January 1, 2025 8:22 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A U.S. Army veteran driving a pickup truck that bore the flag of the Islamic State group has wrought carnage on New Orleans’ raucous New Year’s celebration. He killed 15 people as he steered around a police blockade and slammed into revelers before being shot dead by police. The FBI says it is investigating early Wednesday’s attack as a terrorist act and does not believe the driver acted alone. President Joe Biden says the FBI found videos that the driver had posted to social media hours before the attack in which he said he was inspired by the Islamic State group and expressed a desire to kill. The FBI has identified the driver as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar. Authorities say the driver went around a police car that was positioned to block vehicular traffic and protect Bourbon Street revelers.
January 1, 2025 5:08 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans is pressing ahead with plans to reopen the city’s famed Bourbon Street as investigators keep digging into the background of the U.S. Army veteran who drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers, killing 15 people. The FBI said the attack occurred early Wednesday when 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar steered around a police blockade. It’s being investigated as a terrorist act. Investigators believe the driver was inspired by the Islamic State group. Jabbar, who was killed by police, was a U.S. citizen from Texas.
January 1, 2025 4:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — From Sydney to Mumbai to Paris to Rio de Janeiro, communities around the world are welcoming 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges. Auckland became the first major city to celebrate. Countries in the South Pacific Ocean were the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball dropped in Times Square in New York. Conflict muted acknowledgements of 2025 in places like the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine. American Samoa will be among the last to welcome the New Year, a full 24 hours after New Zealand.
January 1, 2025 4:12 am
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump calls his Mar-a-Lago resort the “center of the universe.” Famous figures such as Elon Musk, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pop up at events held daily at the opulent club. Over the weekend, Mike Love of the Beach Boys performed the band’s hits under a tent at Mar-a-Lago as Trump wandered through the crowd and swung his fists to the music. Sightings of those passing through offer a glimpse into the workings of Trump’s incoming White House, how he is setting priorities for his administration and what some VIPs are doing to curry favor.
January 1, 2025 4:09 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has imposed sanctions on two groups linked to Russian and Iranian disinformation campaigns targeting this year’s election. Treasury officials announced the actions Tuesday, saying the two groups sought to spread false claims designed to stoke political tension and undermine the candidates ahead of November’s vote. Officials say the Russian organization worked with Russian military intelligence and used artificial intelligence to create fake videos about American candidates. The Iranian group is accused of working at the direction of Iran’s military to spread disinformation aimed at inciting voters. Both countries have rejected accusations that they sought to meddle with the election.
January 1, 2025 4:05 am
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Grieving relatives of people killed in a plane crash in South Korea have visited the site to pay respects to their loved ones on New Year’s Day. Only two of the 181 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air survived when it crashed in Muan International Airport in southern South Korea on Sunday. The bereaved families visited the site on Wednesday for the first time since the crash. They took turns laying white flowers and bowed deeply before a memorial table where food was placed. The food included “ddeokguk,” a Korean rice cake soup eaten on New Year’s Day.
January 1, 2025 4:02 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian medics say Israeli strikes have killed at least nine people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children. The nearly 15-month war ground on into the new year with no end in sight. One strike hit a home in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, the most isolated and heavily destroyed part of the territory, where Israel has been waging a major operation since early October. Gaza’s Health Ministry says seven people were killed, including a woman and four children, and that at least a dozen other people were wounded. Another strike overnight into Wednesday in central Gaza killed a woman and a child, according to the hospital that received the bodies.
January 1, 2025 3:47 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania court says the secretary of state has the authority to direct counties not to allow “unauthorized third party access” to voting machines or risk having those machines decertified and unable to be deployed for elections. In a 6-1 decision on Tuesday, the Commonwealth Court also ruled that the Department of State doesn’t have to reimburse counties when they decertify machines. It was a defeat for Fulton County in a dispute that arose after two Republican county commissioners permitted Wake Technology Services Inc. to examine and obtain data from Dominion voting machines in 2021.
January 1, 2025 3:43 am
BRADDOCK, Pa.—(WPXI)-The mayors of seven Pittsburgh communities sat down with Channel 11 on Tuesday to voice their concerns over a potential deal between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel, fearing the economic consequences for their towns if the agreement falls through. “We’ve been down this road before,” said Markus Adams, mayor of East Pittsburgh, referring to the impact on the region when Westinghouse shut down years ago. “East Pittsburgh has never recovered from it.” The Edgar Thomson Plant, a key facility for U.S. Steel, was built at the heart of these communities. Local leaders worry that a failure to reach a deal could lead to plant closures or downsizing, devastating the already struggling area. “For every steel worker’s job it’s estimated that five to seven jobs are created by the work there. That’s the restaurants, hotels, the welders, the fabricators, it’s imperative we continue to fight for this,” said Chris Kelly who’s the mayor of West Mifflin. Mayors from nearly two dozen communities who are part of the newly formed Mayor’s Charitable Fund sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to consider the jobs and economic stability the steel industry provides. “That’s what I would tell him, Mr. President these are your people don’t put them out of work,” Kelly said. The main opposition to the sale comes from the United Steelworkers Union and politicians who want the company to remain domestically owned. “Our union has been calling for strict government scrutiny of the sale since it was announced. Now it’s up to President Biden to determine the best path forward,” said USW International President David McCall. The U.S. government’s committee on foreign investments has referred the decision to President Biden, who now has until Tuesday to approve or reject the deal. The mayors are hoping Biden will back their communities and prevent further economic decline. “We are here to resolve and save our communities,” said Cletus Lee, mayor of North Braddock. As the deadline approaches, the mayors are urging the president to act in the best interest of local workers and families. “If the Mon Valley falls, the rest of us fall,” said Coletta Perry, mayor of Crafton.
January 1, 2025 2:47 am
A Washington County family was on vacation in New Orleans and were unfortunate victims of the New Year’s Eve incident where a man drove his truck through the celebrating crowd and killed 15 people and injured more than 30 others. Heaven Sensky Kirsch said that her father was one of the injured in the violent crash. Jeremi Sensky, 51 of Canonsburg underwent surgery for several hours in an effort to repair his two broken legs. Sensky is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair. According to his daughter, he was struck by the truck and ejected from his wheelchair. Heaven Sensky Kirsch describes several hours of worry and search for her father. She and her mother were able to locate him in a nearby hospital trauma unit. Heaven describes Jeremi as “alive, full of life, resilient and he continues to live vibrantly.” The Sensky Family is extremely grateful for the outpouring of concern for Jeremi and the rest of the family. (Photo Courtesy of Sensky Family)
