Good morning. It's Friday, Sept. 26, and we're covering the indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, the FTC's largest-ever civil penalty, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million readers. Sign up here.
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Former FBI Director Indicted |
A federal grand jury indicted former FBI Director James Comey yesterday on two criminal charges—lying to Congress and obstruction. The charges came five days before the statute of limitations was set to expire. If convicted, Comey faces up to five years in prison.
The indictment stems from Comey’s virtual testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 30, 2020. Comey stated “no” when asked if he had ever authorized someone at the FBI to serve as an anonymous source about the Trump-Russia investigation to news reports (see clip). Prosecutors contend Comey perjured himself with this statement and obstructed a congressional proceeding. Read the two-page indictment here.
Comey has long accused President Donald Trump of politicizing the Justice Department. The grand jury indictment was sought by interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan of the Eastern District of Virginia. She was nominated by Trump after the former US attorney—who refused to bring charges against Comey—was ousted. Halligan previously served as a White House aide and Trump’s defense attorney. |
Amazon reached a $2.5B settlement with the Federal Trade Commission yesterday, ending a civil trial over claims it enrolled customers in Prime without consent and intentionally made cancellations difficult. The company's shares fell 1% on the news.
Without admitting wrongdoing, Amazon will pay a $1B civil penalty—the largest in FTC history—and refund $1.5B to affected consumers. The fine represents 0.1% of Amazon's roughly $2.3T market cap. Prime, with over 200 million paying members, helped generate almost $24B in subscription revenue in the first half of 2025. However, the FTC alleges Amazon locked nearly 40 million consumers into recurring subscriptions with deceptive page designs, including a four-page, six-click, 15-option journey to cancel called "Iliad Flow." Amazon revised the flow in 2023 and must continue streamlining user journeys under the settlement.
In recent weeks, the FTC settled similar lawsuits against Match Group for $14M and Chegg for $7.5M and filed a new complaint against the operators of LA Fitness. |
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison after being convicted of criminal conspiracy, marking the first time a French president in modern history has been sentenced to prison. Sarkozy, 70, led France from 2007 to 2012.
Prosecutors said he conspired between 2005 and 2007 to secure millions of euros from Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi to finance his 2007 presidential bid. Then serving as interior minister, he allegedly promised to help restore Libya’s international standing in exchange for the funds. The case described a network of Libyan officials, intermediaries, and covert cash transfers into Paris. He was acquitted of separate charges of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, and embezzlement.
Sarkozy has prior convictions for corruption, influence peddling, and campaign finance violations, and has been stripped of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest distinction. He is expected to begin serving his sentence within a month, but has said he plans to appeal. |
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In partnership with Finance Advisors |
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Little-Known RMD Strategy Approved by the IRS |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> The 2025 MLB regular season wraps up this weekend; see latest playoff picture (More) | Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh becomes the seventh player to hit 60 home runs in a single season (More) |
> "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" brings in 6 million viewers, its largest audience in more than a decade, in his Tuesday return after being suspended by Disney last week (More) |
> Golf's Ryder Cup, a team competition pitting the US against Europe, kicks off today from the Bethpage Black Course in New York (More) | UEFA reportedly to suspend Israeli soccer teams from international competitions over the war in Gaza (More) |
The humble burrito: Tomorrow's 1440 Society & Culture newsletter serves up the history and evolution of the staple cuisine. Subscribe here to receive it! |
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> OpenAI launches ChatGPT Pulse, a paid feature that generates personalized subject matter briefs for users overnight (More) |
> Scientists find more sea creatures living on toxic sunken World War II warheads than in the surrounding seabed, raising questions about how marine life responds to pollution (More) |
> New Earth-mapping satellite captures North Dakota farmland and Maine's coast in detail; the joint US-India mission will track shifts in land and ice to help forecasters and first responders address natural disasters (More) |
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In partnership with Incogni |
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> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow -0.4%, Nasdaq -0.5%) (More) | US trade deficit falls to two-year low in August, per federal trade report (More) |
> President Donald Trump approves deal divesting TikTok's US operations from Chinese owner, ByteDance, to new joint venture including Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX; China must approve deal (More) | Trump announces new tariffs on goods including pharmaceutical drugs, furniture (More) |
> Starbucks to lay off 900 nonretail employees, will close hundreds of North American locations as part of $1B restructuring plan (More) | Elon Musk's xAI sues OpenAI for allegedly stealing trade secrets about Grok chatbot (More) |
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> Denmark temporarily shuts down several airports after drone sightings in four locations, including an air base housing F-16 and F-35 fighter jets (More) |
> Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks before UN General Assembly, puts forth governance plan for postwar Gaza excluding Hamas (More) | Microsoft cuts off cloud services to Israel's military following reports they were used to surveil Palestinians (More) |
> White House directs federal agencies to plan mass firings in the event of a government shutdown next week (More) | Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summons hundreds of generals and admirals for a rare meeting next week (More) |
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> Productivity Principles
Daniel Pink | Staff. A New York Times bestselling author distills three decades of productivity research into six timeless lessons. (Watch) |
> The Stain Savant
The Guardian | Tom Lamont. Whether faced with blood-stained theater doors or the remains of a 20-ton whale, Ben Giles is the man for the job. The professional cleaner has seen—and cleaned—it all. (Read) |
> New Balance's Marketing Masterclass
Forbes | Staff. Once the iconic "dad shoe," New Balance has skyrocketed in popularity among Gen Z. How brand partnerships gave the 119-year-old sneaker and apparel company culture capital, and what it should do to stay relevant. (Watch) |
> Ode to Pizza
The Atlantic | Ora Dodd. How would you describe pizza to someone who's never tasted it? Step back to 1949—before it was America’s weeknight standby and weekend crowd-pleaser—and savor one writer’s attempt. (Read) |
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In partnership with Finance Advisors |
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5 Red Flags Your Advisor Isn’t Cutting It |
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You've worked hard to build a substantial portfolio. But, if it's managed with the same cookie-cutter strategy everyone gets, it's time to reevaluate.
Skilled advisors use strategies like tax-smart rebalancing and direct indexing to optimize their clients' tax efficiency, that could save them tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.
If your portfolio isn't set up for tax optimization, you may not be getting the level of service you need from your advisor. Review these 5 tips to know if you should look for someone who can. |
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Best of Etcetera—September 2025 |
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