Zohran Mamdani taps ex-con rapper to serve as criminal justice adviser on mayoral transition team: ‘Insane’

nypostPublished on 2025-12-08Last updated on 2025-12-08

Abstract

Zohran Mamdani, a New York City mayoral candidate, has appointed an ex-convict and rapper to serve as a criminal justice adviser on his transition team. The move, described as "insane" by critics, highlights Mamdani's focus on reform and incorporating directly impacted individuals into policy-making. The appointment aims to bring firsthand experience of the criminal justice system to the forefront of the campaign's strategy.

Winter coat saves NYC tourist from serious stab injury in wild Times Square attack

A winter coat prevented a tourist from sustaining serious injuries when he was stabbed in a seemingly unprovoked attack in Times Square. The incident, captured on video, shows the assailant approaching the victim and striking him in the back before fleeing. The victim's thick jacket absorbed much of the impact, protecting him from a more severe wound. He was treated at the scene by emergency responders. The suspect was later taken into custody by police. The attack is part of a recent series of violent incidents in the popular Manhattan tourist destination, raising ongoing concerns about public safety.

nypost2분 전

Winter coat saves NYC tourist from serious stab injury in wild Times Square attack

nypost2분 전

When China's Crypto Tycoons Start Buying Gold

Chinese crypto billionaires are increasingly turning to gold as a traditional safe-haven asset, signaling a strategic shift from digital to tangible wealth preservation. Wu Jihan, co-founder of Bitmain and Bitdeer, acquired Singapore’s high-security Le Freeport vault for S$40 million—a facility offering tax-free storage for gold, art, and luxury assets. This move aligns with a broader trend among Asian ultra-wealthy individuals and institutions seeking asset protection amid market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty. Meanwhile, Fujian-based entrepreneur Zhan Ketuan, through Antalpha and in partnership with Tether, is pioneering a "tokenized gold" system. Tether holds ~80 tons of physical gold in Swiss vaults, backing the XAU₮ token, which enables fractional ownership, liquidity, and collateralization—effectively modernizing gold’s role in finance. As gold prices surged past $4,000/oz in 2025, driven by central bank accumulation, Asian private wealth, and crypto-led financial innovation, these developments highlight gold’s evolving function: as a sovereign hedge, a intergenerational store of value, and a programmable asset in the digital age.

深潮11분 전

When China's Crypto Tycoons Start Buying Gold

深潮11분 전

We've Hoarded Trillions in Bitcoin, But Never Use It? That's Changing Now

A significant portion of Bitcoin's trillion-dollar market cap remains dormant, with 61% of coins not moving in over a year and only 0.8% used in DeFi. While other ecosystems like Ethereum and L2s thrive with active use cases, Bitcoin has largely functioned as a passive store of value due to architectural and cultural constraints—prioritizing security over programmability, resisting upgrades, and lacking native interoperability. Previous solutions like wrapped BTC, federated systems, and bridges attempted to unlock Bitcoin’s liquidity but introduced new risks like custodial trust, security vulnerabilities, and reliance on external validators, contradicting Bitcoin’s trust-minimized ethos. However, this is changing with recent breakthroughs. Innovations like BitVM enable Bitcoin to verify external computations without executing them, allowing for Bitcoin-secured rollups and trust-minimized bridges. Upgrades like Taproot facilitate native assets and programmable vaults. New systems now support Bitcoin staking, restaking, and Lightning Network-based yield without requiring custodial wrapping or bridging. This emerging BTCFi ecosystem—comprising infrastructure, asset, and protocol layers—finally allows Bitcoin to participate in a functional economy while preserving its security model and self-custody principles. This could unlock a portion of the dormant capital, significantly impacting the broader crypto landscape.

marsbit15분 전

We've Hoarded Trillions in Bitcoin, But Never Use It? That's Changing Now

marsbit15분 전

Zama Public Sale Too Complicated? A Guide to Understanding Sealed-Bid Dutch Auctions

Zama, a fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) network that has raised $130 million, is conducting a sealed-bid Dutch auction for 10% of its ZAMA token supply. The auction, running from January 12–15, uses FHE to keep bids confidential, ensuring fairness with no front-running, bots, or gas wars. Participants convert stablecoins into encrypted assets before bidding. The clearing price is determined by accumulating demand from highest to lowest bids; those who bid above it get full allocation with refunds, those at the price get pro-rata shares, and those below are refunded. All purchased tokens are fully unlocked at claim. Zama’s mainnet is expected by year-end. The article also highlights ongoing guild tasks for community engagement before the token generation event.

Odaily星球日报26분 전

Zama Public Sale Too Complicated? A Guide to Understanding Sealed-Bid Dutch Auctions

Odaily星球日报26분 전

Bridgewater Fund: Global Economy 'In Peril' Over Next Two Years, Don't Rush to Exit AI Due to High Valuations

Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio warns the global economy faces a dangerous one-to-two-year period due to overlapping debt, political conflict, and geopolitical cycles. He cautions that structural pressures are emerging in private equity, venture capital, and debt refinancing. Despite identifying an AI bubble similar to the 2000 tech bubble, Dalio advises against exiting AI investments solely due to high valuations. Instead, he urges investors to watch for real catalysts like monetary tightening or forced asset sales. He also highlights risks in commercial real estate and leveraged private markets. Simultaneously, Dalio points to the Middle East, particularly the UAE, as an emerging global AI hub—calling it a "Silicon Valley for capitalists"—driven by sovereign capital, talent inflow, and strategic national investments.

marsbit33분 전

Bridgewater Fund: Global Economy 'In Peril' Over Next Two Years, Don't Rush to Exit AI Due to High Valuations

marsbit33분 전

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