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By Gloria Pazmino, CNN

(CNN) — Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist who campaigned on a promise to tackle the affordability crisis in one of America’s most expensive cities, was sworn in as New York City’s 112th mayor early Thursday.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old immigrant from Uganda, makes history as the city’s first Muslim mayor, first South Asian mayor and the youngest mayor to hold the high-profile office in more than a century.

“This is truly the honor and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said moments after being sworn in.

The former state assemblyman from Queens captured the world’s attention and stunned the political establishment with his win in the Democratic primary last summer, running a campaign focused on affordability: He promised to create a universal childcare program, freeze the rent for roughly two million rent-stabilized tenants and make city buses “fast and free.”

Mamdani was sworn just after midnight during a private ceremony alongside his wife, artist Rama Duwaji. His parents, filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University, were also in attendance.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who Mamdani has described as a “political inspiration,” administered the oath of office.

The setting was symbolic. Mamdani was sworn in on the platform of the old City Hall subway station underneath City Hall Park in Manhattan – an architectural marvel where tiled, arched ceilings, colored glass skylights and brass chandeliers have laid dormant since the station was shuttered in 1945.

The location, which is closed to the public except for the occasional guided tour, is one of New York’s 28 original subway stations that opened in 1904, ushering in a new dawn of innovation and growth in New York City.

Following his swearing in, Mamdani spoke about the significance of the setting, calling it “a testament to the importance of public transit to the vitality, the health and the legacy of our city.”

He also announced Michael Flynn, a longtime city planner, as the city’s next Department of Transportation Commissioner.

Mamdani has made public transportation a central focus of his agenda. In addition to proposing to make city buses free, he has said his administration would expand the city’s bicycle lane network and optimize streets for pedestrians.

A public ceremony will be held at City Hall Plaza on Thursday afternoon. At least 4,000 people are expected to attend, including high-profile leaders of the progressive movement: Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will introduce Mamdani, and the public oath of office will be administered by independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

By Laura Sharman, Yumi Asada, CNN

(CNN) — Japan’s prime minister has joined more than 50 of her fellow female legislators to push for more ladies’ toilets in parliament, saying recent increases in women’s representation have led to long queues for the bathroom.

Just two cubicles currently serve 73 female members at Tokyo’s male-dominated House of Representatives, according to a petition filed by female members of parliament on December 12.

The country’s first female leader Sanae Takaichi, elected last year, is among 58 lawmakers to back the request, which has garnered support from members across seven parties and independent groups, according to the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.

“Before the main assembly session, a truly large number of female lawmakers line up in front of the women’s restroom,” female CDP member Yasuko Komiyama said.

Japan is a culturally conservative country, where both politics and workplaces have long been dominated by older men. It also maintained its low position on the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Gender Gap Index, ranking 118th out of 148 countries.

Last year saw the historic election of Takaichi, and a rise in female lawmakers to 73. Women still hold just under 16 percent of seats, in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet, according to IPU Parline.

The undersupply of toilets is “a critical issue that could potentially impact the conduct of proceedings and the performance of duties,” the cross-party petition read.

In a Facebook post, Komiyama said the issue impacts not only female lawmakers, but also female staff and a growing number of women journalists.

Female opposition MP Tomoe Ishii added in an Instagram post that the shortage has “long been an issue.”

“There is a prevailing reluctance to raise the issue of adding more women’s restrooms in workplaces and schools within society,” she added.

The National Diet building, in Tokyo, predates women’s suffrage in the country.

Completed in 1936, it stood for almost a decade before women gained the right to vote in 1945, followed by the election of the first female MP a year later.

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By John Liu, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump has delayed new tariff increases on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and vanities for a year to 2027, according to a White House statement.

The American president signed a proclamation hours before the end of 2025, postponing the tariffs hikes on these items, which were originally due to take effect on January 1, 2026.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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LA CONCHITA, Calif. (KEYT) La Conchita residents are keeping a close eye on rain totals.

La Conchita has had 7 inches of rain in the past two weeks.

Forecasters said there is the potential to exceed the historical landslide trigger of eight inches in 14 days.

The community between Ventura and Carpinteria still has constant reminders of the slides in 1995 and 2005.

One fenced off area with a flag pole marks the hillside where members of the Wallet family died.

Residents are encouraged to seek shelter elsewhere during the downpour.

Homeowner Steve Reisman plans to play it safe.

"I knew what was getting into when I bought into the area about three years ago but I am really not that concerned there are a lot of circumstances before such as the farmer over irrigating and I think the hillside that was loose already came down with enough rain though anything can happen but for the most part when the levels get high enough  we start to vacate and I'm going to be heading to Woodland Hills in about an hour or so for the weekend,"said Reisman.

He is far from alone.

Many of the people who live in La Conchita have left for the holiday.

La Conchita is consider a hazard zone.

Reisman said he can not buy insurance.

Rain is expected on and off until Tuesday.

The post La Conchita rain totals raise concerns appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

MONTECITO, Calif. (KEYT)  Montecito Community Connect on social media helped return something special to a Montecito mudslide survivor and author .

"Just the other day I happened to be on Facebook and I was scanning through and I saw a post from Montecito Connect, and that was set up after the mudslide for people to post things that they found in the mud so they could get returned to their rightful owner, and It is 8 years later and I happened to be in my own Facebook and somehow someway that link came up to my feed and I saw that a nice woman in Carpinteria was posting that she had found, after the heavy rains on the beach, a piece of a ceramic Christmas tree and she thought it could have come from the heavy rains that unearthed things from the debris flow and that very well could be the case," said Kim Cantin.

The January 9, 2018 debris flow following the Thomas Fire swept away Kim Cantin's beloved husband Dave and their 17-year-old son Jack.

First responders rescued Kim and her daughter Lauren. 

Candi Kelsey Burquez had a feeling what she found would mean something so someone impacted by what happened.

"I know my late husband had a treasured ceramic tree with lights that he got from his Pepe, his grandfather, and every Christmas he would take it out and it is just amazing that it came right on the heals of Christmas that I got something from Christmas and it is just a week before the 8 year anniversary, so I think it may be a little bit of my guy saying Merry Christmas, " said Cantin.

An understated memorial next to the Montecito Inn honors the 23 lives lost.

People walking by may not realize it has stones surrounding a planter in memory of each one.

"I am so  grateful for the continued compassion for this community that someone was thoughtful enough to think that it could be someone's from the mudslides, the thing that they found and took the time to post it, so the compassion of this community continues to amaze me and I am so grateful for it." said Cantin.

Cantin's courage and resolve is part of story that inspired her to write the book entitled, "Where Yellow Flowers Bloom: A True Story of Hope Through Unimaginable Loss."

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