Hour in Review — 2026-11-01 01:00 UTC 18 sources
Two clusters dominate the hour: US midterm turbulence days before the vote, and a crypto sector absorbing a record theft. More than 51 million Americans have already voted early for the November 3 midterms, beating the 2022 record of 45.9 million . Democrats account for 43.1% of early ballots in 27 states tracking party registration, against 31.8% for Republicans, and the Cook Political Report shifted 12 House races toward Democrats on Friday 1. Several Senate contests look unsettled. In South Carolina, Sen. Darline Graham is tied with Democrat Annie Andrews in a Times/Siena poll of 707 likely voters, even though Cook rates the seat Lean Republican 2. In Nebraska, Republican Pete Ricketts faces independent Dan Osborn 3. In Michigan, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed withdrew his invitation to former primary rival Haley Stevens to a campaign event 4. An adviser to Rep. Jim Clyburn countered that El-Sayed cannot disinvite her because "This is not Abdul's event" 5. Separately, David Axelrod said El-Sayed should have rejected an ad blaming Israel for high costs, calling it offensive 6. In crypto, the FBI blamed a North Korean group for the $6.3bn theft from Binance, and exchanges are tightening security after the record heist 7. Binance says it covered 90% of losses 8. In a separate matter, Changpeng Zhao said he never threatened to sell SpaceX shares or pressure Elon Musk, and that he cited Binance's stake only to counter FTX comparisons 9. Other crypto items, which their sources do not link to the heist: US spot Ethereum ETFs logged a record 23-day outflow streak, which the piece reads as falling institutional confidence 10. Tokyo-listed IORE will sell its 151.21 bitcoin, with roughly ¥1.831 billion in estimated proceeds earmarked for AI data centers 11. Two Texas brothers received 180 and 186 months for holding a Minnesota family to force an $8 million-plus crypto transfer 12. On AI more broadly, investors and some tech executives are seeking protection against losses on an AI trade with trillions riding on it 13, as Anthropic goes public with a share structure that keeps its founders in control 14. Abroad, Mexico condemned a Texas claim to nine Rio Grande islands described as long used by cartels 15. Poland's constitutional court standoff persists despite presidential crisis talks 16, and Donald Tusk says pro-Russian forces in that dispute are backed by Russian bot networks 17. Iran's Araghchi says a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days depends on US conditions being met 18.
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