September 08, 2026

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Morning. Returning to work after Labor Day always hits like a ton of bricks. But as T.S. Eliot said, “The darkness (realizing that summer is essentially over) declares the glory of the light (a four-day week).”

—Molly Liebergall, Matty Merritt, Brendan Cosgrove, Adam Epstein, Neal Freyman

In today’s newsletter, we’ll get into:

Record-high Labor Day gas prices
The secret Elizabeth Holmes documentary
Why everyone’s going on “fallcations”

Markets: Year-to-Date

Nasdaq

26,506.99

+14.05%

S&P

7,718.6

+12.75%

Dow

53,414.25

+11.13%

10-Year

4.784%

+62.1 bps

Bitcoin

$79,337.06

-9.34%

GameStop

$19.16

-4.58%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 10:00am ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: Between US–Canada trade tensions and interest rate speculation, there will be enough action on Wall Street this week to make it feel like the three-day weekend never happened.
Stock spotlight: OG meme stock GameStop reports earnings today, but a lot of the attention will be on one of the company’s side quests: its $4b+ stake in eBay.

PUMP IT UP

Labor Day gas prices have never been this high

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Credit cards were working overtime at gas stations across the US this weekend. Pump prices for this time of year hit their highest level on record over the holiday, driven by continued oil disruptions from the Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Gas cost an average of $4.15 per gallon yesterday, according to AAA:

Gas never surpassed $4/gallon on Labor Day before this year.
The previous record for the holiday was $3.82/gallon, set in 2012 (the record is $5.02/gallon in June 2022).
The new record is ~30% higher than gas prices were this time last year, on average.

For context, gas prices tend to move seasonally—rising through spring and summer, beginning their descent by Labor Day, and hitting their lowest lows in the winter, when days are shorter and people tend to drive less.

This year is an exception: Iran has constrained tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz since the war started in February, while Ukrainian drone attacks have disabled some Russian refineries. US gas inventories were 6% below average for the last full week of August, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

You’re still feeling the effects, even if you don’t have a car

According to AAA:

Diesel (fuel for freight trucks that carry everything from food to clothing) spiked almost 60% from last Labor Day weekend to hit a record high of $5.85/gallon going into the holiday.
Prices for domestic flights to 10 of the most popular US destinations were up ~20% this weekend compared with last year.

Looking ahead…the EPA moved up the date when refineries can switch from summer gas blends to cheaper winter blends from Sept. 15 to Sept. 1, which may provide some relief at the pump. But the broader oil outlook is uncertain: Iran plans to expand its Strait lockdown in response to new US strikes, and US refineries are already working at near-total capacity.—ML

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Get your brand in front of streamers.

World

Tour de headlines

Chandan Khanna/Getty Images

🛬 NTSB is investigating the fatal Amazon cargo plane crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is looking into the cause of Sunday’s incident, in which an Amazon cargo jet overshot a runway at Miami International Airport and barreled into vehicles, killing five people. Per the Associated Press, the investigation is focusing on whether the plane touched down too late upon landing. The Miami airport is not equipped with arresting systems that the FAA says have saved hundreds of lives by stopping planes that overshoot the runway. Instead, the airport has a 1,000-foot safety buffer on each of its runways.

🇩🇪 Far-right AfD party wins state election in Germany. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, won a landslide victory in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, giving it the chance to form the country’s first far-right state government since the Nazi era, the Associated Press reported. It’s unclear if AfD would receive the support necessary from other parties in order to govern in the state, as Germany’s mainstream political parties have historically put up a firewall to keep it from taking power. The country’s intelligence agency classifies the nationalist, anti-immigrant AfD as an extremist group in some regions, though it’s increasingly gained popularity in Germany and has been embraced by figures like Elon Musk.

🗺️ Trump appeared to suggest renaming New Mexico to “New America.” On Sunday, President Trump posted a map of New Mexico on social media with the word “Mexico” crossed out and replaced with “America.” The official White House account on X also reshared the image. Trump’s post came days after signing an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” prompting Google and Apple to relabel the lake straddling the US–Canada border to the president’s preferred name for US users. But Trump does not have legal authority to change the name of a state. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was quick to reject the suggestion: “New Mexico’s name isn’t up for debate,” she said. “It’s been ours since before the United States existed.”—AE

ONE TINY DROP

Nathan Fielder drops secret Elizabeth Holmes doc

A24

A new documentary from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will hit theaters in October, but don’t expect to leave with any clear answers. And before the trailer for You Can See Everything dropped yesterday alongside its buzzy premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, basically no one knew it existed.

It’s apparently really weird. In 2023, just 36 days before starting her 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors by lying about her company’s blood-testing machines, Holmes allowed Fielder and his crew to shoot a documentary in her home. Fielder even lived with Holmes and her partner, Billy Evans (and their two kids), for a few days:

The filming took place in secret. The audience at Telluride didn’t even know what the movie was about until they entered the theater.
Throughout the doc, which runs almost three hours, Fielder tries to find the truth about what happened with Theranos and if Holmes was being manipulated—or doing the manipulating.

There are apparently twists. If you think Holmes’s story has already been detailed to death in longform articles, a book, podcasts, and a Hulu series, reviewers say you’re wrong. Fielder said in a post-film Q&A, “I really am struggling to this day to understand exactly what I experienced.” And many of those at the Telluride screening said it’s unlike anything they’ve ever watched.—MM

Reader Poll

Are you a fan of Nathan Fielder?

Yes, he’s a comedic genius.
No, he’s not for me.
Don’t know who that is.

Calendar

The week ahead

Cheng Xin/Getty Images

Inflation inspection: We’ll get two price checks this week: The producer price index report for August will be released on Thursday, and the consumer price index report will be out on Friday. It’ll be the last bit of inflation data the Federal Reserve gets before its meeting next week. If inflation is hot, the Fed could lean toward raising interest rates. If inflation taps the brakes, the central bank may keep rates where they are.

Welcome to the fold: Tim Cook may have left the kitchen, but Apple still has hungry customers. We’ll see what new CEO John Ternus can serve up tomorrow at the company’s fall launch event. From the long-anticipated foldable iPhone to a smart home hub with a screen, it’s expected to be Apple’s biggest-ever slate of new products, according to Bloomberg. Also of importance: Can Ternus top the originality of Cook’s signature “good morning!” catchphrase?

First down (under): Tomorrow, the NFL season picks up where it left off, with the Seattle Seahawks playing the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl rematch. The following day, the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams will play in the league’s first regular-season game in Australia. Technically, the game will be played on Friday morning, but because of the time difference, it will stream in the US on Thursday on Netflix. So it’ll be both a g’day and a g’night simultaneously.

But wait, there’s more:

Oracle, Adobe, and Macy’s will report earnings on Thursday.
Friday marks 25 years since the September 11 terror attacks.—BC

Matty’s work-life balance

Maybe the summer is for staying home

Jon G. Fuller/Getty Images

On Tuesdays, the Brew’s Matty Merritt brings you the news you need to make life a little easier during your 9-5, 5-9, or OOO.

Suffering through high heat indexes as you choke down a melting chocolate croissant in a crowded French cafe with no AC? Not anymore. Wealthy folks are moving their holidays to the fall.

In the last two years, travel experts say they’ve seen high-income travelers (particularly Baby Boomers unburdened by school or work schedules) pushing back trips to take “fallcations” to avoid summer crowds and peak prices:

Compared with last year, bookings for luxury travel in September are up 77%, according to luxury travel network Virtuoso.
October and November are seeing 54% and 71% jumps, respectively.

But the travel industry is catching on: September hotel prices in sought-after locations like Italy, France, and the Greek Isles are already matching summer rates. So if you thought you were done seeing Instagrams of the Amalfi Coast this year, think again.—MM

Tennis trivia

At the US Open this year, for the first time since Wimbledon of 1877, there will not be a men’s singles player in the semifinals with…what?

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Answer

A one-handed backhand

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: ceding, meaning “giving up, surrendering, or transferring control.” Thanks to Eric from Philadelphia for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

Written by Adam Epstein, Molly Liebergall, Matty Merritt, Brendan Cosgrove, and Neal Freyman

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