By Hannah Parry
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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell reopened Bourbon Street, just one day after a truck plowed into crowds on the busy tourist spot, killing 14.
"The city of New Orleans, we're resilient," Cantrell said at a press conference Thursday. She added that safety "continues to be our top priority" but she had the "confidence" to reopen Bourbon Street ahead of the Sugar Bowl kick off.
The Georgia vs. Notre Dame game was set for Caesars Superdome on New Year's Day but it got postponed after the terror attack that killed 14 and injured dozens more.
Some have criticized the speed at which the city is getting back to business after the tragedy, with State Attorney General Liz Murrill telling NBC News Thursday was too early for the game to go on.
"I would like to see it delayed at least another day," she said. "I think that it was a wise decision to delay it at least a day. This is an active crime scene. They just finished removing some of the bodies, and they still haven't removed all of them. I still think that we need to probably wait an extra day."
The city's rapid reopening comes after the FBI found that suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar was working alone.
The FBI, which is investigating the incident as an act of terrorism, believe Jabbar, a U.S. citizen was "100% inspired by ISIS."
Newsweek's live blog is closed.
Jan 02, 2025 at 06:08 PM EST
Biden says ‘spirit of New Orleans will never, never, never be defeated’
President Joe Biden said that New Orleans would not be crushed by the terror attack that killed 14 and injured dozens more.
"New Orleans is a place like no other," he said in a public address today.
"Its history, its culture and above all its people. So I know while this person committed a terrible assault on the city, the spirit of our New Orleans will never, never, never be defeated. It always will shine forth."
Jan 02, 2025 at 05:58 PM EST
Fact Check: Donald Trump blames ‘open borders’ for New Orleans attack
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President-elect Donald Trump shared anti-immigrant claims on social media surrounding the suspect involved in the fatal New Year's Day attack in New Orleans.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran from Texas, has been identified as the suspect. The attack claimed the lives of at least 15 people and injured at least 35.
Jabbar, reportedly by officials to have been influenced by the Islamic State group (ISIS), drove his pickup into a crowd gathered on Bourbon Street to celebrate the new year before opening fire. Authorities responded swiftly and Jabbar was fatally shot by police.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump-Vance transition team for comment via email Thursday afternoon.
Read in full from Dan Gooding and Billal Rahman on Newsweek.
Jan 02, 2025 at 05:55 PM EST
Biden says suspect had remote detonator to set off explosives in French Quarter
President Joe Biden said Thursday that Shamsud-Din Jabbar had planted explosives in ice coolers at two locations in New Orelans' French Quarter, hours before he rammed into the crowd with his vehicle.
"They assessed he had a remote detonator in his vehicle to set off those two ice chests," he said.
Investigators initially believed Jabbar had accomplices who set up the bombs, but footage has since shown that he had set the devices himself.
"The FBI briefed me that as of now, we have no information that anyone else was involved in the attack," Biden said.
Jan 02, 2025 at 05:39 PM EST
Moment of silence held at Sugar Bowl in New Orleans
A moment of silence was held to honor the victims of the New Orleans attack before the Sugar Bowl kick off on Thursday.
The National Anthem followed the moment of silence.
Jan 02, 2025 at 05:34 PM EST
OPINION: Why we haven’t seen the last of Islamic State
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An Islamic State (ISIS) inspired terrorist conducted a vehicle ramming attack in the early hours of New Year's Day in New Orleans, killing 15 and leaving dozens more injured. The attacker, a 42-year-old American citizen and former U.S. Army member, recorded a video pledging his allegiance to ISIS and also had an ISIS flag attached to the truck he used in the deadly rampage, the most lethal jihadist attack on U.S. soil since the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.
The alleged perpetrator, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was the latest U.S. military veteran to be implicated in a terrorist plot. In November, a 24-year-old Ohio man and U.S. Army private first class was sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State.
The tactic of vehicle ramming is also straight from the Islamic State's playbook, a style of attack the group has used before on multiple occasions to kill hundreds of people during attacks in Nice, France; Berlin; New York City; Stockholm; London; and Barcelona, Spain, to name just a few. The simplicity of vehicle ramming, which allows for widespread adaptability, along with easy access to vehicles makes these attacks difficult to prevent and detect.
Read in full from Gabriella Tejeda and Colin P. Clarke on Newsweek.
Jan 02, 2025 at 05:25 PM EST
The New Orleans attack victims: Hubert Gauthreaux
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Hubert Gauthreaux, 21, was confirmed dead by the Archbishop Shaw High School. Gauthreaux graduated in 2021.
Gauthreaux's family had initially reported him missing. They later confirmed his death on social media. He was found at a local hospital, where he died due to his injuries.
Jan 02, 2025 at 05:10 PM EST
The New Orleans attack victims: Drew Dauphin
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Auburn University graduate Drew Dauphin was another victim, as confirmed by the university's president, Christopher Roberts. Dauphin graduated from Auburn in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in industrial and systems engineering, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Following graduation, Dauphin worked as a supplier process engineer at the American Honda Motor Company in Alabama.
Jan 02, 2025 at 05:01 PM EST
The New Orleans attack victims: Matthew Tenedorio
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Matthew Tenedorio, 25, was confirmed as another person who died in the attacks by his parents to ABC News.
Tenedorio was a Long Island native. He worked as a fiber optics and video professional at the Superdome and Smoothie King Center, the two biggest sports venues in New Orleans.
His mother, Cathy, said her son was the "life of the room." Cathy and her husband Louis had last seen Tenedorio at dinner earlier on New Year's Eve. He was on Bourbon Street celebrating the new year with his friends.
Jan 02, 2025 at 04:51 PM EST
The New Orleans attack victims: Tiger Bech
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Tiger Bech, 27, was also killed in the attack. He was taken to a New Orleans hospital, where he died late Wednesday morning, according to Kim Broussard, the athletic director at St. Thomas More Catholic High School, as reported by Baton Rouge news station WAFB.
She told Nola.com that Bech had suffered internal bleeding.
Bech, who is from Lafayette, Louisiana, graduated from Princeton in 2021 with a degree in finance and was working in New York as a stockbroker.
While at Princeton, Bech was an All-Ivy League kick returner from 2016 to 2018. He had recorded 53 catches for 825 yards and three touchdowns during his time with the Tigers.
Jan 02, 2025 at 04:42 PM EST
The New Orleans attack victims: Nicole Perez
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Nicole Perez, who was in her late 20s, was a single mother to a 4-year-old son named Melo. She was a manager at Kimmy's Deli in Metairie, Louisiana.
Kimberly Usher, the owner of the deli, has set up a GoFundMe for Perez, who she called "my friend and my manager of our store." She confirmed Perez's death through her sister, who also works for Usher, according to the Associated Press.
Jan 02, 2025 at 04:37 PM EST
The New Orleans attack victims: Nikyra Dedeaux
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Nikyra "Cheyenne" Dedeaux, 18, had traveled to New Orleans from Gulfport, Mississippi, with her cousin and a friend for the New Year's celebrations on Bourbon Street.
Her mother, Melissa Dedeaux, who confirmed the teenager's death to Nola.com, said Dedeaux wasn't supposed to be in New Orleans. Dedeaux sneaked to her cousin's home for the excursion. The three and Dedeaux's friend Zion Parsons were leaving Voodoo Chicken & Daquiris on Bourbon Street when the suspect's vehicle suddenly appeared, Parsons told the Associated Press.
Dedeaux graduated from Harrison Central High School in Gulfport in 2024. She was set to begin a nursing program at Blue Cliff College in two weeks. Parsons and Dedeaux's mother both told news outlets that Dedeaux was a positive person who was "never down or grumpy."
Jan 02, 2025 at 04:29 PM EST
The New Orleans attack victims: Kareem Badawi
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Kareem Badawi, a freshman at the University of Alabama, was among those killed, according to a Facebook post from his father. Badawi had pledged to join the Sigma Chi fraternity.
Badawai was a Baton Rouge native. He had graduated from Episcopal High School. A scheduled prayer vigil will honor Badawi and another 2024 graduate, Parker Vidrine, who was critically injured in the attack.
Jan 02, 2025 at 04:22 PM EST
The New Orleans attack victims: Reggie Hunter
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Reggie Hunter, 37, had just left work and was heading to his cousin's home when the attack happened, his first cousin Shirell Jackson told Nola.com. Hunter was killed, and his cousin was injured, according to Jackson.
Hunter, a father of two, was born in California and lived in Baton Rouge. He worked as a warehouse manager. Jackson said Hunter was close to his family and loved fashion and working out.
Jan 02, 2025 at 04:11 PM EST
Trump blames ‘open borders’ for terrorism in the U.S. after New Orleans attack
President-elect Donald Trump has claimed that President Joe Biden's border and immigration policies are to blame for violent crime and terrorism in the U.S.
Trump, who has pledged to carry out mass deportations when he returns to office, took aim at Biden after the terror attack in New Orleans and Cybertruck explosion outside one of his Las Vegas hotels.
"With the Biden 'Open Border's Policy' I said, many times during Rallies, and elsewhere, that Radical Islamic Terrorism, and other forms of violent crime, will become so bad in America that it will become hard to even imagine or believe," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
"That time has come, only worse than ever imagined. Joe Biden is the WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICA, A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER. What he and his group of Election Interfering "thugs" have done to our Country will not soon be forgotten! MAGA."
Jan 02, 2025 at 02:49 PM EST
Is the Islamic State terror threat growing again?
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The shocking New Year's Day attack in New Orleans took a grimly familiar turn when it emerged that the FBI had discovered videos made by suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar in which he declared his support for the terrorist group Islamic State.
The FBI also found an Islamic State flag at the scene of the attack. Jabbar rammed his pickup truck into a crowd of people celebrating the new year in Bourbon Street killing at least 15 and injuring many more before firing a gun at police. Jabbar was shot dead.
Does the New Orleans attack show that the Islamic State terror threat is growing again? Newsweek put the question to experts. Here's what they told us.
Bruce Hoffman, Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, Council on Foreign Relations; President, The Hoffman GroupCT
Yes. Since the Assad dictatorship was overthrown last month, the U.S. military has stepped up its air strikes on ISIS targets in that country because of an alarming increase in ISIS operations there.
Read in full from Shane Croucher on Newsweek.
Jan 02, 2025 at 02:34 PM EST
Religious leaders walk down Bourbon Street prior to reopening
A group of religious leaders walked down Bourbon Street on Thursday afternoon ahead of the street's reopening.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrellhad announced the tourist hotspot would reopen ahead of today's Sugar Bowl.
LaToya joined the religious leaders and a band who walked down the street, placing 14 roses and conducting a prayer to honor the victims, New Orleans police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.
Jan 02, 2025 at 02:21 PM EST
Louisiana Governor to attend Sugar Bowl
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has said he will attend the Sugar Bowl, a college football game played in New Orleans, on Thursday despite the vehicular attack that occurred in the city on New Year's Day and concerns from the state's attorney general.
There is debate among Louisiana officials as to whether the game should be postponed further as the FBI investigates the incident.
"The decision that was made to postpone the game was not done lightly," Louisiana Representative Troy Carter, whose district includes New Orleans, said in a news conference. "It was done with one single thing in mind: public safety."
Read in full from Monica Sager on Newsweek.
Jan 02, 2025 at 02:02 PM EST
Fact Check: Did New Orleans terror suspect donate to democrats?
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspect named in the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans, which killed 15 people and injured 30 more, is said to have made donations to the Democratic Party, among reports scrutinizing his background.
The FBI is investigating the fatal attack in New Orleans as an act of terrorism. While a motive has not yet been revealed, videos have emerged that provide some insight into suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar's potential motivation and thinking.
Police said Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck around a police blockade and into revelers gathered on Bourbon Street to celebrate the new year in the early hours of January 1. At least 15 people were killed, and about 30 others were injured. Jabbar was killed by police.
Among the commentary surrounding Jabbar's profile and background, multiple posts appeared on social media stating he had given money to fundraisers working for the Democrats.
Read in full from Tom Norton on Newsweek.
Jan 02, 2025 at 01:51 PM EST
Mayor Reopens Bourbon Street Before Sugar Bowl
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has reopened Bourbon Street ahead of the Sugar Bowl kick off.
Cantrell announced the decision after the FBI found that terror suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar was working alone.
"The city of New Orleans, we're resilient," Cantrell said at a press conference Thursday.
Jan 02, 2025 at 01:32 PM EST
Homeland Security warned over threat of vehicle ramming attacks last month
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned about the threat of vehicle ramming attacks last month after the deadly German Christmas market attack, CNN reports.
A joint bulletin from the DHS, FBI, and the National Counterterrorism Center was issued to law enforcement across the country, to highlight potential threats.
It warned that individuals acting alone posed the greatest threat to "soft targets" in the U.S. during the holidays.
"Lone offenders have historically used simple tactics, such as edged weapons, firearms, or vehicle ramming, due to their ease of access, ability to inflict mass casualties, and lack of required training," the bulletin read.
Jan 02, 2025 at 12:57 PM EST
Could FBI have prevented New Orleans terror attack?
Details are still emerging about the life of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the Islamic State-inspired suspect in the New Orleans terror attack that killed at least 15 people and injured dozens more in the early hours of New Year's Day.
The FBI is probing how Jabbar was radicalized and if more people were involved in organizing the attack. Jabbar reportedly recorded videos while driving from his home in Texas to New Orleans in which he talked about joining the Islamic State.
A question observers are asking in the aftermath is: Could the FBI have prevented the New Orleans attack? Newsweek asked experts for their views. Here's what they told us.
Read in full from Shane Croucher on Newsweek.
Jan 02, 2025 at 12:44 PM EST
New Orleans suspect was ‘100% inspired by ISIS’
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Shamsud-Din Jabbar was "100% inspired by ISIS ," the FBI said at Thursday's press conference.
"So what I can tell you right now is that he was 100% inspired by ISIS. And so we're digging, we're digging through more of the social media, more interviews, working with some of our other partners to-to ascertain just how to ascertain a little bit more about that connection," said Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the bureau's Counterterrorism Division.
The FBI said that Jabbar, 42, had said he'd joined ISIS before the summer this year.
The agency plans to now investigate his "path to radicalization."
Jan 02, 2025 at 12:33 PM EST
FBI confirms 14 people killed by truck attack
The FBI confirmed today that 14 people had been killed when a truck crashed into crowds in New Orleans.
The suspect was also shot dead at the scene.
The New Orleans coroner had previously announced a death toll of 15 but it was unclear if that had included the driver or just his victims.
Jan 02, 2025 at 12:29 PM EST
‘To protect our citizens in America from evil, you have to crush it,’ says governor
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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry warned "you have to crush" evil to protect Americans.
"I think it's important for people to understand that to protect our citizens in America from evil, you have to crush it," he said at a Thursday news conference.
"You can't go out there and placate it (evil). You can't go out there and say, 'Oh, I'm going to put this in place and that in place and hope that evil doesn't show up on your doorstep.' Because it will. You have to crush it. And that's what we're going to do here," Landry said.
Jan 02, 2025 at 12:23 PM EST
Governor says New Orleans is ‘one of safest places on Earth’ after attack
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry insisted that New Orleans was "one of safest places on Earth" after the attack that killed 15 and injured dozens.
"This type of event can happen in any city, and that's the tragedy of it," Gov. Landry said at a press conference today.
"Right now, this is one of the safest places on earth. That doesn't mean that nothing can't happen."
Gov. Landry added that New Orleans could not live in fear, and would instead get back to business, starting with the Sugar Bowl.
"It would be a tragedy if we let (the victims') losses be snuffed out because of fear.
"This city will be open to family and friends and loved ones who want some time to relax from the pressures of life.
"Today, we're going to have us a Sugar Bowl, we're going to enjoy ourselves, we're going to keep those who have lost loved ones in mind, and get into the business of this city and this great country."
Jan 02, 2025 at 12:01 PM EST
‘No definitive link’ between New Orleans attack and Trump hotel blast, FBI says
The FBI said today that there was "no definitive link" between the New Orleans terror attack and the Cybertruck explosion outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.
Jan 02, 2025 at 11:58 AM EST
New Orleans suspect shared his will and testament before terror attack
New Orleans attack suspect Jabbar shared his will and testament before he carried out the terror attack in the busy Bourbon Street area on New Year's Eve.
He posted the will as well as several videos expressing support for ISIS earlier on New Year's Eve.
Jan 02, 2025 at 11:56 AM EST
Jabbar wanted media to focus on ‘war between believers and disbelievers’
Shamsud-Din Jabbar was originally planning on harming his friends and family, the FBI said at a press conference today.
However, he decided against it because he feared the media would not focus on the "war between the believers and the disbelievers."
Jan 02, 2025 at 11:52 AM EST
Jabbar said he joined ISIS and posted videos proclaiming support for terror group
New Orleans attack suspect Shamsud-Din Jabbar claimed he joined ISIS before the summer.
Videos, that he posted on the New Year's Eve, showed him proclaiming support for the terrorist group.
The truck was flying an ISIS flag when he plowed into the crowds.
Jan 02, 2025 at 11:48 AM EST
Louisiana Governor explains why he declared a State of Emergency
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry told reporters today that he had issued a State of Emergency in the wake of the terror attack in New Orleans.
He said that the declaration was meant to "streamline resources and communications between state, local and federal partners."
Jan 02, 2025 at 11:44 AM EST
Orleans Parish compares attack to 9/11
Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said that Americans are going to see big changes in their way of life, comparable to those after 9/11.
"You're going to see everything change about large-scale events," Williams said.
"It's almost like just after 9/11... Everything changed after 9/11. I think you're going to see everything change about large-scale events," Williams told CNN
"We're going to do everything we can to make sure that the public is safe, that our visitors are safe, and that this event (the Sugar Bowl) that is important to Americans goes off safely."
Jan 02, 2025 at 11:38 AM EST
More than 1,000 agents are sifting through data after attack
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said that more than 1,000 law enforcement agents and officers are sifting through data since the attack on Wednesday.
"From yesterday to today, over a thousand law enforcement agents and officers, men and women, have been pouring over countless amounts of data of videos of surveillances, interviews, tracking down every possible lead that came to us," he said at a press conference today.
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