Hey, everyone …
After a “zero-dollar day,” our annual fundraiser total remains stuck (as of 5am) at $1,093.50.
We’re $1,658 short of our goal — and I’m as tired of hectoring you about money as you are of hearing it. Once we’ve hit the target, I get to shut up about money entirely for the rest of 2026 and mostly for the first nine months of 2027. Have a great day — but first,
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Hackers who stole a record $6.3bn (£4.7bn) from Binance used fake job interviews and a compromised internal AI tool, the firm has revealed. Initial findings published by the company, which operates the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said hackers gained access to its systems through a ‘sophisticated, multi-stage campaign’. It said they used a range of techniques such as malicious software downloads to compromise the computers of Binance engineers and gain control over tools to drain its wallet of billions of dollars worth of crypto. Binance called it ‘a serious and highly sophisticated security incident’ and apologised, saying ‘this should not have happened’. In a post on X, Binance said hackers targeted its engineers using social engineering techniques. These see hackers use approaches such as phishing to trick people into parting with sensitive or personal details, that can then be used to try and access their accounts.” (11/03/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ck5ynwz9gy67o
Source: Liberal Currents
“What Will Trump Try This Time?” (11/02/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/what-will-trump-try-this-time-half-the-answer-112-with-adam-hochschild/
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
by Colleen J Shogan
“In November 1894, President Grover Cleveland suffered one of the most devastating midterm defeats in American history. His Democratic Party lost 125 seats in the House of Representatives, surrendering its majority to the Republicans. Democrats also lost control of the Senate. The election severely curtailed Cleveland’s ability to lead his party, and foreshadowed a major transformation in American politics, as Democrats moved to abandon his conservative economic policies in favor of populism. More than 130 years later, there is reason to revisit 1894.” (11/02/26)
https://archive.is/JYrEQ
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen
“Election Day is always relatively serene. There’s nothing much to do other than wait for results. We’re in a state of suspended animation, waiting to discover the future after the polls close. The evidence collected from polls, spending announcements, ground reports, and more, points to a big Democratic victory. But let’s go a layer deeper. Here are ten questions we will get clarity about with the election results. There’s a difference between a bad night and a catastrophic one, a tough result that can be overcome in a couple of years and something that will realign the country for a long time. The way that Republicans are acting right now suggests they are trying to stave off the latter.” (11/03/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/11/03/ten-questions-that-will-be-answered-in-this-midterm-election/
Source: United Press International
“Belize has declared a state of emergency in 19 areas after a series of deadly shootings, giving police expanded powers to detain suspected gang members as the government considers studying El Salvador’s anti-gang strategy. The emergency took effect Sunday in parts of Belize City, Ladyville, Cotton Tree and Unitedville, according to Breaking Belize News. … National Security Minister Michel Chebat said Belizean officials plan to visit El Salvador to examine President Nayib Bukele’s approach to fighting gangs, according to Breaking Belize News.” (11/02/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/11/02/latam-belize-state-of-emergency-gang-violence/6331793640914/
Source: Antiwar.com
“US Bombs Iran’s Qeshm Island, Saudi-Backed Forces Strike Yemen Market, and More.” (11/02/26)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E7FugXLwTU
Source: Reason
by Jacob Sullum
“The U.S. Constitution says ‘the times, places and manner of holding elections’ for senators and representatives ‘shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof,’ although Congress ‘may at any time by law make or alter such regulations.’ Yet in the run-up to Tuesday’s elections, the Trump administration has unilaterally and repeatedly tried to impose its own restrictions on that constitutional power, resulting in a remarkable series of rebukes by federal courts, including four issued during the last five days.” (11/02/26)
https://reason.com/2026/11/02/trumps-election-interference-in-california-and-alaska-prompts-a-series-of-judicial-rebukes/
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Some of the reasons doom might not happen depend on facts that we have no way to influence, but not all. There may be no way of preventing the creation of AI’s that do not care about human welfare but it might be possible to improve the odds of the creation of some that do. We are a great deal smarter than other living things but some of us still care about some of them.” (11/02/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/ai-doom-and-aging
Source: Times of Israel [Jerusalem]
“The US carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, an American official said late Monday on the eve of crucial midterm elections, which US President Donald Trump has signaled could mark the start of resumed war with Iran. The strikes, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, appeared to be limited and were not a resumption of major combat operations, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Another official said the strikes were defensive measures against Iranians ‘using surface-to-air missiles against US assets.'” (11/03/26)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-carries-out-defensive-strikes-on-irans-qeshm-island-in-strait-of-hormuz/
