TODAY’S ECONOMY story

Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump standoff

What happened
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role while the justices consider the legality of President Donald Trump’s unprecedented effort to oust her from the central bank’s board.

Who said what
The court’s brief, unsigned decision to hear the case “sets up a showdown over the independence of the central bank” that could have “major ramifications for businesses and consumers,” The Washington Post said. Five of the conservative court’s nine members would have needed to approve Cook’s dismissal, so the ruling “signals hesitation from at least some of the justices” over Trump’s “aggressive campaign” to seize “tighter control over the Fed.”

The ruling was a “rare instance of Trump not quickly getting everything he wants from the justices in an emergency appeal,” The Associated Press said. It was “welcomed by former officials, economists and investors,” who are “very concerned” about Trump’s assault on the Fed’s “longstanding independence,” The New York Times said. Countries where central banks have “acted at the behest of a president” have typically ended up with “soaring inflation, lower growth and financial volatility.”

What next?
The Supreme Court is set to hear the case in January, leaving Cook able to participate in the Fed’s next two rate-setting meetings.

TODAY’S HUMANITIES Story

Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91

What happened
Jane Goodall, the conservationist and primatologist who rose to international fame for her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees in Tanzania, died in her sleep yesterday in Los Angeles while on a speaking tour. She was 91.

Who said what
Goodall was 26 and had no formal scientific training when she started studying a group of chimpanzees at a primitive research station on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, under an arrangement with her mentor, paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey. Within months, in the fall of 1960, she observed a male chimp fashioning twigs into an instrument to fish termites from a nest. Her revelation that primates used tools, a talent “considered uniquely human” at the time, “rocked the research world,” The Wall Street Journal said.

Goodall’s observations, detailed in magazines and documentaries, “transformed how the world perceived not only humans’ closest living biological relatives but also the emotional and social complexity of all animals,” The Associated Press said. Evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould called her discoveries about how chimpanzees raise their young, go to war, organize socially and experience human-like emotions “one of the Western world’s great scientific achievements.”

What next?
The Jane Goodall Institute, which she founded in 1977, will continue her conservation work and research. “Jane would be the first person to tell us that what the world needs right now is not sadness over her loss, but to get to work,” University of St. Andrews primatologist Cat Hobaiter told the BBC. “We all have a lot to be getting on with to make sure that we are not the last generation to live alongside wild chimpanzees.”

It’s not all bad

A high-tech greenhouse lets residents of Gjoa Haven in Canada’s Arctic grow strawberries, broccoli, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables year-round. This remarkable achievement marks the “first time in the memory of the region” that fresh produce is being grown in the tundra, said The New York Times. Plants are grown inside insulated shipping containers, providing an alternative to the expensive perishable goods typically brought in from southern Canada.

Under the radar

Inflation is pricing out pet owners

While the consequences of inflation may be obvious at the grocery store or gas pump, rising costs are also hitting man’s best friend. According to recent reports, pets are becoming increasingly expensive to a degree some people might not grasp.

The “average lifetime care for pets is approximately $35,000 for a 10-year-old dog and $32,000 for a 16-year-old cat,” said a report from pet care company Rover. The price for services like veterinary care and grooming in 2025 is “42% higher versus 2019, compared to a rise of 22% for pet food and treats,” according to a Bank of America Institute report.

Pet insurance can help, to an extent, promising to “assist with rising vet bills by covering at least part of your pet’s medical expenses for a monthly premium,” said Money. But there are caveats, as the “accumulated cost of those premiums, along with other policy costs and restrictions, make it far from certain that pet parents will save overall by insuring their animals.”

Despite that risk, most financial experts still recommend pet insurance as a worthwhile investment. It “could save the life of an animal that would otherwise be euthanized if its owner couldn’t afford treatment,” said NerdWallet. Insurance “can be a godsend if your pet is facing an expensive diagnosis,” even if “your plan likely won’t reimburse every dollar you spend at the vet.”

On this day

October 2, 1985

Hollywood star Rock Hudson died from AIDS complications, becoming one of the first high-profile celebrities to succumb to the disease. Hudson was one of the top leading movie actors in the 1950s and 1960s, and his death helped shine a light on AIDS at a time when it was still highly stigmatized.

TODAY’S newspaperS

‘No end in sight’

“Shutdown takes hold,” the Houston Chronicle says on Thursday’s front page. “With shutdown on, war of words heats up,” says The Boston Globe. “No end in sight as parties trade blame,” says the Austin American-Statesman. “Trump uses shutdown to punish blue states,” The New York Times says. “Democrats take a political risk with shutdown,” says the Los Angeles Times. “U.S. to provide Kyiv with intelligence for missile strikes deep inside Russia,” The Wall Street Journal says. “Pentagon planning polygraphs, NDAs to stop leaks,” says The Washington Post. “Curbs sought for ICE arrests,” the Chicago Tribune says. “Citizens are suing after ICE arrests,” says USA Today.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

Tail of terror

Residents of a San Rafael, California, neighborhood are being warned to steer clear of an angry squirrel that has attacked at least five people, sending two to the emergency room. Posters have been put up cautioning that the “very mean squirrel” suddenly “comes out of nowhere” before striking. “It clamped onto my leg” and started clawing and biting, Joan Heblack told KGO-TV. “The tail was flying up here. I was like, ‘Get it off me, get off me!’”

Morning Report was written and edited by Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Rafi Schwartz, Peter Weber and Kari Wilkin, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.