Destructive weather patterns approach. Democracy teeters. And still, the internet almost never comes quite as alive as it does when there's an Apple keynote event. (El Chapo wished he had a product this addictive.) And so it was again today as Tim Cook and the gang took to the stage to roll out their new line-up of products. Among them is the latest Apple Watch which "introduces built-in electrocardiogram (ECG) functionality, which uses electrical signals for heart rate monitoring. It's the first over-the-counter product to offer ECG to consumers ... The app can classify signs of atrial fibrillation, which can be followed by a stroke." With the electrocardiogram feature, Apple is at long last overtly stating a message they've been quietly signaling for years: Buy our products or you will die. Seriously, the heart monitoring features on the Apple Watch are a wearable reminder that health in America is for those who can afford it. Here's more on the new watch and the other products announced in Cupertino. My conundrum is that I want to wear an Apple Watch. I just don't want to be a guy who wears an Apple Watch.

+ "Products will be introduced: new things with screens, new things that play music, maybe new things that attach to your body. People with nice teeth will come onstage to demonstrate the new wonders of the global age. Except they are not really new wonders, and the aesthetics of the event feel out of sync with the chaotic, uncertain times." Alexis Madrigal: Everything Is Worse, Except Your Phone. (Interesting stuff. But if nothing else, Apple distracted us from Trump news for a couple hours. And even a hardcore Windows user can be thankful for that...)

"This is not going to be a tropical storm. This is not going to be one of those storms that hit and move out to sea. This is going to be, you know, a Mike Tyson punch to the Carolina coast." It's always a bad sign when FEMA officials run out of decent analogies to describe how bad a storm will be. (Bottom line: if your name isn't Buster Douglas, evacuate.) Here's the latest of Flo's path.

+ It used to be that when conversations shifted towards touchy subjects like politics or religion, you could always change the subject to something less divisive, like the weather. Those days are gone. The polarization of Hurricane Florence.

+ North Carolina didn't like science on sea levels … so they passed a law against it.

"Middle-class income rose to the highest recorded levels in 2017 and the national poverty rate declined as the benefits of the strong economy lifted the fortunes of more Americans." That's the very good news. But here's the reality check: "Crossing the $61,000 mark signals the American middle-class may have finally earned more than it did in 1999." Here's some analysis from WaPo.

+ "The scars of the financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession are still with us, just below the surface. The most profound of these is that the uneven nature of the recovery compounded a long-term imbalance in the accumulation of wealth. As a consequence, what it means to be secure has changed. Wealth, real wealth, now comes from investment portfolios, not salaries." NYT: The Recovery Threw the Middle-Class Dream Under a Benz.

+ NYT on what's happening in Vegas. The Epicenter of the Housing Bust Is Booming Again. (That's a Warning Sign.)

+ Ten years after the crisis, Barry Ritholtz takes a crack at answering the question: Why did nobody go to jail?

"Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms have accelerated public discourse to warp speed, creating virtual versions of the mob. Inflammatory posts based on passion travel farther and faster than arguments based on reason. Rather than encouraging deliberation, mass media undermine it by creating bubbles and echo chambers in which citizens see only those opinions they already embrace." Jeffrey Rosen in The Atlantic: The Founders designed a government that would resist mob rule. They didn't anticipate how strong the mob could become. America Is Living James Madison's Nightmare.

+ "Polarization. Conspiracy theories. Attacks on the free press. An obsession with loyalty. Recent events in the United States follow a pattern Europeans know all too well." Anne Applebaum: A Warning From Europe: The Worst Is Yet to Come.

"Warning that teenage use of electronic cigarettes has reached 'an epidemic proportion,' the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave Juul Labs and four other makers of popular vaping devices 60 days to prove they can keep them away from minors. If they fail, the agency said, it may take the flavored products off the market." (60 days? I know some parents who have been trying for years...) NYT: F.D.A. Cracks Down on Juul and E-Cigarette Retailers.

+ Europe Leads the World in Boozing, Tobacco Use ... And Living Long.

"Even as the European Union tightens its rules to prevent migrants from reaching its borders, thousands keep boarding rickety boats in search of a better life. And many still drown in the Mediterranean Sea, their bloated bodies ending up on the shores of North Africa with no family members to claim them. Marzoug gives the migrants in death what they failed to receive in life: a recognition of their worth." In the midst of an international crisis, WaPo finds some beauty: A Tunisian gravedigger gives migrants what they were deprived of in life: Dignity.

+ "This year, with a record high 68.5 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, the United States is on track to take in about 22,000 refugees, a quarter the number admitted in 2016, the last year of Barack Obama's presidency, and the fewest in four decades." Reuters: Slamming the door - How Trump transformed U.S. refugee program.

+ Deaf and disabled immigrant faces deportation after 34 years in the United States. (Feel safer?)

Hayley Peterson: Missing wages, grueling shifts, and bottles of urine: The disturbing accounts of Amazon delivery drivers may reveal the true human cost of 'free' shipping.

+ Yule Logjam: From AP: Watch out for the 7-foot box on the doorstep. Amazon plans to sell and ship fresh, full-size Christmas trees this year. (This could be the first holiday season when my family will actually feel cool to be Jewish.)

"They have been held accountable by local journalists for incidents including the leaving of a service pistol in a casino bathroom, alleged mistreatment in jails, the wearing of blackface by an officer, and various other actions." I try to steer away from some of the minor Trump news distractions. But this one is, well, just wow. Sheriffs who cheered Trump's attack on press have their own media run-ins.

+ Trump wanted to print money to repay the national debt. (If printing won't work, how about laundering?)

We all know brands pay so-called influencers to hype their products on social media. But you may not be aware that, sometimes, companies pay (a lot) to get influencers to trash their competitors.

"That smell is basically pollution. It comes from volatile organic compounds that are off-gassed by parts and adhesives in the car's interior. Many of those VOCs are linked to health problems like allergies and headaches, and at much greater exposures, birth defects and cancer." But, damn it smells good. Everything you wanted to know about that new car smell.

+ Author of ‘How to Murder Your Husband' Charged With Murdering Her Husband.

+ 12 Letters That Didn't Make the Alphabet.

+ University of Florida still makes money off Gatorade.