Happy Friday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,073 words…4 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: Mamdani’s Freezing Inauguration, Mayor Mamdani Revokes All of Adams’ EOs, Trump Warns Iran, ISIS-Inspired Plot In NC, BYD Overtakes Tesla… & much more!
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Zohran Mamdani publicly sworn-in as Mayor of NYC by Sen. Bernie Sanders as wife Rama Duwaji holds the Quran
🗽 Why Mamdani’s Freezing Inauguration Was a Perfect Political Overture
Zohran Mamdani’s shivering, socialist block party wasn’t just a logistical fail. It was opening night of a political brand.
Mamdani became the city’s first Muslim mayor, its first socialist mayor and its youngest in more than a century.
He unapologetically doubled down on his socialist ideals and delivered a “fiery” and “defiant” speech.
"I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist. I will not abandon my principles for fear of being deemed radical."
The optics:
Sen. Bernie Sanders swore him in (oath sworn on a Quran).
AOC delivered the introductory remarks, calling it a “new era of courage and community.”
Crowd chanted “Tax the rich!” echoing off City Hall.
Guests included: Gov. Kathy Hochul, Sen. Chuck Schumer, former Mayor Eric Adams, DSA members and an Imam.
"We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism."
The tension defined the day:
The event was billed as an “Inauguration for a New Era Block Party.”
About 10,000 people showed up.
There was no food, no bathrooms and total chaos at the barricades.
💡 Why this matters: Mamdani is betting that movement politics can overpower institutional resistance in Albany, on Wall Street, and inside city agencies.
⚡Bottom line: New York, perhaps the world’s most capitalist city, just elected a socialist government — loudly, publicly, and without apologies. The applause was real. So will be the resistance.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
🇲🇽 Mexico Quake Jolts Guerrero
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico early Jan. 2, with the epicenter near San Marcos and Rancho Viejo in Guerrero, sending strong shaking across Acapulco and Mexico City.
The quake briefly halted President Claudia Sheinbaum’s first press briefing of 2026, as seismic alarms triggered a calm evacuation before officials resumed.
💡Bottom line: Authorities reported no deaths or major structural damage, though landslides, power outages, and building cracks were recorded
🇮🇷 Trump Warns Iran As Protests Turn Deadly
President Donald Trump warned Iran he’s “locked and loaded” if Tehran violently suppresses mass economic protests.
"If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go."
At least 7 demonstrators were killed in clashes with security forces.
Protests have spread to 30+ cities, fueled by a collapsing rial, 42% inflation, and 72% food price spikes — the largest unrest since 2022.
Iran dismissed U.S. warnings as foreign meddling, accusing Washington and Israel of stoking chaos.
💡Why it matters: Trump’s rhetoric signals deterrence, not deployment — boosting protesters’ morale while giving the regime a familiar external enemy.
🪓Yemen’s South Moves to Break Away
UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces have pushed into oil-rich Hadramawt and al-Mahra, tightening control over most of southern Yemen.
On Jan. 1, the STC declared the south a “two-year transitional region” toward independence, formally calling it “State of South Arabia”
Openly rejected the Saudi-backed government authority (PLC).
In a first, STC leaders publicly rebuked Saudi Arabia, accusing Riyadh of airstrikes and destabilization.
💡Why it matters: This isn’t just Yemen fracturing — it’s a Gulf proxy rift. The UAE backs secession. Saudi calls it rebellion. The Houthis are watching closely.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
✒ Mamdani Targets City Hall’s Israel Policies in Sweeping Day-One Reset
On Day 1, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani revoked every executive order signed by Mayor Eric Adams after Sept. 26, 2024 — a move that disproportionately wiped out City Hall’s Israel-related directives.
Scrapped orders included adopting the IHRA antisemitism definition, banning city participation in Israel boycotts, and an NYPD policy re-evaluating protests at houses of worship.
Mamdani insisted the rollback was procedural, not permanent, saying some orders may be reinstated in revised form, and preserving the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism.
⚡Why it matters: Mamdani calls it a “fresh start.” Critics argue it removes guardrails at a moment of heightened antisemitic threats, recasting free-speech debates into a high-stakes test of public safety and trust.
👮FBI Thwarts ISIS-Inspired Attack in North Carolina
Federal authorities say they foiled an ISIS-inspired terror plot targeting New Year’s Eve celebrations in Mint Hill, NC, arresting 18-year-old Christian Sturdivant on Dec. 31.
Prosecutors say the Burger King employee planned a mass stabbing spree at his workplace and a nearby grocery store.
Stockpiled knives, hammers, tactical gear, and a Kevlar vest.
Radicalized online via ISIS propaganda and TikTok, he recorded a loyalty oath and sought firearms from undercover agents.
⚡Why it matters: This was a lone-actor, online-radicalization case — and a reminder that jihadist threats haven’t disappeared, they’ve just gone digital.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
BYD Qin hybrid
🚗 BYD Quietly Dethrones Tesla
China’s BYD officially overtook Tesla in 2025 to become the world’s largest EV maker by sales — and it wasn’t close.
BYD delivered 4.6M new-energy vehicles, including 2.26M pure BEVs, beating Tesla’s ~1.65M.
The edge came from cheap models, hybrids-as-bridge tech, and brutal vertical integration, plus new factories in Europe.
⚡Tesla sells the future. BYD ships it — at scale, globally, and now faster.
📦 Amazon’s Drones Hit the Suburbs — and the NIMBYs
Amazon has officially launched drone deliveries in suburban Dallas, starting with places like Richardson.
Prime members can now get 5-lb packages in ~30 minutes within an 8-mile radius for $4.99, flown by autonomous MK30 drones operating daylight hours under FAA approval.
⚡This is logistics’ future — fast, automated, and noisy. The tech works. The real test is whether suburbia tolerates the buzz.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
Peter Pan Helps Sick Kids
Peter Pan creator - J.M. Barrie - donated its copyright to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London in 1929.
Ever since, the hospital has earned royalties from every stage production, book, and adaptation (yes, including Disney's). A special 1988 UK law even grants it perpetual rights there, keeping the magic funding sick kids nearly a century later.
Peter Pan truly never grows up... or stops giving.