The United States is preparing to take control of tens of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil as part of a sweeping, three-phase strategy aimed at stabilizing the country, jump-starting its economy and steering a political transition, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday.

Under the plan described by Rubio, the first phase focuses on ...Read more

NEW YORK — Julie Menin was elected the City Council’s new speaker on Wednesday, making her the chamber’s first Jewish leader — a historic moment she pledged to use to bridge political and cultural “divides” in the five boroughs.

Menin’s speakership selection was solidified in a unanimous 51-0 vote by the Council’s members at ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Wednesday that a woman was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a confrontation between federal agents and protesters in south Minneapolis.

In a fiery news conference at City Hall, Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, called on ICE to “get the f--- out.�...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday slammed the Trump administration’s pause on federal child care and family assistance grants as a “cruel decision that plays politics with children’s futures,” throwing his support behind a threat by Gov. Kathy Hochul to sue over the frozen funds.

The U.S. Health Department announced Tuesday...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — At a City Hall news conference, Minneapolis officials said a 37-year-old woman was fatally shot during an encounter with federal immigration agents. Mayor Jacob Frey condemned the shooting, rejected claims that it was self-defense and said the city moved quickly to get the woman medical care, support her family and clear ICE ...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed a new head of the city Human Rights Commission, picking Christine Clarke, previously a litigator at Legal Services NYC, to serve in the role.

Clarke will replace Annabel Palma. Palma was originally tapped to lead the commission by ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio and was reappointed by Mayor Eric Adams in ...Read more

The federal government has drastically scaled back the number of recommended childhood immunizations, sidelining six routine vaccines that have safeguarded millions from serious diseases, long-term disability, and death.

Just three of the six immunizations the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it will no longer routinely recommend...Read more

LOS ANGELES — In the year after fire swept through Altadena, man and nature have camouflaged the destruction, to some extent.

The burned husks of thousands of homes have been flattened. Weeks of record rainfall have left empty lots a shimmering green. Parts of Altadena now resemble a rural town, with scattered houses separated by vast swaths ...Read more

U.S. job openings fell in November to a more than one-year low and hiring slowed, indicating most employers remain reluctant to make big changes to headcount.

The number of available positions decreased to 7.15 million in November from a downwardly revised 7.45 million in the prior month, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed Wednesday. The ...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he would order the Florida Legislature to convene for a special session to redraw the state’s congressional districts before the 2026 election.

His move formally places Florida in line with the national Republican effort, demanded last year by President Donald Trump, to have states ...Read more

The Trump administration has warned Venezuela’s most feared power broker that he could be next unless he falls in line.

The Reuters news service has reported that U.S. officials have put Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello on notice that cooperation with Washington is now a condition for survival as Venezuela navigates a volatile post-Maduro ...Read more

The Trump administration announced a major overhaul of American nutrition guidelines Wednesday, replacing the old, carbohydrate-heavy food pyramid with one that prioritizes protein, healthy fats and whole grains.

"Our government declares war on added sugar," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a White House press ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The son of a storied Republican president, Michael Reagan, who recently died, was memorialized as a stalwart supporter of his father's legacy. But in his home state of California, Reagan was remembered as much for his community involvement — which was at times so low-key that some didn't even realize his father was Ronald ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Wednesday that a woman was shot and killed by a Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a confrontation between federal agents and protesters in Minneapolis.

Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said ICE officers “were conducting targeted operations” when community members began ...Read more

Hours before he was snatched by U.S. Delta Force commandos and taken to New York City to face trial on charges of narco-terrorism, Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro told journalists he had “a foolproof bunker.”

Despite a U.S. armada off the coast of Venezuela, he wasn’t overly concerned about his security, which he had entrusted for ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Famed defense attorney Alan Jackson stepped down Wednesday as counsel for Nick Reiner, who is awaiting trial in the murder of his parents, beloved Hollywood couple Rob and Michele Reiner.

“We feel that we have no choice at this juncture, but to ask to be relieved,” Jackson told L.A. County Superior Court Judge Theresa ...Read more

Two Caribbean countries whose nationals have been targeted under a recent U.S. travel ban have agreed to accept asylum-seekers rejected from the United States who cannot return to their countries of origin.

The governments of Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica confirmed the development earlier this week, issuing separate statements defending a ...Read more

DETROIT — A Syrian man has pleaded guilty in federal court to fraud for using his mother's Dearborn address to collect more than $190,000 in Social Security benefits.

Samer Succar, a naturalized United States citizen who resides in Syria, entered the plea Monday in federal court in Detroit, said Jerome Gorgon, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern ...Read more