Ian Heads North, Russian Annex, and a Bobblehead Record

Your Daily Brief

September 30th, 2022

Good morning, and happy Wednesday! Did you know that it’s technically possible for you to be allergic to the moon? During the Apollo 17 mission, astronaut Harrison Schmitt experienced an overt reaction to lunar dust when some of it got on his suit while he was out collecting samples. Apparently, allergens go beyond our Earth, which might be a little something to think about next time you start sneezing! Anyway, here’s what we have for you:

In Today’s Brief

Uganda: Confirms 31 cases of Ebola
FDA: Approves new drug to treat ALS patients
PGA Tour: Files countersuit against LIV Golf
Google: Shutting down cloud-based gaming service Stadia
AI: Digital artist creates portraits of how celebrities would look if they were still alive
Top Tips: Hurricane Ian heads north up the East Coast; Russia will begin formally annexing four more areas of Ukraine; the S&P 500 index hits a new low for 2022

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Ian downgraded to a tropical storm before becoming a hurricane again

Wind speeds fell to downgrade Ian to a tropical storm as it left Florida yesterday, though it regained hurricane status as it continued to move up the East Coast.

After Ian made landfall in southwestern Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, it knocked out electricity to over 2.6M homes and businesses, which accounts for nearly one-quarter of all utility customers in the state. As of yesterday, at least one individual was confirmed dead. In a news conference, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state has “never seen a storm surge of this magnitude,” and called rising water levels from Ian “a 500-year flooding event.”

While Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm yesterday, the National Hurricane Center said storm surge and flooding remained a threat. By yesterday evening, Ian strengthened back into a hurricane while turning toward northern states, where a hurricane warning for the South Carolina coast was issued.

Russia will formally annex four more parts of Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin will begin annexing four Ukrainian regions to Russia today, a move the UN said would mark a “dangerous escalation” and jeopardize peace prospects.

The move will add the Russian-occupied regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, which make up approximately 15% of Ukraine’s territory. According to Putin, referendum votes to formally join Russia were held in the four regions beginning one week ago, and the Russian president claimed the exercise secured near-total popular support in each one. Meanwhile, Ukraine and Western countries have denounced the referendums, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling the votes a “futile attempt to mask attempted land grab in Ukraine.”

According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, a signing ceremony to incorporate the new territories into Russia is scheduled for today at 12:00 GMT in the St George Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace.

The S&P 500 hits a 2022 low amid a stock market selloff

One day after a partial rebound in the United States stock market, stocks resumed a week-long decline that saw the S&P 500 index hit a new low for 2022.

Investors sent stocks trading down on concerns around inflation and continued rate hikes in the range of 50-75 basis points from the Federal Reserve, weakening global currencies, and the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. The S&P 500 index–which is considered a benchmark for the overall stock market because of the diversity of companies it tracks–has now fallen 24.10% since January 1st.

All three major indexes in the US (Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500) have fallen into a bear market this year, meaning a decline of 20% or more. The Dow Jones was the most recent index to reach bear market territory, with a year-to-date loss of -20.12%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, is down -32.34% since 2022 began.

Around the Globe

Uganda has reported 31 confirmed cases of the Ebola virus including 18 deaths, according to the country’s health ministry
Russia said that recent gas leaks in the Baltic Sea stemming from the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines to Germany appeared to be the result of state-sponsored “terrorism,” per a statement from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov
The Vatican confirmed that it sanctioned Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo of East Timor following allegations that he sexually abused boys in the country during the 1990s

On the Homefront

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a drug called Relyvrio to treat patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neurological disorder commonly referred to as “ALS” or “Lou Gehrig’s disease” - read the FDA’s statement here
Former National Security Agency employee Jareh Sebastian Dalke has been charged with violating the Espionage Act, with prosecutors alleging that he attempted to sell classified information to an undercover FBI agent posing as a foreign spy - read the Justice Department’s statement
The Senate voted 72-25 in favor of a bill to fund government activities and keep federal agencies open through December 16th that otherwise would be forced to shut down tomorrow; the vote sent the funding bill to the House of Representatives

Glitz & Games

Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran must face a jury trial over the copyright case between him and the Marvin Gaye estate over whether he stole pieces of his song “Thinking Out Loud” from Marvin Gaye‘s “Let’s Get It On” after a federal judge rejected Sheeran’s efforts to dismiss the case
The PGA Tour filed a countersuit against LIV Golf as part of its response to LIV Golf’s antitrust lawsuit against it, claiming the Saudi Arabian-financed circuit interfered with existing contracts that the PGA Tour had with its members
Marvel’s six-episode series Armor Wars on Disney+ will be redeveloped as a feature film; Don Cheadle is expected to reprise his role as War Machine aka Colonel James Rhodes and the show’s writer Yassir Lester will continue with writing the movie

Business & Markets

Major indexes in the stock market closed lower after a selloff during yesterday’s trading session, erasing Wednesday’s gains (Dow -1.54%, Nasdaq -2.84%, S&P 500 -2.11%)
Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida is set to resume theme park and Disney Springs operations in a “phased approach” starting tomorrow as the company assesses the impact of Hurricane Ian, per a statement released yesterday
Google is shutting down the cloud-based gaming service Stadia which launched in 2019; its servers will be turned off on January 18th and most refunds should be completed by then, per a blog post from Stadia’s Vice President and General Manager Phil Harrison

Tip & Tricks

Binge Watch: Blonde, starring Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in a 2-hour and 47-minute saga, has arrived after much fanfare - watch it on Netflix
Bump This: It’s not every day you hear harps and flutes in a modern song, but soul singer Giveon brings us both in his new song “Time” from the movie Amsterdam - listen on Apple Music and Spotify
Go Deep: Take a look at these images that artist Alper Yesiltas created using AI technology that shows what celebrities like John Lennon, Princess Diana, and Kurt Cobain would look like now if they were still alive
Feel Good: Check out the world’s largest bobblehead that Pennsylvania store chain Ollie's Bargain Outlet unveiled, breaking the Guinness World Record with a figure measuring 16 feet and 6.73 inches tall (that’s one big bobblehead)
Say What: “I’m proud to be an Aguilera. Something that I really embody and understand is that, you know, this is a name that has been tried to be taken away from me on numerous occasions coming up in this business,” singer Christina Aguilera said when reflecting on how executives in the music industry told her to change her last name at the start of her career
Hot Goss: Camila Cabello mistook The Voice contestant Tanner Howe for ex-boyfriend Shawn Mendes during his blind audition; check out the video of Howe singing Mendes’ “Mercy” and Camila Cabello’s reaction here
Life Hack: If you need to ripen an avocado fast, try placing them inside a paper bag with a banana or two - it helps speed up the process due to a type of gas that bananas emit called ethylene (yeah...science!)

Looking Back…

On September 30th: The Munich Agreement is signed, in which Britain's Neville Chamberlain encouraged Britain and France to appease Adolf Hitler’s demands in hopes of preventing World War II (1938); baseball player Babe Ruth becomes the first to hit 60 home runs in a single season (1927); actor James Dean dies in a car crash (1955); French actress Marion Cotillard is born (1975).

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