National News at a Glance

Recreational Pot is Officially Legal in California

Retail cannabis shops in California opened Monday for the first time, inaugurating what proponents say will become the world’s largest market for legalized recreational marijuana. A transaction that remains illegal in many parts of the country seemed almost banal Monday for customers at a dispensary in Oakland who picked out their marijuana, showed their driver’s licenses and left with their drugs. Medical marijuana has been legal in California for more than two decades but the arrival of full legalization in the state is a milestone. Pot is now sold legally down the entire length of the West Coast, plus Alaska.

In Chilly Start to 2nd Term, Mayor Looks Beyond New York

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio took the oath of office Monday, a frigid New Year’s Day, to begin his second and last term, with broad promises for building a fairer city and with his sights fixed beyond the five boroughs. He was sworn in by populist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in an outdoor ceremony truncated because of the cold. The temperature was in the teens, under a blue sky, with a sharp wind that picked up once the mayor began speaking. De Blasio, 56, was accompanied by his wife, Chirlane McCray, and their children, Chiara and Dante.

New Jersey Teenager in Custody After 4 Are Found Shot to Death in Home

A New Jersey teenager was taken into police custody after his parents, sister and a family acquaintance were found dead inside the family’s home late Sunday, the Monmouth County prosecutor said in a statement Monday. The statement said that it “appears” that the teenager, 16, had used a semi-automatic rifle to kill his father, Steven Kologi, 44; mother, Linda Kologi, 42; sister, Brittany Kologi, 18; and an acquaintance, Mary Schultz, 70, the prosecutor, Christopher J. Gramiccioni, said. There was no immediate information about a motive, but the statement described the shooting as an isolated domestic incident.

Park or Playground? Semantics Dispute Illuminates Preservationists’ Fight

Whether an East Harlem ballpark will give way to what could be the tallest building between Midtown Manhattan and Boston may hinge on the definition of a park versus a playground. The battle is being waged over a 1.5-acre parcel of jungle gyms and baseball fields known as the Marx Brothers Playground. Preservationists say the space is a park. But city officials, who plan to partner with a developer to turn the site into a 68-story tower, insist it is a playground. Parks require the state Legislature’s and the governor’s approval before they can be modified. Playgrounds do not.

The Hunt for ‘Fire Cats’ Amid Northern California Ashes

When a firestorm swept through Sonoma County, California, dogs tended to rush to their masters. But cats ignored pleas of panicked owners and disappeared amid the chaos. Finding the missing cats has been a quest for animal lover Jennifer Petruska. Petruska has spent nearly every night since the fires tracking and trapping fire cats, as she calls them, the felines that for weeks have remained missing because of stubbornness, trauma, instinct, or a mix of all three. Catching cats is tricky in the best of circumstances, but she and her team of volunteers have caught more than 70.

The Trump Effect: Business, Anticipating Less Regulation, Loosens Purse Strings

Optimism has swept over American business leaders, and it is beginning to translate into the sort of investment in new plants, equipment and factory upgrades that bolsters economic growth and spurs job creation. While business leaders are eager for the tax cuts that take effect this year, the confidence was initially inspired by the Trump administration’s regulatory pullback. There is little historical evidence tying regulation levels to growth, regulatory proponents say. Across the business community, there is a perception that years of increased environmental, financial and other regulatory oversight by the Obama administration dampened investment and job creation.