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At Least 15 Killed in New Orleans Terror Attack; FBI Investigating if Las Vegas Cybertruck Explosion Tied to Terrorism; Brutal Blasts of Arctic Air to Bring Dangerously Low Temps. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired January 02, 2025 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking this morning, the FBI is searching locations in multiple states for clues and possible accomplices in the deadly New Orleans terror attack. We're getting new details just in on the 15 people killed.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And there's this, authorities now investigating a possible connection between that New Orleans attack and a Tesla Cybertruck, you see there, that exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. The details that may tie the two incidents together.

And It Ends With Us Actor and Director Justin Baldoni suing The New York Times for $250 million over an article on co-star Blake Lively's sexual harassment complaint against him. Baldoni's attorney now fighting back, calling the report part of Lively's, quote, vicious smear campaign to salvage her reputation and ruin his.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman. Kate Bolduan is out today. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: Breaking this morning, federal officials are calling it a deliberate act of terror as the FBI is conducting searches across multiple states. 15 people are dead, many more injured after a man plowed his truck through crowded New Orleans streets just after the New Year.

Three major questions this morning. Were there any accomplices? Was this attack tied to the Cybertruck explosion outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas? There are notable similarities. Was this attack actually directed by ISIS or just inspired by the terror group?

Just a short time ago, we learned the New Orleans attacker pleaded guilty to DUI charges in 2015, and police shared new details about a series of videos he allegedly recorded, one of which includes a pledge to ISIS.

This morning, we're also learning more about the victims as witnesses now describe what they saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RUTH CHAVEZ, WITNESSED ATTACK: We heard the gunshots and everyone started running and then they ended up locking us in the building and they shut all the doors, told us to get down. And when we came outside, that's when we saw the truck that was crashed right outside where we were at. And we saw the first responders trying to save a young man, and they were working on him for so long. And we were just hoping and praying he was going to survive. But there was no life in him at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. Let's get right to Ryan Young, who was on the scene in New Orleans this morning for the latest on this investigation, Ryan, which is widening.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, this investigation is still ongoing and pretty much. Look, I walked around the scene last night and people are still in shock. I talked to one woman who said she'll never be able to forget what she was witnessing just last night and look down this direction. You can see the large police presence is starting to lessen just a little bit, but that's where the focus of the investigation has been for the last 24 hours and evidence collection, the body removal, all that very much going on.

But let's take a look at this video that was just 24 hours ago when that white truck, that Ford Lightning, turned onto Bourbon Street and accelerated. Of course, we blurred some of the images here, but that is what really devastated this scene.

We know the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, he's 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas, Army veteran, had an ISIS flag on the back of that truck. He discussed plans to even kill his family at one point. And then, of course, that video, chilling video, where he says he wanted to join ISIS. Take a listen to the FBI talk about this active investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALETHEA DUNCAN, FBI ASSISTANT AGENT IN CHARGE, NEW ORLEANS: We do not believe that Jabbar was solely responsible. We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates. That's why we need the public's help. We are asking if anybody has any interactions with Shamsud-Din Jabbar in the last 72 hours that you contact us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes. John, the tough part here, 15 people killed, 35 injured. The names that we want to talk about here is Tiger Beck, 27, Reggie Hunter, 37, and Kareem Hawaii. Of course, those are just some of the names that we've learned so far. This investigation is still ongoing, trying to figure out if there's any more connections out there.

There's also video of a house and Airbnb. They feel that could have been connected to this because those IEDs that were found around the area. [07:05:05]

They feel like they may have been built in that location. Hoping to get more news from the FBI today as they do another briefing, but obviously an ongoing investigation, they're now stretching far beyond the street behind me. John?

BERMAN: And, Ryan, again, we mourn for the victims. The FBI agent there saying bluntly, we do not believe Jabbar acted alone. That explains many of the searches happening in many locations this morning. Thank you for your reporting on this. We'll get back to you in a bit. Ryan -- I mean, Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Now to the Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas, just outside the doors of a Trump International Hotel there, surveillance video showing the powerful blast. Authorities are still trying to figure out if that was an act of terror, or as John mentioned, somehow linked to the attack in New Orleans.

CNN's Veronica Miracle has more on that story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Our John Miller is telling us he has spoken to multiple law enforcement officials who say that the driver of the Cybertruck has a military background.

Now, law enforcement officials say they know the name of this driver who died in the explosion, but they are not going to be releasing the identity of that driver until they notify the next of kin.

We understand that this driver was in Las Vegas for about an hour driving around the strip before pulling up to Trump Tower before that explosion happened. And authorities say the driver rented the Cybertruck in Colorado via the Turo app before driving down to Las Vegas.

Video released by law enforcement shows ex Explosives that were contained inside the truck, which included fireworks, gas tanks, and camping fuel, and all of that was connected to a detonation system that was controlled by the driver. And the sheriff pointed out, which is really incredible, how the Cybertruck actually contained the explosion, the way that it was built, forced the explosion to go upwards instead of outwards, which meant that the glass from Trump Tower was not broken, and seven people nearby were injured, but with minor injuries. All of them are okay. They've all been released from the hospital.

The driver did die, and Las Vegas police believe that this was an isolated incident. They are not yet willing to say if this was, in fact, connected to what happened in New Orleans, but it is quite unusual that both the drivers in these incidents rented their cars from Turo.

We do have a statement from Turo and they said they're cooperating with these investigations, but they also said that neither of the drivers had criminal backgrounds, which would have flagged them as security threats. Back to you.

SIDNER: All right, our thanks to Veronica Miracle there.

Ahead, a drive by shooting outside a nightclub in Queens leaves more than a dozen people injured, including teenagers, as they waited in line to get into the club. Police say multiple suspects are responsible for that shooting. Details ahead on that.

Overnight, police in South Korea searching an airport and an airline's offices in their investigation of that deadly plane crash.

And a polar vortex will put parts of the country in a dangerous deep freeze. We'll find out just how low the temperatures will go.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, investigators are searching for any possible links between the two New Year's Day attacks, the one in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF KEVIN MCMAHILL, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: Do I think it's a coincidence? I don't know. But what I can tell you is we're absolutely investigating any connectivity to what happened in New Orleans as well as other attacks that have been occurring around the world. We're not ruling anything out yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, with us now, CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

So, the similarities are these. Both were using electric vehicles rented from this ride share/user-to-user rental outfit, Turo, military backgrounds, both drivers, explosives on both trucks, Andy. Possible it's just a coincidence? What do you see there?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Still possible that's just a coincidence, but honestly, John, you have attacks occurring -- vehicle-born attacks occurring on the same day in different cities. That alone gets you a very intensive investigation to determine whether or not there's Any connectivity between those two actors, and that could be anything from, you know, interacting and planning and preparing together to execute those attacks, or it could be something as simple as a infrequent contact over social media that just brought them together as likeminded people.

If there is any connection between the two of them, I am confident that our law enforcement and intelligence folks will uncover that, but they've got to look hard for it.

BERMAN: We heard from the FBI special agent, supervisory special agent in New Orleans, who said, we do not believe Jabbar, that's the New Orleans killer, acted alone. That's a direct -- very direct comment there, Andy. What do you think gives them so much certainty at this point?

MCCABE: Yes, it's really a bold thing to say, I think, this early in the investigation. There was a lot of talk yesterday about for other individuals who are captured on video surveillance, we believe somewhere near some of the site of one of these other IEDs that was recovered yesterday. That's been ruled out. So, we still don't know if the FBI is quite as confident now that those four people have been ruled out about the presence of others.

Nevertheless, there are other indicators here that could be forcing the investigators to broaden their search. And that is simply the fact that if these other suspected IEDs that were placed around the French Quarter are in fact connected to the driver of the truck, then there's a logistical challenge here. They're trying to determine, would it be possible for him to have created and placed those devices and then gotten in the truck and driven to his destined attack? So, it's simple logistical questions like that could be compelling the investigators to think, you know, this person probably had someone or some group of people helping him execute the attack.

BERMAN: There was the ISIS flag found in this vehicle in New Orleans.

[07:15:01]

At a minimum, that gives reason to say this was inspired by ISIS. That's what we heard from the president, Andy. How do you find if it was more than that, more than inspired perhaps directed in your experience in there were attacks during your time of the FBI like this inspired by ISIS? In your experience does ISIS get involved in these actions directly in the United States?

MCCABE: It's a great question, John. So, ISIS has definitely been very forward-leaning in trying to recruit what we would think of typically as lone actors to strike out and acts of terrorism on their behalf in their home country. So, without ever traveling to Syria, without ever meeting an actual ISIS member in person, without receiving specified training, they do that through the propaganda that they distribute around the world on the internet. So, it really becomes a question of how do we think about those people who are inspired to act on ISIS's behalf.

Typically, we refer to them simply as ISIS-inspired attacks. We think of that as an act of international terrorism, even though those folks may never have associated directly. But one of the ways that ISIS motivates them is to literally put out an instruction manual of how to do it. We know that ISIS in the past has advised their followers to obtain large, heavy vehicles to drive those vehicles into crowded areas at events to, run over and kill as many people as they can, and to also carry a secondary weapon so that when the truck is inevitably stopped at some point, the driver will be able to get out and continue the killing with a gun or a knife or some sort of bladed weapon.

So, when we look at the details of this attack, it very closely matches exactly what ISIS has essentially asked its followers to do in their home country. So, I think the connection here on the inspired level is very good. To determine whether or not he's an actual operative who had contact and received direction from ISIS, that requires the community to go deep into its intelligence holdings to look at datasets like this dataset we acquire through FISA Section 702 to see if there have ever been communication connections between this actor and any of the known or suspected terrorists we are following overseas

BERMAN: Very quickly, Andy, any reason for concern today? There were two truck explosions. Could there be more? The Sugar Bowl is scheduled for New Orleans this afternoon.

MCCABE: John, I'm a lifelong counterterrorism guy, so there's always a concern. That's where I start in this math equation. But, yes, absolutely, there's a concern about tonight and about the Super Bowl in a few weeks. If the FBI believes that there are other people that were possibly involved in this attack, there's every reason to think that they might have some sort of a follow-on action planned. That's why you're going to see security very, very high for tonight's event.

BERMAN: Andrew McCabe, I really appreciate your time this morning helping us understand everything we're seeing, as this investigation, 24 hours old now. We're going to see a lot more over the next several hours. I appreciate it.

All right, this morning, millions of Americans under weather warnings as dangerously cold Arctic air expected to cover more than two thirds of the country.

And, quote, a vicious smear campaign that cowered to the wants and whims of Hollywood elites. The New York Times now facing a $250 million lawsuit over for its reporting on the escalating feud between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

SIDNER: Winter weather is back and it's about to be brutal. After 2024 saw the warmest winter on record, a new front is ushering in dangerously cold temperatures. Arctic air will spread east this week, dropping temperatures between 5 to 20 degrees colder than normal for millions in the central and eastern part of the U.S. And next week, it's going to get even colder.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa is tracking the latest forecast this morning for us. What are you seeing? It did feel like a really warm winter. I just want some more snow. Can you make that happen?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It depends on where you live. But, yes, I mean, we're looking at the coldest air of the season so far, and that could fuel some pops of snow, especially as we go into the weekend. For today, you're below freezing temperatures are still up in the usual spots. We're talking Northern Plains, Great Lakes, Interior New England. That's where a lot of the cold is still bottled up for now. As we go into the weekend, though, we'll have a winter storm cut across the country, really starts to develop going into Saturday. And then by Sunday, some of that cold air will start to shimmy south and could fuel a band of some pretty heavy snow and some ice from the Ozarks across into the Tennessee and Ohio valleys. It's a cold rain for much of the southeast.

So, we're looking at multiple types of precipitation from this storm as we go into the weekend. Again, some of that snow could be heavy. This icing could be significant, could be dangerous, as far as travel goes, issues with trees and power lines again from the Ozarks through the Tennessee and Ohio valleys.

Now, that storm will unleash the even colder air that spills sound as we go into the work week. And you can see how it plunges southward by Wednesday and into Thursday. We're talking about frigid cold air, Arctic outbreak there for parts of the Great Lakes and Interior New England. And then that shifts even farther south as we go into the second week of January.

So, temperatures plunge 15 to 25 degrees below average on Monday from Kansas City down towards Little Rock. You could see it spreading east by Wednesday. Temperatures 15 to 25 degrees below average from Atlanta, Nashville, St. Louis, Cincinnati, all very cold. We're looking at more than 70 percent of the lower 48 with temperatures below freezing as we go through the next seven days.

These freezing temperatures making it as far south as the Gulf Coast. We're waking up to temperatures below freezing this weekend, even in Atlanta, some teens in Chicago, waking up to 11 degrees on Saturday, below freezing in New York as well as we go through the weekend, these high temperatures not much better.

[07:25:05]

We stay below freezing for the high temperatures in Chicago as we go through the weekend, some chilly 40s in Atlanta, and like I said Sarah, even colder deeper into January.

SIDNER: Yes. Chicago looks like the nightmare that happens in Chicago every single winter. But New York doesn't look too bad, so I'm feeling good about it. 38, I can handle that.

Thank you so much, Elisa Raffa, I appreciate it.

All right, ahead, the FBI does not believe he acted alone. Now, the investigation into the New Orleans attack leading to searches across state lines.

And South Korean officials raiding the airport where a passenger jet crash landed killing 179 people.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Happening now, authorities in Houston are searching a Houston location with potential ties to the man who killed 15 people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

[07:30:01]

In just a few hours, the FBI will provide an unclassified briefing to House and Senate Oversight Committees. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of terror.