Good morning.
Terror struck the busy French Quarter of New Orleans at about 3.15am on New Year’s Day, as a vehicle flying an Islamic State (IS) flag was driven into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street – killing at least 15 and injuring 30.
President Joe Biden said the FBI found the suspect “posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by [IS], expressing a desire to kill”.
The FBI said Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a Ford pickup truck into a crowd of revelers, then got out and fired bullets at police – injuring two – before they shot and killed him.
At least two improvised explosive devices were planted nearby but did not detonate, according to law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation.
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What do we know about the suspect? The 42-year-old Texas man accused of the crime, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, is a US citizen and served in the US army for 13 years, including a deployment to Afghanistan from 2009-10. Law enforcement officials said they were looking for accomplices, suspecting Jabbar did not act alone.
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Who are the victims that have been identified so far? Local media identified the first known fatalities as Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18, who had traveled to New Orleans from nearby Gulfport, Mississippi, with a cousin and a friend; Reggie Hunter, a 37-year-old father of two from Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Tiger Bech, 27, a former footballer from Lafayette, Louisiana; and Nicole Perez, 28, a mother and delicatessen manager from Metairie, Louisiana.
One dead after Tesla Cybertruck explodes outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas
One person died and seven others were injured after a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks and gas canisters exploded outside Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel on Wednesday, with officials saying they were investigating potential motives for the incident.
Las Vegas police said one person died inside the pickup truck, which also contained camp fuel canisters, while seven people nearby suffered minor injuries.
“Our number one goal is to ensure that we have the proper identification of the subject involved in this incident,” said Jeremy Schwartz, the acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas office. “Following that, our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not.”
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Is there a connection with the New Orleans attack? Right now, we don’t know. Joe Biden said law enforcement was investigating whether there were any links.
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What do we know? Video captured at Tesla charging stations, provided by Elon Musk, showed the vehicle arriving in Las Vegas at about 7.30am, then being driven about an hour later into the valet area of the hotel, where it sat for 15 to 20 seconds before the explosion.
At least 10 reported killed by Israeli strike on al-Mawasi ‘safe zone’
An Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 Palestinian people in a tent encampment sheltering displaced families in the southern Gaza Strip early on Thursday, Reuters reported, citing medics.
The director general of Gaza’s police department, Mahmoud Salah, and his aide, Hussam Shahwan, were killed in the airstrike, Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV reported. Fifteen Palestinians were reported wounded.
Israel has not commented directly on the strike, which followed attacks that killed at least 12 people on New Year’s Day.
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What is the humanitarian impact of Israel’s assault on Gaza? During Israel’s invasion, after Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostage on 7 October 2023, more than 45,000 people have died in Gaza, infrastructure and housing have been decimated, almost the entire population has been displaced – often several times – and there has been malnutrition and famine. Thousands more people are believed to be buried under rubble.
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What impact is cold weather having? Hundreds of thousands live in tents as winter brings frequent rainstorms and temperatures drop below 50F at night. At least six infants and another person have died of hypothermia, according to the health ministry.
In other news …
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Police in South Korea raided Muan international airport, the scene of Sunday’s plane crash that killed 179 people, as well as the office of the flight’s airline.
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Twenty people are missing after falling into the sea amid rough weather about 20 miles off the Libyan coast, survivors said.
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Russian gas has stopped flowing to Europe via Ukraine, ending a major energy route that goes back to Soviet times.
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Donald Trump said he was planning to attend the funeral of the former president Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday aged 100.
Stat of the day: US records 40,846 gun violence deaths in 2024
The Gun Violence Archive has recorded 40,846 gun violence deaths last year. That breaks down into 24,156 cases of suicide and 16,690 of homicide, murder and unintentional deaths. The figure for 2023 was 43,223, and 2022’s was 47,551.
Don’t miss this: How Italy’s Carabinieri cultural heritage protection squad foiled tomb raiders
The force recently uncovered a clandestine dig in mid-Naples. A cellar was turned into an excavation site, where tomb raiders dug a warren of tunnels leading about 8 metres down into ancient Naples. Investigators believe the group’s leader was a local entrepreneur.
Climate check: 2025 likely to be another year of high temperatures
The Met Office’s global forecast suggests 2025 will be one of the three warmest years on record, surpassed only by 2024 and 2023. This is despite the Pacific Ocean moving into a La Niña phase, which normally brings cooler conditions.
Last Thing: British woman who vanished 52 years ago found alive and well
A British woman, Sheila Fox, who went missing aged 16 in 1972, has been found “alive and well” after police released a grainy photograph as part of an appeal. “Within hours of the appeal, members of the public got in touch with information which led the team to her,” police said.
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