Steeped

News

Today's Brief: Heists, Ad Sales, and Two Sullivans

The Homebrew · · Posted · AI-drafted daily brief, synthesized from Left, Center, and Right coverage. Facts may be inaccurate — verify with the cited sources below.

Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, said about $6.3 billion was hit in what NBC News said was believed to be the largest crypto heist ever recorded, and two blockchain analysis firms blamed a North Korean hacking unit, the Associated Press reported in a story published by CBS News. Alphabet lost just over $500 billion in market value Thursday after saying its own AI search answers were eating into ad revenue, the BBC reported. And the Justice Department began issuing subpoenas in a criminal probe of Alaska's Senate race, sources told ABC News, just days before the midterm elections.

The Binance hack. Binance said late Thursday that "the estimated total impact sits at around $6.3B" and that the hack originated from a compromised laptop, NBC News reported; on Friday it said a subsequent investigation uncovered additional "points of breach," the Associated Press reported in a story published by CBS News. On Friday the exchange said deposits were unaffected, withdrawals were suspended and expected to resume in a day or two, and it would cover all losses, the Associated Press reported in a story published by CBS News. Binance said it worked with partners to freeze roughly $3 billion in affected assets, the Associated Press reported in a story published by CBS News, and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company froze more than $1.567 billion of its digital currency, according to NBC.

The blockchain intelligence firm TRM attributed the attack "with high confidence" to TraderTraitor, which it described as North Korea's elite hacking unit, and Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin said it was "likely done by DPRK group TraderTraitor," the Associated Press reported in a story published by CBS News. The previous record was the $1.5 billion that North Korean hackers stole from Bybit in February 2025, according to NBC. Bitcoin fell about 4.3% and Ethereum 4.6% as word spread Thursday, NBC reported.

Big Tech's AI bill. Alphabet's shares fell more than 12% to a six-month low, and its market value dropped to $3.46 trillion from $3.97 trillion a day earlier, after chief business officer Philipp Schindler said Google's "AI mode" was cutting into money from ads beside traditional search results, the BBC reported. Revenue still grew 25% to $127.6 billion, but advertising came in below analysts' forecasts, according to the BBC.

Amazon shares fell 6% in after-hours trading Thursday after it reported sales up 11% to $201 billion and a cash flow figure of negative $42 billion, the BBC reported. Chief executive Andy Jassy said the company "can fund this plan," according to the BBC. Microsoft shares fell less than 1% on Thursday, the BBC reported.

Alaska's two Sullivans. The Justice Department has begun issuing subpoenas to Democratic officials believed to be tied to an effort to recruit Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, onto Alaska's ballot alongside Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, multiple sources told ABC News. The move follows a New York Times report, based on 12 people, text messages and documents, alleging that people connected to Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign and senior aides at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee worked to recruit him, ABC and the BBC reported. The BBC said it had not independently verified the Times reporting.

Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy directed the state Department of Public Safety to investigate "whether this scheme violated Alaska's laws," the BBC reported. Peltola's campaign said it "has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign," and the DSCC said it was "not involved with Dan J. Sullivan," according to ABC. Alaska's Supreme Court previously found no state laws were broken by the second Sullivan running, the BBC reported, and election law expert Justin Levitt told the BBC that "convincing somebody to run for office is not a crime, even if their name happens to be the same as an incumbent."

Iran and Ukraine. Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Friday to convey edits to a draft proposal to end the U.S. war with Iran, with a response expected by the weekend, a source told CBS News. The U.K. navy's Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday evening, after Iran said four ships using a route it deems illegal had hit sea mines, CBS reported. The Pentagon's count of U.S. service member deaths since the war began rose to 23, 11 of them from enemy fire, according to CBS.

An evacuation and aid mission was underway Friday in Russian-occupied Oleshky during a local ceasefire brokered by first lady Melania Trump with the involvement of Pope Leo XIV, NBC News reported. The planned exit route to Ukrainian-held territory runs through Russia and Belarus, and some residents told Sky News they feared they would not be allowed to continue into Ukraine, NBC reported.

Europe. Tens of thousands of people were set to march in Rome, Milan and other Italian cities Friday against the cost of living and high military spending, with port blockades expected in Genoa, Livorno and Trieste, NBC News reported. The government has said it will deploy 500 army troops alongside police in Milan until the end of the year, according to NBC.

Patrick Stewart. Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in more than 170 episodes of Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films, has died at 86 at his Los Angeles home after "a brief and poignant journey" with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia, the BBC reported. Ian McKellen called him "the most respected and beloved actor of his generation," according to the BBC.

Sources used

All briefs · Today's news, Left to Right · How Steeped works