The FBI has identified the suspect who carried out an attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day that left at least 15 dead and dozens more injured. 
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- The FBI has identified the suspect who carried out an attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day that left at least 15 dead and dozens more injured.
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One person was killed and seven others were injured after explosives inside a Tesla Cybertruck blew up near the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning.
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has called for a reboot of U.S.–Georgia relations after months of tensions between Washington and Tbilisi.
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President-elect Donald Trump said he believes House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will secure a second term in the job despite opposition from some Republican lawmakers ahead of another contentious speakership race.
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A gripping crime drama by director Eun-young Seo explores child abuse, systemic failures, and moral ambiguity through a suspenseful and layered narrative. Review after the news.
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Police investigators surround a white truck that was used in a deadly attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans, La., on Jan. 1, 2025. (Matthew Hinton/AFP via Getty Images) |
The FBI has identified the suspect who carried out an attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day that left at least 15 dead and dozens more injured. The individual has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen who lived in Texas, according to the FBI. An ISIS flag was discovered in the Ford pickup truck that Jabbar was driving, the FBI said, referring to the Islamist terrorist group that had controlled swaths of Syria and Iraq about a decade ago. “The FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” the bureau said. Alethea Duncan, an assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Orleans field office, said investigators do not believe Jabbar was “solely responsible” for the attack as the investigation continues.
“We are aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates,” Duncan told the news conference, while asking for the public’s assistance in the case.
More than 30 people were injured as Wednesday’s attack turned festive Bourbon Street into a massacre. The FBI and Attorney General Merrick Garland have both confirmed that the incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism.
Also found in his truck were “weapons and a potential IED,” or improvised explosive device, and “other potential IEDs” were found in New Orleans’ French Quarter district, the FBI said. New Orleans Massacre |
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) talks to President-elect Donald Trump at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., on Dec. 14, 2024. (Getty Images) |
President-elect Donald Trump said on Dec. 31 that he believes House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will secure a second term in the job despite opposition from some Republican lawmakers ahead of another contentious speakership race.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote to elect a new speaker on Friday, Jan. 3, the first day of the 119th congressional session. Asked what his message is to Republican lawmakers who do not support Johnson in his re-election effort, Trump praised the Louisiana Republican, describing him as a “good man” and “a wonderful person.” The incoming president said he believes Johnson will ultimately garner enough support from lawmakers during this week’s vote.
“We are going to have a great time in Washington, I think we are going to get great support,” Trump said. (More) More Politics |
- A look back at the turbulent 118th Congress that saw the election of two speakers, divisions over funding, and the expulsion of a House member.
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President-elect Donald Trump announced on Dec. 31 that Justin Caporale—who is credited with organizing his campaign event featuring a garbage truck—will take on a new presidential executive producer role, assisting with major events and public appearances.
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An investigator photographs a Tesla Cybertruck involved in an explosion outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel on Jan. 1, 2025. (Wade Vandervort/AFP via Getty Images) |
One person was killed and seven others were injured after a Tesla Cybertruck exploded into flames outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning.
Videos of the incident show a fiery explosion bursting from the vehicle, followed by the sounds and visuals of fireworks.
A person inside the Tesla died, while seven other people suffered minor injuries, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill. Two people were taken to a local hospital. Guests of the hotel were immediately evacuated and transferred to the Resorts World Hotel, according to the sheriff. Tesla founder Elon Musk later said that explosives were discovered inside the rented vehicle.
“We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself,” Musk wrote in a post on the X social media platform. “All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”
Gas canisters and large fireworks mortars were found in the vehicle, authorities confirmed in a Wednesday evening press conference. The sheriff also noted that the walls of the electric vehicle remained fully intact during the explosion and that damage to the surrounding area was limited because of “the fact that this was a Cybertruck.”
The front glass doors of the Trump hotel “were not even broken,” McMahill said. (More) More U.S. News |
- A hospital system in Illinois this week issued a mandate that everyone entering its facilities must wear a mask due to “widespread respiratory illnesses” in the area.
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The FBI arrested a Virginia man who was found to have the largest cache of explosives in the bureau’s history, according to court documents unsealed on Tuesday.
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Mikheil Kavelashvili (C), elected by lawmakers as Georgia's new President, takes the oath during his swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Tbilisi, on Dec. 29, 2024. (Irakli Gedenidze/AFP via Getty Images) |
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has called for a reboot of U.S.–Georgia relations after months of tensions between Washington and Tbilisi. Georgia’s recent adoption of legislation aimed at curtailing perceived foreign influence has strained relations with the United States. “One of our main foreign policy priorities is to reboot relations with the United States, for which we will do everything possible,” Kobakhidze said on Dec. 30, in remarks cited by Georgia’s Agenda.ge news portal. “Our goal is to start relations with the United States from a clean slate, to renew the strategic partnership, and to do so with a specific roadmap.”
Kobakhidze expressed his government’s “openness and readiness” to reset relations with Washington under the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
He went on to voice hope that the incoming Trump administration will reciprocate by taking “constructive, mutual steps.” (More) More World News: |
- Israeli forces have killed a Hamas commander who helped to lead the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.
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A troublesome question splitting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet is what to do about the draft exemption for ultra-Orthodox men.
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Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has pledged to increase the island’s defense spending and join forces with other democracies to confront threats posed by authoritarian governments.
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✍️ Opinion: In Ideology, Diversity Is Strength by Jeffrey Tucker
🍵 Health: Ever wondered why a kidney bean looks like a human kidney? Read on to learn about the clues nature leaves for us about how to nourish our bodies.
🍿 Documentary: The Real Great Debaters of Wiley College was inspired by the critically acclaimed Hollywood film The Great Debaters. The documentary explores the story of how the Wiley College 1935 debate team defeated the reigning national championship team at the University of Southern California. (Watch free on Gan Jing World) 🎵Music: Antonio Vivaldi—The Four Seasons performed by Nigel Kennedy and the English Chamber Orchestra (1989). (Listen)
📷 Photo of the Day: Tar Barrel Men process through the streets of Allendale carrying torches and flaming barrels in the annual Allendale Tar Barrel festival in Allendale, northern England, on New Year’s Eve. 👇
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Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images |
O-soon (Park Ha-seon, L), and Yoon Bo-ra (Gam So-hyun), in “Go Back.” (GJW+) |
Child abuse is one of society’s most sensitive and polarizing issues. Films that tackle it must carefully navigate between storytelling and advocacy for the victim.
While the universal condemnation of child abuse is clear, debates often emerge around the gray areas of parenting, discipline, and intervention. Stories focused on child trafficking, such as “Sound of Freedom,” avoid this by shining an urgent light on a heinous crime.
South Korean cinema has brought its unique voice to this conversation with “Go Back,” a gripping crime drama by director Eun-young Seo that explores child abuse, systemic failures, and moral ambiguity through a suspenseful and layered narrative.
The film revolves around the disappearance of Yoon Bo-ra (Gam So-hyun), a young girl who vanishes on the same day a high-profile kidnapping grips the nation. The kidnapper’s chilling ultimatum, that the public must raise an exorbitant sum of money within seven days or the child will be killed, intensifies the investigation. The technical elements strengthen the storytelling. Jung Ki-wook’s cinematography paints a hauntingly immersive backdrop, with dimly lit interiors and shadowed alleys mirroring the film’s moral and emotional complexities.
Strategic flashbacks and unexpected twists maintain suspense, although the non-linear structure occasionally muddles the narrative flow. Despite such minor flaws, “Go Back” mostly succeeds as both a crime thriller and a social commentary.
Seo crafts a film that challenges audiences to grapple with the complexities of justice, the burden of systemic failures, and the moral compromises that are sometimes made in the name of protecting the vulnerable.
Click here to read the full article by our colleague Ian Kane.
Watch the movie for free on Gan Jing World here.
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