Thursday Briefing: An attack in New Orleans

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January 2, 2025

	By Justin Porter

Good morning. We’re covering a deadly attack in New Orleans and escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Plus, fitness resolutions for the new year.

Officers working the scene of a deadly attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans on Wednesday. Edmund D. Fountain for The New York Times

Ten people were killed in an attack in New Orleans

A man rammed a pickup into crowds on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, killing at least 10 people and injuring about 35 others before being killed by the police, officials said. The F.B.I. is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism. Follow our live updates.

The suspect has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran from Texas. An Islamic State flag, weapons and a “potential” improvised explosive were found in the vehicle, the F.B.I. said, and other potential bombs were also found in the French Quarter. Investigators said they were seeking possible connections between him and terrorist organizations.

The combination of a truck used as a weapon, along with the bomb, led investigators to believe that the perpetrator’s goal was to cause additional civilian casualties.

How it unfolded: Around 3:15 a.m., as crowds were raucously celebrating the end of 2024 in the city’s historic French Quarter, a man drove a truck at high speed into the crowd before crashing and opening fire, officials said. Jabbar died in a shootout with the police. Two officers were shot and are in stable condition.

Four-wheeled weapons: Vehicle-based attacks against crowds have a long history. Cars and trucks are easier to get ahold of than guns or explosives and require minimal training.

A gas metering station in Sudzha, Russia, in August. Efrem Lukatsky/Associated Press

Ukraine halted the flow of Russian natural gas to Europe

Ukraine yesterday refused to renew an agreement that allowed Russian gas to travel through its territory to Europe, according to officials in both countries.

The move is part of a broader campaign by Ukraine and its Western allies to undermine Moscow’s ability to fund its war effort, but there are risks. Moscow could decide to bomb Ukraine’s vast network of pipelines in retaliation, which it has largely spared over the past three years.

Details: Europe was prepared for the move, so analysts expect there to be little effect on gas prices there. Hungary, Austria and several Balkan countries still use Russian gas delivered through Ukraine, but experts say existing stockpiles and alternative supplies should prevent cuts to electricity and heating in those countries. Slovakia, which is still heavily dependent on Russian gas, threatened to retaliate against Ukraine.

A Pakistani soldier at the border with Afghanistan on Tuesday. Akhter Gulfam/EPA, via Shutterstock

Airstrikes are escalating Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions

Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan have intensified tensions with the Taliban in recent days, and violent cross-border exchanges have become alarmingly frequent.

Pakistan hasn’t said anything on record about the strikes on Dec. 24, but security officials said privately that they were aimed at the T.T.P., or Pakistani Taliban, a militant group behind a series of attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban said dozens of civilians were killed in the strikes, and that it retaliated with actions inside Pakistan.

Stakes: The T.T.P.’s attacks have put immense pressure on leaders in both countries. Pakistan must show its people that it can respond to threats, while the Taliban fear that a crackdown on the T.T.P., with which they share beliefs and deep-rooted bonds, could divide their own ranks.

Aleppo last month. David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

Sports

Alessandro Penso for The New York Times

Those who have been to Rome probably know this tradition: Stand with your back to the Trevi Fountain and toss a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder to ensure that you return to the Eternal City. But what happens to the money after that?

Meet the man whose job it is to collect millions of euros in wet change and put them to work.

Lauren DeCicca for The New York Times

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.

Jiaqi Wang

Fitness can be about more than weight loss

Getting a six pack or losing some weight are pretty common fitness goals, but they can easily tip over into harmful obsession and damage your self-image, metabolism and heath. But getting fit? That’s way more attainable — and moreover, it’s much more sustainable.

This year, try to set a goal that can actually help you maintain an exercise habit, rather than just a cosmetic outcome. For example, learn to get up off the floor without using your hands, or to do a pull-up. Get started here.

Romulo Yanes for The New York Times

Cook: The pancakes at Brooklyn’s Chez Ma Tante are no ordinary flapjacks. Here’s how to make them at home.

Watch: “The Irony of Fate” is a Soviet-era TV classic that endures even in households that are now wary of Russian culture.

Anticipate: This is what our entertainment critics are looking forward to in 2025.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Justin

We welcome your feedback. Send us your suggestions at briefing@nytimes.com.

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