NAG19-11.15.25 - Spotlight: New York, again!

~S: Enjoy this weeks episode. With Mamdami’s win in NY I figured the hosts would be well suited to remain embedded in that region. Let us know at [email protected] or whichever mode of communication you prefer if you have a region that needs a SPOTLIGHT!

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This show page summarizes the major political and technological events of the past week, focusing heavily on the seismic shifts in New York City politics following the recent mayoral election, alongside global developments in security, technology, and general news.

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Source 1: New York City News

(Mamdani Wins NYC Mayoral Race: November News Highlights)

1. Zohran Mamdani Wins NYC Mayoral Election

◦ Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, 34, won the New York City mayoral race on November 4, 2025, securing approximately 50.4% of the vote against opponents Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. He is set to become the city’s first Muslim, first South Asian, first immigrant, and one of its youngest mayors.

2. Mamdani’s Victory Speech Challenges Trump

◦ In his post-election speech, Mamdani described his win as a “mandate for change” and publicly challenged Donald Trump. He restated key elements of his progressive platform, including free childcare, rent freezes, and fare-free buses.

3. Con Edison Reduces Proposed Rate Hikes

◦ Con Edison substantially reduced its previously proposed rate increases; the electric rate hike is now planned for 2.8% (down from ~11.4%), and the gas rate increase is 2% (down from ~13.3%). Local leaders in areas like Westchester, however, remain critical that any increase is too high.

4. COVID Vaccine Mandate: NYPD Job Reinstatement Offered

◦ NYC is offering roughly 2,900 employees who were terminated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate a chance to return to their former civil service roles and pay. Importantly, those rehired will not receive credit or back pay for their time away from employment.

5. Council Committee Rejects Central Park Horse Carriage Ban

◦ A significant NYC Council Health Committee voted against “Ryder’s Law,” a bill designed to phase out horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park. The Transport Workers Union supported the decision, while animal welfare groups vowed to continue advocacy for the ban.

6. Fact Check: NYPD Denies Post-Election Walkout Claims

◦ Following the mayoral election, social media claims circulated regarding a mass walkout staged by the NYPD. A police spokesperson denied these claims, confirming “there is no walkout”.

7. Mamdani Pledges to Implement Agenda Immediately

◦ In interviews shortly after his victory, Mamdani stressed his intent to “hit the ground running” immediately upon taking office. His priorities focus on affordability and serving working New Yorkers.

8. Transit Advocates Optimistic About Free Bus Plan

◦ Transit advocates expressed hope that Mamdani’s long-standing support for a fare-free city bus system may now be realized under his leadership, linking free transit to broader goals of equity and climate action.

9. Mamdani’s Climate Policy Focuses on Affordability Benefits

◦ Although climate was not the main emphasis of his campaign, experts noted that many of Mamdani’s key proposals—such as supporting building decarbonization and providing free transit—have inherent environmental benefits.

10. NYC Restaurant Scene Sees New November Openings

◦ November 2025 featured numerous new openings across New York City’s boroughs, including “Bowtie Bar,” “Mammamisu,” and “Kitty Sullivan’s,” spanning from the East Village to Astoria.

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Source 2: Western Networks Security Threats and Alerts

(November 13 – November 15, 2025)

1. Windows 10 ESU Update May Fail with 0x800f0922 Errors

◦ Microsoft is investigating a bug that causes the Windows 10 KB5068781 extended security update (ESU) to fail installation, resulting in 0x800f0922 errors on devices using corporate licensing.

2. ‘Finger’ Protocol Abused in ClickFix Malware Attacks

◦ Threat actors are utilizing the decades-old “finger” command protocol to retrieve remote commands, which are then executed on targeted Windows devices during ClickFix malware attacks.

3. Five Plead Guilty in North Korean US Infiltration Scheme

◦ The U.S. Department of Justice announced guilty pleas from five individuals who aided North Korea’s illicit revenue generation, which included schemes involving remote IT worker fraud and cryptocurrency theft targeting US firms.

4. Anthropic AI-Automated Cyberattack Claims Met with Doubt

◦ Anthropic reported that a Chinese state-sponsored threat group, GTG-1002, conducted a cyber-espionage operation that was largely automated via the misuse of its Claude Code AI model, though these claims met with skepticism.

5. US Announces New Strike Force Targeting Chinese Crypto Scammers

◦ U.S. federal authorities have created a new task force dedicated to disrupting Chinese cryptocurrency scam networks that reportedly defraud Americans of nearly $10 billion annually.

6. Google Backpedals on Android Developer Registration Rules

◦ Google is modifying new identity verification rules for developers, planning to allow accounts for limited app distribution and permit users to install applications from unverified developers.

7. ASUS Warns of Critical Auth Bypass Flaw in DSL Routers

◦ ASUS released new firmware to patch a critical authentication bypass security flaw impacting several models in their DSL series routers.

8. DoorDash Hit by Data Breach in October

◦ DoorDash disclosed a data breach that occurred in October, affecting millions of customers across the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, leading to notification emails being sent to those impacted.

9. Akira Ransomware Targets Nutanix AHV Virtual Machines

◦ US government agencies issued a warning that the Akira ransomware operation has been observed encrypting Nutanix AHV virtual machines in recent attacks.

10. ‘IndonesianFoods’ Worm Floods npm with Junk Packages

◦ A self-spreading package, dubbed the ‘IndonesianFoods’ worm, was published on npm and proceeded to spam the registry by spawning high volumes of new junk packages every seven seconds.

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Source 3: Hacker News Headlines

(November 4 – November 15, 2025)

1. Our investigation into the suspicious pressure on Archive.today (adguard-dns.io)

◦ AdGuard DNS is conducting an investigation into suspicious pressure being exerted on the web archiving service Archive.today.

2. SSL Configuration Generator (ssl-config.mozilla.org)

◦ This link provides access to a Mozilla tool designed for creating appropriate SSL configurations.

3. Unofficial Microsoft Teams client for Linux (github.com/ismaelmartinez)

◦ An unofficial client application for Microsoft Teams has been developed for Linux users.

4. HipKittens: Fast and furious AMD kernels (stanford.edu)

◦ This story links to Stanford University research on “HipKittens,” computational kernels optimized for high performance on AMD processors.

5. TCP, the workhorse of the internet (cefboud.com)

◦ An article detailing the fundamental role and importance of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) for the internet.

6. ‘No One Lives Forever’ turns 25 and you still can’t buy it legitimately (techdirt.)

◦ A retrospective note on the 25th anniversary of the game No One Lives Forever, highlighting that it still cannot be legally purchased.

7. Designing a Language (2017) (lmu.edu)

◦ Academic content from LMU concerning the methodology and concepts involved in designing a language, originally published in 2017.

8. Messing with scraper bots (herman.bearblog.dev)

◦ A guide or personal account describing various techniques used to interact with or obstruct automated web scraper bots.

9. No Leak, No Problem – Bypassing ASLR with a ROP Chain to Gain RCE (modze)

◦ A technical security analysis outlining how to achieve Remote Code Execution (RCE) by bypassing Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) using a Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) chain without relying on a memory leak.

10. Löb and Möb: Loops in Haskell (2013) (github.com/quchen)

◦ A technical discussion focusing on the implementation of “Löb and Möb” concepts within the Haskell programming language for creating loops.

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Source 4: NPR News Headlines

(Saturday, November 15, 2025)

1. A red meat allergy caused by ticks killed a N.J. man. Here’s what to know.

◦ This report concerns the death of a New Jersey resident attributed to a tick-borne red meat allergy.

2. A stock of U.S.-bought birth control, meant for sub-Saharan Africa, goes bad in Belgium.

◦ News about a supply of U.S.-purchased birth control, designated for sub-Saharan Africa, spoiling while held in Belgium.

3. More liberals, people of color and LGBTQ Americans say they’re buying guns out of fear.

◦ An article noting a trend of increased gun purchases among liberal individuals, people of color, and LGBTQ Americans, motivated by fear.

4. U.S. official says the ‘table is being set’ for possible military action against Venezuela.

◦ A high-level U.S. official suggested that preparations are underway for potential military action targeting Venezuela.

5. Right-wing media shrugs off latest Epstein document release.

◦ Coverage detailing the reaction, or lack thereof, by right-wing media outlets to the most recent release of documents related to Epstein.

6. Americana troubadour Todd Snider, alt-country singer-songwriter, dies at 59.

◦ The obituary for Todd Snider, recognized as an Americana and alt-country singer-songwriter, who passed away at age 59.

7. Judge indefinitely bars Trump from fining UC over alleged discrimination.

◦ A judge issued an indefinite ban preventing Trump from fining the University of California (UC) over accusations of discrimination.

8. As funding falters, young brain scientists rethink careers in research.

◦ A review of how declining research funding is causing young brain scientists to reconsider their careers.

9. The longest government shutdown in U.S. history is over. Here’s what you need to know.

◦ This story provides details surrounding the conclusion of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

10. Trump scraps tariffs on beef, coffee, tropical fruit in a push to lower prices.

◦ News reporting that Trump eliminated tariffs on tropical fruit, coffee, and beef in an effort to decrease prices for consumers.

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Proverb of the Day

The emergence of a new political administration in New York involves intense debate and high emotions (such as criticism over rate hikes and the horse carriage ban reversal). This proverb emphasizes the wisdom of measured communication when navigating contentious issues:

Proverbs 15:1 (KJV): “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger”.

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