others? Beyond premium materials and handcrafted quality, OCA is seriously comfortable. And we all know comfort comes first, whether you’re running to catch the train or an early morning swell.
 

Cariuma ships fast and free in the USA, in addition to worldwide shipping & 60 day extended returns, free of charge. They deliver right to your front door, using single-box, recycled packaging. As a special autumnal treat for What A Day readers, get 15% off your order with code WHATADAY!

India’s top court upheld the right to abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, regardless of marital status. 

Congress is poised to pass stopgap legislation to avert a government shutdown and continue funding the government. 

Michigan lawmakers approved early absentee ballot processing in the hopes of avoiding counting delays.