☕ “500-year flood event”

Taking stock of Ian’s devastation... September 30, 2022 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [Organifi]( Good morning. Great news (or bad news, if you hate-read the Brew)—this isn’t the only newsletter you’ll be receiving from us today. This being September 30, the final day of Q3, we’re bringing back our quarterly recap email to reminisce about all the important, and not-so-important, things that happened in the last three months. Up to you to decide which camp the Choco Taco retirement news falls in. See you later! —Neal Freyman, Max Knoblauch, Matty Merritt MARKETS Nasdaq 10,737.51 -2.84% S&P 3,640.47 -2.11% Dow 29,225.61 -1.54% 10-Year 3.788% +5.1 bps Bitcoin $19,475.44 -1.07% Meta $136.41 -3.67% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 11:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Now that September’s ending, it’d be nice for the S&P to wake up, because it just [flopped]( to its lowest close of the year. The bleak economic outlook is also forcing Meta to make some moves it’s rarely, if ever, made before: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company will freeze hiring, reduce its headcount, and enact a major budget cut, per Bloomberg. WEATHER Ian isn’t done with us yet [Flooded homes in Florida after Hurricane Ian]Win McNamee/Getty Images After devastating Florida with historic flooding, a weakened Ian regained strength and is expected to hit South Carolina as a hurricane today. The entire SC coast has been placed under a hurricane warning. Florida is picking up the pieces Ian, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the US, knocked out power to more than 2.5 million Florida customers after it came ashore on FL’s west coast on Wednesday afternoon. Its winds and storm surge of up to 18 feet trapped people in their homes, leveled buildings, and cut off water supplies to some hospitals—forcing patients to be evacuated. At least nine fatalities have been reported, but there will likely be more amid ongoing rescue efforts. After receiving a briefing from FEMA yesterday, President Biden said that early reports show “what may be substantial loss of life.” Other officials offered similarly grim assessments. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, who viewed the devastation by helicopter, said, “When you look at Fort Myers Beach in particular, there’s no words to describe it.” FL Gov. Ron DeSantis called Ian a “500-year flood event” and estimated it would take years to fully rebuild. As for the impact on business… - Major Florida airports remained closed yesterday and thousands of flights were canceled. Tampa International Airport will reopen this morning. - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers said their Sunday home game against the Kansas City Chiefs will go on as planned. - The citrus industry is assessing the impact on Florida’s prodigious orange groves, which supply the vast majority of OJ in the US. The damage to the already struggling sector is expected to be significant. What else? - [Videos]( captured heroic rescues. - [Sharks]( were spotted on the roads of Fort Myers. - [A hurricane hunter]( shot video of flying through Ian. He called it the “roughest flight of my career so far.” - [Here’s how you can help]( with relief efforts.—NF Ian, in photos [Photo collage of Ian's aftermath in Florida]Getty Images �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=Ian%20isn%E2%80%99t%20done%20with%20us%20yet%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fstories%2F2022%2F09%2F29%2Fian-devastates-florida-takes-aim-at-south-carolina%3Futm_campaign%3Dmb%26utm_medium%3Dnewsletter%26utm_source%3Dmorning_brew%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3Da905682a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Russian soldiers standing in Moscow]Alexander Nemenov/Getty Images Russia makes brazen play to get bigger. Vladimir Putin will push ahead with his illegal land grab by announcing the [annexation]( of four Ukrainian regions today, citing election results that show residents in those areas want to join Russia. Ukraine and the West have called those votes completely bogus. As for the mysterious Nord Stream pipeline leaks in the Baltic Sea, NATO declared them acts of sabotage and said the alliance would respond to any deliberate attacks on its critical infrastructure. The Biden administration reverses debt relief for some borrowers. The Education Dept. is [cutting back]( its student debt relief program for roughly 800,000 borrowers whose debt is held and managed by private banks (although guaranteed by the federal government). Facing legal challenges to the program, the administration is looking to avoid lawsuits from private companies that could threaten or hold up debt relief. But other lawsuits have already arrived. Yesterday, six Republican-led states sued to overturn Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000. Google boards up the Stadiam. The tech giant [said]( it’s shuttering its cloud gaming service, Stadia, less than three years after its release. The gaming world reacted with a very sarcastic “oh no we’re so surprised!” Stadia had skeptics since its launch because of its ill-defined audience and weak game library. And last year, when Google shut down its in-house game development studios, everyone’s eyebrows flew even higher. The service will officially power down January 18, 2023. TOGETHER WITH ORGANIFI [Liquid gold for rest and relaxation]( [Organifi]( We still hope to someday stumble upon the real fountain of youth, but an elixir that promotes restful sleep, recovery, and a healthy response to stress also sounds pretty magical. And fortunately for all of us, that does exist. It’s called [organifi Gold](, and this nighttime tea is just what your wind-down routine is missing. Just one cup delivers [9 soothing ingredients](—including lemon balm extract, coconut milk, ginger, and traditional Ayurvedic herbs—that give your body the nourishment it deserves, without any sugar or negative side effects. Wake up feeling refreshed and energized. [Use code BREW to get 25% off your entire purchase + a free 30-ct Gold Travel Pack](. �  �  �  AI AI-generated art is pivoting to video [AI-created video]A video created by Meta's AI video generator. Meta AI Rapidly evolving from a zero-effort way to see what Dr. Phil would look like as a Dragon Ball Z villain into a tool for creating award-winning gallery pieces, AI-generated art just hit yet another milestone. Yesterday, machine learning engineers at Meta announced a new AI tool called [Make-A-Video]( that produces videos from users’ text prompts. Currently, Make-A-Video clips are audio-free and last less than five seconds but, at the industry’s current growth rate, we can probably expect that to change by the time you finish this newsletter. As with other recent AI tools, Make-A-Video comes with risks: It could one day threaten the jobs of artists, it raises thorny ethics and copyright questions, and it poses a potential privacy risk in its ability to create fake videos of real people. In a paper detailing their work, Meta’s researchers also note that, like other AI, it has “learnt and likely exaggerated social biases, including harmful ones.” AI art is in its Big Bang era: On Wednesday, OpenAI [announced]( that it’s removed the waitlist for DALL-E, which means users can sign up and begin using it immediately. And earlier this month, an AI-generated graphic novel [received]( US copyright registration—potentially the first piece created using the process to do so.—MK �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=AI-generated%20art%20is%20pivoting%20to%20video%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fstories%2FMeta-AI-Make-A-Video-generator%3Futm_campaign%3Dmb%26utm_medium%3Dnewsletter%26utm_source%3Dmorning_brew%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3Da905682a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A CONSUMER Your cool niece probably has a fave YouTuber and M&M [Neflix, Target, YouTube logo collage with Amazon smile, M&Ms, and oreos surrounding.]Illustration: Dianna “Mick” McDougall, Photos: Getty Images, Mars Incorporated Kids these days are still obsessed with YouTube, even if they aren’t exclusively using it to binge 10 hours of Smosh videos. The video platform is Gen Z’s No. 1 brand, according to a [new report]( from Morning Consult. Back in our day, we had to Ask Jeeves uphill both ways. After YouTube, Gen Z favored tech behemoths Google, Netflix, and Amazon. And growing young adults need snacks for all that Google searching: Half of the top 40 most popular Gen Z brands were food and beverage companies, more specifically—junk food. M&Ms ranked the highest at No. 5, followed by Doritos (8), Kit Kat (9), Oreo (10), and the only appropriate drink to wash it all down came in at No. 11: Gatorade. Some other highlights that might help you connect with your coworker who keeps calling you “mid”: - No shock here, but unimpressed Gen Z’s average favorability rating over all brands was 27%, lower than 33% of all participants and 36% of millennials. (A brand’s favorability score was determined by asking participants if they had either a “somewhat” or “very” favorable opinion of each brand.) - But, more Gen Zers saw fast-fashion giant Shein favorably (44%) compared to all adults in the survey (22%).—MM �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=Your%20cool%20niece%20probably%20has%20a%20fave%20YouTuber%20and%20M%26amp%3BM%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fstories%2Fnew-report-finds-gen-z-loves-tech-gaming-snacks-and-shein%3Futm_campaign%3Dmb%26utm_medium%3Dnewsletter%26utm_source%3Dmorning_brew%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3Da905682a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [An illustration of a dark looking home]Francis Scialabba Stat: This statistic from Bloomberg is the [best illustration yet]( of just how unaffordable buying a home has gotten this year. With mortgage rates around 3% in early 2021, if you wanted to spend $2,500/month on a home you could buy a house that cost $758,572. Now, with mortgage rates more than double that, that same monthly payment would get you a house that costs $476,425. Quote: “Maybe Oprah would be interested in joining the Twitter board if my bid succeeds.” Floating Oprah as a Twitter board member to CBS anchor Gayle King is just one of many [juicy Elon Musk texts]( that were released yesterday ahead of the Musk v. Twitter trial. Also included in the treasure trove: Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison pledging $1 billion to Musk’s take-private bid because “it would be lots of fun” and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey endorsing Musk’s attempted takeover because, “It’s too critical for humanity.” Read: The magical bookstore you thought only existed in stories. ([Melissa Caruso]() TOGETHER WITH MOOMOO [Moomoo]( Take charge of your trading: Access an all-in-one trading experience with [Moomoo](’s award-winning platform. Get advanced pro-level and time-saving tools to complete more accurate analysis, ID best-performing stocks, make smarter trades with *free* real-time data, and more. [Open and fund your account]( + get up to 15 free stocks (valued at up to $2k each). �  �  �  QUIZ Real Housewives of Quiz Lake City [Weekly news quiz]( The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to looking at your Friday calendar and seeing zero meetings. It’s that satisfying. [Ace the quiz](. WHAT ELSE IS BREWING - [Trevor Noah]( said he will be leaving The Daily Show after seven years as host. - [The FDA]( approved an ALS drug despite uncertainty around its effectiveness. - [A top Apple executive]( is leaving the company after making a crude statement in a viral TikTok video. - [About 200 environmental activists]( were killed in 2021, per a report from Global Witness. More than 75% of the killings took place in Latin America. BREW'S BETS Data, visualized: An [interactive analysis]( of celebratory gunfire and the [US cities]( with the largest median home size. How much can you “find out”? This guy will [show you]( using a simple formula (language warning). Happy Friday! Here’s an [endless doomscroll](. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Jigsaw: Strap on your scuba gear and dive into today’s Jigsaw puzzle. [Play it here](. Friday puzzle This intricate puzzle should help you stay stimulated during a slow Friday at work. The following two 4x4 grids each contain a 12-letter word. Each word is formed by a chain of letters. A word can begin with any of the letters in the grid. The second letter of a word is adjacent (either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) to the first letter, the third letter is adjacent to the second, and so on. No letter can be used more than once. Four letters in each grid will be unused. Can you find the words? DNNW UEIE ROKT NGAR LAME CNNG IOIL LDUT AROUND THE BREW [Can you identify the rich one?]( [Can you identify the rich one?]( Meet two young singles who went on a blind date and got intimate immediately by discussing finances. [See if they’re a financial match](. This week on Business Casual: Media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg explains why you’re more vulnerable to hackers than you might think. [Listen]( or [watch]( here. Suffering from writer’s block? A lineup of successful creators will share their tactics to help you push through. [Sign up]( for Morning Brew’s Strategy for Creators course today. SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=a905682a]( ANSWER The word in the first grid is “kindergarten” and the second grid contains “longitudinal.” ✳︎ A Note From Moomoo Level 2 data is free to moomoo users that have an approved brokerage account with Moomoo Financial Inc. Terms and Conditions apply; please visit for details. $2,000 value is based on the market price at the time of the gift. Moomoo is a financial information and trading app offered by Moomoo Techonologies Inc. In the U.S., investment products and services on Moomoo are offered by Moomoo Financial Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. Any illustrations, scenarios, or specific securities referenced herein are strictly for illustrative purposes. Past investment performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk and the potential to lose principal. � � � � � Written by [Neal Freyman](, [Matty Merritt](, and [Max Knoblauch]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. WANT MORE BREW? Tips for smarter living → - [Incrypto](: Finally, crypto news you can understand - [Sidekick](: lifestyle recs from every corner of the internet [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2022 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011