Politics

Obama Calling, Not Happy

Kamala is struggling to win over the African-American male demo.

Former President Barack Obama admonished African American men last week for not planning to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming election in what seems to be a lame (even desperate?) plea. Harris has struggled to get that demographic behind her, and Obama even suggested that sexism might be a reason why…

“You have someone who grew up like you, knows you, went to college with you, understands the struggles and pain and joy that comes from those experiences,” Obama said. “And you are thinking about sitting out?”

“And you’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses, I’ve got a problem with that,” Obama continued. “Because part of it makes me think, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”

Hey, maybe the candidate (Harris in this case), just isn’t good enough in their opinion? And (this is the writer's opinion here) not sure those are good enough reasons to vote someone as president. Just like you shouldn’t make decisions against someone because of their race/ethnicity/religion/background, etc. - should you make decisions in favor of them because of it? Isn’t that sort of in the same vein?

Around the Hill:

🧐 Trumps latest move, very unconventional.

📝 What are the differences between Harris and Bidens agendas?

Global News

Hurricane Milton's Impact

Hurricane Milton Spares Tampa but Leaves Widespread Damage Across Florida.

We hope everyone made it through Hurricane Milton safely last week and with minimal damage. The storm made landfall around 8:30 PM last Wednesday night near Siesta Key as a category 3 hurricane. 

The National Hurricane Center said that a preliminary analysis of the storm surge showed that water levels reached 8-10 feet above ground between Siesta Key and Fort Myers Beach in south Florida, which was less than the lethal storm surge that scientists had feared. In fact, it was also lower than Hurricane Helene, which killed 230 people across the Southeast. Milton also dumped up to 18 inches of rain in some areas of the state. 

Fortunately, the storm was not as bad as it was originally feared to be, as it veered south in the final hours, sparing Tampa from the direct hit it was projected to receive (making landfall 70 miles south). 

However, Milton did still leave more than 3.4 million people without power, just two weeks after Hurricane Helene rolled through the Sunshine State. Milton also brought some tornadoes with it (estimated to be 150 of them), which killed at least five people. Many more had to be saved, as at least 340 people and 49 pets were rescued during the storm and immediately afterwards.

Governor Ron DeSantis said Milton (fortunately) did not end up becoming “the worst-case scenario.”

“You face two hurricanes in a couple of weeks - not easy to go through - but I’ve seen a lot of resilience throughout this state,” DeSantis said at his briefing. He also said he was “very confident that this area is going to bounce back very, very quickly.”

DeSantis also added that the “buildings that were built in the last 20 or 30 years, they did very well.”

About 80,000 people spent the night Wednesday in shelters. But one (large) shelter, in particular, Tropicana Field, had its roof torn off by the storm.

Lt. Dan

By god, he survived!

Hurricane Milton didn’t just bring damage, tornadoes and lots of rain… it also brought us the latest viral star. Lieutenant Dan. Well, that’s his nickname at least - which is based off the character of the same name, played by Gary Sinise in “Forrest Gump.”

Like that character, this “Lieutenant Dan” is also missing a leg (from the knee down). He also has a boat (though it might not be his, more on that in a moment), but he didn’t ever serve in the military. In fact, his leg was amputated nearly 40 years ago, following a scooter accident when he was still a teenager. 

His real name is Joseph Malinowski. And he became internet famous after going viral on social media apps like TikTok and X (formerly Twitter), due to his willingness, and stubbornness, to ride out the storm on his 20-foot boat in Tampa Bay, where Milton was expected to make a direct hit. He was even featured on The Weather Channel and CNN.

And, despite protest from local officials, Malinowski stayed on his boat and made it through the storm safely. This led to popular streamer Adin Ross offering a contract of $100k and a new boat, in exchange for Malinowski streaming online 100 hours a month for him. Malinowski’s GoFundMe also exceeded $40k.

But the stardom might have been short lived, as many started learning about this past. Turns out Malinowski has a rap sheet longer than his boat. The 54-year-old has been arrested dozens of times in North Carolina and Florida over the last two decades alone. He’s also not even from the Tampa area. 

Now, many of these arrests are for traffic offenses or for failing to appear in court. But he has also been busted for drug possession, an attempted breaking and entering, and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. There’s even an open case over whether that boat he’s been staying on even belongs to him!

In 2021, Malinowski was arrested for punching a cop in the face, after the cop was called by a bar manager because Malinowski was causing a disturbance, screaming and smashing glasses, and refusing to leave. 

And just last year, he was arrested for allegedly attempting to set a woman on fire. After getting in an argument with a woman at the beach, he allegedly poured gasoline on the bench she was sitting on and then later on her, as she was smoking a cigarette. He was also charged for abandoning a 26-foot sailboat last year, which was discovered “on its side and submerged.”

In the words of the Foo Fighters, “there goes my hero.”

How to Help:

🌀 Here are the best ways to help the victims of Hurricane Milton.

Business

NVIDIA, Absolute Juggernaut

Sold out for the next year, one of their chips anyway.

Time to check in on our friends Nvidia, once again, as they continue to trend towards more records. Morgan Stanley analysts met with the company’s management team and came away optimistic about the sustained demand in their product and company moving forward. This optimism is helping to push their stock forward.

Nvidia’s Blackwell chip lineup is already sold out for the next 12 months, leaving the analysts with “every indication that business remains robust with very high forward visibility.”

Shares of Nvidia were up 7.8% last week (after increasing 25% in September) to $134.74, which puts them within 1% of their $135.58 record close that was achieved back in June. It was the best weekly performer among PHLX Semiconductor Index’s components, and the third-best in the S&P 500.

Any fears about Nvidia are now “overdone,” according to the Morgan Stanley analysts.

Around the Water Cooler:

🤝 Almost everyone who is offered a job at google accepts.

🛫 Boeing announces mass layoffs.

Finance

Inflation Continues to Drop

We really couldn’t take it going higher.

Good news! Inflation continues to drop. In fact, it has reached its lowest point since it started surging in 2021 in the aftermath of COVID-19’s apex. This is the latest in the continuing trend of promising economic data lately.

With that said, consumer prices still rose in September - but only by 2.4%, compared to a year prior. Which is down from the 2.5% in August, and is actually the smallest annual rise since February 2021.

Prices increased 0.2% from August to September, the Labor Department reported last week, which is the same climb as the previous month. 

But we’re still not out of the woods just yet. Core prices, a gauge of underlying inflation, remained elevated in September, as it was driven up by rising costs for medical care, clothing, auto insurance and airline fares. Core prices in September were up 3.3% from that time a year ago, and 0.3% from August. This metric provides a better hint of future inflation. 

The Census Bureau also reported that inflation-adjusted median household incomes rose 4% in 2023, which was enough to return incomes back to their pre-pandemic peak.

From the Street:

📈 2-years into a Bull Rally, here’s what usually happens next.

🇨🇳 China testing investors patience.

Entertainment

Taylor Swift Can’t Miss

Her net worth is outrageous.

In case you haven’t gotten enough Taylor Swift lately, we’re here to tell you that there's a new queen on top. And it’s… yep, you’ve guessed it… Taylor Swift.

Taylor just became the richest female musician in the WORLD, with a net worth of $1.6 billion! That’s an increase of $500k from last October, allowing her to pass the previous leader, Rihanna (who is worth $1.4 billion). Though this should be a competition where there is no shame in second place…

But what’s interesting is that the vast majority of Rihanna’s net worth actually comes from her companies (Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty), as opposed to her music. Which is the opposite of Taylor Swift, who makes nearly all her money from her music career. In fact, she became the first musician to reach billionaire status SOLELY from her musical career, which is pretty wild. 

Her music catalog is valued at $600 million, while her tour and royalties have pocketed her another $600 million. She also owns $125 million in real estate. Her jump to #1 was propelled by her “Eras Tour”, which wraps up at the end of this year, following 22 months. It’s the first tour to ever surpass $1 billion in total gross. 

Madonna is next on the list, just below the billionaire level, with a net worth of $850 million. She has made $1.6 billion in total gross across all of her concert tours throughout her career. 

Beyonce’s net worth is $760 million and Celine Dion is fifth at $550 million.

The good news is - the Kansas City Chiefs had their bye week this past weekend. So Taylor could celebrate this news with her boyfriend…

What to Know:

🤩 5 reasons to be optimistic about the entertainment business.

📺 AT&T Sells it’s stake in DirectTV for Billions.