HURRICANE AFTERMATH
At least 15 people have died after Irma battered parts of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina earlier this week, submerging cities and causing widespread destruction. President Donald Trump will visit the state of Florida on Thursday. It's not yet clear which areas he will visit. (Weather Channel)
*Returning Florida evacuees stunned by Irma's wreckage as death toll climbs (Reuters)
Florida Gov. Rick Scott said "we've got a lot of work to do" in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Florida inched back towards normality with workers restoring power, clearing roads and replenishing gas supplies, even as teams scoured the state's southernmost islands and authorities warned of mass devastation. (AP)
*Amid chaos of storms, U.S. shows it has improved Its response (NYT)
Florida Power & Light said virtually all East Coast customers of the state's biggest provider of power should have power restored by Sunday, and western customers will be fully up and running five days later. About half of the state's 21 million residents were without power. (USA Today)
Owners of homes flooded during Hurricane Harvey are claiming billions of dollars in damages by federal and state water releases from storm-swollen reservoirs, using a legal tack pursued without success in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. (Reuters)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
Top House leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, plan to huddle today to begin discussing legislation that would provide protections to nearly 700,000 "dreamers" at risk of losing their legal status in six months if Congress fails to act. (Washington Post)
Sen. Bernie Sanders will introduce legislation today that would expand Medicare into a universal health insurance program with the backing of at least 15 Democratic senators. "This is where the country has got to go," Sanders said in an interview. (Washington Post)
The Supreme Court again ordered a reinstatement of the Trump's restrictions on refugee entry into the U.S. The high court issued the emergency order after a federal appeals court ruled that roughly 24,000 vetted refugees should be able to enter the U.S. while litigation over the travel ban continues. (WSJ)
Congress passed a resolution calling on President Trump to condemn hate groups after Trump was criticized for his response to the violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a month ago. (Reuters)
North Korea showed trademark defiance today over new U.N. sanctions imposed after its sixth and largest nuclear test, vowing to redouble efforts to fight off what it said was the threat of a U.S. invasion. On Monday, the 15-member U.N. Security Council unanimously agreed on sanctions. (Reuters)
At the 2017 Delivering Alpha conference, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon took a shot at bitcoin, saying the cryptocurrency "is a fraud." He also spoke on the U.S. economy and took another shot at Washington. (CNBC)
* Mohamed El-Erian warns bitcoin should be worth about half current values (CNBC)
After meeting for roughly two and a half hours, the National Transportation Safety Board says the "operational limitations" of Tesla's Autopilot system played a "major role" in a fatal 2016 crash. It had previously determined the crash was not the result of a defect in the system. (CNBC)
*Jim Chanos says he's still betting against Elon Musk's Tesla: It's a 'cult stock' (CNBC)
Apple revealed some of the most highly anticipated iPhones yet, including the high-end iPhone X, at its big event Tuesday. The high-end model features a completely new look, with a screen that stretches from edge to edge, and gets rid of the home button. Here are the details. (CNBC)
*Why Apple saved its cheapest iPhone (CNBC)
*Hands-on with the iPhone X (CNBC)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Walt Disney (DIS) announced that the release date for "Star Wars: Episode IX" will be delayed by seven months. That follows the announcement that J.J. Abrams will return to write and direct the latest installment, following the departure of Colin Trevorrow over creative differences.
Nordstrom (JWN) is near a deal to take the company private, according to CNBC, quoting people familiar with the matter. The Nordstrom family is in talks with private equity firm Leonard Green on a partnership to strike a deal.
Micron Technology (MU) was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at Goldman Sachs, which pointed to the potential for higher memory chip prices during the fourth quarter.
Allergan (AGN) was accused by rival drug maker Mylan (MYL) of taking advantage of Native American sovereignty to avoid patent challenges for its eye treatment Restasis. Allergan recently struck a deal to transfer the rights to Restasis to a Native American, a move it believes would shield the patent from possible review by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
American Airlines (AAL) lowered its current quarter outlook for revenue per available seat mile, due largely to hurricane-related cancellations as well as higher fuel costs.
WATERCOOLER
Equifax chairman and CEO Richard Smith wrote an op-ed and apologized to the 143 million people affected by the company's massive security breach and its response afterward. He also vowed to "make changes" to ensure something like this won't happen again. (USA Today)
Apple announced more than just the iPhone X at its big event on Tuesday. Other product announcements include a new Apple Watch, a 4K Apple TV and more. Here's everything that was announced. (CNBC)