Axios

Score one for the gig workers. They've won the latest round in the yearslong back-and-forth over whether or not they count as employees under federal labor law and are entitled to earn federal minimum wage and overtime.

Driving the news: The Labor Department on Tuesday announced a new rule that makes it more likely that gig workers get classified as employees — the latest pro-labor turn from the Biden administration.

Chip stocks are getting dumped in light of new export restrictions and reports of worsening demand.

Why it matters: The worries should be seen more as short term than long, Bob Johnson, VP and semiconductor and electronics analyst at Gartner, tells Axios.

Burger King is bringing the spice ahead of Halloween with the new Ghost Pepper Whopper that comes on an orange and black sesame seed bun.

Why it matters: Halloween spending is expected to reach a new record of $10.6 billion, up from last year's $10.1 billion, as participation returns to pre-pandemic levels, according to the National Retail Federation's annual holiday survey.

Facebook's parent company on Tuesday launched the Meta Quest Pro, a $1,499 headset designed to be both more powerful and comfortable than past virtual reality devices.

Why it matters: Quest Pro is the first major product launch of Mark Zuckerberg's campaign to "build the metaverse," announced a year ago, and Meta is looking to the new device to prove that VR is the future of computing, not just a niche technology for gamers.

Celsius Network's books will soon be wrangled and ironed out by someone with zero skin in the game — an order by Judge Martin Glenn, who is presiding over the crypto lender's bankruptcy case.

Why it matters: Friday's hearing was supposed to be about setting the schedule for various motions from account holders seeking the immediate return of their assets, which have been locked on the platform since June. But what has already been made very clear — this won't be so simple.

ExxonMobil is considering a takeover offer for Denbury, a Plano, Texas-based oil and gas company with nearly a $5 billion market cap, per Bloomberg.

Why it matters: Denbury owns the country's largest carbon dioxide pipeline network, and thus could be a crown jewel for ExxonMobil's grand carbon capture plans.

Private equity's reputation when it comes to nursing home ownership is on par with bed bugs, with President Biden even devoting a few withering lines of his most recent State of the Union address to chastise the relationship.

Why it matters: PE firms soon may be cane-deep in a bidding war for Brookdale Senior Living, one of the nation's largest overseers of senior living communities, with the ability to serve more than 60,000 residents via 674 facilities in 41 states.

• This deal, if consummated, could become a new political flashpoint.

TikTok is planning to build its own product fulfillment centers in the U.S., creating an e-commerce supply chain system that could directly challenge Amazon, as indicated by more than a dozen new job openings posted in the past two weeks to LinkedIn.

Why it matters: The move signifies TikTok's commitment to e-commerce as its next major revenue stream, following the explosive growth of its ads business.

Railroads raked in record profits over the past few years, largely by cutting their workforces.

The big picture: For the companies, now there's little left to cut. The industry is struggling with a worker shortage. And if the economy goes through a major slowdown in the near future — as economists say it might — the old playbook won't work to keep profits fat.

Donald Trump's social media startup, Truth Social, is facing a perilous future.

Driving the news: A former company executive reportedly filed a whistleblower complaint with federal securities regulators in August, and it remains unable to access hundreds of millions of dollars tied to a prospective merger with a blank check acquisition company.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is bringing back its in-person Halloween costume-wearing promotion for the first time since 2019.

Why it matters: Halloween is making a comeback with participation this year expected to return to pre-pandemic levels and record holiday spending projected.

Delta Air Lines is partnering with Joby Aviation, a leading developer of electric air taxis, to make it easier and faster for customers to get to the airport.

Why it matters: The partnership is an extension of Delta's strategy to try to differentiate itself from other airlines by offering a more premium travel experience.

If history is any guide, the areas devastated by Hurricane Ian will be rebuilt even bigger than before — but probably with storm-inspired improvements to local infrastructure and building codes.

Why it matters: Ravaged communities face increasingly tough decisions as climate change exacerbates natural disasters.

Yuri Milner, a Moscow-born billionaire venture capitalist who's invested in companies including Facebook and Twitter, announced Monday he's renounced his Russian citizenship.

Driving the news: "My family and I left Russia for good in 2014, after the Russian annexation of Crimea," tweeted Milner, who became an Israeli citizen in 1999. "And this summer, we officially completed the process of renouncing our Russian citizenship."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced plans Tuesday to tackle climate change, including a requirement that farmers pay levies from 2025 for emissions from such sources as cow burps.

Why it matters: "The proposal, as it stands, means New Zealand's farmers are set to be the first in the world to reduce agricultural emissions," said Ardern at a news conference at a dairy farm on New Zealand's North Island Tuesday.