00:00The Justice Department opens a criminal investigation into allegations that Alaskan Democrats hatched a plot to confuse voters to oust
00:08a Republican incumbent, while the Democratic Senate candidate denies any involvement.
00:13I am not interested in tricking voters. I know I can beat Dan Sullivan.
00:18Plus, President Trump cancels two weekend rallies, stepping away from red states where Republican candidates are in tight races.
00:25And one of the world's biggest crypto companies says it was hacked to the tune of more than $6 billion.
00:31What we know so far. The stories that matter, the facts you can trust from across the country to around
00:42the world.
00:43This is unbiased updates from straight arrow. Hey, everybody. I'm Christian Bryant. It's Friday, October 30th, Halloween Eve.
00:52Hope your morning is off to a great start, and thank you so much for ending your work week with
00:56us.
00:56Let's get you caught up and ready for the day ahead.
00:59It's just four days until Election Day, and we begin this morning with a new Justice Department probe into a
01:04Senate race that could determine the balance of power in Washington.
01:08The DOJ is investigating whether Democrats purposely recruited a Senate candidate in Alaska with the same name as the Republican
01:15incumbent to confuse voters.
01:17Investigators have issued dozens of subpoenas, including to Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign organization and to candidate Dan J. Sullivan, who's
01:26also running against GOP Senator Dan Sullivan.
01:29This comes as Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, ordered an investigation into Peltola's campaign.
01:34Both inquiries follow a New York Times report that revealed how Peltola's campaign worked with national Democrats to recruit another
01:42Dan Sullivan into the race to siphon off votes from the incumbent Republican.
01:46During a rally in Juneau on Thursday, Peltola denied she had anything to do with the alleged scheme.
01:52I have to like right off the top before any jokes, before any heartfelt, you know, reasons why you should
02:02get out and vote.
02:03I just want to clear the air. I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me
02:13and the incumbent.
02:14That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters. I know I can beat
02:22Dan Sullivan.
02:23Even before the latest revelation, the Trump administration filed a civil suit that seeks to block Alaska from certifying the
02:30election results if Senator Sullivan loses by fewer votes than the other Sullivan receives.
02:35A federal judge is expected to rule in the coming days whether the administration has the authority to intervene.
02:42On Thursday, President Donald Trump cast doubts on whether Republicans would see Peltola if she wins the race.
02:48Well, you're gonna have to see what happens. It's hard to believe that she could even be allowed to run.
02:53Frankly, I don't know how you could allow somebody like that to run.
02:57It's so unfair when you look at that, but nobody knows what to press. We've done studies. Nobody knows. They
03:05have no idea who the Dan Sullivan is.
03:07Alaska's Supreme Court has already ruled that Dan J. Sullivan's candidacy is legal, even if it's not entirely in quote
03:14good faith or is actually an attempt to confuse and mislead voters.
03:18The Justice Department is also widening a criminal investigation into California election officials, even after a judge ruled against the
03:27Trump administration, which wants California to throw out 20,000 mail-in ballots purportedly sent to non-citizens who were
03:34ineligible to vote.
03:35Those claims remain unsubstantiated. However, multiple news outlets reported that all four U.S. attorneys in California had begun issuing
03:43subpoenas seeking voter records that the Trump administration has so far been unable to obtain.
03:48The investigation is part of a broader effort by the administration to depict this year's midterms as rigged to help
03:54Democrats, a claim that President Trump has repeatedly made on the campaign trail.
03:59Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County Registrar, called the subpoenas an intimidation tactic. In a statement, he said, quote, at
04:06every step, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken a confrontational adversarial approach. Election officials are acting in accordance
04:14with state and federal law.
04:16With just four days left before Tuesday's midterms, President Trump is trying a new approach to woo voters, canceling two
04:23live rallies set to be held this weekend in what would normally be safely read states.
04:28Instead of firing up voters in Iowa and Kansas in Iowa and Kansas, Trump is opting to hold tele-rallies
04:36in support of Republican candidates in those two states.
04:39The GOP says the televised events will have a wider impact and are part of a, quote, 72-hour sprint
04:45of phone rallies planned in nearly 20 states.
04:48In a statement, the Republican National Committee said its Senate candidates in Kansas and Iowa are doing well enough that
04:54they don't need Trump to make sure they have enough support.
04:57Polls, however, suggest Democratic candidates are in striking distance of taking the Senate seats in both states and GOP control
05:05of Congress is increasingly at risk.
05:07Trump is still scheduled to appear at an in-person rally today in Daytona Beach, Florida, where the incumbent Republican
05:13senator has a solid lead in the polls.
05:17Cryptocurrency giant Binance has suspended all transactions while authorities investigate what's being called the biggest cyber heist in history.
05:24The company's founder says that user funds are safe, but hackers apparently made off with about $6.3 billion.
05:32Two cybersecurity research firms told The Wall Street Journal the heist appears to have been conducted by North Korea's Trader
05:38Trader hacking group, which already had pulled off many of the largest crypto hacks ever.
05:43Binance says it's working with law enforcement to figure out how the theft happened.
05:48In the meantime, it has suspended all deposits and withdrawals as its team conducts security checks and freezes funds.
05:55In a post on social media, the company said its initial investigation shows one of its development operations engineers' laptops
06:02was compromised,
06:03allowing hackers to, quote, submit unauthorized withdrawal transactions.
06:07Binance says it will cover the losses from the apparent hack.
06:11Prices for Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, fell 3% on Thursday after Binance announced the hack.
06:17Other cryptocurrencies fell as well.
06:20The Commerce Department dropped an economic report this week just days before the midterms that's a bit of a mixed
06:26bag.
06:27On the one hand, the economy is on the upswing.
06:29On the other, so is inflation.
06:31Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates steady while they wait for more economic data.
06:37These indicators matter because American voters have consistently ranked the economy and the cost of living as the most important
06:44issues in this year's elections.
06:46But do these sentiments actually change how people vote?
06:49Our cost of living reporter Lauren Pearl put that question to pollsters and political experts.
06:55And here's what she told me.
06:56One of my experts was saying that historically economic conditions did have a very big impact on how people would
07:04vote during each election.
07:06And now Republicans vote for Republicans, Democrats vote for Democrats for the most part.
07:11But what my experts told me and what I learned digging into the data is that that can change when
07:18economic conditions change very much as they have in recent months, particularly since the war in Iran started in February
07:28and since Trump started his second term.
07:31You can listen to our full conversation on off script available on the straight arrow app or wherever you listen
07:38to podcasts.
07:39Finally, this morning, it may not be Halloween just yet, but the spooky celebrations are already underway.
07:45And last night, President Trump and first lady Melania held their annual bone chilling blowout.
07:50It was a bootiful event as thousands of children and families were swarmed on the south lawn, complete with trick
07:57or treat booths and spooky decorations, including a harvest moon at the south portico.
08:03The president and first lady handed out special commemorative candies and kids got to see the fun side of the
08:09federal government.
08:10That included the Department of Agriculture's giant pumpkin photo opportunity where they handed out many pumpkins grown by American farmers
08:18or the US Postal Service's mini mail truck giveaway.
08:21And this wasn't a trick.
08:24The ghouls and boos who attended the event were also treated to a flyover by Air Force One, something that
08:31happens all the time in DC.
08:33It's something that we've gotten used to, but it can be a little weird for folks who don't see that
08:38every single day.
08:39Folks, we are the fastest way to get the facts.
08:43Watch us anytime at san.com or our app or join our growing audience on YouTube, Spotify or wherever you
08:49get your podcasts.
08:50We're glad to be a part of your morning routine.
08:53And as a reminder, you can email us here anytime.
08:57We actually read those.
08:59I actually read those.
09:00Hit us up at unbiasedupdates at san.com.
09:03We love hearing from you.
09:04That's unbiased updates for this Friday.
09:06For the unbiased updates team and all of us at Straight Arrow, I'm Christian Bryant.
09:11Thank you so much for watching.
09:12Have a happy and safe Halloween and a great weekend.
09:15And don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour before you head to bed Saturday night.
09:19We'll see you back here on Monday.
09:21Hopefully a little extra well rested.
09:24Take care.
09:24See you soon.
09:26Bye-bye.
09:27Bye-bye.
09:28Bye-bye.
09:28Bye-bye.
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