Slog AM: Hackers Steal $6.3 Billion in Cryptocurrencies, Bird Flu Comes for Washington Dairies, Fanfiction Site Is Down

Largest Crypto hack of all time: In a period of about 20 minutes, hackers stole around $6.3 billion in digital coins from wallets belonging to the crypto exchange Binance. North Korean hackers are believed to have perpetrated the heist. North Korean hacking groups have repeatedly targeted cryptocurrencies and have successfully stolen hundreds of millions of dollars. They usually do this on behalf of the North Korean regime. WIRED has more. 

Three dead in Oregon helicopter crash: Two helicopters collided in the air near McMinnville Airport southwest of Portland. They crashed into a farm field. One helicopter carried a flight instructor and a student, the other carried a pilot. All three are dead. 

Bird flu hits Washington dairies: The first signs of bird flu in Washington dairy herds hit two Yakima dairy farms early this month. Three weeks later, 27 dairies in the state have tested positive for bird flu. It’s spreading fast. 

Suicides increased in Washington last year: According to the Washington State Department of Health, 1,400 people died by suicide in 2025. That’s the most suicide deaths in the state in 25 years. The DOH isn’t sure what caused the increase last year. 

Northbound I-5 to reopen all lanes: Drivers rejoice! The construction on the Ship Canal Bridge’s northbound lanes is done, and all lanes will be open again on Monday. But that requires all lanes to close over the weekend. Take the light rail to that Halloween house party if it’s across the Cut (and if it’s in one of the neighborhoods where light rail reaches). Construction starts on the Ship Canal Bridge’s southbound I-5 lanes in February. 

The weather: Cold and wet today. No rain on Halloween. Probably?

The case of the two Dans: The Department of Justice is making its case to decertify the results of an Alaska Senate election if the Republican incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan, doesn’t win. A new report from the New York Times alleges Democratic candidate Mary Peltola and her campaign recruited another Dan Sullivan (this one Dan J. Sullivan) to run for the seat to confuse Republican voters. Now, Trump’s DOJ is doing another legal push to make sure Trump’s guy wins. The DOJ “has issued 40 subpoenas and document preservation requests as part of the revised complaint,” reports Al Jazeera. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy ordered a criminal investigation into the allegations. 

Good country we’ve got here: Check out how much Elon Musk has spent on midterm election donations this year. Spoiler alert: He is giving to the bad guys because he is a bad guy.

So much for gerrymandering: Black voters whose districts were redrawn by Republicans in the Louisiana v. Callais decision are energized. Black voters in Southern states with early voting are turning out in droves. In Alabama, Democratic Senator Shomari Figures saw his district redrawn to exclude Black communities and include white and rural ones. Even though Republicans rigged Figures’s district for an easy win, that’s no longer a sure thing. 

Well, well, well: “Google admits AI search makes less money, but it’s fixing that with more ads”

Nobody panic! Archive of Our Own, the world’s biggest fanfiction site, is down for maintenance. Initially, the maintenance was only supposed to take 12 hours. Now, the site—filled to bursting with self-lubricating assholes, homosexual headcanons, and alternate universe fantasies—won’t be back up for a month. Where will we get our slash fic fix in the meantime? Livejournal? 

Sir Patrick Stewart is dead: Beloved British actor, a celebrated Shakespearean stage performer who later turned up on the silver screen as Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Professor X, has died from Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He was 86. Here is how it feels:

Want to know when you’re going to die? You could give your blood to an AI Death Clock to find out. A WIRED writer did. All it gave him was an obsessive sense of his own mortality. “Time became a burden I was being forced to optimize.” 

In Chicago news: The Pope has mailed in an absentee ballot, becoming the first Pope in history to vote in an American election. For an on-the-ground look at what this means for Chicago, I’ve asked our Chicago correspondent, Chicago Reader news editor Vivian McCall, to weigh in. Here is what Vivian says: “In Chicago, we believe that if the Pope votes, we will have a white Christmas.” 

ICYMI: The Milwaukee Brewers won their first World Series this week. They won so quickly and so handily that the Tampa Bay Rays never even got to play a home game. 

Have you voted? You should. Here’s a guide on how you should vote, an even shorter guide if you hate reading (but you should really read), and a map of where your closest King County ballot box is. Use a ballot box!

A long read for your spooky weekend: Commercial chocolate is tasting different these days. Worse. Here is why.

Happy Halloween: My Halloween costume plans (dressing up as this version of Tim Eyman) fell apart because I realized the know-nothings would assume I was dressed as Trump (the wig I got is really bad) and I cannot have that. So I am pivoting. More like scrambling. Any ideas? I cannot be Ty Pennington again. Here’s a Halloween song:

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