Tika Setiyawati

Hackers stole more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, on Thursday, shattering the record for the largest such heist, as multiple investigators pointed the finger at North Korea. It dwarfs the previous record, the alleged $1.5 billion North Korean theft from the Bybit exchange.

Binance said late Thursday that its initial investigation indicates the hack went through an engineer's laptop, which allowed an attacker to gain access to a service container and submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions. The exchange said it would cover all losses from company funds and an emergency assets fund, adding that user funds are safe, and it temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals while security checks are completed.

As of Thursday night in the US, a team of cryptocurrency firms had managed to freeze about $3 billion of the stolen loot in a frenetic battle with the hackers to find and control the digital money. Crypto-tracing firms TRM Labs, Pangolin Intelligence and Chainalysis all attributed the heist to an elite North Korean hacking unit, while CNN has requested comment from the FBI and the US Secret Service, and prices of Bitcoin and Ether fell about 2 to 3 percent.

Source: CNN

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired the Pentagon's top planning officer, Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, as President Donald Trump weighs new strikes against Iran, according to a defense official and another source familiar with the matter. Sylvia, director for strategy, plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, known as the J5, was abruptly dismissed for alleged misconduct, with officials saying he is the subject of an investigation for allegedly leaking classified information.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed in a post on X Thursday morning that the department took personnel action following an extensive Air Force Office of Special Investigations inquiry, adding that the matter has been referred to the Justice Department for potential further legal action. A spokesman for Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine confirmed Sylvia's ouster, and by Wednesday evening Sylvia's biography had been removed from the Joint Chiefs' website.

Sylvia, formerly commander of the Army's 101st Airborne Division, was nominated for the J5 role near the end of the Biden administration, and his predecessor, Lt. Gen. Joe McGee, also left the post in October 2025 under pressure from Hegseth. The removal comes as US officials say forces in the Middle East are prepared to launch new, potentially major military operations against Iran within 96 hours of receiving an order from Trump, most likely after the midterm elections.

Source: CNN

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President Donald Trump canceled upcoming rallies in Kansas and Iowa, two states with unexpectedly competitive Senate races, with less than a week to go in the midterm elections, the Republican National Committee announced October 29. Instead, Trump will hold tele-rallies for candidates in 19 states, with the RNC saying it will allow the president to reach more voters in the limited time left before polls close.

The Kansas event was scheduled for October 30 in Salina and the Iowa rally was slated for November 1 in Dubuque. Trump already visited both states this month, holding rallies in Sioux City, Iowa, on October 22 and in Park City, Kansas, on October 19, and he still has a rally planned in Daytona Beach, Florida, on October 30.

Speaking to reporters October 29, Trump said he felt confident that Republican incumbent Senator Roger Marshall would win in Kansas, saying he did not feel he had to go to Kansas. Polling averages show tight races in both states: Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton holds a 0.2-point lead over Marshall in Kansas, while Republican nominee Ashley Hinson leads Democrat Josh Turek by 0.5 points in Iowa, though Trump carried both states by double digits in 2024.

Source: USA Today

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Two helicopters collided in midair near McMinnville Municipal Airport in Oregon on Thursday afternoon, killing all three people aboard and closing a nearby highway as emergency crews responded to the crash scene. The aircraft came down in a private farm field near Highway 233 in rural Dayton, a small city east of McMinnville, about 40 miles southwest of Portland.

Yamhill County Sheriff Sam Elliott said the crash involved a 1995 Robinson R22 helicopter and a 2018 Airbus AS350B3 helicopter, and that the collision happened at about 2:15 p.m. local time. The occupants of the Robinson were flight instructor Maddie Aasbo, 22, of Texas, and a student pilot from the United Kingdom whose name is being withheld pending notification of family, while the sole occupant of the Airbus was Tyler Sturdevant, 38, of nearby Newberg.

Jerry Trimble Helicopters, a flight training company based at McMinnville Municipal Airport, said one of its aircraft was involved and that it is cooperating with local and federal authorities. The crash scene has been turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, which will lead the investigation, and Oregon Route 233 was closed for about a mile near the airport.

Source: USA Today

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Spain has begun three days of national mourning after 69 people were killed and more than 100 injured when a high-speed Renfe train plowed into a stationary Iryo train near the town of Urda, in Toledo province, on the high-speed line between Madrid and Seville. The crash happened Wednesday morning and is Spain's second deadly high-speed rail disaster this year.

Transport Minister Oscar Puente said a computer failure knocked out the LZB safety system along a 63-kilometer stretch, stopping all trains in the area, and that the Renfe train was then wrongly authorized to proceed without any speed restrictions despite a red signal. Audio published in Spanish media appears to show the controller clearing the Renfe train to continue at normal operation, and the train was traveling at an estimated 100 to 124 miles per hour when it struck the stopped train.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the crash site and said that if there has been negligence it will come to light, while a judge and a special government commission investigate. More than 500 emergency personnel were deployed, 60 of the 110 people taken to hospital had been released by Thursday morning, and Spain's train drivers held a pre-planned nationwide strike Thursday calling for stronger safety measures.

Source: AP

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America approved five hundred Patriot missiles for Ukraine in a two billion dollar defensive deal
Ukraine ran out of Patriot interceptors this month as Russian ballistic missiles hit its cities
Allies in Canada Germany and Norway plus a European loan will cover every dollar instead

The United States State Department approved the potential sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles to Ukraine on Friday, in a deal estimated at $2.1 billion. The advanced interceptors are among the few weapons able to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles, and Kyiv uses them to blunt Russia's continuing strikes.

Ukraine's supply of Patriot interceptors ran dry earlier this month, according to CNN, leaving its air defenses stretched as winter approaches. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the approval but stressed the interceptors must arrive soon, not years from now, saying 500 missiles would protect Ukrainian skies over the coming months.

No American funds are involved in the purchase, the State Department said. Canada, Germany and Norway will contribute through the US JUMPSTART program, alongside national funds financed by a European Union loan, with Lockheed Martin as the principal contractor. The release gave no delivery date, and Congress must still review the proposed sale.

Source: CNN
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President Donald Trump said his administration will pay $1 million to anyone who reports voter fraud in U.S. elections that results in an arrest or conviction, his latest financial offer to Americans before the midterm elections. Trump announced the plan in an October 26 post on Truth Social, then discussed it with reporters before boarding Air Force One to travel to Corinth, Mississippi, for a campaign rally.

"I'm also going to be issuing a $1 million bonus or reward, or whatever you want to call it, for anybody that reports voter fraud, leading to the arrest and conviction of somebody," Trump said. His post said the offer applies to voter fraud found in "past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election," which falls on November 3. Trump did not say whether he plans to use government funds or his personal resources to pay for the rewards.

The reward follows a program rolled out last week offering tipsters a 1 percent commission on money recovered from fraud in government programs, with no limit on how much someone can collect. Ahead of the midterms, Trump has also sent $500 rebate checks to about 1 million Americans and $90 to 21 million seniors. He has promised $5,000 dividend checks to all American adults if Republicans win control of Congress.

Source: USA Today

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The Federal Aviation Administration has cut air traffic by 10 percent across 40 high-volume markets, an unprecedented step to protect flight safety as the government shutdown strains air traffic controllers. The cuts, which began Friday, affect thousands of flights a day at airports including Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Miami and San Francisco, with multiple airports hit in the New York and Chicago areas.

Controllers have worked without pay since the shutdown began on October 1, most of them six days a week with mandatory overtime, and many have called out sick, taken second jobs or struggled to pay for child care and gas. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said he had not seen measures like these in 35 years in aviation, adding that the agency would not wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself.

The reductions are expected to continue as long as the shutdown lasts, and experts warn they could grow worse, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy saying cuts could climb to 15 or 20 percent if the standoff drags on. Controllers are about to miss a second full paycheck on Tuesday, which officials say could push more of them to stay home. The shutdown, now in its 40th day, is the longest in American history.

Source: AP

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A federal appeals court on Monday rejected the Trump administration's emergency bid to require Los Angeles County and state election officials to set aside more than 20,000 ballots that federal officials contend were cast by voters registered as noncitizens. The 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit leaves current ballot-handling procedures in place just eight days before Election Day.

The court did not decide whether the ballots should be segregated or whether the federal government's claims have merit. Instead, it ruled it could not hear the appeal because the Justice Department sought emergency intervention before giving the district court adequate time to rule, saying the government gave the lower court roughly 15 hours, including about three business hours, to act. The judges called the claimed emergency "at least in part, a self-constructed one."

The ruling leaves the underlying dispute unresolved, and the federal government will likely need to continue its case in the district court, where it remains pending. The administration could also seek further emergency review from the full Ninth Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court. California Attorney General Rob Bonta welcomed the decision, saying the Constitution gives states and Congress, not the president, the power to determine how elections are run.

Source: USA Today

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