Friday Briefing: F.B.I. said the New Orleans attacker acted alone

January 3, 2025

	By Justin Porter

Good morning. We’re covering the investigation of the New Orleans truck attack and deadlocked talks on a Gaza cease-fire.

Plus, eat better in 2025.

SWAT team members, all holding rifles, stand in front of a large stadium.

Increased security at a football stadium in New Orleans yesterday. Edmund D. Fountain for The New York Times

The New Orleans attacker acted alone, the F.B.I. said

Investigators said yesterday that the U.S. Army veteran who plowed a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans acted alone. They had said earlier in their investigation that they were looking into whether other people might have helped him plant explosives in coolers in the city’s French Quarter.

“We’re confident, at this point, that there are no accomplices,” Christopher Raia of the F.B.I.’s counterterrorism division said at a news conference. The authorities conducted hundreds of interviews and reviews of the attacker’s calls, social media accounts and electronic devices.

At least 14 people were killed in the attack on Wednesday and dozens were wounded. Here’s what we know about them.

The attacker: Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, who died in a gunfight with police, served eight years in the U.S. military and was deployed to Afghanistan. Jabbar, who grew up in Texas, said in a video posted online that he had joined the Islamic State group. “He was 100 percent inspired by ISIS,” Raia said. Here’s what we know about him.

Tight security: Bourbon Street reopened and there was an increased police presence around the venue of the Sugar Bowl, a college football game that was expected to draw a huge crowd. The event had been postponed from Wednesday because of the attack.

A link to another attack? The F.B.I. has found no definitive link between the New Orleans attack and the explosion of a Tesla truck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas, but investigators are not ruling anything out. The driver shot himself in the head just before the truck exploded.

People leaning over a grid of candles on the ground in a city square near a brightly lit building at nighttime.

A gathering in Tel Aviv on Wednesday by Israelis calling for action to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Negotiations on a cease-fire for Gaza have stalled

Hamas officials were in Cairo yesterday to meet with Egyptian officials about ways to overcome the impasse in talks on a cease-fire deal in Gaza. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear increasingly deadlocked.

President Biden is set to leave office on Jan. 20, making it increasingly likely that his term will end before an agreement is reached.

Israel’s military campaign has continued. Yesterday, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed Mahmoud Salah, the leader of Gaza’s police force, and Hussam Shahwan, a top aide, according to the Hamas-run government media office. The Israeli military claimed responsibility for killing Shahwan but did not comment on Salah’s death.

Aid: Israel is moving to ban UNRWA, the U.N. agency that has been the backbone of aid to Gaza, over accusations that it shielded Hamas militants. U.N. officials are preparing to shutter UNRWA’s operations as experts warn of a famine threatening parts of the territory.

Two men standing near a metal ring in an area cordoned off by yellow tape.

The metal ring fell on the village of Mukuku, Kenya, on Monday. Citizen TV, via Reuters

A piece of space junk fell on a village in Kenya

Joseph Mutua said he was looking after a cow this week when he heard a loud bang. Then a glowing ring of metal weighing nearly half a ton fell out of the sky and landed on his tiny village, southeast of Nairobi. No people, or cows, were hurt.

The object turned out to be from space — junk left over from six decades of space exploration and a growing number of commercial launches. The Kenya Space Agency identified the object as a separation ring from a launch rocket. The ring’s origin and ownership were under investigation.

MORE TOP NEWS

Speaker Mike Johnson speaking into a microphone.

Speaker Mike Johnson at the Capitol. Pete Kiehart for The New York Times

U.S.: The House of Representatives is expected to vote today on whether to re-elect Speaker Mike Johnson, who faces some resistance from Republicans.

Business: Tesla’s annual sales fell in 2024 for the first time as the market for electric vehicles becomes more competitive.
Middle East: The Palestinian Authority said that it would temporarily bar the broadcaster Al Jazeera, accusing it of “interfering in internal Palestinian affairs.”
New York: A string of attacks in the city’s subway has riders devising their own strategies to stay safe.
Russia: Are sanctions against Moscow working? The answer is hotly debated as Donald Trump prepares to take office.

China: The government hit dozens of U.S. companies, including Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, with punitive trade measures.
Hawaii: Fireworks during New Year’s celebrations in Honolulu set off explosions that killed at least three people and injured more than two dozen others.

Sports

Soccer: Aston Villa is in talks to sign the Borussia Dortmund forward Donyell Malen.
Boxing: The Queensberry promoter Frank Warren opened legal proceedings against Chris Eubank Jr. for defamation.

Golf: A German proverb provided inspiration for Xander Schauffele during his career-defining year.

MORNING READ

A crowd of mourners at a gravesite. Tall cypress trees are in the background.

Mourners for three young people killed in a fireworks factory near Naples in November. Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times

Naples has become an Instagram sensation for travelers, actors and models. But there is another Naples — one that has no mercy for its young, poor residents.

Young Neapolitans take dangerous, low-paying jobs or have to leave the city to find work. Gun violence is flaring, and kids are dropping out of school in record numbers.

Lives lived: Agnes Keleti, the world’s oldest Olympic champion, died at 103.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Josefina Santos for The New York Times

A big shift: Zoe Saldaña has starred in Hollywood blockbusters, but had yet to be seen for all that she can do. Then came “Emilia Pérez.”
Two decades of travel: Our annual “Places to Go” list debuted in 2005. It has changed a lot in the last 20 years.
London’s rowdiest party: The beer flows freely at the World Darts Championship. But for fans, the competition is serious.

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

HEALTH

An illustration of a city scene with buildings made of American grocery store items.

Andrew B. Myers

Five days to help you eat better

Ultraprocessed foods are commonly defined as any foods made with artificial flavors and dyes. Scientists have linked them to health issues like heart disease, diabetes, anxiety and depression. If you’re interested in figuring out what’s in them, and how to cut back on them, my colleagues on the Well desk can help.

Starting Monday, they are kicking off a week of evidence-based tips to better understand ultraprocessed foods. Don’t worry. This isn’t some drastic overhaul of your diet. You can sign up for the five-day challenge here.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Rachel Vanni for The New York Times

Bake: To nail the pretty look of this tart, use small apples and make very thin slices.

Read: “Embers of the Hands” looks beyond the soap-opera sagas of the Vikings.

Watch: In “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl,” the inventor-beagle team discovers the joys and dangers of technology.

Travel: These nine art shows opening in Europe this year may well be worth the journey.

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

That’s it for today. Have a good weekend, and I’ll see you Monday. — Justin

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