By Rachel Tashjian, CNN

(CNN) — On a frigid New Year’s Day, New York’s new democratic socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani was sworn in, with his wife, Rama Duwaji, alongside him, grabbing attention for her romantic brown frock coat, trimmed at the hem and cuffs with chocolate faux fur.

For political wives, the inauguration coat is an agenda-setter – the first statement on how someone who may or may not have aspired to be a public symbol will navigate the always-tricky, often exasperating act of using clothes to elucidate or complement her husband’s administration.

In 2009, Michelle Obama wore a chartreuse coat and matching dress by the Cuban-American designer Isabel Toledo – hardly a household name like first lady go-tos Oscar de la Renta or Ralph Lauren, and a signal that Obama would direct the inevitable attention on her wardrobe to smaller-scale American designers, often people of color and small business owners. In 2017, Melania Trump chose a powder blue cashmere Ralph Lauren sheath with a 1960s feel, perhaps a gesture of unity through a bit of Kennedy-esque glamour.

At Donald Trump’s second inauguration, her assertively tailored Adam Lippes coat and wide-brimmed Eric Javits hat told the world that this time, the first lady would attempt no such soft power – and the hat, casting a shadow over much of her face, became an enduring symbol of her evasiveness and the Trump administration’s constant obfuscation.

Duwaji is a mayor’s wife, not a president’s, but her husband’s victory has drawn international attention. At first blush, Duwaji’s outerwear suggested a by-the-book sartorial diplomacy: the coat was a custom version of a runway look – which Duwaji ordered and paid for, per an administration spokesperson – by the Palestinian-Lebanese designer Cynthia Merhej of Renaissance Renaissance. As Duwaji’s stylist, former Vogue contributing editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, explained in a Substack post, “On her first official day as First Lady of New York, Rama is wearing a small, independent woman designer from the Middle East. That representation resonates. It reverberates.”

That sort of biographical dressing is typical for women in the eye of politics: wear a garment that speaks to the historic nature of your place in government. (The public expects Democrats in particular to play this game: Kamala Harris, though she was an elected official rather than a first lady, was often criticized by fashion editors for wearing too few female designers, or for choosing the French brand Chloe over American options.) Mamdani, too, spoke to his heritage by wearing a tie by the South Asian designer Kartik Kumra, of Kartik Research, at an earlier swearing-in ceremony shortly after midnight.

For that event, Duwaji wore a vintage Balenciaga coat – rented from a fashion archive, Karefa-Johnson wrote, and a nod to her love of secondhand clothes – and a pair of boots by the British label Miista. A regular sighting on New York City subway lines, Miista boots are beloved by young women who like the freaky fabulousness but not the price point of Prada or Balenciaga. You can get a pair secondhand on Depop or The Real Real for about $200. Here, she seemed to say, she’s just a regular, young New York woman, with a love for vintage and low-practical, low-heeled shoes.

Despite that market positioning, The New York Post seized on the boots, which retail for $630, as a sign of hypocrisy. How can Mamdani, who campaigned on a platform of affordability, tell New Yorkers he relates to their financial struggles when his wife appears by his side in $630 footwear? (Karefa-Johnson noted in her post a few hours later

Por CNN en Español

Las remesas —es decir, los envíos de dinero de connacionales desde un país extranjero a su país de origen— registraron nuevamente un retroceso durante noviembre en México, con lo cual el país lleva ocho meses seguidos a la baja en esta importante fuente de ingresos para millones de familias.

En noviembre del año pasado, las remesas a México sumaron US$ 5.125 millones, una caída de 5,7 % respecto al mismo mes de 2024, según cifras del banco central mexicano publicadas este viernes.

En tanto, el monto acumulado por remesas a México fue de US$ 56.469 millones en el periodo enero-noviembre de 2025, “inferior al de US$ 59.523 millones reportado en el mismo lapso de 2024 y que implicó una disminución anual de 5,1 %”, señaló el Banco de México (Banxico) en un comunicado.

Las remesas enviadas a territorio mexicano provienen principalmente de Estados Unidos, donde miles de inmigrantes han sido objetivo de la ofensiva migratoria del Gobierno de Donald Trump.

Según expertos, la ofensiva migratoria de Trump ha generado un impacto directo al envío de las remesas.

Mientras que en países centroamericanos las remesas aumentan, en México han disminuido. Esto, en parte, también se explica por el perfil demográfico del mexicano en EE.UU, según Manuel Orozco, director del programa de Migración, Remesas y Desarrollo del Inter-American Dialogue, un grupo de investigación con sede en Washington.

“La población migrante mexicana lleva básicamente 25 años viviendo fuera. Es una comunidad más asentada, con vínculos familiares y económicos que poco a poco se debilitan con el tiempo”, señaló Orozco a CNN.

El caso de Margarita, una mujer de 80 años que habló con CNN, refleja esta realidad. Sus hijos migraron hace dos décadas o más, formaron sus propias familias en Estados Unidos y, aunque aún mantienen el lazo con México, las prioridades económicas han cambiado.

“Ya no podían seguir enviando más como otras nacionalidades”, dijo Orozco. “Los mexicanos están más familiarizados con el problema de las deportaciones, pero su capacidad de envío ya llegó a un tope. Además, muchos de sus hijos ya están en EE.UU., lo que reduce la urgencia de enviar dinero constantemente”.

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Con información de Rocío Muñoz-Ledo, de CNN, y de la agencia Reuters.

The post El envío de remesas a México cae por octavo mes consecutivo appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump was seeking to send a “strong warning” to Iran on Friday when he suggested in an early morning Truth Social post that the US would forcibly intervene if Tehran shot and killed protesters. But as of now, there have been no major changes to troop levels in the region and no direct action has been taken, officials told CNN.

“At this point it was a strong warning, no action has been taken that I’m aware of,” a White House official said.

Trump had provocatively written just before 3 a.m. on Truth Social, “If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” The post — the administration’s first official statement on the deadly protests that have broken out across several of Iran’s provinces this week — drew immediate backlash from Iranian officials, who warned that American troops in the region could be targeted if Washington were to intervene.

Though the remark appeared to suggest military action, a US official said that no major changes have been made to troop levels, nor have their been preparations in the Middle East. US Central Command declined to comment. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

The US has a variety of options to support Iranian protesters, according to officials familiar with the matter, though many stop short of full military intervention. Among them are steps previously taken by President Joe Biden’s administration during widespread protests in 2022, such as bolstering internet connectivity using satellites, which would stymie efforts by the regime to cut off access to information. It could also include new sanctions against regime figures or sectors of Iran’s economy.

And if Trump gave the order, the US could pursue more secretive actions, including cyber operations to disrupt regime activities.

The president’s Friday post drew predictably mixed reactions from Republican lawmakers. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a strong ally-turned critic of Trump who is retiring from Congress this month, said Friday that Trump “threatening war and sending in troops to Iran is everything we voted against in ‘24.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is generally more hawkish on foreign policy matters and supportive of Trump, argued that, “On the peace and standing up to evil front, President Trump is on pace to surpass the great Ronald Reagan.”

“A weakened Iran – a nation run by religious nazis – is due to President Trump’s efforts to isolate Iran economically and to use military force wisely. It is time to Make Iran Great Again,” he posted to X.

Trump’s threat comes amid rising tensions between the US and Iran following his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida earlier this week. During their meeting, the two leaders discussed the possibility of renewed military action against Tehran, months after a 12-day war between Israel and Iran ended with the US striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

Trump vowed on Monday to “knock the hell out of” Iran should the country attempt to rebuild its nuclear program.

“If it’s confirmed, they know the consequences, and the consequences will be very powerful, maybe more powerful than the last time,” Trump said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded that “any cruel aggression” toward his c

By Alisha Ebrahimji, Dianne Gallagher, CNN

(CNN) — After about a year of planning, an 18-year-old was arrested on New Year’s Eve in a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, accused by federal prosecutors and the FBI of intending to carry out a terror attack using knives and hammers that same day.

Christian Sturdivant was arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Russ Ferguson, US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced in a joint news conference with the FBI late Friday morning.

The teen was communicating online with someone he thought was a member of the violent extremist group, ISIS, Ferguson said. Instead, he was chatting with an undercover NYPD agent.

Sturdivant, a US citizen, was arrested before any such plan could commence on New Year’s Eve as he was being released from a medical facility, James C. Barnacle Jr., FBI special agent in charge, said. While the teen planned to carry out an attack that day, it was not tied to a specific New Year’s event.

Sturdivant is currently being held at Gaston County Jail on a federal hold, jail records show. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years if convicted, Ferguson said. The teen appeared in court for the first time Friday; it’s unclear if he has an attorney at this time.

This appears to be at least the second known alleged attack plot disrupted during the New Year holiday this year following a separate incident in Los Angeles, where the FBI arrested four people for allegedly working together on a bomb plot that was set to take place around the city on New Year’s Eve.

Teen plotted to ‘do Jihad soon,’ authorities said

From conversations with two undercover agents, Ferguson said it became clear Sturdivant was planning to “do Jihad soon,” clearly outlining to agents the venue for his alleged attack: a local grocery store and a fast food restaurant in Mint Hill, a Charlotte suburb more than 10 miles outside the city.

During a search warrant executed at Sturdivant’s home, FBI agents found hammers and knives hidden under his bed, handwritten notes about the alleged plot and a list of targets along with details about what he’d wear during and how he would execute it.

From what authorities described as a manifesto, titled “New Years Attack 2026,” investigators gathered Sturdivant was targeting Jews, Christians and the LGBTQ community with a goal to stab “as many civilians as possible,” authorities said.

The note also had a section headlined as “martyrdom op,” which described a plan to attack any law enforcement that responded to the attack with the intent that Sturdivant would die a martyr, the FBI said.

Ferguson called the attack “very well planned,” adding Sturdivant “was preparing for Jihad and innocent people were going to die, and we were very, very fortunate they did not.”

Known to FBI since the age of 14

The FBI first learned of Sturdivant in January 2022 when he “was in contact via social media with an unidentified ISIS member overseas,” Barnacle said.

That member, the FBI said, directed the then 14-year-old to dress in all black, knock on doors and attack people with a hammer – guidance Sturdivant followed closely before a family member stepped in.

No charges were filed at the time, Barnacle said, and Sturdivant was referred for psychological care with no access to social media, the FBI was told.

A week before Christmas, the Charlotte FBI field office learned he was back online posting pro-ISIS TikToks under a pseudonym authorities verified belonged to him and a two-week investigation into Sturdivant’s activities ensued.

* WHAT…Dangerous rip currents and breaking waves due to elevated
surf expected. Minor coastal flooding due to abnormally high
tides between 7.0 and 7.5 feet and gusty southerly winds.

* WHERE…Beaches and coasts of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa
Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties.

* WHEN…Through Monday morning.

* IMPACTS…Pooling of sea water is possible around high tide at
beach and harbor areas that is uncommon with normal tidal
ranges. Enhanced beach erosion is also possible. No
significant damage is expected. There is an increased risk of
ocean drowning. Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out
to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and
capsize small boats nearshore.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Peak high tides are expected between 7 am
and 11 am. A High Surf Advisory will likely be needed for Sunday
for the Central Coast and Ventura Coasts.
Remain out of the water due to hazardous swimming conditions, or
stay near occupied lifeguard towers. Rock jetties can be deadly
in such conditions, stay off the rocks.

The post Beach Hazards Statement issued January 2 at 12:25PM PST until January 5 at 10:00AM PST by NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA appeared first on News Channel 3-12.