14 Killed in New Orleans Terror Attack
At 3:15 A.M. New Years Eve, a man drove a truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 14 and injuring dozens more. After hitting the crowd, he exited the vehicle and began to fire on local law enforcement, who returned fire, killing the man. An ISIS flag was found in the truck, and other explosive devices were found in the area, allegedly placed by the same suspect.
He has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Houston, Texas. The suspect served in the U.S. Army as a human resource specialist and an IT specialist from 2007 to 2015 with a deployment to Afghanistan, and then served as an IT specialist in the U.S. Army Reserve until 2020. After initially reporting that Jabbar may have had accomplices, authorities now believe he acted alone.
On Sunday, the FBI announced that Jabbar had traveled to Cairo, Egypt, from June 22 until July 3 of 2023. A few days later he flew to Ontario, Canada, on July 10 and returned to the U.S. on July 13, 2023.
Security bollards on Bourbon Street designed to prevent vehicles from hitting pedestrians had been removed because they were being replaced ahead of next month’s Super Bowl. Police cars were set in their place, but Jabbar drove around them. According to the The New York Times, “New Orleans first installed its metal security barriers along Bourbon Street in 2017, after scores of people were killed in a terrorist truck attack on a Bastille Day parade in Nice, France, a year earlier. But those bollards, which are designed to block vehicles from crashing into buildings and pedestrians, were quickly jammed with Mardi Gras beads and stopped working.” In fact, they’ve known since 2019 that the security bollards don’t work. Read more about the administrative blunder that turned deadly here.
Mystery Explosion in Cybertruck
On New Year’s Day morning, a Tesla Cybertruck pulled up in front of the Las Vegas Trump International Hotel. A few minutes later, a combination of fireworks and canister bombs in the back of the truck blew up. The explosion set off an investigation that is still ongoing, with many questions unanswered. We’ll bring you more on this as more information is verified.
U.S. Treasury Allegedly Hacked by China
According to a letter from lawmakers, hackers stole a vendor's cloud service key, breaching Treasury workstations and accessing unclassified documents via remote technical support systems.
The Treasury and FBI have declined to comment, and China has denied involvement. This comes after a previously reported major hacking of U.S. telecommunications by China.
Something else to know about the treasury: Back in 2023, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave President Biden an unlimited debt ceiling though January 1, 2025. Technically this is called “suspending the debt ceiling”, and the bill was named the “Fiscal Responsibility Act”. This decision angered conservative House Republicans and led to Matt Gaetz’s successful effort to oust McCarthy from the Speakership role. President Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have reduced Treasury cash levels to a minimum instead of topping up the cash before the deadline, putting Trump in a difficult position with any of his policy agenda that would need discretionary funding.
Carter Passes Away
Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, passed away on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100. President Biden said that the U.S. and the world had lost “an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian.” The White House flag flew at half-staff. Donald Trump hailed Carter for doing “everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”
Other News
Mike Johnson re-elected as House Speaker. It wasn't devoid of drama. Three House Republicans—Thomas Massie, Ralph Norman, and Keith Self—initially voted against Johnson, who could only afford to lose one of his party mates. But the round didn't formally close, and after huddling with Johnson—and speaking with Trump himself—Norman and Self flipped their votes, handing Johnson the gavel and ensuring that Trump's transition can proceed smoothly.
Judge in Trump's hush money case expected to sentence him to “unconditional discharge”: just 10 days before inauguration. Unconditional discharge means he won’t do prison time or pay fines or penalties. Trump’s team is fighting it, though, because under the presidential immunity doctrine, they feel the case shouldn’t be brought at all.
Jeju Air Flight Disaster: In the most deadly airline accident in a long time, a Jeju Air flight from Bangkok crashed while attempting to land at Muan International Airport in South Korea on December 29, 2024. The Boeing 737-800 involved in the incident was carrying 175 passengers and six crew members. The plane issued a mayday alert due to a reported bird strike, attempted a go-around, and then made a second landing attempt without deploying its landing gear. It skidded off the runway, collided with a concrete structure, and burst into flames, resulting in 179 fatalities with only two crew members surviving.
Do you remember? Five years ago this week, a “pneumonia of unknown cause” with a total of 44 cases — later known as COVID-19 — was first reported in China. The virus changed the world in ways no one could have predicted.
McLennan County no longer requires vehicle inspections. An inspection was previously required for vehicle registration, but a new law took effect on January 1, 2025, ending annual vehicle inspection mandates for cars in most counties in Texas except for larger population centers.
