Good morning. It's Friday, Oct. 24, and we're covering illegal gambling rings, a pardon for one of the richest men in cryptocurrency, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were among over 30 people arrested yesterday as part of two multimillion-dollar gambling schemes.
Federal prosecutors charged both men with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering. Billups allegedly conspired with La Cosa Nostra—the five-family crime network known as the Mafia—to fix high-stakes poker games. He allegedly did so using X-ray tables, premarked cards, and hidden cameras. Rozier is accused of coordinating gameplay decisions (like leaving a game early) to rig sports bets. Both men were placed on leave yesterday, days into the 2025-26 season.
Separately, collegiate athletes and team staff will be allowed to bet on professional sports beginning next month. The rule change and federal indictments come as the American sports betting industry posted a record $13.71B in revenue last year, and 43% of Americans say legal sports betting is bad for society, up 9% from 2022. |
President Donald Trump pardoned Binance cofounder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao yesterday. The move clears a path for one of the world's richest men (valued at over $80B) to regain control of his company.
Binance is the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, processing over one-third of all digital currency transactions. In November 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering charges after failing to prevent terrorist organizations—including al-Qaida and Hamas—from using his platform. As part of a $4.3B plea deal, Zhao stepped down as CEO and served four months in a California prison. Today, the billionaire lives in the United Arab Emirates, where he has retained a majority stake in Binance.
The move comes two months after The Wall Street Journal reported Binance struck a deal to promote digital coins from World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency startup cofounded by Trump and his sons. |
The Los Angeles Dodgers will take on the Toronto Blue Jays tonight in Game 1 of the World Series. The Dodgers seek to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the New York Yankees accomplished the feat from 1998 to 2000.
The Blue Jays return to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1993 after overcoming a 3-2 deficit to defeat the Seattle Mariners in seven games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. powered Toronto’s offense with six home runs in the postseason, tying the Blue Jays' franchise postseason home run record. Across the diamond, Los Angeles arrives with momentum, having swept the Milwaukee Brewers last weekend. Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani had a historic Game 4 performance, notching 10 strikeouts while blasting three home runs in what some have called the greatest playoff performance.
Game 1 is tonight at the recently renovated Rogers Centre in Toronto (8 pm ET, Fox). Learn more about MLB here. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> King Charles III and Pope Leo XIV pray together in the first joint service between Church of England and Catholic Church leaders in 500 years (More) |
> Broadway's musicians union reaches tentative labor deal with commercial producers, averting strike that threatened to halt 23 shows (More) | "Stranger Things" series finale to premiere on Netflix and over 350 movie theaters Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, marking first Netflix series theatrical release (More) |
> Athletics Integrity Unit bans women's marathon world record-holder Ruth Chepng'etich from competing for three years after positive doping test (More) |
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In partnership with Babbel |
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> Google Earth expands artificial intelligence features, enhancing ability to identify infrastructure and communities at risk from severe weather (More) | Two Florida coral reef species deemed functionally extinct after 2023 heat wave (More) |
> Paleontologists unearth well-preserved dinosaur remains, mummified by microorganisms for over 66 million years (More) |
> Researchers discover Alzheimer’s disease disrupts the circadian rhythms of plaque-clearing brain cells, suggesting correcting these rhythms as potential Alzheimer’s treatment (More) |
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> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.6%, Dow +0.3%, Nasdaq +0.9%) as traders await release of delayed September US inflation report today (More) |
> US existing home sales rise 1.5% month-over-month in September to seven-month high; median home price of $415,200 is up 2.1% from a year ago and the highest price for any September on record (More) | Average US 30-year fixed mortgage rate falls to lowest level in more than a year (More) |
> EV-maker Rivian to cut over 600 jobs, roughly 4% of workforce (More) | Apple loses UK class-action lawsuit over excessive fees charged to app developers (More) |
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> Senate votes down competing bills to pay active-duty military members, essential workers amid standoff over federal government shutdown (More) |
> President Donald Trump says he will back off plans to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco after speaking with tech leaders, including CEOs of Nvidia, Salesforce (More) |
> Sudan's military intercepts drone attack on main international airport from Rapid Support Forces; the paramilitary group targeted Khartoum International Airport one day after it reopened to passenger flights (More) |
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> In Defense of Picky Eating
Serious Eats | Irina Dumitrescu. A former picky eater and mother of a selective son makes a contrarian case for letting children listen to their taste buds and develop their own palates. (Read) |
> Why He Runs
The Atlantic | Nicholas Thompson. The CEO of The Atlantic—one of America's oldest magazines—took up running to connect with his father. He's run through unemployment, a cancer diagnosis, and today, he logs about 3,000 miles a year to avoid becoming his father. (Read) |
> Dodo De-extinction
Colossal Biosciences | Staff. Hear from the scientists working to bring the flightless bird back from extinction with pigeon germ cells and surrogate chickens. (Watch) |
> The Year NYC Went Broke
NPR | Planet Money. In 1975, an investment banker led a group of private citizens on a mission to save New York City from bankruptcy. How'd they do it? (Listen) |
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In partnership with Pendulum |
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16K+ Medical Professionals Pick This Probiotic |
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Clickbait: Animatronic dinosaurs as lawn decorations.
Historybook: Black Thursday US stock market crash, exchange falls roughly 11% in one day (1929); Jackie Robinson dies (1972); Rapper Drake born (1986); Rosa Parks dies (2005); Bloody Friday worldwide stock market crash with most indexes dropping about 10% in single day (2008).
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