Today in one sentence: The United Nations warned that the world is “on the edge of a recession”; job openings dropped 10% in August; home prices in the U.S. posted their largest monthly declines since 2009; Trump asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the dispute over classified government documents the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago; Trump's lawyer refused his instructions to tell the National Archives that all the records had been returned; and Trump sued CNN for alleged defamation and is seeking at least $475 million in damages.

1/ The United Nations warned that the world is “on the edge of a recession.” In a new report, the United Nations Conference on Trade Development said that tightening monetary policy meant to fight inflation by central banks in the U.S., Europe, and the U.K. risks “pushing the world towards global recession and prolonged stagnation, inflicting worse damage than the financial crisis in 2008” and the Covid-19 contraction in economic activity. “Today we need to warn that we may be on the edge of a policy-induced global recession,” Secretary-General of UNCTAD Rebeca Grynspan said in a statement. “We still have time to step back from the edge of recession. Nothing is inevitable. We must change course.” The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, reaffirmed that bringing inflation down from its 40-year high will require a slowdown in economic growth and reduced demand for workers by employers. Interest rates are currently set in a range between 3 and 3.25%, and the Fed’s most recent projections suggest they’ll climb to 4.6% by the end of 2023. On the other hand, U.S. national debt exceeded $31 trillion for the first time, and the higher rates could add an additional $1 trillion to federal government interest payments this decade. (CNBC / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Yahoo News)

2/ Job openings dropped 10% in August to 10.01 million from 11.2 million in July. The 1.1 million drop in available positions is the largest decline since April 2020, and job openings are at their lowest level in a year. There are about 1.7 jobs for every unemployed person – down from about 2 in July. (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC / New York Times)

3/ Home prices in the U.S. posted their largest monthly declines since 2009. Median home prices fell by 0.98% from July to August, while mortgage rates have more than doubled – from less than 3% to nearly 7% – since 2021. Wall Street, meanwhile, has forecasted a 5% to 10% decline in U.S. home prices by the end of 2023, which would be the second-biggest home price decline since the Great Depression (Bloomberg / Fortune)

4/ Trump asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the dispute over classified government documents the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago, saying the special master should be allowed to review the classified documents. Last month the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit granted the Justice Department’s request to keep about 100 classified documents separate from the special master’s review. Trump’s legal team, however, claims that the 11th Circuit lacked the judicial authority to stay the special master order “authorizing the review of seized documents bearing classification markings.” The petition was filed with Justice Clarence Thomas, who oversees emergency requests from the 11th Circuit and is likely to refer Trump’s request to the full court to consider. In January, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s request to block the release of more than 750 pages of his White House records related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Only Justice Clarence Thomas noted a dissent. (CNN / Washington Post / New York Times / Bloomberg / Politico / Axios)

5/ In early 2022 Trump’s lawyer refused his instructions to tell the National Archives that all the records had been returned, because he wasn’t sure the statement was true. Alex Cannon had facilitated the January transfer of 15 boxes of presidential records from Mar-a-Lago to the National Archives, and in February, Trump told Cannon to tell the archives he had returned “everything” they had requested. Cannon, however, told Trump he was uncomfortable making such a definitive statement. Separately, the archives notified Trump’s lawyers in May 2021 that it was missing the original correspondence between Trump and Kim Jong Un, as well as the letter that Obama left for Trump. (Washington Post / New York Times / CNN)

  • Trump’s White House aides weren’t surprised that the FBI found highly classified material in boxes at Mar-a-Lago. “During his four years in office, Trump never strictly followed the rules and customs for handling sensitive government documents, according to 14 officials from his administration.” White House Chief of Staff John Kelly added that Trump “rejected the Presidential Records Act entirely.” (Washington Post)

6/ Trump sued CNN for alleged defamation and is seeking at least $475 million in damages. Trump claims that CNN harmed his reputation with “false, defamatory, and inflammatory mischaracterizations of him” and that CNN “intended to interfere with [his] political career” as part of a “concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the Left.” For his part, Trump has repeatedly attacked that news organizations as “fake news” and “enemy of the people.” Less than 24 hours after filing suit against CNN, Trump encouraged his supporters to contribute $5 or more to his cause. (CBS News / Axios / Bloomberg)

Three years ago today: Day 988: Smoking texts.
Four years ago today: Day 623: Unfathomable.
Five years ago today: Day 258: Moron.