New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani‘s campaign confirmed on Wednesday he will make a historical move on New Year’s Day, using the Quran during his swearing-in ceremony. Mamdani, a 34-year-old Ugandan-born socialist, will be the first Muslim mayor of New York City and the first mayor to be sworn in using the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. New York Attorney General Letitia James will host a...

At least two major West Coast cities are rethinking their so-called harm reduction policies that have sought to address addiction, signaling that these areas are overhauling their strategy to combat the drug crisis as addiction challenges persist.  While cities including San Francisco and Seattle have previously adopted policies to distribute “safer” drug supplies like clean foil and pipes that could be used to smoke fentanyl or other substances,...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned four companies operating in Venezuela’s oil sector and identified four oil tankers as blocked property, saying the move targets oil traders involved in alleged sanctions-evasion that helps finance Nicolás Maduro’s regime. Treasury said the vessels, some described as part of a “shadow fleet” serving Venezuela, “continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s illegitimate narco-terrorist regime” in Tuesday’s press...