This is WBZ, Boston's news radio, redefining local news forty two degrees in Boston at four o'clock. Good afternoon. I'm Ben Parker. Here's what's happening. An act of terror. That is what the FBI in New Orleans is saying about the deadly attack on Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning.
First and foremost, let me be very clear about this point. This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act.
FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raya, who now says the suspect in the attack that killed more than a dozen people did not have help.
We do not assess at this point that anyone else involved in this attack is involved in this attack except for Shamsa Din Jabbar, the subject you've already been briefed on.
Jabbar, who had served in the US military, is said to have professed allegiance to the Islamic State. The family of the man police deemed responsible for that attack in New Orleans or expressing shock over what happened.
The brother of this suspect in the New Orleans attack is speaking out, telling ABC News in an interview he is in shock. Abder Jabbar said his half brother, now accused of mowing down fourteen people on New Year's Day, was quote loving, was a sweetheart, but Abdur said his half brother was isolated.
Just not having anybody else to maybe talk to, maybe express.
His viewpoints, something he believes could have led him to commit this crime. Olivia Rubin ABC News Washington.
In Las Vegas, the sheriff there, Kevin mcmahill, says he can't definitively identify the person inside the cyber truck that exploded New Year's Day outside of Trump Hotel, but says enough evidence points to Matthew Levelsberger, an active duty US soldier who was highly decorated.
But I would like to highlight a couple of things that the teams found inside of the cyber truck that are useful to the investigation, and that first and foremost is a military identification. We also found a passport, We found a Desert Eagle fifty caliber semi automatic pistol.
Las Vegas officials say the person inside the truck was shot in the head before the explosion, complicating the process of identifying him. Seven people were injured in that blast. A lot of things change as a New year unfolds, among them. Millions of Americans who get their prescription drugs through Medicare could get a major financial break when a two thousand dollars out of pocket spending cap on medications takes effect.
Now we're seeing a two thousand dollars per year spending limit on out of pocket costs for drugs, which is going to be a big relief to many seniors who might be on expensive medications. For example, for cancer.
Man is doctor Celine Gownder, a CBS News medical contributor in Washington. Vote is set for tomorrow in the House for a new speaker. Despite an endorsement from President elect Trump, some Republicans believe the current Speaker, Mike Johnson, doesn't have what's needed for votes to remain in the role. A number of Republics grew frustrated with Johnson late last year as Congress worked to avoid a government shutdown. We do
have a wind advisory up until ten o'clock tonight. Wind's been whipping around pretty good today and as we head into the early evening still could see GUS forty forty five miles an hour thirty five mile an hour gus later tonight as the wind dies down, a tad thirty for the low actur whether real field temperatures overnight will fall into the lower teens. Tomorrow, it's a partly sunny day. It will be blustery again with some wind gusts of thirty to thirty five miles an hour, Temperatures in the
upper thirties, reel fields in the twenties. Saturday, where brisk, we're cold, We've got some sunshine and some clouds, Temperatures in the mid thirties, reel fields in the teens. And then still a little blustery on Sunday, some suns and clouds and temperatures in the mid thirties. Right now forty two degrees in Boston, covering more. Heay's been busy signing quite a few bills this week, more than two dozen so far, all past in the late days of the
most recent legislative session. On Beacon Hill, wdbc's Nicole Davis takes a look at what's been signed so far.
Most of the bills that governor signed are pretty hyper local stuff like naming bridges and amending town charters, but some are more broad, including House Bill forty eight to forty. That bill was originally filed by James Murphy, the co chair of the House Financial Services Committee. This bill specifically focuses on money transmission during transactions on apps like cash
app or Venmo. This new law now requires those companies to report quarterly on their financial condition and also requires them to get a license from the state's banking commissioner. The law gives that commissioner the permission to revoke those licenses if need be. Governor Healy's pen's not done quite yet. She still has some bills to look over, including one that, if signed, would expand oversight of hospital systems here in
Massachusetts in the wake of the Stewart healthcare crisis. Nicole Davis WBZ Boston's News radio.
There's a new bridge planned to span the mass Turnpike in western Massachusetts, though this one isn't for cars, it's for deer and hikers. CBS News Boston reporting the project will replace an existing bridge that crosses in the town of Beckett, where the Appellation Trail intersects with the pike. It's an area that has seen a high number of collisions between drivers and deer. Mastot was awarded one point
seven million dollars in grant money for the bridge. In all, sixteen wildlife crossing projects across the country received one hundred and twenty five million in grants from the infrastructure law signed by the President in twenty twenty one. Oh, they live a whale of a life, don't they whales? Yeah, there's research too on the giants of the ocean and how long their lives might be there.
She blows Moby Dick, the giant sperm whale immortalized by novelist Herman Melville in the novel by that name. Now researchers say some of the sperm whales swimming in our oceans today may have been born before the book appeared in eighteen fifty one. They provised upward the potential life expectancy of the species the whale one in the novel. In real life, though, most sperm whales are dead by the age of thirty seven, killed by US humans. Vicky Barker, CBS News London.
Back on Land, there's a new dog in town. It is not a bulldog, but Jim Krisula has more on the latest dog in the American Kennel Club's lineup of recognized breaths.
The Danish Swedish farm dog DSSET for short, has joined at the pack, making the breed eligible to compete for many Best in Show trophies. It's also more likely to bring more widespread interest in the small, sprightly dogs that were initially popular in Scandinavia going back decades.
In their original homelands, the dog's main job was rodent patrol, but they would also herd a bit, act as watchdogs, and play with farmers children. Some of them even performed in circuses. You are now in the loop. For news updates throughout the day, listen to WBZ News Radio on the iHeartRadio app. I'm Ben Parker, WBZ Boston's news radio