'Fallen star of crypto'

The Washington Post, like other major U.S. newspapers, reports that Israeli troops have encircled Gaza City as Israel faces increasing pressure to stop killing so many Palestinian civilians in its campaign to destroy Hamas. The Post also prominently reports that "the fallen star of crypto," Sam Bankman-Fried, was found guilty on all counts for stealing $10 billion from investors in his FTX cryptocurrency exchange.

USA Today, citing Israeli security officials, reports that the Hamas fighters who attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7 were carrying, and probably high on, the synthetic stimulant Captagon, also called "the jihadi drug, Captain Courage, the Poor Man's Cocaine." Narcoterrorism experts said the amphetamine, produced in Syria and popular among Islamic State militants, gives fighters "almost superhuman powers," including alertness and imperviousness to hunger, and could also help explain why the Hamas attack was so vicious.

The New York Times and New York Post highlight the federal raid on the chief fundraiser for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, reportedly on suspicion Adams' 2021 campaign illegally accepted money from Ankara — or as the Post put it, "Turkey and the $kimmings." 

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