Weekly News Recap: November 7, 2025

Weekly News Recap: November 7, 2025

Zohran Mamdani speaks during a victory speech at a mayoral election night watch party, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York. (Yuki Iwamura/The Associated Press)

New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the shining and perishable dream itself. -- Joan Didion

SOME GOOD NEWS

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Cineplex is launching 'surprise' movie premieres, but will it help bring audiences back to theatres? (CBC) CANADIAN STORY This should be interesting. "Cineplex is hoping an element of surprise will get people into seats at a time when movie theatres are short on blockbusters. The theatre chain’s Monday Surprise Premieres, launching Nov. 10, promise an advanced screening of an unreleased movie at a discounted price. The catch is that you won’t know what the movie is until it starts playing. 'No title. No trailer. No spoilers,' the ad reads."

  2. VIDEO: How the U.S. trade war uncorked a surprising boom for wineries across Canada (CBC) CANADIAN STORY We have always had good wine, now we can have more of it! "Countless industries in Canada were stung when the trade war with the United States began earlier this year after U.S. President Donald Trump took office, but new life has been poured into one particular business. Thanks in large part to the patriotic 'Buy Canadian' movement, which has changed consumer habits and reshaped parts of the retail landscape, winemakers across the country say they're enjoying a rare and fruitful moment."

  3. Stop Calling Us “Nonprofit”: It’s Time for a New Name for the $1.4-Trillion Engine of Progress (Inside Philanthropy) What do you think our sector should be called? "Words matter. They shape how people see us, how we see ourselves, and even how money moves. For decades, the organizations that power community wellbeing, deliver essential services and drive social innovation have been defined by a single, limiting word: 'nonprofit.' That label doesn’t just distort perception; it distorts funding. It signals scarcity, not strength, and that in turn affects how capital flows, how policymakers design programs, and how funders set priorities."

  4. VIDEO: Old dog, new tricks: Sask. man reunites with his food truck after a decade apart (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY Shades of Oscar Mayer. "A Saskatchewan man who had to sell his hot dog truck a decade ago is getting back in business, thanks to a photographer who happened upon the truck as he drove through the province. Kenny Chaplin first bought the Diggity Dawgs truck in 2008 from the film production crew that had created it. He turned it into a food truck and operated it on and off until 2015 when he decided to sell it."

  5. The Perils of Audience Capture (The Prism) #ugh "In 2016, 24 year old Nicholas Perry wanted to be big online. He started uploading videos to his YouTube channel in which he pursued his passion—playing the violin—and extolled the virtues of veganism. He went largely unnoticed. A year later, he abandoned veganism, citing health concerns. Now free to eat whatever he wanted, he began uploading mukbang videos of himself consuming various dishes while talking to the camera, as if having dinner with a friend. These new videos quickly found a sizable audience, but as the audience grew, so did their demands. The comments sections of the videos soon became filled with people challenging Perry to eat as much as he physically could. Eager to please, he began to set himself torturous eating challenges, each bigger than the last. His audience applauded, but always demanded more. Soon, he was filming himself eating entire menus of fast food restaurants in one sitting."

  6. Life Lessons From (Very Old) Bowhead Whales (New York Times) This is amazing. "For more than 1,000 years, the Inupiat people of Alaska have hunted bowhead whales in the Arctic Ocean. Over the centuries, they grew to appreciate the long lives of the animals, the longest-living mammals on Earth. Generations of hunters could recognize the same individual at sea. Inupiat captains have told researchers that a bowhead whale lives two human lifetimes. Scientists now suspect that bowheads can live even longer than that. Some whales caught in the late 1900s had old harpoon points lodged in their blubber that dated to the mid-1800s. By measuring the molecular damage that accumulates in the eyes, ears and eggs of bowhead whales, researchers have estimated that bowheads live as long as 268 years."

  7. STARS celebrates legacy of the BK117 helicopter with donation to The Hangar Flight Museum (Vertical Magazine) CALGARY STORY Nice move STARS. "STARS is proud to donate one of its retired Airbus BK117 helicopters to The Hangar Flight Museum, where it will become part of the museum’s permanent collection. The helicopter is now available for the public to view anytime the museum is open, providing an opportunity to learn more about STARS and aviation history."

  8. VIDEO: New York City's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, calls out Trump in victory speech (CBC) Congrats to Mr. Mamdani and to NYC. "Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York on Tuesday, capping a stunning ascent for the 34-year-old democratic socialist, who promised to transform city government to restore power to the working class and fight back against a hostile Trump administration."

  9. Global solar boom tempers climate change pessimism (Semafor) More please. "The world is experiencing a solar boom that has vastly outperformed expectations and tempered pessimism around climate change. Delegates will next month gather for the COP30 climate conference against a backdrop of progress, the Financial Times wrote: There is already four times as much solar capacity worldwide as analysts in 2010 forecast for 2035, and predictions of warming have fallen from 4°C to 2.6°C. But momentum is uneven. US support for solar has collapsed: Subsidies have been scrapped and permitting has become more difficult, even as other countries have raced ahead."

  10. Study Finds Evidence That Text-Based Therapy Eases Depression (New York Times) "A large-scale randomized trial of texting therapy concluded that its outcomes were as good as video sessions in treating depression."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. 14 winning images from the Ocean Photographer of the Year awards (Popular Science) We live in a beautiful ocean world.

  2. 13 Mistakes People Make With Baked Potatoes (The Takeout) Mmmm...baked potatoes.

  3. VIDEO: Dictionary.com names '6-7' as 2025 Word of the Year. Here's what it really means. (USA Today) I am still trying to come to terms with this one.

  4. The Top 10 Countries People Want to Move to—And Why (Mental Floss) CANADIAN CONTENT "Umm, not to brag..."

  5. This is your brain without sleep (MIT) Interested to see such a physical process associated with sleep.

  6. VIDEO: The Cold War - Summary on a Map (YouTube) For those born after 1989, this is a great primer. Yes, I am old.

  7. Get Rid of All Types of Sweat Stains (Valet Magazine) These used to be the bane of my clothes washing experience. Not any more.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. VIDEO: Couple Donate Legacy 38,000-Acre, $21 Million Cattle Ranch To Keep It A Ranch (Cowboy State Daily) "Dale Veseth runs cattle on the same Montana ranch his father did and his grandfather before him. He’s now donated the 38,000-acre, $21 million ranch to the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, which will ensure that it stays a working cattle operation rather than being sold off or converted to other uses."

  2. Canadian Mining Magnate Gives $17-Million for Heart Research (Chronicle of Philanthropy) TORONTO STORY "The head of global mining company Barrick Gold has donated $17.2-million to boost cardiac research in Toronto [...] Peter Munk said the gift was aimed at helping Canada attract and retain top medical professionals who often leave for higher-paying positions in the United States and Europe."

  3. VIDEO: Jesuit High gets $1M donation as co-divisional debate continues in Sacramento (YouTube) "Sacramento's Jesuit High School has received a $1 million donation from former alumnus and board of trustees member Billy Downing to support its controversial transition to coeducation."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

Welcome to our recap of the week's news, articles, and information of note. ViTreo Group Inc. provides this information for the benefit of our clients, associates, staff, partners, and stakeholders. The content is collected and curated by ViTreo President & CEO Vincent Duckworth. If you would like to submit a link for consideration, please send an email to info@vitreogroup.ca.

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