New Orleans Attack, Cybertruck Explosion Raise Security Fears

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Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager and I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today.

Karen, we begin with a pair of incidents that are putting national security back in the spotlight at the start of the year. First in New Orleans, where a man drove a rented pickup truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers in the French Quarter. At least fifteen people were killed, dozens more wounded. This man says he witnessed the rampage trek.

Hates the corner and comes barreling through people, throwing people like like a movie scene, like real.

Life, throwing people into the air, they falling.

Under the car.

The driver was killed in a shootout with police. He's been identified as shamsudn Jabbar, a forty two year old Army veteran from Texas. Alithia Duncan is the Assistant Special Agent in charge of the FBI's New Orleans Field Office.

We do not believe the.

Javar was slowly responsible.

We're aggressively running down every lead, including those of his known associates.

FBI Special Agent Aalithia Duncan says authorities found an Islamic state flag in the pickup truck, along with two improvised explosive devices. She says more potential IEDs were found in the French quarter. This attack happened hours before the Sugar Bowl was set to kick off at the Caesars super Dome in New Orleans. That game has been postponed to today well Nathan.

Hours after the New Orleans attack, an incident in Las Vegas piled onto the security concerns. A Tesla cyber truck pulled up to the Trump Las Vegas Hotel and exploded, killing the driver and injuring seven others. Kevin mcmayhill as the Las Vegas sheriff.

It pulled right up to the glass entrance doors of the hotel. We saw that smoke start showing from the vehicle and then a large explosion from the truck occurs.

Sheriff mcmayhill says fuel canisters and fireworks more are found inside the cyberg truck. Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the company has confirmed the blast was not caused by the vehicle itself, and he's suggesting it could be linked to the New Orleans attack. President Biden says law enforcement is probing both incidents, and he sent a message to the people of New Orleans.

To all the families of those are killed, to all those are injured, to all the people of New Leans. We're grieving today. I want you to know I agrieve with you. Our nation grieves with you.

President Biden addressed the nation last night from Camp David think Care.

And both incidents come less than three weeks before Donald Trump is sworn in as president. We get more on the President elect's reaction from Bloomberg Television Managing editor Miles Miller.

President, like Donald Trump, who takes office on January twentieth, Calby's attacks an urgent reminder of the need for robust national security. Of course, the FBI is probing both of these crime scenes, and Donald Trump has pledged to replace the FBI director, who's already nominated someone to be Homeland Security chief. But this highlights the need for robust domestic security. When we talk about everything from homegrown terrorism to attacks

Bloomberg Television Managing editor Miles Miller says President elect Trump also used the incident to a sale crime and border security, suggesting before the suspect was identified as an American Army vet, that he may have been a migrant.

Well, we turned to the markets now, Nathan, and it wasn't such a great beginning for stocks in Asia. In fact, Chinese stocks say their worse start to a year and nearly a decade. We get more from Bloomberg Markets reporter Mark Cranfield in Singapore.

A little surprising in some respects when all the effort the Chinese authorities were making towards the end of last year to remind investors about all the stimulus they're doing and all the positive aspects in terms of trying to promote growth in twenty twenty five, and yet here we are with little sign that they're doing anything today, and even a speech from President Seaging Ping at the end of last year doesn't seem to have rallied the market at all.

And Bloomberg's Mark Cranfield says stocks in China plunged two point nine percent in Hong Kong's Hang Sing Index led two point two percent.

Nice for US markets, Karen futures are higher as we kick off the new year following gains of twenty four percent for the S and P five hundred and twenty twenty four for more. Let's bring in Bloomberg's John Tucker. Though, John, we did end the year on something of a sour no, didn't we?

Yeah, good morning, Nathan. A four day slump in fact marked the end of twenty twenty four. But keep in mind, Nathan, the period known for the so called Santa Claus rallies also includes the first two trading days of the year, So not over just yet. Now, last year did mark the best two year run for the S and P five hundred since the late nineteen nineties. The magnificent seven megacaps power to surge of more than fifty percent of the benchmark index since the start of twenty twenty three.

The path of interest rates and the level of interest rates has really dictated winners and losers in the economy as well as in the markets.

And investor is also waiting to see if the AI story is going to broaden out to the rest of the market. That would mean that earnings growth would be supported not just by the mag seven but also other sectors of the S and P five hundred. You know yourcom John Tucker, Bloomberg.

Radio, All right, John, thank you. About twenty twenty four was one of the best years for cryptocurrencies on record, led by regulatory approval for spot bitcoin ETF and President Elect Trump's win. In fact, bitcoin rallied one hundred and twenty percent last year. We're checking bitcoin right now it is higher, up one point nine percent at ninety six five hundred dollars.

And gold's edging higher as well, Karen, after notching its biggest annual gain since twenty ten. It searched twenty seven percent in twenty two twenty four Traders assessing prospects for a slower pace of monetary easing by the Fed in twenty twenty five, and checking gold right now, it is hired by about two tenths of one percent at twenty six hundred and forty five dollars and ninety cents pronounce, and it's time.

Now for a look at some of their stories making news in New York and around the world. And for that we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Happy New Year, Michael.

Happy New Year to you, Karen. The New York Police Department says that it was not a terrorist attack after ten people were shot outside of Jamaica Queen's nightclub on New Year's Day. It was believed to be a private event with dozens inside. Police said several males walk toward the venue and opened fire in the direction of a group standing in line outside the event. In my PD, Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera spoke to ABC seven, there's.

Zero tolerance for these senseless shootings, these horrible acts of violence on our streets.

As old responsible for this crime will be apprehended.

And brought to justice. Chief Rivera says the victims were between the ages of sixteen and twenty and are expected to survive. A forty five year old man remains hospitalized after being shoved onto the path of an oncoming subway train in Manhattan. The victim remains in stable condition with broken ribs and a fractured skull. This woman was in the subway station and saw the incident. Unfold.

Something needs to be done. I don't know if it's enhanced security in the subways, help for mentally ill people in the streets. It was terrifying.

A twenty three year old from Brooklyn, Kamil Hawkins, has been charged in the attack. At least three people were killed in a fireworks explosion in a Honolulu area neighborhood just before midnight on New Year's Eve. At least twenty others were injured. Hawaii Governor Josh Green described the explosion area as gruesome.

There's organic material from our loved ones on the windows of the building, across the street and the cars. I mean, that's what our first responders had to deal with.

Governor Green said that they will take steps to crack down on the use of illegal fireworks. President Joe Biden will give the second highest civilian award to Liz Cheney and Benny Thompson, the lawmakers who led the congressional investigation into the violent January sixth Capitol riot by Donald Trump supporters. Trump has said both should be jailed. Biden will award the Presidential Citizens Medal to twenty people today, including Americans

All right, Michael barr thank you time now for the Bloomberg Sports Update, brought to you by Tri State out you and we bring in John stash Hour and a happy New Year to you as well.

John, and to you Karen as well, thanks to New Year's Day. College football playoff quarterfinals had an epic thriller, a blowout, and a postponed with a Sugar Bowl Georgia Notre Dame. Instead, we played today starting at four, postponed after the tragedy that took place in New Orleans. Today began with the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Furious comeback by Arizona State Sun Devils trailed heavily favorite Texas by sixteen

Won on the last play that went off.

The upright in Arizona State was looking good at overtime, having scored and having forced Texas into a fourth and long.

Ready to take the snap. Has the snap four to thirteen yours looking fires. He's got golden opening peak on touchdowns exist two golden strikes again tonight forty.

Down fourteen to the love one scoring.

Touchdowns Miirfield Radio. Then they scored on the first play of the second ot and an interception sealed the Texas win thirty nine thirty one. At the Rose Bowl, Ohio State scored a min and a and led thirty four to nothing. Went on to wall up top seat at Oregon forty one twenty one. So it'll be Texas against Ohio State in the semifinals a week from tomorrow in Dallas. The next back of the Guard, they beat Utah one nineteen one oh three. They've now won nine in a row.

Coast to coast on Bloomberg Radio nationwide on Sirius XM, and around the world on Bloomberg dot Com and the Bloomberg Business app. This is Bloomberg Daybreak.

Good morning, I'm Nathan Hager. The new year is beginning with new concerns about national security after a truck attack in New Orleans and a cyber truck explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas within hours of each other. On New Year's Day, President Biden is urging Americans not to jump to conclusions, but he does say this, I know.

I can speak for all Americans, and I say our hearts were the people in New Orleans after despicable attack that occurred in early morning hours.

I'm President Biden, addressed the nation last night from Camp David. This morning, were joined by Bloomberg News Senior editor Bill Ferries for the latest on both these incidents. And first off, Bill, the question that I think a lot of Americans are asking you this morning is whether there's any indication that these two incidents could be related.

Good morning, Hey.

Good morning, Nathan, Thanks for having me. Yeah, that is one key area of investigation now. So far, authorities have given us a lot more details about what happened in New Orleans versus what took place in Las Vegas. It's not clear at all if there is a connection. There is one thing that we do know, and that the vehicles in both of these attacks were rented from the same app, Turo, which a lot of people use to do short and long term car rentals directly from owners.

Well, let's talk a little bit more about what we do know about this suspect. You mentioned the Islamic State flag and improvised explosive devices found in his truck, But interestingly, he was also an American Army veteran. I mean, what does that tell you.

Yeah, there was a post from you know, President elect Donald Trump soon after the attack saying that, you know, suggesting that maybe this was someone who had come into the country illegally. What we do know so far, as you said, forty two year old Army veteran from Texas who died at the sea, possibly in a shootout with police there. It sounds like there is a report of the New York Times that that the suspect, Shampsu den Jabbar, did some did a tour of with with the military

And in terms of the cyber truck explosion in Las Vegas, you mentioned that there's a lot more detail that we seem to know about the New Orleans incident. But what's the latest of what investigators have learned in Las Vegas.

Well, inves they're tracking some of the closed circuit TV from around the area. There's reports that the cyber truck may have driven by the Trump Hotel about an hour before it pulled up right in front. Video that police released from that attack or incident. Show smoke coming out of the cyber truck ahead of an explosion, and then after that explosion takes place, after that fire kind of envelops the vehicle. You see fireworks exploding all over the place.

This is Bloombergy day Break, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond.

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And I'm Nathan Hager. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg.

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