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Windows 10 Support Has Ended, But Here’s How to Get an Extra Year for Free (Maria)

The author writes, “Still running Windows 10 on your PC? Did you know that as of October 14, Microsoft moved the software to its ‘end of life’ phase? So while Windows 10 PCs will continue to work, they’ll stop getting important security updates by default. The good news is you still have three options to make sure your computer remains secure.”

Trump’s NSPM-7 Labels Common Beliefs As Terrorism ‘Indicators’ (DonkeyHotey)

The author writes, “Trump has signed a little-noticed national security directive identifying ‘anti-Christian’ and ‘anti-American’ views as indicators of radical left violence. Called National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, it’s being referred to as ‘NSPM-7’ by administration insiders. … It’s hard to overstate how much different NSPM-7 is from the over 200 executive orders Trump has frantically signed since coming back into office. An executive order publicly lays out the course of day-to-day federal government operations; whereas a national security directive is a sweeping policy decree for the defense, foreign policy, intelligence, and law enforcement apparatus. National security directives are often secret, but in this case the Trump administration chose to publish NSPM-7.”

Pro-Russian Hackers Caught Bragging About Attack on Fake Water Utility (Sean)

From The Record: “A pro-Russian hacker group has been caught boasting about a cyberattack that unfolded entirely inside a decoy system set up by researchers. The relatively new group, known as TwoNet, claimed in September that it had disrupted a Dutch water facility by hacking into its control systems. In reality, the hackers had infiltrated a honeypot — a decoy network designed by cybersecurity firm Forescout to lure attackers and study their behavior. … Forescout said the incident illustrates how inexperienced hacktivists are increasingly trying to breach operational technology and industrial control systems — the computer systems that manage equipment in critical infrastructure such as power plants and water utilities — often without fully understanding what they are attacking.”

2025’s Big Ad Spender: The US Taxpayer (Dana)

The author writes, “The most expensive political ad campaign of the year is being run by the Department of Homeland Security. DHS disputes that its ads are political. But it has spent at least $51 million this year on ads thanking President Trump for securing the border, according to AdImpact.”

Corals Are Disappearing, Pushing Earth to Its First Major ‘Tipping Point’ (Laura)

From Grist: “Global temperature rise may feel like it’s gradual, but the changes it brings can turn out to be sudden, massive, and self-reinforcing. These changes are what scientists call tipping points. When a tipping point is reached, an Earth system abruptly and dramatically changes, often irreversibly, like the Amazon rainforest turning into a savanna — a point of no return that is already perilously close. But today, a group of 160 scientists from 23 countries announced that the planet has already reached its first major tipping point: the widespread death of warm-water coral reefs.”

A Conservative Influencer Was Arrested in Portland. Trump Was Watching (Russ)

The authors write, “During the four hours Nick Sortor sat in jail on the morning of Oct. 3, the conservative influencer wondered if anyone even knew he’d been arrested. He had no cellphone. He could make local calls, but he didn’t know anyone’s number in Portland. Outside, though, his online allies were blaring the news: A right-wing journalist — and not the leftists who assaulted him at an ICE protest — had been arrested by Portland police. Within hours of his release, Sortor had a message from Donald Trump. … Over the next few days, conservative media spotlighted Sortor’s arrest to amplify Trump’s claims that leftists were engaging in destructive mayhem in Portland. By Wednesday, Sortor himself was at the White House, addressing a roundtable where Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem compared antifa — a catchall concept used to describe loosely affiliated far-left groups — to the Islamist Hezbollah.”

North Carolina Effort Wipes Out $6.5B in Medical Debt (Reader Jim)

From Newser: “More than 2.5 million North Carolina residents are getting over $6.5 billion in medical eliminated through a state government effort that offered hospitals extra Medicaid funds from Washington if they gave low- and middle-income patients the financial relief and implemented policies to discourage future liabilities. … While helping almost one-quarter of North Carolina residents, [Governor] Stein said the effort has exceeded expectations in giving individuals and families a second chance to succeed financially after medical crises. Officials previously estimated it could help about 2 million people get rid of $4 billion in debt. The debt that had been held by hospitals, and are usually difficult to recover, will be pulled from credit reports.”