Alaska Democrat denies ballot scheme amid DOJ probe; Trump cancels in-person campaign stops

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