Good afternoon! A family in suburban Plainfield created a Stranger Things Halloween display that’s getting a lot of attention. I would totally crash my car if I saw something like that in my neighborhood. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. Biden’s plan for student loan forgiveness faces its first significant legal challenge

A lawsuit filed today seeks to block President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive some student loan debt, arguing it will force an Indiana man to pay state taxes on the canceled debt.

Indiana is one of several states where residents could face a state tax on forgiven debt. Legal experts told The Washington Post that today’s lawsuit is a legitimate threat to Biden’s policy because it has a client with a standing to sue.

The lawsuit also argues Biden sidestepped Congress to make a law. [Washington Post]

Biden has proposed forgiving $10,000 in debt for those earning less than $125,000 per year and $20,000 for Pell grant recipients.

That plan could cost about $400 billion, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office announced this week. [NPR]

2. Top CPS officials privately warned that a new school on the Near South Side could hurt nearby schools and harm Black students

A team of senior officials at Chicago Public Schools privately warned leaders that a new $120 million high school on the Near South Side could undermine nearby schools and harm Black students, according to a confidential memo obtained by WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times.

The new school would “accelerate the enrollment declines in several nearby schools, causing the schools to be constrained financially and academically in providing an equitable learning experience to all students,” according to a preliminary analysis in the memo.

The memo from the top CPS officials contradicts the rosy outlook by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration, which has frequently touted the new high school. [WBEZ]

3. Oath Keepers founder goes on trial for seditious conspiracy and other charges tied to Jan. 6

Jury selection began today in what could be the most consequential case stemming from the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Stewart Rhodes, who founded the far-right Oath Keepers in 2009, and four others are accused of helping organize the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and they face the rarely used Civil War-era charge of seditious conspiracy.

Federal prosecutors say Rhodes and his co-defendants spent months recruiting, training and conspiring to use force to prevent the transfer of presidential power to Joe Biden. [NPR]

In Illinois, nearly 900 residents are linked to the Oath Keepers, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism. [AP]

4. Florida braces for Hurricane Ian

More than 2 million people have been ordered to evacuate as Hurricane Ian is expected to intensify into a Category 4 storm before making landfall tomorrow along Florida’s southwest coast.

The Tampa area is particularly concerning because it is so low-lying, making it more vulnerable to severe flooding. Airports in the region plan to close today.

“Tampa and St. Petersburg could get their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921,” the Associated Press reports.

Forecasters say Ian is expected to strengthen over the Gulf of Mexico, reaching top winds of 140 mph before it hits Florida. [AP]

5. COVID-19 vaccines can affect the menstrual cycle, according to a new study

A study of nearly 20,000 people around the world found, on average, that people vaccinated against COVID-19 saw about a one-day delay in getting their periods.

Researchers for the study, which was published today in the British Medical Journal, used “de-identified” data from the period tracking app Natural Cycles, and they looked at nearly 15,000 people who were vaccinated and about 5,000 who were not.

The study’s lead researcher told The Washington Post that disruptions were temporary and there were no indications they affected fertility.

The study comes after women have complained on social media about experiencing more intense periods after getting vaccinated. [Washington Post]

Here’s what else is happening

• Flight attendants protested outside of Midway and O’Hare airports today as they called for better economic and working conditions. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Highland Park officials want to move memorials for victims of the Fourth of July mass shooting. [Chicago Tribune]
• Cubans approved same-sex marriage in a referendum. [NPR]
• Here’s what NASA’s spacecraft saw right before it crashed into an asteroid yesterday. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

The dollar is now the strongest it has been in two decades. And I hear faint chants of “U.S.A.!” every time I read this news.

So why do some people talk about the strong dollar being a bad thing? My friends at NPR look at the winners and losers in this situation.

The big winner, obviously, is largely the U.S. But more specifically, U.S. importers and travelers who will literally get more bang for their bucks.

The losers, however, include nations with emerging economies, multinational corporations headquartered in the U.S. and U.S. exporters. [NPR]

Tell me something good …

I’m not sure what I’m going to be this year for Halloween, so what are you dressing up as?

Collin Callahan writes:

“This year for Halloween my wife, 4-year-old daughter, mini goldendoodle and I are all going dressed as a family of wolves. Our 4-year-old daughter is pretty much convinced that she is a boy wolf and typically only answers to brother wolf. It seems like the best costume choice given our current dynamic.”

And Katrina Herrmann writes:

“I refer to my 10-month-old daughter as Winston Churchill or the Prime Minister on social media — so obviously her first Halloween costume will be Winston Churchill.”

Feel free to email or tweet me, and your response might be shared in the newsletter this week.