☕ Betting scandal rocks the NBA

Good morning!

As if the Netflix series wasn’t easy enough to produce, a new video has surfaced online of the alleged thieves behind the Louvre jewellery heist making their sweet escape on a mechanical ladder that sat on top of a truck. The group of four can then be seen taking off with an estimated $100m worth of precious stones, and are still on the run.

The mechanical ladder is equipment produced by German company Böcker, who took advantage of the moment via an online advertising campaign that reminded people that their products are best “when you need to move fast”.

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Some headlines from this morning:

• President Trump will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea on October 30 to address the ongoing trade war between the two nations. The meeting is part of Trump's upcoming Asia trip and marks his first face-to-face with Xi during his second term. The U.S. and China have been locked in trade negotiations since America ramped up tariffs on Chinese imports earlier this year. Trump said he expects the talks will leave "everyone very happy."

• Jonathan Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he sparked one of California's most destructive fires. Prosecutors allege Rinderknecht, who had an obsession with fire, can be placed at the origin point of a January 1 blaze that eventually caused the Palisades fire weeks later. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted and given the maximum sentence. His trial begins December 16, and he'll remain in custody until then.

• Kenyan marathon world record-holder Ruth Chepng'etich has been banned for three years after testing positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic which can mask performance-enhancing drugs. After testing positive for the banned substance in March, Chepng'etich could not explain the test result. In July, the 31-year-old wrote to the Athletics Integrity Unit to state that she had taken her housemaid’s medication while ill without realising it contained hydrochlorothiazide. Her world record of 2:09:56, set at the 2023 Chicago marathon, will stand.

• President Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the crypto platform Binance, who was convicted of violating anti-money-laundering laws and banned from operating in the U.S. Zhao spent four months in prison in 2024 but has not been allowed to re-enter the country or operate there. In a post on X, Zhao said he was “Deeply grateful for today’s pardon and to President Trump for upholding America’s commitment to fairness, innovation, and justice. Will do everything we can to help make America the Capital of Crypto”. Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange, and an institutional supporter of Trump’s own crypto company.

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President Trump ended all trade negotiations with Canada on Thursday after Ontario aired a TV ad featuring edited clips of former President Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs. The move escalates a months-long trade dispute that has seen both countries impose retaliatory tariffs on each other's goods. Here's what you need to know.

Context

The US imposed tariffs of up to 50% on Canadian steel, automobiles, and other exports earlier this year. Canada's federal and provincial governments responded with their own tariffs on US goods.

Trade talks had been paused once before as the White House pushed Canada to accept the new tariff structure. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, has been particularly affected - its Premier Doug Ford threatened earlier this year to restrict energy exports to the US in response.

What happened?

On October 16, an ad aired during a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game featuring selectively edited clips from a 1987 speech by President Reagan. In the original address, Reagan urged Congress not to impose tariffs on Japan despite its trade surplus with the US.

The Canadian government confirmed it spent CAD$75 million on the ad campaign to "make the case against American tariffs on Canada."

Late Thursday, President Trump posted on Truth Social calling the ad fake and announced: "Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED."

Reactions

Trump later claimed the ad was designed to interfere with an upcoming Supreme Court case on presidential tariff powers.

The Ronald Reagan Foundation criticized Ontario's use of the footage. "The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks," the foundation said.

Canada's federal government has not yet commented.

It's unclear when or if trade talks will resume. The dispute now involves both trade policy and accusations of political interference ahead of a key Supreme Court ruling on whether the Trump administration has the legal authority to enforce its tariffs.

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The National Basketball Association (NBA), North America's top professional basketball league, has been rocked by two major criminal cases involving a player and a coach.

Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups were among dozens arrested in a sweeping FBI investigation. Here's what we know so far.

Insider betting

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York, Rozier was charged with fraud and with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

He was named in a group of men accused of using private team information to profit from illegal bets.

For example, prosecutors claim Rozier tipped off associates before a 2023 game that he would leave early due to injury, allowing them to place more than $200,000 in bets.

He exited after nine minutes, and several bets paid out thousands of dollars.

Officials say the wider scheme involved players and coaches sharing confidential lineup and medical details to manipulate betting markets between 2022 and 2024.

Prosecutor Joseph Nocella Jr said the group had used "private locker room and medical information to enrich themselves and cheat legitimate sports bettors."

Rozier was taken into custody in Orlando yesterday. His agent said he would fight the charges.

Poker ring

In a separate case, Blazers coach and Hall of Famer Billups was among 31 people arrested for allegedly helping run a high-stakes poker ring tied to organised crime.

Prosecutors say the group altered card shufflers and used 'X-ray tables' that can read cards placed on a table to defraud victims out of more than $7 million.

NBA’s response

In a statement, the NBA said both Rozier and Billups have been placed on immediate leave while the league reviews their cases.

The statement read: "We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority."

Responding to the incident, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said his team, like most sides in the competition, received regular education on the legal risks associated with gambling on the sport they participate in.

Kerr said: “Every team has to listen closely and hear everything, and a big part of that meeting was, 'You tell one of your friends that so and so is not playing and then that person tells somebody else, you are liable.' We know this, and the league has kept us informed and up to date on all this stuff year after year."

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