Hurricane Francine, Easter Island, and Soupless Campbell's

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Hurricane Francine

Francine made landfall yesterday around 60 miles southwest of New Orleans, Louisiana, as a Category 2 hurricane before weakening to a Category 1. A state of emergency is in effect statewide and in Mississippi, with a shelter-in-place order in effect for New Orleans following the end of evacuation windows. See live updates here.

The storm's center has been traveling north (see map). Officials are also bracing for possible tornadoes and the risk of storm surge (see 101). Today, the storm is expected to continue on to Mississippi, with flood warnings extending to Florida. Roughly one-quarter of the Gulf Coast's oil and gas production has been shut down; the region is responsible for 15% of domestic oil production.

Louisiana has witnessed some of the strongest hurricanes in US history. Among 57 documented storms was Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,390 people in 2005 when levee failures left 80% of the city underwater. See an interactive timeline of that storm here.

Easter Island Genome Study

The people of Easter Island likely did not suffer a population collapse due to "ecological suicide," according to a new genomic study yesterday. The findings instead indicate steady population growth to a peak of 3,000 in the 1860s, far below previous estimates of 15,000.

Known to natives as Rapa Nui, Polynesia's Easter Island is a 63-square-mile special territory of Chile in the southeast Pacific. It is the most isolated inhabited landmass on Earth. For decades, the island—famous for its more than 1,000 massive human-faced stone statues, or moai—was theorized to have suffered a self-imposed population collapse due to resource overuse prior to initial European contact. 

Analyzing the genomes of 15 Rapa Nui natives from the last two centuries, researchers revealed no evidence of a genetic bottleneck—or drop in genetic variation—a near certainty had there been a catastrophic collapse. The analysis also revealed Rapa Nui natives mixed with Native Americans as early as the 13th century.

Inflation Cools in August

Inflation continued its downward trend to 2.5% year-over-year in August, the latest consumer price index report showed, reaching the lowest level since February 2021 and approaching the Federal Reserve's 2% target. The data solidified market expectations the Fed will lower interest rates when it meets next week. See how inflation works here (w/video).

The index, which tracks the annual change in prices of goods and services, reached a peak of 9.1% in 2022. It was the final metric the Fed was seen to be waiting on before next week's decision following August's mixed jobs report (see previous write-up). The Fed is now widely expected to cut benchmark rates by a quarter-percentage-point next week, down from the current range of 5.25% to 5.5%. See how the federal funds rate impacts Americans here.

Notably, while inflation cooled, "core" CPI—excluding volatile food and gas prices—held steady at 3.2% year-over-year and up 0.3% month-over-month. The data reduced traders' expectations the Fed will cut interest rates by a half-percentage point, but benchmark rates are still anticipated to drop to 4.25% to 4.5% by the end of the year.

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In partnership with Sky Quarry

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