New Orleans Terror Attack + Trump Vegas Hotel Explosion: The Latest
Plus, actor Justin Baldoni files counter-suit accusing co-star Blake Lively of smear campaign against him
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Good morning and Happy New Year!
If traveling more is on your list of resolutions, you are not alone. This year, more women in particular are expected to plan leisure trips… just for themselves.
According to the tourism market research firm Future Partners, nearly 40% of female travelers expressed interest in traveling solo in 2025 — up 8 percentage points from last year.
The trends forecaster, Globetrender, is calling it “the rise of ‘Wander Women.’”
Travel companies like the nonprofit Road Scholar and luxury network Virtuoso report that the vast majority of their solo travel clients are women, especially older women.
Companies are catering to their demands, curating trips to address safety issues that may have prevented women from traveling alone in the past – and even creating specialized trips for pregnant or menopausal women.
Bon voyage!
Mosheh, Jill, Sari & Lauren
PS: Don’t forget to refer friends & family to subscribe to the Mo Newsletter… you could get free Mo News merch — DETAILS at the bottom of this newsletter!
📌 ISIS FLAG, EXPLOSIVES RECOVERED AT SCENE OF NEW ORLEANS CAR-RAMMING ATTACK
At least 15 people were killed and more than 35 were injured after a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a large crowd on the famous Bourbon Street in New Orleans early New Year’s Day. The driver was then killed in a shoot-out with police officers. The FBI found an ISIS flag on the trailer of the truck used in the attack, and authorities are investigating the incident as an act of terrorism.
The suspect has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. military veteran born and raised in Texas. Officials said he was dressed in military gear during the attack.
Texas criminal records show he had minor infractions on his record, including misdemeanor theft in 2002 and driving with an invalid license in 2005.
The man who married Jabbar’s ex-wife told the NY Times that Jabbar recently converted to Islam. He also claims Jabbar had been acting extremely erratically in recent months—to the point that they wouldn’t let Jabbar’s daughters visit their father any longer.
Investigators say they have reason to believe Jabbar did not act alone. Surveillance footage revealed three men and a woman who may have helped place explosive devices around the popular tourist area in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
In a YouTube video posted in 2020, Jabbar said that he worked as a human resources and information technology specialist during his years in the armed forces.
WHAT HAPPENED
New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said Jabbar drove at a high speed into the crowd of New Year’s revelers at around 3:15 a.m. local time. “He was hellbent on creating the carnage and damage that he did,” said Kirkpatrick.”
After the truck crashed, Jabbar opened fire on police, striking two officers that are reportedly in stable condition. He was then killed by police gunfire.
Law enforcement recovered a long gun with a “suppressive device,” or silencer, at the scene, along with potential explosive devices.
The Ford F-150 Lightning truck used in the attack was apparently rented by Jabbar through the Turo app, a car-sharing company, according to the truck’s owner, Rodrigo Diaz.
The incidents occurred just hours before the city was set to host one of its biggest annual events, the college football Sugar Bowl, which tens of thousands of fans were in town for. The game was postponed by 24 hours to tonight.
A student from the University of Georgia – one of the team’s playing in the game – was critically injured in the attack, according to the school’s president.
New Orleans is also set to host the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras in the coming months.
HISTORY OF VEHICLE RAMMING ATTACKS
The tragedy is the latest in a series of terror attacks using vehicles to drive into crowds, including an incident less than two weeks ago at a Christmas market in Germany, where five people were killed and hundreds more injured.
New Orleans was in the process of upgrading its security barriers to protect pedestrians from these type of vehicle assaults. Witnesses in the area say they were not in position on New Year’s Eve.
President Biden directed his administration to use all resources available “to ensure there is no remaining threat of any kind.” In a statement, he said, “There is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation’s communities.”
President-elect Trump also issued a statement denouncing crime levels in the country, and said, “Our hearts are with all of the innocent victims and their loved ones, including the brave officers of the New Orleans Police Department.”
📌 TRUCK EXPLOSION OUTSIDE TRUMP HOTEL IN VEGAS LIKELY ACT OF TERRORISM
Another event being investigated as an act of terrorism: a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump Towers in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.
The driver was killed, while seven other individuals nearby suffered minor injuries, police said. CNN reports that there were fireworks, gas tanks, and camping fuel inside the vehicle, and believe they were connected to a detonation system controlled by the driver.
Investigators are urgently working to determine a motive, and whether there is a connection between the two attacks.
The Cybertruck that exploded was rented on the Turo App – the same app that was used to rent the pickup truck used in the overnight attack in New Orleans. In both incidents, the drivers rented electric trucks and died in the attacks.
📌 ACTOR JUSTIN BALDONI SUES NEW YORK TIMES OVER BLAKE LIVELY ARTICLE
Actor and director Justin Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday, accusing the paper of libel over an article published late last month that alleged he sexually harassed and organized a smear campaign against his “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively.
Baldoni is one of ten plaintiffs suing the Times, claiming reporters “cherry-picked and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead” and tarnish their reputation.
Their complaint flips the Times reporting on its head, accusing Lively of orchestrating her own “strategic and manipulative” smear campaign and using false sexual harassment claims “to assert unilateral control” over the film’s production.
A New York Times spokesperson said the paper plans to “vigorously” fight the lawsuit, adding, “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”
BACKSTORY
In late December, Lively filed a complaint in California and a lawsuit in New York, accusing Baldoni and his team of retaliating against her after she raised concerns about sexual harassment on the film set. The allegations were first reported by The New York Times, which used Lively’s complaint as the foundation for its story.
The Times piece – written by Megan Twohey (one of the reporters that exposed Harvey Weinstein), Mike McIntire, and Julie Tate – told the story of a calculated, malicious smear campaign by Baldoni, his studio, and a crisis public relations expert they hired.
It also detailed Lively’s accusations that Baldoni showed her sexually explicit images and videos on set, asked her about her sex life, and tried to add more intimate scenes into the movie’s script that she had not originally agreed to.
The Times article and Lively’s complaint include text messages between Baldoni and his PR team, including a particularly damning exchange where a crisis management expert wrote, “You know we can bury anyone.”
Lively received a wave of bad press ahead of the film’s release, including criticism she was not taking the movie’s theme of domestic violence seriously.
After the Times published its article, Lively received swift support across Hollywood, while Baldoni’s agency WME dropped him as a client hours later.
ZEROING IN ON THE TEXTS
Baldoni’s lawsuit alleges that The New York Times article took text messages out of context and failed to report other exchanges that debunk Lively’s accusations.
Their complaint includes a previously unreported text from Lively to Baldoni that said, “I’m just pumping in my trailer if you wanna work out our lines,” which they say challenges Lively’s claim that Baldoni “repeatedly entered her makeup trailer uninvited” while she was breastfeeding.
According to the suit by Baldoni et al: “The Times story relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives.”
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 2 men stabbed in New Year’s Day attacks on the rails as NYC transit violence continues: cops (NEW YORK POST)
📌 Trump says he would make calls to help Mike Johnson win speakership again (POLITICO)
📌 Jimmy Carter’s Jan. 9 funeral plans, full schedule in D.C. and Georgia (WASHINGTON POST)
📌 Eggs, guns, gym memberships: Which new laws are going into effect in 2025? (USA TODAY)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Why did Ukraine halt the flow of Russia’s natural gas to Europe? (NEW YORK TIMES)
📌 South Korea plane crash investigation underway, with Jeju Air jet's cockpit voice recorder heading to U.S. (CBS)
📌 What to know about string of US hacks blamed on China (BBC)
📌 Xi says no one can stop China’s ‘reunification’ with Taiwan (CNBC)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Drugmakers to raise US prices on over 250 medicines starting Jan. 1 (REUTERS)
📌 Stocks end strong year with a whimper as yields apply pressure (YAHOO FINANCE)
📌 Look up! Here's what's to watch for in space in 2025 (NPR)
📌 Norovirus cases are surging. A doctor explains what to look for (CNN)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Diplo admits to being high on LSD during CNN New Year’s appearance (VARIETY)
📌 The best new movies and TV streaming in January 2025, and where to watch them (GIZMODO)
📌 Meghan Markle returns to social media after five-year hiatus (FOX NEWS)
📌 Gypsy-Rose Blanchard's daughter was born on the 1-year anniversary of her release from prison (PEOPLE)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: JANUARY 2
1960: Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts launches his successful bid for the presidency.
1969: The Beatles convened in the studio to record their twelfth and final album, “Let It Be.”
1974: President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 miles an hour, as a way of conserving gasoline in the face of an OPEC oil embargo.
The 55 mph limit was effectively phased out in 1987, and federal speed limits were abolished in 1995.