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The popular former governor defeated President Trump’s handpicked choice to replace the retiring Thom Tillis.

Democrat Roy Cooper has defeated President Trump's handpicked candidate, Michael Whatley, flipping one of North Carolina's two GOP-held U.S. Senate seats. Why it matters : Cooper, the popular two-term governor, delivered Democrats one of their best shots at flipping a Republican-held Senate seat. Even in a state that voted all three times for Trump, Cooper has never lost an election. The big picture: While the race was originally expected to be tight and expensive, Cooper consistently widened his polling lead throughout campaign season. His name recognition boosted his chances against Whatley, a lawyer who served as Republican National Committee chair but had never run for office himself. As enthusiasm lagged behind Whatley, GOP-aligned super PACs canceled their ads and redirected spending to more promising states, even as Trump still campaigned for Whatley in North Carolina. Catch up quick: Cooper will succeed Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who decided not to seek reelection after clashing with Trump over the "big, beautiful bill" and its associated Medicaid cuts. Trump had threatened to back a primary challenger against Tillis. On the trail: Cooper focused his campaign on affordability, blaming Republicans for high gas prices and tying GOP policies to inflation. Meanwhile, Whatley centered his platform on helping execute the Trump agenda, despite the president's historically low approval rating. Whatley attempted to paint Cooper as the "soft-on-crime candidate" and continued to recite a debunked claim that Cooper is responsible for freeing Decarlos Brown Jr. , the man accused of stabbing and killing a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee on Charlotte's light rail. Trump alleged North Carolina had become "one of the most violent" states under Democratic leadership while campaigning for Whatley. What's next: Cooper will take office in January. He will be the first Democrat to represent North Carolina in the Senate in over a decade.

This batch of key Southern states will offer early insight into the battle for Senate control.

North Korea appears to have used a fake job interview as part of its months-long preparations to steal $6.3 billion from Binance, the crypto exchange said Tuesday. Why it matters : The country's hackers are weaponizing both sides of the job market , posing as recruiters and job applicants to infiltrate companies and steal billions. Driving the news : Binance said one of its software engineers was contacted in September through a "legitimate job-hunting platform" by someone posing as a project director at a fictitious company. During the first-round interview, a fake HR representative conducted a live video call with the engineer and showed off a seemingly legitimate social media profile featuring personal photos and videos. The hackers waited until the second round — after building trust with the employee — to ask them to download an infected code repository as part of an interview assignment. Separately, another software engineer also downloaded a "tampered Homebrew installation" in June to install a popular AI coding tool onto their device. Binance's security team detected the installation and replaced the device, as well as rotated all credentials, but the engineer and colleagues were all exposed to the hacker. The intrigue: The fake interview was just one of several suspected North Korean attempts to compromise Binance employees. So far in 2026, Binance said it has detected and prevented 57 suspected North Korea-linked cyber incidents, including attempts involving fake job interviews and compromised software packages. Between the lines: North Korean hackers have spent years exploiting both sides of the hiring process. As job applicants, North Korean operatives pose as legitimate IT workers to land high-paying jobs at American companies. Those salaries are then funneled back to Pyongyang. Operatives are also increasingly posing as recruiters and prospective employees to lure in people who work at cryptocurrency firms in the hopes of tricking them into downloading

Our election data reporter Evan Reynolds looks at counties that could decide the Senate race in the diverse and rapidly growing southern states of Georgia and North Carolina.

The 2026 midterms will offer the first test of voter sentiment on the AI race, offering a window into how a niche policy debate is transforming into a wedge issue ahead of a presidential campaign cycle. Why it matters: The results will reveal whether explicitly campaigning on AI regulation—or aligning with tech moguls like Elon Musk—is a winning political strategy or a liability for 2028. One thing is already clear: Candidates increasingly can't afford to have half-baked AI agendas. Here are three major questions about the future of AI politics and policy and the races we're watching on Election Day for answers. 1. Did AI break through? A different kind of AI political spending has emerged in the midterms. Instead of supporting or opposing candidates based on their AI positions, some groups want to make AI policy itself a campaign issue. Guardrails Alliance, a pro-regulation advocacy group, recently launched ads targeting Republicans and Democrats over their positions on AI in Arizona, Montana, North Carolina and California. The organization backed Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who said AI was the most important issue heading into Election Day, tying it explicitly to jobs and affordability. Democratic group Tomorrow Together also launched ads against Republicans' AI track record in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, competing AI groups Public First and Leading the Future spent more than $50 million through affiliated super PACs in nearly 50 races, but their TV and digital ads largely avoided the very issue they're trying to influence: AI. These races could offer an early test of whether explicitly campaigning on AI is a viable political strategy heading into 2028. 2. Did Elon Musk help or hurt candidates? Elon Musk's political spending, involvement in DOGE and ties to the Trump administration have made him both a powerful political backer and a target for Democratic attacks. He was the biggest donor in the midterms by far, contribu

Republicans don't know if they'll lose big or small on Tuesday, but they're already bracing for an epic blame game. Why it matters: Privately, Republicans acknowledge it's not a complicated version of Clue. The leading suspect: Mr. President, in the Oval Office, with an assortment of weapons — and one war. Returning Republican senators are unlikely to blame President Trump publicly. There's a price for that. And don't expect Trump to shoulder the responsibility. But do expect departing GOP lawmakers to take shots at Trump or his team, and Trump to fire back at Senate Republicans, whom he's never been shy about torching. The irony of Trump's second midterm: With Republicans privately resigned to losing the House, Trump can still credibly claim victory if they hold the Senate. "It's Donald Trump's midterms. He gets all the credit if we win. He gets all the credit if we lose," one national GOP strategist told Axios. The Iran war: From Alaska to Maine, Trump's decision to go to war with Iran — and the resulting spike in gas and diesel prices — has become a major political liability for Republican Senate nominees. "It's not tariffs … it's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said at a closed-door fundraiser in September, Axios reported last month . Tariffs: Trump's trade policies have compounded Republicans' affordability problems, particularly in farm country, where producers have faced higher costs and uncertainty over export markets. "We need to end this tariff war now," former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) , the GOP Senate nominee, said in an October campaign ad, breaking with Trump over his tariffs on Canada. Bad candidates: Trump's preferred nominees are also drawing blame, GOP strategists tell Axios. Paxton in Texas and Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina have forced Republicans to spend heavily defending races that should have been easier — and where the party had other options. Complacent incumbents: Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Ka

A Chili’s Grill & Bar in North Carolina is back in business after three customers and two workers suffered chemical burns on their mouths from sipping margaritas mistakenly made with a cleaning chemical last week.

At more than $52m, the race has become the most expensive in US history, but residents are fed up with flooding Aida Havel mulled her fate over coffee after working the early voting polls all day in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. “We are trapped,” she concluded. The Dare county commission candidate lives about 50 miles (80km) south, on Hatteras Island on the state’s Outer Banks. Continue reading...

Republicans are burning tens of millions of last-minute ad dollars to try to rescue three red-state senators who they say ignored months of warnings that their campaigns were in danger. Why it matters: Senate races in Kansas, South Carolina and Mississippi are normally GOP layups. This year, Republicans have diverted resources from swing-state battles to defend them. The frustration with Sens. Roger Marshall (Kansas), Darline Graham (South Carolina) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (Mississippi) comes amid broader GOP finger-pointing as polls show a nationwide backlash against President Trump . "Democrats may win these seats in a wave ... but not a blue wave. It's the wave of arrogance [and] laziness ... that washed over these GOP incumbents and made them think they were invincible," said a national GOP operative involved in several key Senate races. By the numbers: National Republicans have spent $33 million in Kansas, $21 million in South Carolina and $2.4 million in Mississippi, according to data compiled by campaign finance expert Rob Pyers. Trump also has spent valuable campaign time in all three states. Behind the scenes: Republicans say the three senators ignored warnings to raise more money and build stronger campaign operations. National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Tim Scott warned all GOP senators in February 2025: "We do not need to spend time and money in places where races should not be competitive." Trump's political operation also warned Senate Republicans that they would need to pull their own weight. The most complaints center on Marshall, who has raised just $7.5 million compared with $19 million for his Democratic opponent, Adam Hamilton. Republicans blame his strained relationship with the banking and credit card industries — major GOP donors — and a lack of outreach to K Street. Republicans describe Marshall's campaign as overconfident. About a month ago, his team told aides to other GOP senators that the race would be effectively over within 10 d

A powerful El Niño could bring major shifts in electricity supply and demand across the U.S. this winter, posing new challenges for utilities. Why it matters: The U.S. power grid has far more solar, wind and battery storage than during the last major El Niño, and the ongoing event could reveal whether that changing energy mix has made the grid more resilient or left it vulnerable in new ways. Driving the news: A very strong El Niño is strengthening in the tropical Pacific and is expected to continue into spring 2027, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says. NOAA's latest outlook favors wetter-than-normal conditions across California , the Southwest and much of the southern U.S. this winter, while the northern Rockies and parts of the Great Lakes lean drier and much of the northern U.S. leans warmer. The intrigue: El Niño doesn't affect every electricity resource the same way. A March study found that previous super El Niños were associated with reductions in potential solar power output of nearly 5% in parts of California over 12 months — and more than 10% in the state's north during winter. Vincent Tidwell, chief scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, says a wetter California winter could boost hydropower, while reduced precipitation or snowpack in the Pacific Northwest could cut generation there. Erik Smith, a climate scientist at the Electric Power Research Institute, tells Axios the Southeast is another region to watch for reduced solar generation as El Niño favors cloudier conditions. California now has more than 21 gigawatts of battery capacity , giving the grid another tool to manage fluctuations in electricity supply — one it barely possessed during the last very strong El Niño. The Columbia and Snake river basins accounted for roughly 62% of Western U.S. hydropower generation between 2001 and 2020, according to a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory analysis . Tidwell tells Axios that the Western grid is accustomed to shifting

Unbeaten Minnesota v Detroit; Jackson v Allen in Buffalo Email Graham here A pair of quarterback heavyweights?! Yes, just a bit. Lamar Jackson returns from a three-game absence for the Baltimore Ravens to face Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Jackson’s two MVP awards play Allen’s one but Allen is very much the favourite to add to a second to his trophy cabinet after a scintillating start to the season. After their own hot start with Jackson at the controls the Ravens have slumped to 4-3. Two defeats in succession leave Baltimore bottom of the AFC North. So they will be hoping Jackson can jump back in and stop the slide. Unfortunately the omens aren’t great. The Bills have beaten the Ravens on three straight occasions at home, the latest being last season’s thriller from the opening week as Buffalo scored 16 unanswered points in the final four minutes to overturn a 15-point deficit in their 41-40 victory. (4-3) Baltimore Ravens v Buffalo Bills (5-1) (1-6) Tennessee Titans v Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) (2-5) Arizona Cardinals v Dallas Cowboys (3-4) (6-0) Minnesota Vikings v Detroit Lions (4-2) (2-5) Indianapolis Colts v Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2) (3-4) Las Vegas Raiders v New York Jets (2-5) (5-2) Cleveland Browns v Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) (3-4) Atlanta Falcons v Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5) Continue reading...

A coach shaped by her circuitous basketball journey was uniquely suited to building the trust that made Golden State champions just 534 days after their first game The mighty , miserly Golden State Valkyries won their first WNBA title on Saturday night with a point guard Dallas had given up on and cast aside, a starting forward who had been waived five times and a late-blooming All-Star once passed over by every team in the league. That made them a fitting match for their coach. Natalie Nakase has pieced together a basketball life on making small openings count, turning a walk-on place at UCLA into a scholarship and an unsolicited scouting report into a coaching job in Japan’s top men’s league. The Valkyries’ nerve-shredding 68-63 fightback over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 did more than make them the fastest expansion team in major North American professional sports history to win a championship – as 45-1 preseason longshots in their second season of existence. It was proof of concept for an organization that gave overlooked players the resources, responsibility and trust to become champions – and enlisted a leader whose own circuitous journey had taught her what those things could unlock. Continue reading...

Florida Republicans aren't panicking about sluggish turnout for the midterms , but in the words of one GOP elder: "We're white-knuckled." Why it matters: Florida once looked like a much safer Republican bet for the midterms. Losing any statewide race would stun and embarrass its elite Republican residents, starting with President Trump . "I don't necessarily want to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't think the turnout is as strong as we would like to see," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fretted last week. The biggest GOP concern is U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds' campaign for governor, though most polls show him narrowly leading Democrat David Jolly. Donalds has raised $176 million; Jolly just $28 million. Zoom in : The GOP's jitters are rooted in early turnout data. Republicans led Democrats in early ballots cast by just 2.8 percentage points as of Saturday afternoon. That's much lower than in the past two general elections — and it's despite a much-bigger Republican registration advantage over Democrats: 11 points. Republican turnout is weakest in parts of the conservative Panhandle and rural North Florida, including many of the 17 counties Donalds lost in the Republican primary. In those 17 counties, GOP turnout is 3.2 points below 2022, compared with 1.1 points below in counties that Donalds won, University of Florida political scientist Michael McDonald found. Between the lines: Republican turnout is made up of more habitual voters, while Democrats and independents are banking ballots from people who don't always show up. That could benefit Jolly if polls underestimate those voters. Democrats already have surpassed their entire 2022 early and mail-in vote totals in 15 counties, compared with four counties for Republicans. Nearly every poll shows independent voters favoring Democrats by double digits, so Republicans need a heavy turnout advantage. About two-thirds of Florida voters typically cast ballots before Election Day, making the early and absentee margins critica

Three customers and two employees were burned on and around their mouths after a granulated substance was mistaken for sugar, a health official said.

You won't need to stay up all night Tuesday to spot a big Democratic wave in the 2026 midterm elections . But it could take days — or even weeks — to know whether Republicans have survived a smaller one and held on to the House or Senate. Why it matters: A handful of early results in key states and congressional districts will tell us whether Democrats are headed for a landslide or disappointment. What we're watching: Florida, Florida, Florida. Most polls close at 7pm ET, and the state counts quickly — ready for release when the Panhandle finally calls it a night an hour later. At 8:01pm , refresh your browser and watch FL-14. The great mid-cycle redistricting wars transformed this Tampa-based district from Harris +8 to Trump +11. If Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor survives, Republicans can all but kiss their majority goodbye, according to party strategists. Next up is FL-25. The country's most expensive general election race is playing out in a district that went from Harris +4 to Trump +9. If Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz's race is close — or too close to call early in the night — House Republicans can keep hope alive. While you're at it, this is a good time to check on South Carolina's Senate race, where polls close at 7pm and the state counts relatively fast. If Sen. Darline Graham loses to Annie Andrews in the Trump +18 state, Senate Republicans can say goodbye to their majority. (And they'll be sweating if it's close.) "Underperformance is rarely isolated," said Jason Thielman, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2024. "If you see the GOP underperforming early in the East, it is likely going to continue as you move further West." At 9pm, check in on Virginia: The commonwealth's polls close at 7pm, but historically tight races often aren't called until the 9pm hour. If Democrats flip VA-01, a Trump +5 seat, they're in for a very good night. If they flip VA-05, a Trump +12 seat, they're in for a great night. Between the lines: VA

The world's biggest crypto heist is the latest feat by North Korean hackers who have spent years perfecting an arsenal of financial theft, social engineering and sophisticated cyberattacks. Why it matters : The suspected North Korean hackers behind the $6.3 billion Binance theft appear to have combined familiar hacking tactics with extraordinary speed and automation — raising fresh questions about how AI could supercharge their already sophisticated operations. Driving the news : Binance said late Thursday that its blockchain partners have frozen at least $3 billion of those $6.3 billion assets on-chain so far, and it believes the hackers gained initial access by compromising one engineer's laptop alongside other "points of breach." Several blockchain investigation firms have tied the hack to TraderTraitor, a group linked to the North Korean government's Lazarus Group collective. Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said in a video on social media Friday that the attackers also used a "self-destruct mechanism that destroyed tooling and traces" as they went, making it more difficult to investigate what happened. "This was a complex attack," he said. The big picture: North Korean government hackers have spent more than a decade carrying out financial heists and disruptive cyberattacks, and they have turned cryptocurrency theft into an industrial-scale operation. In 2016, hackers attempted to steal nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh's central bank, successfully making off with $81 million. In 2017, North Korea was blamed for the WannaCry ransomware outbreak , which disrupted hundreds of thousands of computers across more than 150 countries. In recent years, the country has intensified its focus on pillaging crypto exchanges in part because the digital assets can more easily be transferred and laundered across borders — although those attacks tend to leave more of a paper trail. The same North Korean hacking group, TraderTraitor, also set the last record for the world's largest c

Data: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 American Community Survey 1-year estimates; Table: Russell Contreras/Axios Homeowners were nearly twice as likely as renters to have an electric vehicle in 2025, new Census data show, revealing a striking divide in America's shift to electric cars. Why it matters : Homeownership is just one factor in EV adoption, but reliable access to charging is critical — giving homeowners with private driveways or garages an advantage over renters, particularly those in multifamily buildings. By the numbers: About 7.3 million U.S. households — 5.5% of the nation's 134 million — reported having at least one EV, according to the 2025 American Community Survey released Thursday. Homeowners reported EVs at a rate of 6.4%, compared with 3.6% of renters. California led the nation at 13.8% overall, more than twice the national rate. North Dakota (1.3%), Wyoming (1.6%) and Louisiana (1.6%) ranked among the lowest. State of play: For the first time, the Census Bureau asked households with vehicles kept at home whether they owned or leased an EV, offering a nationwide snapshot of who has gone electric. The figures cover fully electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Our thought bubble: Many factors, including local government policies, can influence EV adoption rates, but ultimately, it comes down to affordability and access to charging, says Axios Transportation Correspondent Joann Muller . Homeowners with higher incomes are more likely to afford EVs, sometimes as a second car. The intrigue: A 2026 study by researchers at the University of Vermont and University of California, Davis, found higher home-charger installation costs at rental properties in Burlington, Vermont. Renters were also less likely to adopt fully electric vehicles, even after researchers accounted for home values and vehicle preferences. Zoom in: Even California, the nation's EV leader, has a sharp homeowner-renter divide, new Census data show. About 17.7% of homeowners reported an EV, com

Have you seen the Oct. 29 clip ? The one where a guy compared a Trump rally to the 1978 Jonestown massacre while he was live on Fox News. "Wait, the Jonestown massacre?" Fox correspondent Lucas Tomlinson asked. "There's nothing like seeing a cult right up front, man," the interviewee responded. "Maybe this is not a Trump supporter," the reporter said before turning to another attendee. But not before the man got a plug in: "MadPark Designs," he said, pointing to his hat. Why it matters: MadPark Designs is a Charlotte screen printer launched in 2018 that prints for local businesses, musicians and organizations, and creates some of its own graphics. And that guy in the video — Tom Hoyle — is the co-owner and a local. The clip of him at the Rock Hill Trump rally on Oct. 29 has 5.3 million views on Mother Jones' Instagram and 206K views on TMZ's TikTok . It's also been posted on countless other pages, and was continuing to rack up views as of Friday afternoon. The latest: MadPark is now selling T-shirts for $28 with his now-viral quote and a skeleton graphic. "I think some people are going to dress up as Tom for Halloween," he told Axios. Courtesy of MadPark Designs Backstory: Hoyle said he planned to cause a commotion by yelling out as Trump was speaking, as protesters have done at other North Carolina campaign events. But before Trump got on stage, the Fox News reporter asked Hoyle for an interview. He later told Axios it was "divine intervention" and said he freestyled the cult comparison. Hoyle said the Secret Service came over and asked him to leave after the Fox interview. He wasn't even out of Rock Hill before his phone started lighting up with texts and calls from people viewing the clip, he added. What's next: He said he's tossing ideas around for another shirt, but doesn't want to get ahead of himself.

Authorities say army contractor James Thomas Ashbacher shared top-secret data online and stole night-vision goggles The FBI has arrested a former North Carolina government contractor for allegedly leaking classified national defense information on social media. James Thomas Ashbacher, 37, of Spring Lake, was taken into custody after charges that he shared top-secret safety data online, unlawfully stored national defense materials at his residence and stole night-vision equipment from the US army special operations command. Continue reading...

Binance exchange says it will cover customer losses as it scrambles to freeze affected assets, with about $3bn located so far Q&A: How big a deal is the $6.3bn crypto heist? Tell us: have you been affected by the Binance hack? Business live – latest updates The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange has been hit by a record $6.3bn (£4.7bn) hack described as the biggest heist in history, with experts identifying North Korea as the likely culprit. Binance said it would cover all customer losses as it froze $3bn of the affected assets. Continue reading...

Polls show the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham in a virtual tie with her Democratic opponent, Dr. Annie Andrews. An upset was unthinkable just a few months ago.

President Trump's energy policies and investment deals could become major targets of Democratic investigations if the party wins control of either chamber of Congress. Why it matters: Congressional probes could expose new details about the administration's dealings with major companies and foreign governments. What they're saying: House Democrats are likely to take a "shotgun" approach of "throwing everything out there and then seeing what sticks in the realm of popular opinion," TD Cowen analyst John Miller said via email. Democrats will be looking for agencies that exceeded their authority, deals involving administration officials' families, or both, Miller said. The big picture: Scratch the surface of Democrats' biggest potential oversight targets, and energy is everywhere. Russia. Trump's dealings with Moscow will again be front and center — and so will the energy dimension. Democrats in both chambers are likely to investigate Trump's diesel deal with Moscow, which they claim violates a 2022 law barring imports of Russian fuels. The inquiries could also extend to U.S. banks and ports, which lawmakers have already warned could face congressional investigation. Venezuela. "We expect Venezuela to be the subject of a number of inquiries," RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note. Democrats have already raised questions about whether any oil companies knew about plans to depose Nicolás Maduro. Investigations could also examine the legality of the Pentagon's 35% stake in the corporate parent North American Blue Energy Partners and the terms of the deal, the note states. The Iran war. High gasoline and diesel prices give Democrats another reason to scrutinize the decision to attack Iran, especially if pain at the pump persists. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have already pressed major oil and gas companies about their profits during the conflict. AI and data centers. Wider and intense oversight of AI will touch on data centers' ener

Carolina Panthers 19-27 Green Bay Packers Packers WR has 113 receiving yards despite injury Jordan Love threw three touchdown passes, Josh Jacobs scored twice and the Green Bay Packers withstood three turnovers to beat the Carolina Panthers 27-19 on Thursday night. Love went 30 of 41 for 288 yards with touchdown passes to Tucker Kraft, Matthew Golden and Jacobs plus an interception. Although he rushed for only 39 yards on 21 carries against the NFL’s lowest-ranked run defense, Jacobs scored on a four-yard catch and one-yard run for the Packers (5-3). Continue reading...

Binance halted trading Thursday after hackers allegedly linked to North Korea stole more than $6 billion, the largest crypto hack in history. Why it matters : The attack comes after a wave of high-profile cyber intrusions and data breaches during "Black October," when a series of security incidents and AI -discovered bugs triggered fears of a global crisis. Driving the news: Binance co-founder Yi He said on X that the crypto exchange had suspended deposits and withdrawals. "User funds are safe," she wrote. "Binance will cover all hacking losses." An estimated $6.3 billion were drained from wallets in the incident, Binance said , although the exchange and partners managed to freeze about $3 billion that can potentially be recovered. "This is unprecedented," said Kevin March, a co-founder of JPEG Trading, a cryptocurrency trading firm that closely tracked the hack to monitor market conditions. An initial investigation found linked the hack to a compromised laptop from one Binance engineer. That access allowed an attacker to gain access to Binance's systems to make withdrawals, the exchange said. Zoom in : Researchers from TRM Labs and Pangolin Intelligence found that the attack appeared to be the work of a North Korean hacking collective. "This was absolutely North Korea," Nick Carlsen, a senior TRM investigator, told The Wall Street Journal . Representatives of North Korea have previously denied allegations of hacking crypto exchanges. The country has turned hacking and scams into an industrial-scale scourge, focusing on crypto heists and a widespread practice of tricking Western companies into hiring North Korean workers . A Binance spokesperson said the exchange's security teams are "reviewing all relevant information with urgency." The big picture: If estimates hold up, the suspected Binance hack would be the biggest crypto attack in history. In 2025, North Korea-linked hackers stole about $1.5 billion worth of crypto from the Bybit exchange. Between the lines : C

Three customers and two employees suffered symptoms after an industrial degreaser was mistakenly used to prepare margaritas at a North Carolina Chili's.

Democrats' main Senate super PAC is privately telling top donors that Texas offers their best shot at flipping a deep-red Senate seat, followed by Ohio, where the race remains close. Senate Majority PAC also sees victories in Iowa and Alaska as within reach, though the outcomes could take longer to become clear. Why it matters: Democrats are increasingly confident about Election Day on Tuesday — and sharing their qualified optimism with their biggest donors. To retake the Senate, Democrats need to win two of those four states — all of which Trump won by double digits in 2024 — flip North Carolina and Maine, and avoid an upset in Michigan. JB Poersch, president of Senate Majority PAC, projected confidence that Democrats will wrest control of the Senate from Republicans during a private donor briefing this week as he walked through the races state by state. He also reminded donors that Kansas, where even Republicans are deeply worried, is a state Trump won by roughly 16 points in 2024. But it's in play . What they're saying: "This matches what we've been saying publicly and privately for weeks. There are signs of optimism in Texas, but it remains a toss-up, as do Iowa, Ohio and Alaska," said Lauren French, a spokesperson for SMP. "There is positive movement for Democrats, but it is critical to remember that every seat on the battleground map voted for Donald Trump by double digits," she said. "These are deep red states and we're focused on bringing them over the finish line so the Senate can work to provide real relief to families who are being crushed by the cost-of-living crisis." The big picture: Texas hasn't elected a Democratic senator since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988. Democrats thought they'd end the drought in 2018 and let themselves fall for then-Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who lost to Sen. Ted Cruz by 2.6 percentage points. Four years later, O'Rourke tried again to prove a Democrat could win statewide in Texas. He lost the governor's race by nearly 11 percentage points. T

After a brief bidding war, the manuscript map that helped divide the United States into North and South, free and slave states, sold for $950,000

South Korea says North Korea has launched an unidentified projectile off the North's east coast

President Trump seems to think he can save a vulnerable Ohio Republican senator's ass by talking about how strong it is. Why it matters: Republicans are getting hammered over the war in Iran, gas prices and data centers. But they're playing along with Trump's ogling of male candidates, which he's described as an election strategy. "I don't do this with men very often. I started examining his body because I didn't know he was a great athlete. And I looked and I watched up and down and I looked at his ass," Trump said of Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) at an Ohio rally. "My wife and I have a good sense of humor, and we know he's doing all he can to help us win," Husted told Axios. "We have made sure to hit the gym during the busy campaign to uphold the high standards the president has set for us." Zoom in: In five rallies over three weeks across the country, Trump gave a head-to-toe appraisal of his most vulnerable Republican senator. "His ass was like a big piece of muscle," Trump said in Michigan last week. "Then I looked at his legs and I said, 'Man, his feet are big,' " Trump said in North Carolina. Polling has shown Husted narrowly behind or tied with former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), and Republicans view him as the most vulnerable GOP incumbent. Zoom out: Husted is getting the most love, but he's not alone. "You know, he's a very handsome guy," Trump said about Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) at a Montana rally earlier this month. "I like the white hair, I like the big, strong build. Big, strong guy." Trump said of Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), who is running for Senate in Georgia. Trump called him "all man." "I actually think that Rick Jackson's a very handsome, distinguished, beautiful-looking guy," Trump said about the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Georgia. "Look at this beautiful guy," Trump said of House candidate Ed Gallrein (R-Ky.). Trump called him: "Central casting." Between the lines: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has also joined the fun: "I know tha

A fire at a massive Department of Energy nuclear site triggered emergency measures, though officials reported no contamination outside the facility.

Senate Republicans see Iowa moving their way and Ohio slipping, with pessimism growing over Alaska and Kansas. Why it matters: Even when they squint, top Republicans struggle to see a majority beyond 51 seats, according to half a dozen senior operatives. ✈️ A combination of paid media and Air Force One visits has bolstered GOP confidence that they'll hold South Carolina and Mississippi . But across the map, the outlook looks bleak, with only a few bright spots. Zoom out: Republicans are fighting a two-front war: unprecedented Democratic enthusiasm and undeniable Republican apathy. 🏈 President Trump's strategy is to whip up the MAGA faithful with rallies in the reddest parts of red states. 😱 "The Red Scream is my biggest concern , not the blue wave," said Alex Castellanos, a veteran Republican consultant who has worked to help Trump get elected. ‼️ "Republicans and independents are going to be screaming for attention, and many of them, including those who voted for Trump, may show their frustration by not showing up." Zoom in: Texas is starting to look like a late-season football showdown against an SEC rival: The GOP is still in the game, but defeat seems like a real possibility. 🌾 In Kansas, Sen. Roger Marshall (R) has stopped the bleeding, but it's unclear whether there's enough time left to save his seat. 🛥️ Republicans are quietly bullish on Michigan, but they recognize that the demographics have to break heavily in their favor, especially among Black voters. By the numbers: The math hasn't changed, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sees multiple paths to 51 seats. No one disputes that North Carolina is going to have a Democratic senator. It seems like another lifetime ago that Republicans were talking seriously about flipping Georgia. If just two of the next tier of Ohio, Kansas and Alaska flip, the Senate would be split 50-50 before factoring in other competitive races, like Michigan, Iowa and Maine. 🦞 In Maine, Republicans and Democrats a

The 2026 midterms have taken a deeply personal turn as campaigns use other people's family tragedies as political ammunition — sometimes over the objections of the families themselves. Why it matters: Some attack ads feature photographs of murdered children and anguished 911 calls, forcing grieving families to relive their worst moments. Georgia governor race: Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson used images of murdered 8-year-old Secoriea Turner and her mother's anguished 911 call to attack Democratic rival Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta's former mayor. Turner's family demanded the ads come down, accusing the campaign of exploiting their grief without permission. Jackson said he would keep airing them . Ohio governor race: Ohio Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign is spending $4 million on an ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. In the ad, Donna Arthur calls her daughter a liar and disputes her account of childhood homelessness. Acton says her late stepfather — who was married to her mother until his death — sexually abused her as a child, and she hasn't spoken to her mother in decades. Acton's brother corroborated her account , while court records and contemporary news reports support key details. President Trump urged Ramaswamy to keep running his attack on Acton, despite objections from some fellow Republicans. Between the lines: Ramaswamy's campaign said the ad tested well with persuadable voters , even as critics warned it could backfire. Ohio Senate race: A Republican attack ad against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown featured images of a couple and their 1-year-old son killed in a highway crash to blame Brown's immigration policies. The victims' family demanded its removal , saying nobody sought permission to use their relatives' images or tragedy. North Carolina Senate race: A Republican super PAC featured a grieving father in an attack ad linking the murder of his 23-year-old son to for

Senate Republicans are weighing three last-ditch spending moves that would have been unimaginable six months ago: a cash infusion for Mississippi and even more money for South Carolina and Kansas. Why it matters: It's been 94 years since Kansas elected a Democratic senator, 44 years for Mississippi and 28 for South Carolina. But panic is spreading through the Republican Party. "The wall has broken. The enemy is inside the fort," one national Republican political operative told Axios. "We are now fighting hand to hand." The Senate map, which once looked impregnable for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), is now full of vulnerabilities. Democratic challengers are polling within the margin of error in more than half a dozen deep-red states, according to internal GOP polls. The other side: "We're nervous about Alaska. We're nervous about Michigan. We're still going to hold the Senate at the end," said another operative. Zoom in: Two weeks ago, when Senate Leadership Fund decided to take out a $5 million "insurance policy" in South Carolina, operatives took a hard look at Idaho, South Dakota and Mississippi. At the time, they concluded they didn't need to spend any money in those states, according to a person familiar with the matter. But Senate Republicans are now reviewing the Mississippi race and may need to spend there to protect Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith from a surprisingly competitive bid by Democratic district attorney Scott Colom . Senate Majority PAC, the main super PAC for Senate Democrats, announced a $1.2 million investment in the race on Tuesday. Zoom out: In early June, SLF started to reinforce a Midwestern red wall to protect the GOP majority, reserving $28 million in TV advertising in Ohio and $11 million in Iowa . Those investments have ballooned to $93 million in Ohio and $53 million in Iowa. After an initial $5 million buy in South Carolina, SLF's spending has increased to $8.5 million, according to AdImpact. And a super PAC linked to Sen. John Bar