Lyft has agreed to hand hundreds of millions of dollars to California drivers who say the company treated them as contractors instead of employees.

The settlement totals $272.5 million, including fees and costs, and resolves claims from the state attorney general, city attorneys, the labor commissioner and private plaintiffs covering April 5th, 2016, through December 15th, 2020.

At least $237,075,000 is reserved for drivers based on hours and miles driven, with payments allowed over four years plus up to $12.4 million in interest. Lyft booked a $210 million accrual in the fourth quarter of 2025.

“The lawsuit followed the introduction of the ‘ABC test:’ the groundbreaking legal test used to analyze the misclassification of workers, which was first adopted by the California Supreme Court in 2018 in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court and then codified into law under AB5. In the midst of litigation, Proposition 22 altered how the ABC test is applied to certain app-based drivers. Despite several appeals and changes in the law, the Attorney General and his partners remained resilient, winning every legal challenge in court and remaining steadfast in their demands for drivers’ deserved wages and protections.”

Says California Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower,

“This settlement is about the workers who came forward and spoke up. Their voices made this outcome possible.”

In an SEC filing dated September 30th, Lyft says the deal is not an admission of liability and that resolving the matter now lets it avoid the costs and distraction of drawn-out litigation and keep management focused on its business goals. The attorney general announced the agreement today. The deal is still subject to court approval.

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Hundreds of thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries in the District of Columbia now face fraud risk after its Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) potentially exposed sensitive member data.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights says the District of Columbia’s DHCF experienced unauthorized access/disclosure that could affect 399,086 individuals.

According to DHCF, members of its Medicaid and DC Health Care Alliance (Alliance) enrolled between 2023 and July 2026 could have been impacted, as unauthorized entities may have accessed sensitive data hidden on its website.

“On July 21, 2026, DHCF learned that two reports on DHCF’s website contained hidden personal information that could be accessed by people who did not have permission to view it. These reports were intended to display only summary information about groups of people, such as enrollment counts and other statistics, and did not show anyone’s personal details on the screen. However, underlying personal information that supported these reports may have been reachable
by unauthorized users between 2023 and July 2026.

The information that could be seen may have included personal information, such as your, your child’s, or your family member’s Medicaid ID, date of birth, provider name, race gender, ward, or ethnicity. The information did not include Social Security numbers or financial account information.”

The DHCF says it abruptly removed the reports from the website while checking that its systems are safe and member information is protected. The agency also tells its members to ask a credit company to place a free alert on their credit report.

“DHCF has not learned that anyone looked at or used any of this information in the wrong way, but we are contacting you so you can understand what happened.”

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Cardano’s (ADA) recent price surge is running into fresh headwinds from fading trader interest and large-holder exits.

Futures open interest for ADA has dropped 9% over the past week, sliding from $1.99 billion to $1.81 billion as traders cut back on leveraged bets, says Ali Charts on X.

Whales also appear to be taking profits.

“Since September 20, large holders have offloaded roughly 90 million ADA, worth approximately $22.5 million, adding to the recent selling pressure.”

This decline in demand aligns with a Tom DeMark Sequential sell signal that appeared on Cardano’s daily chart.

“Since then, ADA has fallen 10%, and the correction may not be over yet.”

According to the analyst, a parallel channel on the daily chart points to $0.24 as the key mid-range support.

“If ADA loses that level, a move toward the channel’s lower boundary near $0.21 becomes likely.”

If $0.21 holds, it could present the next buying opportunity, targeting the channel top near $0.28.

Looking at Bitcoin, Ali says whales have cut their BTC holdings significantly over the last seven days.

“Most of the market has moved sideways over the past week. So what have whales been doing during the lull?

Bitcoin whale holdings have fallen by roughly 30,000 BTC, worth about $2.52 billion.

Large holders appear to be reducing their exposure.”

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Federal prosecutors have secured a guilty plea from a Boston man accused of using fake identification to drain hundreds of thousands of dollars from customer accounts.

William Shaw, 68, admitted to four counts of bank fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft in federal court, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.

The defendant posed as at least 13 account holders from late 2022 into early 2025 by presenting forged driver’s licenses that carried the victims’ details alongside his own photograph.

He also submitted withdrawal forms listing the customers’ names and account numbers to obtain cashier’s checks and cash totaling more than $900,000.

Judge Julia E. Kobick set sentencing for January 6th, 2027, after Shaw was charged in January 2026.

Separately, authorities charged six additional men in July 2025 as part of a larger multi-state bank fraud investigation covering Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Three of those defendants have already entered guilty pleas and await sentencing, while another received a sentence in a connected case.

A bank fraud conviction carries up to 30 years in prison along with fines reaching $1 million or twice the amount gained or lost.

Each aggravated identity theft count requires at least two years in prison served consecutively to any other term.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Kearney is handling the prosecution.

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A Wyoming orthopedic practice has disclosed a cyberattack that put the personal, financial and medical records of tens of thousands of people at risk.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says Casper Orthopedic Associates PC suffered a hacking/IT incident on July 23rd, impacting 56,197 people.

In a notice to impacted individuals, the healthcare firm says an unauthorized entity accessed its systems and stole files that may include patients’ first names, last names, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, financial account records, and medical information.

“On or about May 23, 2026, Casper discovered it was the victim of a cyberattack by an unauthorized third party. Immediately upon identifying the incident, Casper engaged third-party cybersecurity experts to assess, contain, and remediate the incident. Law enforcement was also notified.

Casper’s investigation, which concluded on June 11, 2026, determined that the unauthorized party may have acquired sensitive information from Casper’s systems. Casper then undertook an in-depth review process of the impacted information to determine the impacted individuals and their address information, which was completed on September 2, 2026. As such, Casper notified those who are believed to be impacted on September 8, 2026.”

Casper says it has found no evidence that anyone’s information was specifically misused.

The practice has added safeguards and tightened physical security while urging affected patients to reach out to credit reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Casper Orthopedic Associates PC is an orthopedic practice based in Casper, Wyoming.

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An armored truck driver hired to load cash into ATMs has been accused of stealing $259,574 from the machines and spending the money on cars, a cruise and other purchases.

Federal prosecutors say Christopher Skinner, 41, formerly of Milford, New Hampshire, worked alone at ATM locations across the state and removed cash bundles before servicing the machines between February 2nd and February 26th of 2024.

A federal indictment charges Skinner with 18 counts of bank theft plus money laundering and conspiracy counts tied to two FDIC-insured banks. His partner, Amee Skinner, 37, formerly of Conway, faces related laundering counts. Both pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire and are presumed innocent.

Prosecutors say cash deposits into the couple’s accounts rose sharply afterward, and funded the purchase of cars, a luxury cruise and other purchases.

“The defendants allegedly used the stolen funds to make substantial personal purchases, including $40,000 in cash for a 2019 GMC Sierra and $28,814 in cash for a 2019 Lincoln Nautilus. According to the indictment, the defendants also used stolen funds to pay for additional travel, retail, and online purchases.”

If convicted, the Skinners face years in prison.

“The bank theft counts each carry a maximum prison term of 10 years. The money laundering counts carry a maximum prison term of 10 years, and the money laundering conspiracy count carries a maximum term of 20 years.”

The indictment was filed August 5th of 2026.

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U.S. prosecutors have seized nearly $84 million from bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets tied to a Montana payments firm linked to Tether.

The civil forfeiture targets Capstone, a money services business that allegedly posed as an information technology company to open accounts at major banks while moving money for crypto firms, reports Reuters.

Court filings say Capstone, registered in Montana, processed payments for two crypto companies through a bank in Dominica. Prosecutors say the firm also ran a scheme that converted fraud proceeds into crypto by posing as FBI agents.

Nearly $81 million was seized from Capstone accounts at Wells Fargo and about $2 million from an account at JPMorgan Chase. Roughly $1.2 million worth of Tether’s dollar-pegged token was taken as well, according to the July filing first reported by The Information.

Tether said it was a customer of the Dominica bank and that its assets there were limited. A spokesperson addressed Capstone’s alleged conduct.

“Tether had no knowledge of the conduct by Capstone alleged by the Department of Justice.”

The Justice Department did not allege wrongdoing by Tether or the other firms involved. Spokespeople for Wells Fargo and JPMorgan declined to comment.

A lawyer for Capstone told Reuters the firm denies wrongdoing and plans to challenge the complaint.

Tether issues USDT, a dollar-pegged cryptocurrency used to move value on crypto networks.

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October 2nd, 2026 – Singapore, Singapore

---

class=”ql-align-center”>With around 16% of AVA’s circulating supply already locked, the AVA Smart Program introduces new lock levels as part of a wider overhaul of AVA’s tokenomics.

The AVA Foundation and Travala today announced new standard lock levels for the AVA Smart Program, alongside a long-term goal of 30% of AVA’s circulating supply locked.

The AVA Smart Program, Travala’s crypto loyalty program, has more than 170,000 members, up 110% year on year as of August. Approximately 12.1 million AVA is now locked across the program and AVA+ Rewards, representing around 16% of the token’s circulating supply.

Travala, a crypto-native travel platform, has more than 1.87 million monthly active users and generated over $113 million in gross revenue in 2025. It sees more than 17,000 room nights, flights, car rentals, and activities booked every month.

From no earlier than 1 November 2026, new Smart memberships will require double the current AVA lock for every tier. Existing members keep their current requirements while their membership remains active, and can choose to move to the new levels after implementation to increase the AVA eligible for the AVA Smart Bonus. AVA Smart Bonus amounts remain 15% per year for Steel to Platinum and 20% for Diamond, subject to the program rules.

If all existing members moved to the new levels, locked AVA could reach approximately 20 million, around 27% of circulating supply, depending on the choices individual members make. The AVA Foundation’s long-term goal is 30%.

Steve Hipwell, AVA Foundation Lead Contributor, said: “Having 16% of AVA’s circulating supply locked within a travel loyalty program demonstrates genuine real-world utility. The new lock levels reward our existing members for being early, and give the whole community a clear long-term goal of 30% of circulating supply locked.”Juan Otero, Travala CEO, said: “More than 170,000 travellers are now part of the AVA Smart Program, and those who lock AVA get more from every trip they book with us. This update rewards everyone who has already made that commitment and gives our most loyal members the option to go further.”

The update follows last week’s launch of the AVA Permanent Strategic Reserve, under which Travala matches the AVA Foundation’s monthly open-market buybacks, doubling buyback volume. Travala’s matched tokens are held in a multisig reserve it has committed never to sell or transfer. In September, the two buybacks together repurchased 739,762 AVA, and more than 4.8 million AVA has been repurchased through the Foundation’s program to date.

See this article for full details, including tier requirements, grandfathering rules, and FAQs.

About AVA Foundation

The AVA Foundation oversees the AVA token ecosystem, including the AVA Smart Program, AVA token and Travel Tiger NFTs. The AVA token functions as the key to accessing the AVA Smart Program, which provides travel perks and other benefits to Travala customers, such as AVA payment discounts, AVA loyalty rewards and other benefits. AVA tokenises the concept of loyalty reward programs using blockchain technology, bringing web3 to traditional loyalty models. For more information, users can visit www.avafoundation.org.

About Travala

Founded in 2017 and now backed by industry giant Binance, Travala is the leading crypto-native travel booking service, offering 2,200,000+ properties across 230 countries, 600+ airlines, 50,000+ car rental locations and 400,000+ activities globally. Travala is a champion of cryptocurrency adoption, accepting over 100 leading cryptocurrencies alongside traditional payment methods. For more information, users can visit www.travala.com.

Important Information

This announcement describes planned changes to the AVA Smart Program, which may be adjusted. It is not financial or investment advice, and not an offer, solicitation or inducement to acquire, hold or lock AVA. AVA Smart Bonus amounts are subject to the program rules and may change; nothing here guarantees any token price or return. Locked AVA remains the member’s property and is not a deposit, investment product or interest-bearing account. Not directed at persons in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates or any jurisdiction where distribution would be unlawful.

Contact

Chief Marketing Officer
Sam Woollard
Travala
sam@travala.com

 

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Banks risk losing $230 billion in payments revenue as stablecoins, tokenized deposits and central bank digital currencies move into wider use, according to a survey conducted by IT services and consulting firm Capgemini.

Capgemini’s World Payments Report 2027 projects those instruments will make up about 4% of global payments volume by 2030, pressuring foreign exchange spreads, correspondent banking, float income and transaction fees that banks thrive on, says Capgemini.

The study says about $4 trillion sits trapped in accounts used to fund cross-border settlement. Nearly 60% of large corporates would take stablecoin services from non-banks if their banks fall behind, even though 71% still prefer banks for tokenized payments when cost and quality are equal.

Only 21% of banks are actively scaling at least one of these tools. Tokenized deposits ranked as banks’ top near-term priority because they stay on balance sheets and fit existing rules. Leaders that are already scaling are three times more likely to find new revenue streams and expect to offset losses in 15 months versus 25 months for other banks.

Capgemini’s global head of payment services Jeroen Hölscher framed the stakes for lenders.

“With $230 billion at stake, banks must decide what role they want to play in this emerging ecosystem.”

The report surveyed 1,110 corporates with more than $1 billion in revenue and 300 banking executives across nine markets. Capgemini is a global consulting and technology firm headquartered in Paris, France.

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The City of Sacramento is launching an $8 million guaranteed income program that will pay eligible foster youth $900 a month with no strings attached.

The city and United Way California Capital Region say the Foster Youth Guaranteed Income Program will send the money for up to two years, or until a recipient turns 25, whichever comes first.

Applications open October 1st of 2026 and close at 11:59 p.m. on October 31st of 2026. One hundred eligible applicants will be chosen by lottery, with notices starting the first week of November. Payments are set to begin January 15th of 2027.

Applicants must be ages 16 to 23 when payments start, live in the city or county of Sacramento, or be receiving homeless services there. They must be former foster youth who left care after age 16, or current foster youth within 90 days of leaving when payments start. Household income has to sit at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. Immigration status does not affect eligibility.

Recipients do not have to join any other services to keep the checks. They can spend the money as they choose.

The city is paying for the program with Measure L, the 2022 Sacramento Children’s Fund that requires the equivalent of 40% of local cannabis tax revenue to go to child and youth services.

United Way California Capital Region will run the program. The nonprofit has administered guaranteed-income pilots in the region since 2021.

Mayor Kevin McCarty addressed the funding.

“Supporting former foster youth as they transition into adulthood is an investment in their future and our community’s future. We’re putting our Measure L funding where it can have the greatest impact.”

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Het onderzoek bracht verschillende smokkelmethoden aan het licht, waarbij cocaïne en cannabis vanuit Afrika en het Amerikaanse continent via passagiersvluchten naar België werden gesmokkeld.

Start van het onderzoek

Het Parket Halle-Vilvoorde opende het onderzoek in februari 2025, nadat op Brussels Airport achtergelaten sporttassen met ongeveer 30 kilogram cocaïne werden aangetroffen. De betrokken vlucht was afkomstig uit Cancun (Mexico).

Het onderzoek leidde de speurders naar een persoon die zich verdacht gedroeg in de bagagehal. De man had wel een ticket geboekt maar nooit een vlucht genomen. Via het ticket kon hij zich toegang verschaffen tot de bagagezaal. Deze verdachte maakt deel uit van de personen die op 30 september werden gearresteerd.

Goedkope vliegtickets voor ‘uithalers’

Verder onderzoek van de FGP Halle-Vilvoorde, onder leiding van de onderzoekrechter, bracht een netwerk van verdachten in beeld. De criminele organisatie liet telkens een lid meereizen op de vlucht waarop de verdovende middelen werden vervoerd. Deze koeriers reisden met bagage met drugs vanuit Afrika of het Amerikaanse continent naar Brussels Airport. De koeriers verlieten de luchthaven zonder de betrokken reiskoffers op te halen, om zelf niet het risico te lopen om met de verdovende middelen door de controles te moeten gaan.

Hiervoor werden andere personen ingeschakeld. Deze zogenaamde "uithalers" boekten op het laatste moment goedkope vliegtuigtickets, evenwel zonder de intentie daadwerkelijk te reizen. Met deze tickets kregen zij toegang tot de bagagehal, waar zij de koffers met verdovende middelen van de bagageband haalden. Deze personen werden vooral gerekruteerd via sociale media.

De uithalers brachten de koffers vervolgens naar afgesproken locaties in de omgeving van de luchthaven, waar deze opnieuw werden overgedragen aan koeriers van de criminele organisatie.

Eerste arrestatie in het onderzoek  

In april 2025 – twee maanden na de start van het onderzoek - kon een verdachte door de Douane gecontroleerd worden bij het verlaten van de bagagehal. In een reiskoffer afkomstig uit Canada werd ongeveer 30 kilogram cannabis aangetroffen. De verdachte werd gearresteerd en door de onderzoeksrechter onder aanhoudingsmandaat geplaatst.

Enkele weken later werd een andere verdachte onderschept met twee reiskoffers, die samen ongeveer 55 kilogram cocaïne bevatten. Later zou blijken dat ook de eerder gearresteerde verdachte betrokken zou zijn bij deze smokkeloperatie.

Internationale vertakkingen

Naarmate het onderzoek vorderde, werden duidelijke verbanden vastgesteld met Frankrijk en Nederland. Verschillende leden van de criminele organisatie reisden frequent tussen de drie landen.

Om die reden werd een nauwe samenwerking opgezet met de Franse en Nederlandse autoriteiten. Europol en Eurojust ondersteunden de internationale coördinatie van het onderzoek. Zo konden ook buitenlandse leden van het netwerk worden geïdentificeerd.

Nieuwe smokkelmethode met luchthavenmedewerkers

Nadat meerdere uithalingen werden onderschept en verschillende verdachten werden gearresteerd, wijzigde de organisatie haar werkwijze.

Er werden luchthavenmedewerkers ingeschakeld om de drugs uit de bagage te halen nog voordat de koffers op de bagageband terechtkwamen. Vervolgens werd de lege koffer alsnog op de bagageband geplaatst. De passagier verliet daarop de luchthaven met een lege koffer, terwijl de drugs buiten het gecontroleerde bagagecircuit naar buiten werden gesmokkeld. Op die manier kon de criminele organisatie de controles van de veiligheidsdiensten omzeilen.

Intensieve samenwerking met Douane en Luchtvaartpolitie cruciaal voor het onderzoek

Verschillende leden van de criminele organisatie maakten gebruik van valse of frauduleus verkregen identiteitsdocumenten. Hierdoor reisden sommige verdachten onder verschillende identiteiten, wat de identificatie van de betrokken personen aanzienlijk bemoeilijkte.

Analyses van de douanediensten leverden cruciale informatie op voor het onderzoek. Verschillende leden van de organisatie konden zo aan elkaar worden gelinkt en meerdere smokkeloperaties konden in kaart worden gebracht.

De samenwerking tussen de verschillende veiligheidsdiensten op de luchthaven, nl. de Federale Gerechtelijke Politie, de Douane en de Luchtvaartpolitie, vormde dan ook een belangrijke pijler binnen het onderzoek.

Gecoördineerde actiedag met hulp van Europol leidt tot zware klap voor organisatie

Na maandenlang intensief speurwerk kwam het op 30 september 2026 tot een grootschalige internationale actie in België, Frankrijk en Nederland. Deze werd ondersteund door Europol.

Tijdens de actiedag werden:

• 27 huiszoekingen uitgevoerd, waarvan 21 in België en 6 in Frankrijk; 
• 21 verdachten gearresteerd, waarvan 19 in België en 2 in Frankrijk; 

Bij de huiszoekingen werden onder meer volgende goederen in beslag genomen:

• meer dan 57 000 euro cash en crypto wallets;
• 8 voertuigen;
• 1 luxehorloge en juwelen;
• 1 geldtelmachine;
• 2 handvuurwapens en 1 alarmpistool;
• diverse bewijselementen die verder onderzocht worden.

In Nederland werden eerder ook al 2 verdachten gearresteerd.

Onderzoek loopt verder

Voor de in Frankrijk en Nederland gearresteerde verdachten zullen uitleveringsprocedures worden opgestart. De in België gearresteerde verdachten worden voorgeleid bij de onderzoeksrechter, die zal beslissen over hun verdere aanhouding. 

Het onderzoek wordt nu verdergezet met als doel alle betrokkenen binnen het internationale netwerk te identificeren en vervolgen en hun vermogen te laten verbeurdverklaren.

 

"De laatste tijd krijgen we veel telefoontjes van burgers die het slachtoffer zijn geworden van vishing-oplichting", zegt commissaris Christophe Axen, adjunct-directeur van de Regional Computer Crime Unit (RCCU) van de Federale Gerechtelijke Politie van Luik. 

Bij deze techniek, die is ontstaan uit de samentrekking van 'voice' en 'phishing', doen criminelen zich voor als medewerkers van een bank of een IT-beveiligingsdienst. Het doel? Gevoelige informatie bemachtigen en vervolgens banktransacties uitvoeren.  

168 000 euro verdwenen 

Onlangs is een inwoner van Virton hiervan het slachtoffer geworden. Terwijl hij op een pakje wachtte, ontving hij een e-mail die eruitzag als een bericht van het bezorgbedrijf, waarin hem werd voorgesteld om een nieuwe bezorgafspraak te maken. Daartoe werd de inwoner van Virton verzocht om extra kosten te betalen door zijn bankkaartgegevens door te geven. 

Later werd de man gebeld door iemand die zich voordeed als een medewerker van de fraudedienst van zijn bank. Hij vertelde hem dat hij het slachtoffer was geworden van oplichting en dat hij zijn rekeningen moest blokkeren. Omdat hij ervan overtuigd was dat hij met een legitieme gesprekspartner communiceerde, terwijl het in feite om 'vishing' ging, gaf hij zijn klantnummer door.  

Een paar dagen later kreeg hij een zeer onaangename verrassing te zien: er waren in 48 uur tijd maar liefst 42 transacties uitgevoerd op zijn rekeningen. In totaal werd 168 000 euro verduisterd.  

Naast het indrukwekkende bedrag is het bijzondere aan deze zaak dat er rekeningen van dezelfde bank als die van het slachtoffer zijn gebruikt om het geld door te sluizen. "Doorgaans maken de oplichters het geld rechtstreeks over naar rekeningen in het buitenland om vervolging te bemoeilijken. Maar in dit geval zouden ze blijkbaar gebruik hebben gemaakt van geldezels, mensen die hun rekening tijdelijk ter beschikking stelden om frauduleuze transacties uit te voeren en de sporen uit te wissen", legt Christophe Axen uit. 

Enkele tips die nuttig zijn om te herhalen 

Onze cyberexpert geeft enkele belangrijke tips om je tegen dit fenomeen te beschermen:  

• Geef je pincodes of wachtwoorden nooit door; 

• Klik niet op verdachte links die je via e-mail of sms ontvangt; 

• Als iemand beweert namens je bank te bellen, hang dan op en neem zelf contact op met je bank via het officiële nummer; 

• Bevestig nooit een banktransactie die je niet vrijwillig hebt geïnitieerd en waarvan je het doel niet volledig begrijpt; 

• Ben je het slachtoffer geworden van oplichting? Neem onmiddellijk contact op met CardStop/FraudStop (078 170 170) en doe aangifte bij de Lokale Politie. Bewaar alle voor het onderzoek relevante elementen en stel een chronologisch overzicht van de feiten op om het begrip van het misdrijf te vergemakkelijken. 

Sinds mei 2026 werd hij door het FAST-team van de Federale Politie zowel op de lijst van Belgium's Most Wanted als EU Most Wanted geplaatst. Gezien de ernst van de feiten en hun maatschappelijke impact werd hij als prioriteit beschouwd voor de Belgische en Europese opsporingsdiensten.
 
Gedurende meerdere maanden werd een intensief internationaal onderzoek gevoerd onder leiding van het Parket van Brussel. Door de inspanningen van de betrokken onderzoekers en de nauwe samenwerking binnen het ENFAST-netwerk kon zijn verblijfplaats uiteindelijk worden gelokaliseerd. Verschillende landen hebben actief bijgedragen aan het onderzoek, waarin aanzienlijke operationele middelen en manuren werden geïnvesteerd.

Deze arrestatie onderstreept dat de aanpak van het ernstige geweld dat verschillende Brusselse wijken treft een prioriteit blijft voor politie en justitie. Zij geeft een duidelijk signaal dat de daders van zware geweldsfeiten, ook wanneer zij zich in het buitenland bevinden, opgespoord en voor justitie gebracht zullen worden.

Dankzij haar veelzijdige ervaring, vooral op het gebied van jongeren en zedendelicten, bleek zij de geknipte persoon om de cel verder uit te bouwen.

Voor ze bij de politie aan de slag ging, had commissaris De Boeck-Desmedt al een carrière van tien jaar in het bedrijfsleven achter de rug. Ze was actief in de toeristische sector en stapte daarna over naar het bankwezen.

In 2008 gooide ze het roer om en ging ze een nieuwe professionele uitdaging aan bij de politie. "Ik ben begonnen als inspecteur bij politiezone Marlow (Ukkel, Watermaal-Bosvoorde en Oudergem), waar ik gedurende twee jaar verschillende taken uitvoerde: interventie, heterdaadpatrouilles, slachtofferbejegening en het helpteam. Je kan het helpteam een beetje vergelijken met het stressteam, maar dan op lokaal niveau. Na twee jaar maakte ik de overstap naar de lokale recherche, waar ik eerst bij de drugssectie werkte en daarna bij de crimesectie."

Een nieuwe mijlpaal volgde toen ze slaagde voor het examen van hoofdinspecteur. Ze verhuisde van PZ Marlow naar PZ Zuid. “Ik startte er bij de jeugdsectie, waar ik referentiepersoon was voor intrafamiliaal geweld en de sectie actief was in dossiers rond pedofilie en pedopornografie waarbij minderjarige slachtoffers betrokken waren. Vervolgens ging ik aan de slag als Officier Lokale Politie.”

 

Internationale samenwerking als drijfveer

Haar gedrevenheid bracht haar ertoe het examen van commissaris af te leggen. Toen de functie van diensthoofd van de cel Child Abuse vacant werd, aarzelde ze geen moment om zich kandidaat te stellen. "Ik wilde graag actief blijven binnen het gerechtelijke werkveld, omdat ik dat bijzonder interessant vind. Tegelijk was ik niet meteen op zoek naar een klassieke recherchefunctie. Wat mij in deze job vooral aansprak, was het internationale aspect. We hebben veel contact met verschillende landen. Maar bovenal leveren we elke dag een belangrijke bijdrage aan de strijd tegen kindermisbruik en kunnen we echt een verschil maken in het leven van kinderen", vertelt Sandrine. 

 

Balanceren tussen dossiers en samenwerking

"Het operationele werk vormt uiteraard de kern van onze opdracht, maar de rol van de cel gaat veel verder dan onderzoeken alleen", verduidelijkt Sandrine. "We werken nauw samen met nationale en internationale partners, nemen deel aan verschillende expert- en preventienetwerken en volgen nieuwe fenomenen op de voet. Onze contacten met buitenlandse partners en de samenwerking met organisaties zoals Europol en Interpol zorgen ervoor dat we voortdurend kennis kunnen uitwisselen en inspelen op nieuwe ontwikkelingen. Die combinatie maakt het werk bijzonder boeiend, maar brengt ook heel wat verantwoordelijkheden met zich mee."

“Tegelijk blijft het belangrijk om aandacht te hebben voor de mensen achter de dossiers. De collega's beschikken over een enorme expertise en werken zeer zelfstandig. Gezien het grote aantal meldingen en onderzoeken blijft het een uitdaging om de werkdruk beheersbaar te houden en tegelijk hetzelfde hoge kwaliteitsniveau te handhaven.”

 

Kies ervoor hen te zien. Zet kinderen weer in beeld

Van 12 oktober tot 30 november 2026 organiseert ECLAG (European Child Sexual Abuse Legislation Advocacy Group) een Europese actieweek rond de bescherming van kinderen tegen online seksueel misbruik en uitbuiting. Met de campagne Choose to See Them wil de organisatie beleidsmakers eraan herinneren dat achter elk beeld van seksueel misbruik een echt kind schuilgaat. Tegelijk roept ECLAG op tot een sterker wettelijk kader dat online platformen meer verantwoordelijkheid geeft bij het opsporen van misbruikmateriaal, het aanpakken van online grooming en het beschermen van kinderen in een steeds digitalere samenleving.

In het kader van de campagne ging ECLAG op zoek naar nationale boegbeelden (national champions) die de campagne wilden ondersteunen met een korte video. Ook Sandrine werd gevraagd om haar medewerking te verlenen. "In de video moesten we 'I choose to see them' zeggen en daarnaast nog een korte boodschap inspreken in een nationale taal. Ik heb uiteindelijk drie versies opgenomen: één in het Engels, één in het Nederlands en één in het Frans."

Voor Sandrine was de keuze om deel te nemen snel gemaakt. "De vraag kwam via Child Focus, maar ik heb geen moment geaarzeld om deel te nemen. Achter elk beeld schuilt een echt kind. In vaak complexe juridische en technische discussies dreigt dat soms uit het oog te worden verloren. Net daarom vond ik het belangrijk om die boodschap mee uit te dragen", besluit Sandrine.

De operatie bouwt voort op een initiatief dat in 2024 binnen Benelux-verband werd gelanceerd en inmiddels is uitgegroeid tot een Europees samenwerkingsverband.

General aviation omvat alle burgerluchtvaartactiviteiten die niet behoren tot de reguliere lijnvluchten, chartervervoer of de militaire luchtvaart. Het gaat meer specifiek om privé-, sport-, les- en zakenvluchten.

Ook dit vliegverkeer kan worden misbruikt voor criminele doeleinden, bijvoorbeeld voor het smokkelen van drugs en andere illegale goederen of het verplaatsen van crimineel geld. Vooral kleinere luchthavens kunnen door hun beperkte schaal en infrastructuur aantrekkelijk zijn voor criminele activiteiten. Silent Skies wil de risico’s binnen deze sector beter in kaart brengen en er gericht tegen optreden.

Verdachte vluchten geselecteerd op basis van risicoanalyse

Voor deze derde editie van Silent Skies lag de focus op vluchten afkomstig uit onder meer Zuid-Amerika, West-Afrika, Noordwest-Afrika en Canada. Op basis van gezamenlijke risicoanalyses werden verdachte vluchten geselecteerd voor verdere controle.

Tijdens de vijfdaagse actie werden 47 vluchten als ‘verdacht’ bestempeld. Daarop voerden politie- en douanediensten in de deelnemende landen controles uit. Bij de controle van een privévlucht op Brussels Airport werd meer dan 100.000 euro in verschillende valuta aangetroffen en in beslag genomen. De Federale Gerechtelijke Politie en het parket van Halle-Vilvoorde hebben een onderzoek naar witwassen geopend.

Aan de operatie Silent Skies 3 namen de Benelux-landen, Duitsland, Spanje, Portugal, Ierland en het Verenigd Koninkrijk deel, en verder ook Europol, Frontex, het Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre Narcotics (MAOC-N), de World Customs Organisation en de Europese Commissie.

De samenwerking werd gecoördineerd vanuit een operationeel centrum bij de Nationale Politie van Nederland in Maastricht. Daar wisselden politie-, douane- en veiligheidsexperts in realtime informatie uit over verdachte vliegbewegingen en ondersteunden zij gezamenlijke controles en onderzoeken.

Van Benelux-project naar Europese samenwerking

Operatie Silent Skies werd in 2024 op initiatief van de Federale Politie gelanceerd tijdens het Belgische voorzitterschap van de Benelux Unie. Het project had als doel de weerbaarheid van de general aviation-sector tegen grensoverschrijdende criminaliteit te versterken. Daarbij werd ingezet op nieuwe vormen van informatie-uitwisseling, risicoanalyse en operationele samenwerking.

Sindsdien is Silent Skies uitgegroeid tot een internationale en multidisciplinaire samenwerking. Door informatie en expertise van verschillende diensten en landen samen te brengen, kunnen risico’s sneller worden geïdentificeerd en kunnen controles en onderzoeken beter op elkaar worden afgestemd.

Criminele netwerken stoppen niet aan de landsgrenzen. Internationale samenwerking en snelle informatie-uitwisseling zijn daarom essentieel om misbruik van de general aviation-sector tegen te gaan.

 

De controles kaderen in de bestuurlijke aanpak en moeten voorkomen dat bedrijven gebruikt worden voor criminele doeleinden.

De Scheepvaartpolitie Antwerpen organiseerde een actie naar aanleiding van vermoedelijke wanpraktijken in de bedrijfsvoering van een aantal ondernemingen op haar grondgebied. Het hoofddoel van de controle was nagaan of de betrokken handelszaken zich aan de verschillende regelgevingen houden en zich niet bezighouden met illegale activiteiten die de lokale economie ondermijnen en oneigenlijk gebruikt kunnen worden door criminele organisaties.  Het multidisciplinaire team bestond bij deze controle uit de Scheepvaartpolitie Antwerpen, FOD VVVL, FAVV, RVA, TSW, VSI, RSZ, douane en ARIEC Antwerpen.

Verschillende inbreuken

Vijf handelszaken werden gecontroleerd, waaronder een restaurant, een groothandel en bedrijven in de transportsector.  In totaal werden 6 processen-verbaal opgemaakt voor inbreuken op de voedselveiligheid, inbreuken op de economische wetgeving en welzijn op het werk. Daarnaast hebben de sociale inspectiediensten onderzoeken opgestart over de aanmelding van werknemers en werden er inbreuken op de milieuwetgeving vastgesteld.

De Scheepvaartpolitie Antwerpen wil samen met haar partners voorkomen dat ondernemingen in het havengebied worden gebruikt voor criminele inmenging. Het handhaven kadert mee in het opvolgbeleid en de strijd tegen drugs in de Haven van Antwerpen.  De Scheepvaartpolitie Antwerpen zal mee blijven investeren in de bestuurlijke handhaving om oneigenlijk gebruik en misbruik van vennootschappen in de strijd tegen de criminele organisatie tegen te gaan.

Multidisciplinaire controles zijn controles die worden georganiseerd met verschillende partners en die uit flexibel samengestelde teams bestaan. De doelstelling van de actie bepaalt welke diensten (Vlaamse en federale inspectie- en controlediensten, gemeentelijke diensten etc.) deelnemen. Bij een bestuurlijke actie ligt de coördinatie bij het lokale bestuur en haar politie.
De bestuurlijke aanpak zet in op het voorkomen en bestrijden van lokale inmenging vanuit de georganiseerde criminaliteit door gebruik te maken van de lokale bevoegdheden en in nauwe samenwerking met strafrechtelijke, socio-economische en fiscale partners.

Bitcoin Magazine

Republican Senator Steve Daines Releases Text of Proposed Crypto Tax Plan

Republican senator Steve Daines has released a new proposal to update the tax code with regards to digital assets. 

The senator for Montana released the Aligning Digital Assets with Principles of Taxation Act — or ADAPT Act — sponsored by Sen. Daines with Sens. Lummis, Moreno, and Tim Scott on Wednesday, aiming to draft rules for assets like stablecoins. 

Lawmakers and regulators are fast trying to draft rules for digital assets since U.S. President Trump took office on a pro-crypto platform. The Clarity Act collapsed in the Senate last month; one day after, the House Ways and Means Committee overwhelmingly approved legislation that would revamp the tax treatment of cryptocurrency. 

“Digital assets have moved into the mainstream, but the tax code hasn’t kept up,” Senator Daines wrote on X. 

Digital assets have moved into the mainstream, but the tax code hasn’t kept up. My bill would create clearer rules for stablecoins, network fees, staking and lending—while extending familiar tax rules like wash sales and constructive sales to digital assets. pic.twitter.com/W6nXSsTgvX

— Steve Daines (@SteveDaines) September 30, 2026

“My bill would create clearer rules for stablecoins, network fees, staking and lending — while extending familiar tax rules like wash sales and constructive sales to digital assets.”

The bill proposes that everyday users of stablecoins get tax relief for everyday uses. Spending a qualifying dollar stablecoin on goods or services wouldn’t trigger gain or loss, and brokers wouldn’t have to report those transactions. 

To qualify, the stablecoin must be issued under the GENIUS Act framework, appear on a quarterly Treasury list of coins that have held within 3% of $1.00, and have been bought by you within 3% of $1.00. 

Separately, network or gas fees paid in crypto would be tax-free dispositions as long as the fees for a given transaction total $10 or less, with anti-structuring rules. 

The bill would also apply wash sale rules to crypto for the first time. The rules bar investors from claiming a tax loss if they sell an asset and buy it back within 30 days. Stock investors have long been bound by them, while crypto traders could sell at a loss and immediately rebuy. 

The rules would cover traded digital assets other than qualified stablecoins. Assets bought before the bill becomes law would be grandfathered, and staking rewards, mining rewards and regular recurring purchases would be exempt. 

Tokenized versions of stocks would count as “substantially identical” to the underlying shares.

The ADAPT Act now heads to committee, which would need to approve it before it could reach a vote by the full Senate.

This post Republican Senator Steve Daines Releases Text of Proposed Crypto Tax Plan first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.

Het bericht Aandeelhouders akkoord: Evernorth met 473 miljoen XRP naar beurs verscheen eerst op Newsbit.

OH Leuven Women neemt het in de Champions League op tegen PSG. Kunnen de Leuvense vrouwen stunten in de Franse hoofdstad? Volg het hier op de voet!

De twee concerten die Kanye West (49) zou geven in Rusland gaan niet meer door. De al uitverkochte shows zouden op 10 en 11 oktober plaatsvinden in de Gazprom Arena in Sint-Petersburg, maar zijn donderdag geannuleerd.

Key takeaways De verwerkende industrie in de eurozone kreeg in september een flinke impuls. Uit de definitieve cijfers van S&P Global blijkt dat de productie en het aantal nieuwe orders het sterkst zijn gegroeid sinds begin 2022. De Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) voor de verwerkende industrie steeg naar 52,9 en overtrof daarmee de 52,7 van […]

Tesla's RAM reduction in AI chips prioritizes cost-efficiency and scalability, potentially enhancing margins without hindering robot performance.

The post Tesla cuts RAM on AI5 and AI6 chips to speed Optimus production appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

This week on “Uncanny Valley,” we discuss the voluntary AI safety agreement tech executives signed, AI agents for normies, and extremist candidates running for office in the US midterms.

Wat wordt het lot van Manchester City? De club is schuldig bevonden in een gigantische fraudezaak, maar schreeuwt zijn onschuld uit. Filip Joos legde in De Afspraak uit wat hij graag zou zien gebeuren: "Die behaalde titels moet je verbeurd verklaren."

Block's campaign could significantly boost Bitcoin adoption, influencing financial behaviors and potentially reshaping digital currency norms.

The post Block launches its first major Bitcoin consumer campaign, aiming at 60 million curious Americans appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Een Flydubai-vlucht van Dubai naar Tel Aviv heeft woensdag een noodlanding gemaakt in Saoedi-Arabië. In volle vlucht viel de Omaanse copiloot de gezagvoerder in de cockpit aan met een mes. Passagiers wisten de copiloot te overmeesteren het toestel veilig te laten landen in de Saoedische stad Tabuk. De Israëlische premier Benjamin Netanyahu zegt dat het nog te vroeg is om te zeggen of er aanwijzingen zijn voor Iraanse betrokkenheid bij het incident.

In de Dadizelestraat in de West-Vlaamse stad Menen is donderdag een BMW aangetroffen van een man die al een tiental dagen vermist was. Het voertuig stond er sinds vrijdag 25 september geparkeerd. Tijdens het onderzoek werd in de koffer van de wagen een stoffelijk overschot ontdekt.

Bedrijfswagenrijders én particuliere autokopers hebben het aandeel elektrische auto’s in de verkochte nieuwe auto’s voor het eerst boven de 50 procent gedreven. De belangrijkste merken uit de Volkswagen-groep krijgen rake klappen.

Google's Guided Vision enhances accessibility, empowering visually impaired users with real-time camera assistance, fostering inclusivity.

The post Google launches Guided Vision in Gemini Live for Android appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Plusieurs grands pays européens ont engagé des discussions d’urgence pour déterminer comment répondre à la pression des États-Unis, qui veulent voir les réserves stratégiques européennes de carburant davantage mises sur le marché.

Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ: SWKS) could emerge from its combination with Qorvo with greater scale, broader markets, and a significantly different earnings profile. The opportunity hinges on whether management can capture $500 million in planned synergies, expand beyond smartphones, and manage the additional debt.

Stock prices used were the market prices of Sept. 17, 2026. The video was published on Sept. 30, 2026.

Rick Orford has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick Orford is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link, they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) is up 12% so far in 2026, but that doesn't mean investors have forgotten about the headwinds the stock market faces. Stubborn inflation, rising interest rates to combat it, and $40 trillion in debt are all challenges the U.S. economy is trying to navigate.

That's not saying that stocks in general can't keep climbing, but with the S&P 500 slightly down over the last month, the reality of those challenges may be sinking in. And the worry is always that if the S&P 500 rally derails, a bear market may loom, clawing back those gains as stock prices fall 20% from recent highs.

History, however, suggests that there's one habit successful investors can follow, even during a full-fledged bear market.

The surprising truth about bear markets

Surprisingly enough, some of the best days to invest are when the markets are in a free-for-all. According to Hartford Funds, from 1996 through 2025, 48% of the best days to invest in the S&P 500 were during bear markets. The second-best time to invest was during the first two months of a bull market (28% of the best days to invest), while the third-best time to invest was during the rest of a bull market (24% of the best days to invest).

Moreover, according to the data, missing the best days for the S&P 500 can actually cost you money. For example, a hypothetical $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 in 1996 would have been worth $192,167 by the end of 2025. But for anyone who had sold and missed just the 10 best days of the market during all that time, that investment return drops by 56%, turning into $85,490. It continues to get worse from there: Missing the 20 best days yields just $49,551, and missing the 30 best days yields only $31,123.

The investable lesson

The most important habit for successful investing is that, no matter how tempting it may be to sell a stock during a bear market, it's almost always better to hold the shares. But another lesson is that more aggressive investors may want to consider buying additional shares of a company during this time. Bear markets won't last forever; the average length is 9.6 months. In comparison, bull markets tend to last 2.7 years. Also, while stocks lose an average of 35% during a bear market, they also gain an average of 112% during a bull market.

While seeing a stock lose 35% of its value in less than a year can feel gut-wrenching, having a portfolio of high-conviction positions already established can help offset knee-jerk reactions. Not only will an investor want to hold on to shares of those companies because they already believe in the wealth they could build over the long term, but they'd also want to buy more shares to take advantage of price drops.

Jack Delaney has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

OHL Women is met een punt goed begonnen aan de nieuwe Champions League-campagne. Kunnen de vrouwen van OH Leuven ook op bezoek bij PSG iets rapen? Volg het hier of op Ketnet live vanaf 21 uur.

Apple zou op 13 oktober een smarthomehub willen aankondigen. De zogenaamde ‘HomePad’ is een slimme speaker met een scherm, zoals de Google Nest Hub en Amazon Echo Show. Gebruikers kunnen met dit apparaat smarthomeproducten bedienen, bellen, muziek afspelen en video’s bekijken.

With 27 MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters delivered so far, the latest award brings the total number of aircraft under contract to 42.

Boeing Defense has been awarded a contract for four more MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters, marking the aircraft’s entry into full-rate production, the company announced on Sept. 29, 2026. The award, whose value was not disclosed, comes a month after the U.S. Air Force announced the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the helicopter.

In Sept. 29 statement and a subsequent statement on Oct. 1, Boeing said it has so far delivered 27 MH-139As, which include 20 low-rate initial production (LRIP) airframes. The latest award brings the total number of Grey Wolves under contract to 42.

This was the program of record established after the Air Force reduced in 2024 its planned procurement from 80 aircraft to 42. The service subsequently increased its program objective to 56 aircraft in its FY2026 budget.

Strengthening the pack!

Thank you, @USAirForce, for advancing our partnership to provide four additional MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters. With full-rate production and Initial Operational Capability, #TeamBoeing is proud to deliver mission-ready capability.

More:… pic.twitter.com/ZMiZpz9GWj

— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) October 1, 2026

The MH-139A is primarily meant to replace the UH-1N Huey in the Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) security and convoy support roles. According to Air and Space Forces Magazine, the Air Force had also planned to use them for aircrew survival training and contingency response in the Washington D.C. area, where the 1st Helicopter Squadron (1st HS) still flies UH-1N Huey.

Boeing’s vice president and general manager for the Vertical Lift Program, Kathleen Jolivette, said the full rate production milestone “validates key readiness levels for Grey Wolf and supports the service’s fielding plans to secure vital national assets across the country’s strategic missile fields.”

“Adding these aircraft to the production queue brings additional momentum to ongoing fielding and modernization efforts,” Jolivette added. 

Grey Wolf contracts and deliveries

Boeing announced its first award for the Grey Wolf, worth $2.4 billion, on Sept. 24, 2018, covering 84 helicopters. The first aircraft was delivered in December 2019 at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida, to begin developmental testing prior to Initial Operational Testing and Evaluation (IOT&E) at Malmstrom AFB.  

The company announced on Aug. 29, 2022 that it had delivered four Grey Wolf test aircraft to the Air Force. This followed Boeing receiving a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) supplemental type certificate, as the program was progressing towards Milestone C. 

In April 2024, Boeing was awarded a $178 million contract for seven more MH-139A helicopters, which included the first set of aircraft meant for Minot AFB, North Dakota.

In October 2025, Boeing also received a $173 million contract for eight additional helicopters, raising the total number under contract to 34. At the time, Boeing had delivered 18 aircraft, of which 12 were part of a 2023 $285 million Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract.

Budget allocations

After a setback in 2024 over cost overruns that triggered a Congressional review under the Nunn-McCurdy Act, the program picked up pace. The Trump administration’s July 2025 ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ included $210.3 million for an extra six MH-139As.

Then in the FY 2026 budget request, the Air Force raised its need for 56 Grey Wolves. To that end, the Air Force asked $253 million for the MH-139A in 2027 to cover four airframes.

However, lawmakers in the draft National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) authorized $128 million and four more helicopters, for a total of $380 million for eight helicopters.          

The MH-139A participated in its first Nuclear Convoy Course (NCC). A weeklong exercise in Wyoming to ensure the safe and secure transport of nuclear weapons and materials.

Staff Sgt. Michael A. Richmond

PS. I still can’t believe the USAF bought Italian helicopters for… pic.twitter.com/FkH25eC2Yq

— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) May 22, 2025

The need for the Grey Wolf became even more acute with the new LGM-35A Sentinel ICBM program, with the Huey having been in service for around 40 years. The Grey Wolf’s improved speed, range, payload and modern avionics are better suited for the extensive support infrastructure needed for the Sentinel as the service transitions from the current Minuteman III ICBM.

In its latest release, Boeing said it “continues to work closely with the U.S. Air Force to deliver adaptable, mission-ready and reliable capabilities for decades to come.”

Before entering the full-rate production, the MH-139A Grey Wolf has been put through rigorous Initial Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E); a Nuclear Convoy Course (NCC) featuring emergency-response drills with armed Tactical Response Force personnel from Missile Security Operations Squadrons; and the first operational Minuteman III convoy security mission in January 2026.

© U.S. Army National Guard/Staff Sgt. Cesar Rivas

Naast de Rode Duivels komen ook heel wat andere toplanden in actie in de Nations League. Volg alle actie van dit interlandluik in deze liveblog.

Amphenol (NYSE: APH) makes connectors, cables, and sensors. Nobody has ever put a cable assembly on a magazine cover. I mean, aside from very niche industry mags. Yet, on Oct. 1, the stock sits 3.2% below a recent all-time high, and the AI boom is a big reason.

A run like that raises the obvious question about whether the easy money is gone. The business results suggest it isn't, at least not yet.

Plumbing for the AI boom

The company holds the least glamorous seat at the AI party: the one that connects the processors. CEO Adam Norwitt calls interconnect the central nervous system of AI, and the logic is hard to dispute. A server rack that sells for $3 million is worth very little if the connectors never arrive. Amphenol's IT datacom business is roughly four times its size two years ago.

Start with the second quarter. Sales of $8.8 billion rose 55% year over year. Organic growth was 30%. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.35 jumped 67%. Orders reached $10.7 billion, a book-to-bill ratio of 1.23, meaning customers ordered 23% more than Amphenol shipped. That gap is the closest thing to a forward indicator in the report, and it points up.

Loud numbers, quiet CEO

Norwitt avoids the spotlight. At a recent Citi conference, he told the crowd that he doesn't do interviews and that the company announces none of its customer commitments, including long-term non-cancelable orders.

But he doesn't have to say much.

Quarterly orders of $10.7 billion against sales of $8.8 billion say plenty without an adrenaline-packed press release. That makes a nice change in an AI sector that often seems to run on video clips, social media posts, and headlines.

Slow and steady beats the hotshots

Here's the part that should interest anyone worried about being late. Amphenol is up 27.9% this year. Respectable, but well behind the company's closest rivals. Corning (NYSE: GLW) gained 81.1%, Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX) stock rose 85.9%, and Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS) posted a 71.7% year-to-date run.

And the recent trends have been in Amphenol's favor. Over the past quarter, Amphenol gained 4.9% while Flex fell 18% and Corning dropped 19.4%. Tech giants are still planning and building massive AI data centers, but there's public pushback ahead of the midterm elections. The AI-adjacent crowd has been running harder and wobbling more, while Amphenol is holding steady.

Cheaper than the neighbors

The profits aren't thin, either. Operating margin is 28.1%, the highest in the peer group. The CommScope purchase, at $10.5 billion, is now expected to deliver $4.6 billion in sales this year, up from an earlier forecast of $4.1 billion.

At 26.4 times forward earnings, the stock trades at a lower multiple than Corning (36.6) and Cognex (30.6). The PEG ratio of 0.9 suggests the market isn't fully valuing growth. The dividend yield of 0.6% is a rounding error, and short interest is only 1.3% of the float. Few investors are betting against Amphenol's rising stock.

So, is it too late?

None of this makes Amphenol's stock a bargain, and 311.6% over three years has a way of making a new buyer feel tardy. Moreover, investors are currently paying an AI multiple for a mostly old-school product catalog. Still, the third-quarter guide calls for sales growth of 50% to 52%.

Is it too late? For the first quadrupling in three years, sure. The next leg is a separate question, and the bulging order book is making a decent bull case.

Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amphenol, Cognex, and Corning. The Motley Fool recommends Flex. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The subpoena against OpenAI highlights growing regulatory scrutiny on AI security, potentially reshaping compliance standards across the tech industry.

The post California attorney general subpoenas OpenAI over AI agent cyber incidents appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

In een chemische fabriek in de regio rond Moskou is donderdag een zware brand uitgebroken. Volgens de lokale autoriteiten zijn vier mensen vermist. Volgens lokale media zouden zeven mensen zijn omgekomen bij een explosie. Hulpdiensten waarschuwen bovendien voor een aanhoudend risico op nieuwe explosies.

The Justice Department says UCLA’s law school discriminated against white and Asian applicants in its 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes.

The findings say the school violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on race in admissions.

The department says the school rejected white and Asian applicants who had the same LSAT scores as admitted black and Hispanic applicants.

In 2024 and 2025 combined, half of the admitted black applicants had LSAT scores at or below 90 percent of the admitted white applicants.

Investigators say the application still uses essays that draw out race, and staff told applicants how to reveal it at a “Diversity Admissions Open House.”

Says Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon,

“Like many of its peer institutions, UCLA Law School runs a two-tiered admissions system whose academic bar for acceptance shifts up or down depending on the color of your skin.

The use of race as a thumb on the scale that helps or disadvantages any student is illegal. The Department will continue to enforce equal treatment under the law everywhere — including in our nation’s law schools.”

UCLA Law is the law school at the University of California, Los Angeles. It takes federal money, which puts it under the civil rights rule.

The department says it will try to settle. If that fails, it will sue.

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The post Department of Justice Says UCLA Law Discriminated Against White and Asian Applicants appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

The Federal Reserve is no longer projected to hike interest rates at the next FOMC meeting later this month, according to forecasts tracked by Polymarket. This comes after quotes from Fed representatives have revealed that there is currently no rush to raise rates again. Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said on Thursday that while he supported the US central bank’s interest rate increase last month, he does not see any urgency to make another move.

JUST IN: Federal Reserve is no longer projected to hike interest rates at the next FOMC meeting. pic.twitter.com/btHH0pAhAb

— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) September 30, 2026

“Any future adjustments in policy should be determined by carefully examining trends in the data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks,” Jefferson said in the text of remarks to be delivered before the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. The Federal Reserve last raised its benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 3.75%–4.00% at its September 16 meeting.

There were concerns about another interest rate hike raised this week as Mortgage rates continued to rise. Indeed, mortgage rates have reached their highest levels since late 2023, as the global bond selloff wore on. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 7.6% as of Wednesday, according to Mortgage News Daily, up around 15 basis points from a week earlier. Rates haven’t been this high since November 2023. Further, rates have risen by 70 basis points in the last month alone.

Also Read: Congress Considers Expanding Crypto, Stablecoin Rules for Banks

Despite pressure from the Trump administration to continue lowering interest rates, the Fed under Kevin Warsh has remained stalled on making drastic changes to rates, and its plan remains hard to comprehend. Last month’s rate hike was the first of its kind in three years.

US President Donald Trump has indicated that the government could acquire a stake in OpenAI and Anthropic, mirroring its strategy with Intel. In a TIME interview, Trump said “I might” about possible investments in the AI firms. His comments bring to light a proposal that was first raised this year as Washington deepens its engagement

The post Donald Trump Says US Government Might Take Stakes in OpenAI and Anthropic appeared first on CoinGape.

ASML Holding: Steady and Gradual Quarterly Revenue Growth

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) generates its revenue primarily by supplying advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment, specialized wafer inspection systems, and related computational control software to integrated circuit manufacturers operating in locations across the globe.

It recently announced plans to increase manufacturing capacity for specific immersion systems by 30%, launched a collaborative industry initiative with multiple foundries for larger photomasks, and initiated construction on an additional corporate engineering campus in the Netherlands.

SK Hynix: Rapid and Sustained Quarterly Revenue Expansion

SK Hynix (NASDAQ:SKHY) earns its revenue primarily by designing, producing, and selling a wide variety of advanced memory semiconductors, including various customized flash memory products tailored specifically for complex technical computing and mobile applications.

It recently completed an oversubscribed initial listing of its American Depositary Receipts on the Nasdaq exchange, reassigned three senior vice chairpersons to oversee global strategy, and simultaneously faced a class action antitrust lawsuit regarding component pricing.

Why Revenue Matters for Investors

Revenue provides individual investors with a transparent, direct baseline measurement of all incoming capital over a specific timeframe before any operational business expenses are formally deducted. Closely tracking this top-line financial figure helps investors understand the total scale and growth trajectory of a business.

Quarterly Revenue for ASML Holding and SK Hynix

Calendar quarter	ASML Holding Revenue	SK Hynix Revenue
Q3 2024	$8.2 billion (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024)	$12.9 billion (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2024)
Q4 2024	$9.9 billion (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024)	$14.1 billion (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2024)
Q1 2025	$8.2 billion (quarter ended March 31, 2025)	$12.1 billion (quarter ended March 31, 2025)
Q2 2025	$8.7 billion (quarter ended June 30, 2025)	$15.8 billion (quarter ended June 30, 2025)
Q3 2025	$8.8 billion (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025)	$17.6 billion (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025)
Q4 2025	$11.3 billion (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025)	$22.6 billion (quarter ended Dec. 31, 2025)
Q1 2026	$10.3 billion (quarter ended March 31, 2026)	$35.7 billion (quarter ended March 31, 2026)
Q2 2026	$10.8 billion (quarter ended June 30, 2026)	$52.6 billion (quarter ended June 30, 2026)

Data source: Financial Modeling Prep. ASML Holding's figures are converted from euros to U.S. dollars. SK Hynix's figures are converted from South Korean won to U.S. dollars. Data as of Sept. 25, 2026.

Foolish Take

For investors interested in gaining exposure to the artificial intelligence boom, ASML and SK Hynix are two great companies to invest in. Both provide key products to the AI industry, and as a result, are seeing year-over-year revenue growth.

That said, examining their sales trends provides investors with revealing insights. ASML's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment is essential for semiconductor manufacturers to produce AI chips, giving the company a legal monopoly since competitors have not been entirely successful in providing rival EUV tools. However, the complex machinery takes time to build, resulting in a slow revenue ramp for ASML.

In contrast, SK Hynix manufactures high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products, which can be produced faster. The company's massive sales growth in recent quarters is evidence that tech giants are pouring funds into memory components right now. The demand is so great, it's led to rising memory prices, which further fuels SK Hynix's spectacular sales ascent.

Robert Izquierdo has positions in ASML. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Het Nationaal Crisiscentrum heeft opnieuw een landelijke test uitgevoerd van het waarschuwingssysteem BE-Alert. Daarbij werden 1.619.150 berichten verstuurd, zegt de woordvoerder. Het gaat om een combinatie van sms-en, mails en gesproken berichten.

xAI's GPU leasing strategy could reshape AI infrastructure economics, but reliance on flexible contracts poses financial stability risks.

The post xAI turns surplus GPUs into a leasing business as it chases more capacity appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

Nvidia's (NASDAQ: NVDA) Board of Directors authorized a $150 billon increase to its share repurchase program, bringing the total to $235 billion. The announcement was the largest single stock buyback authorization in U.S. corporate history.

For context, Toyota Motor -- which sells more cars than any other manufacturer in the world -- has a market cap of $223 billion.

Here's why Nvidia's buyback program is great news for investors, and why the bigger story is what Nvidia is doing with the rest of its cash.

High margin revenue growth fuels free cash flow

Nvidia's free cash flow (FCF) has exploded in recent years due to its rapid revenue growth and high margins. Nvidia returned 60% of FCF to investors through buybacks and dividends in the first half of fiscal 2027, and has a long-term target of returning at least 50% of FCF.

NVDA Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts

Nvidia is converting around 75 cents of every dollar in sales into gross profit, 64 cents into bottom-line after-tax profit, and around 42 cents into FCF. Nvidia's growth and high margins are partly due to insatiable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) compute -- which is benefiting the broader semiconductor industry. But Nvidia also has a highly effective product development pipeline that has produced three new compute platforms in four years. These aren't marginal improvements either.

Its Grace Blackwell platform, announced in March 2024, was magnitudes better than Hopper, launched in March 2022. In January 2026, Nvidia announced its Vera Rubin platform. Compared to Blackwell, Rubin delivers a 90% reduction in inference costs and a 75% reduction in the number of graphics processing units (GPUs) needed for training.

Nvidia has been the poster child of the AI boom since OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in November 2022. But it's what the company has developed since that should be getting more attention.

Nvidia began shipping Rubin in August and already expects it to account for 20% of data center revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2027, which it will report in November. Demand for Rubin is so massive that Nvidia is guiding for 70% year-over-year revenue growth in fiscal 2028. Higher memory chip costs have yet to make a substantial dent in Nvidia's gross margins -- a testament to its pricing power.

Rubin's efficiency is not solely due to Nvidia's making a more powerful GPU. It's also because Rubin comes in a rack-scale offering that includes multiple chips and networking components, which Nvidia calls extreme co-design. This co-design allows Nvidia to control a larger share of the data center addressable market, and in turn, offers significant performance improvements for its customers that justify the high price tag. The Nvidia NVL72 is a plug-and-play offering for AI data centers that features seven new chip designs, including 72 Rubin GPUs and 36 Vera central processing units.

Innovating at the speed of light

Nvidia's record buyback authorization is a product of its impeccable profitability and sheer size. It is not, however, a sign that the company is transitioning into a stodgy, low-to-moderate growth company.

In his book The Nvidia Way, author Tae Kim discusses how Nvidia's Speed of Light concept was an integral reason the company was able to endure an intensely competitive landscape in its early years. The concept is rooted in pushing the limits of what Nvidia's talent and resources can deliver under expedited timelines, rather than using prior accomplishments or competitors' actions as a yardstick.

In the 1990s, other chip companies would operate on a one to two-year product development cycle, which left them vulnerable to riding a big hit only to see their market share erode if their next launch failed. Nvidia fell into the same trap and almost went bankrupt multiple times. Nvidia then condensed its product launches to six months as a way to keep cash flow coming and avoid taking its competitive moat for granted.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang embodies Nvidia's relentless work culture to this day. Nvidia could have easily ridden the coattails of Blackwell for longer and kept Rubin in its back pocket, but Nvidia doesn't behave like the world's most valuable company. It behaves like a company that doesn't take its industry-leading position for granted.

Nvidia also recognizes that its heavy reliance on a handful of hyperscale customers leaves it vulnerable to cyclical spending pullbacks. This is why evolving beyond one-off chip sales to rack-scale data center solutions that deliver the greatest cost efficiency for its customers is so important. On top of that, Nvidia is making compute more accessible and transferable to a non-hyperscale customer base by partnering with financial institutions to create an investable AI infrastructure asset class. Third-party capital will fund the build-out of AI infrastructure that can be sold to AI labs, AI start-ups, cloud providers, and enterprises seeking the flexibility to use varying levels of compute without the risks and capital commitments of building it themselves.

Nvidia remains a high-octane growth stock

A bloated buyback budget can sometimes indicate a company is out of good ideas and looking for ways to appease shareholders. But Nvidia's record authorization is simply a product of how profitable its business has become and of management's confidence in its roadmap to generate even higher FCF going forward as AI compute demand increases.

Nvidia's buyback announcement does not mean the company is taking its foot off the gas when it comes to AI innovation. Nvidia's culture still prioritizes organic growth over everything else. There's every reason to believe that will continue, given Nvidia's optimism about compute demand for agentic AI and physical AI, such as self-driving cars and robotics.

Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

People on Supplemental Security Income are getting two payments in October because the November check is arriving early.

The schedule from the Social Security Administration moves a payment to the prior business day when the first of the month falls on a weekend or federal holiday.

November 1st is a Sunday, so the November payment is set for October 30th.

The regular October payment still goes out on October 1st. That is not an extra check.

Recipients get nothing on November 1st, then the next SSI payment is December 1st.

People on regular Social Security keep the usual birthday schedule. The early deposit is only for SSI.

People who get both can see three deposits in October, because the Social Security check still comes on its own date.

The maximum SSI payment in 2026 is $994 for an individual and $1,491 for a couple, with an average payment around $736.

SSI supports low-income Americans who are 65 or older, blind or disabled.

The same shift hits in December. January 1st, 2027 is a federal holiday, so that payment moves to December 31st.

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The post Social Security SSI Recipients Getting Two Payments in October – Here’s Why appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

Financieel-economische nieuws van vandaag in één oogopslag.

The post Bel20 sluit fors lager appeared first on Trends.be.

Financieel-economische nieuws van vandaag in één oogopslag.

The post Bel20 sluit fors lager appeared first on Trends.be.