FBI Blames North Korea for $6 Billion Binance Theft

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, paused withdrawals this past week after a hack led to a massive theft of over $6 billion worth of crypto. 

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, which called it the largest crypto theft on record, tied it to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group. The FBI also said Saturday that North Korea was responsible for the theft.

Binance said its users would not bear the losses and had had used company assets and insurance funds for 90% of the stolen assets, sparing users the losses. The company has said they plan to allow customer withdrawals to resume in phases beginning on Sunday.

 

The Right Wins in BC While Falling Short in Brazil, Serbia

Voters in British Columbia, Brazil, and Serbia went to the polls this month, with the conservatives emerging victorious in one while falling short in the others.

In British Columbia, Lorne Doerkson’s B.C. Conservatives won 64 of 93 seats and 48% of the vote, ousting incumbent Premier David Eby’s New Democrats. Turnout, 48.1%, was the lowest since at least 1996. Analysts blamed Eby’s early snap call and Green vote-splitting. Eby conceded and resigned as NDP leader, while Doerkson pledged to “hit the ground running.” The final count is Nov. 6, and no swearing-in date has been set.

In Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party (PT) won re-election 51.79% to 48.21%, over Liberal Party Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, the son his predecessor. Turnout was about 81%, up from the first round after Lula’s camp staged mass rallies; Bolsonaro had campaigned on fighting crime. This result was considered an upset, given polling showing Bolsonaro in the lead.

In Serbia, the student-backed Student List opposition won 52.5% to 39.3% for former President Aleksandar Vucic’s conservative United Serbia bloc, preliminary electoral-commission results show. Turnout was 68.8%, the highest since Yugoslavia’s breakup. The list grew out of protests after a 2024 station-canopy collapse killed 16. and have since become anti-corruption and anti-establishment focused. The list has not named a prime minister. Final results are due in early November, and parliament must convene within 30 days of them.

 

Actor Patrick Stewart Dies at 86

Legendary British actor Patrick Stewart, whose career spanned Shakespearean theater to animated comedic voice roles, dies this past week at 86 after a previously undisclosed battle with Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia.

Stewart was born on July 13, 1940 and began his acting career on stage, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1966. Over the next two decades, he acted in numerous plays, television series, films, including Fall of Eagles (1974), I, Claudius (1976), and Dune (1984). In 1987, he started his signature role as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

He continued being an active actor in his later years, including his role as Professor X in the X-Men franchise as well as his acclaimed role in the animated series American Dad! as CIA Deputy Director Avery Bullock, whose physical likeness was also based on Stewart.

In addition to his acting work, Stewart was also known for his humanitarian activism.

Previous co-stars paid tribute to Stewart, including his long-time friend and collaborator Ian McKellen as well as fellow Star Trek franchise star William Shatner.

 

GOP Tries to Stop Bleeding Ahead of Midterms

President Donald Trump and Republican leaders have begun campaigning for vulnerable candidates in the midterms as low polling plagues both Trump and GOP nominees for federal and state offices.

Trump has begun increasing his trips to battleground states in an attempt to shore up support among the party faithful, though the expanded battleground map, which now includes Republican states such as Alaska, Texas, Kansas, and Iowa, has put a strain on resources, both monetarily and logistically.

 Potentially competitive Democratic-held Senate seats include Michigan, Minnesota, and New Hampshire. 

Polo Weakens as Its Moisture Fuels Flooding in the Southwest

Hurricane Polo, which became the third Category 5 hurricane of the Pacific season last week, made landfall late Monday night in Baja California Sur as a strong Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph.

After crossing the Gulf of California, Polo came ashore again just east of Guaymas, Sonora, as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing flooding, power outages and fallen trees before weakening to a tropical storm inland. Before Polo reached Baja, the Santa Elena River in Jalisco overflowed and swept away a family's home in Talpa de Allende, killing both parents and two children. .

In the US, Polo and a jet-stream disturbance are pushing atmospheric moisture near or above record levels for late September across parts of the Southwest. Storms had already caused flash flooding Monday, prompting several water rescues in Bullhead City, Arizona. Flood watches covered about 28 million people early Tuesday, and Maricopa County sheriff's deputies performed several water rescues in and around Phoenix. Forecasters expect the threat to spread into the Plains and Midwest over the week.