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South Korean Investigators Suspend Bid to Detain President Yoon; FBI Now Says It Believes Suspect Acted Alone; Bourbo Street Reopens with Extra Security; Cybertruck Driver Identified, Motive Undetermined; Families Mourn Victims of Bourbon Street Horror; New Timeline of Deadly Ramming and Events Leading Up to It; ISIS Attacks Increased in 2024; Palestinians Struggle to Survive Second Winter of Gaza War; Mike Johnson Battles to Remain U.S. House Speaker. Aired 12- 1a ET

Aired January 03, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Against the law, outside of presidential powers. We've got to take you in for questioning. They tried to do that. This was a seven-hour back and forth, Laura, throughout the day here in central Seoul, South Korea.

[00:00:11]

And we just found out that prosecutors said, you know what? We don't want anybody to get hurt. There are so many protesters here. We're calling off that effort, at least for now.

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Mike Valerio and Seoul for us. Thank you so much.

And thank you all for watching. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" is next.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Paula Newton, live in Atlanta.

Ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM, standoff at the home of South Korea's president, as dozens of police storm Yoon Suk-Yeol's compound to serve an arrest warrant but are met with resistance.

Plus, New Orleans tries to get back to business, hosting tens of thousands of football fans one day after a deadly vehicle attack terrorized Bourbon Street.

And police identify the person responsible for this Cybertruck explosion outside a Trump hotel: a decorated Green Beret and new father.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

NEWTON: And we do begin this hour with breaking news in South Korea, where hundreds of police and boisterous crowds have gathered as South Korean investigators have just suspended a bid to arrest President Yoon Suk-Yeol. Investigators arrived at the official presidential residence hours

ago, trying to execute an arrest warrant against impeached President Yoon. They say he refused to cooperate with the investigation into suspected abuse of power and orchestrating a rebellion, which can potentially carry the death penalty.

The charges relate to the short-lived martial law that Yoon imposed last month, but investigators say the presidential security prevented them from actually reaching Yoon.

For more, we are joined by Mike Valerio, who's in the thick of the -- the thick of the crowds there, and he joins us live from Seoul.

Mike, can you bring us right up to speed? Because as we understand it now, things have changed in terms of them being able to execute that warrant.

VALERIO: Sure. Well, they have up until Monday morning, Paula -- We're talking about investigators and prosecutors -- to potentially bring in suspended President Yoon Suk-Yeol for questioning related to his declaration of martial law, which happened one month ago tonight. It happened December 3rd into the early morning hours of December 4th.

So, in our background behind us, just steps away, these are all, Paula, supporters of suspended President Yoon Suk-Yeol. And they are gathered here. You see all these American flags, too. American flags seen as a symbol of democracy and the rule of law, especially for so many conservative supporters of Yoon Suk-Yeol.

They're saying, hey, we are here to support the president. And what is happening, the effort by prosecutors and investigators to bring him in, that -- stressing from their point of view -- is illegal, and they are here to support Yoon Suk-Yeol.

In fact, the suspended president sent out a hard-copy letter as he's been inside his presidential compound for the better part of almost three weeks, Paula, telling his supporters come out in droves, prevent this from happening. Prevent me from being detained; prevent me from being arrested.

And what we see all around us are hundreds, if not the low number of a few thousands, of people answering that clarion call to protect the president.

So, this was a standoff that started around 6:20 local time. So, it lasted for about seven hours. And essentially, for our viewers watching back home in America and joining us throughout the world, this was -- Yoon Suk-Yeol, the suspended president of South Korea, is the equivalent of his Secret Service, saying to investigators, we're not going to give our guy up. We are not going to give suspended President Yoon up, because we are charged with protecting him.

So, it was a back and forth for seven hours. And the prosecutorial -- prosecutorial and investigative team said just before we came on the air with you that they're going to stop for the time being, suspend their attempted arrest. They could try again between now and Monday -- Monday morning, or they could get a new warrant, because I'll tell you, there are still thousands, if not millions, of people across South Korea who want Yoon Suk-Yeol held accountable for declaring martial law on December 3rd into December 4th -- Paula.

NEWTON: So, given Yoon's defiance here, because he said he would continue to fight this, are we looking for a negotiation here, perhaps?

Given the standoff -- as you said, it's gone on for more than seven hours -- are they trying to just lower the temperature before they actually try and execute this?

VALERIO: I know, from the prosecutor's point of view and the investigator's point of view, Paula, they would certainly say how nice it would be if we were able to negotiate.

[00:05:07]

But I think that's an important point. That's an important point that you raise.

And we should further down that tributary by saying that South Korea's suspended president has refused to appear before investigators who want to question him about martial law, not once, not twice, but three times.

So, that's why there is little hope that he could perhaps cooperate.

So, now the question, which we don't know the answer to, is what's next? This is uncharted territory, because there has never been a sitting president here in South Korea who has been summoned for criminal questioning. This is a first.

So, in terms of will there be a negotiation to bring him in, what could happen between now and Monday? We don't know. We do not know the answer to that question.

NEWTON: Yes. And I'm sure many people are asking the same question of the prosecutor's office to try and get more clarity.

Mike, appreciate you being on the scene, and we will continue to check in with you in the coming hours. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Now for more analysis, we are joined by Duyeon Kim. She's an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and she is also in Seoul.

Really glad to have you on now, especially as we try and figure out what could happen next. Could you try and -- and explain to us why a mechanism that is supposed to be codified in law right now is not working?

Because, again, the Secret Service has made very clear that they believe they have an obligation by law to protect the president, which is why they are preventing this from being executed.

DUYEON KIM, ADJUNCT SENIOR FELLOW, CENER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY: Thanks for having me, Paula.

You really hit the nail on the head with that question. This standoff right now is really highlighting the challenges that South Korea's legal and investigative and court system is facing when it comes to this unprecedented nature, this unprecedented incident where they're trying to detain and question and even arrest a sitting South Korean president.

Now, you know, the whole issue right now is between investigative agencies. There are several involved right now. And Yoon and his lawyers and conservatives are claiming that the current investigative agency that had issued the warrant, that had is executing it, does not have -- is not in their jurisdiction to do so.

Yoon and his legal team has also claimed that it's -- it is unlawful for investigators and prosecutors to prosecute a sitting president without having had the constitutional court rule on the national assembly's impeachment of him.

And so, he and his lawyers are claiming that the court, the constitutional court, first has to make a ruling about his fate and then pursue an investigation, if that's the course that they're going to take.

And so -- but, you know -- but at the same time, and that's a very narrow, you know, if we -- if we magnify focus out a little bit, right now, it's really a political battle between the left, the progressives and the right, the conservatives.

Also, it's not just about bringing justice, or it's not just about holding the South Korean president accountable, which is clearly, of course, the key and important issue.

But it's also about a politics of which party will -- can and will govern and rule the country. But it's also a fight for that lead -- the head of the opposition party, Lee Jae-Myung, who also is apparently trying to avoid his own trial so that he can run for president in an early election next year.

NEWTON: Duyeon, I want to ask you, do you see this really as a failure of South Korean institutions? They are supposed to be the ones that are holding, at a time of political polarization.

And yet, seemingly, this has still been such a destabilizing factor, especially when you bring in the confusion regarding the constitutional courts.

KIM: Yes. And so, you know, again, I think this really is highlighting the challenges and some of the weaknesses that the system has.

But the bigger issue right now, really, is because of the grave political uncertainty and the leadership crisis, or leadership vacuum, that South Korea is going through right now. It really, you know, complicates and puts into question, you know, the

future of South Korea's international affairs with its closest ally, the United States, and with its foreign partners for the next several months, if not perhaps over a year until the current situation is settled.

And right now, it's -- you know, the reality is, is that even though the South Korean permanent bureaucracy is trying to maintain some sort of order and continue diplomatic affairs, the reality is, is that South Korea's ally and foreign partners are seeing the political -- the leadership vacuum, and they're all pausing. They're all waiting to see what happens next.

[00:10:12]

And rightfully so, because South Korea, the South Korean government, it operates in a very -- in a top-down fashion. They need to know who the president is. And the rest of the government takes orders and instructions from the president and the presidential office.

And so, this is a situation where everybody is just really waiting to see what happens.

NEWTON: Yes, it sounds like the country is incredibly vulnerable right now, especially given the fact that they are going through a national tragedy, given the plane crash that just happened less than a week ago.

KIM: Yes.

NEWTON: Where -- where do you see a resolution here? Because as you just pointed out, there is a lot at stake. The economy -- the economy is fragile. North Korea would seem to be emboldened by the situation. And the neighborhood in Asia isn't getting any easier.

KIM: Yes. And that, you know -- and that's a difficult question to answer right now at this moment, because there are so many moving parts here, so much information and new developments that are coming to light on a daily basis -- on a -- pretty much an hourly basis here in South Korea on this situation.

But, you know, I think the vast majority in South Korea, whether you -- you know, whether the South Koreans are conservative or progressive, there seems to be a consensus that South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol's attempt at martial law was wrong. And there seems to be consensus that he needs to be held accountable.

But right now, you know, again, it's -- it's the battle of how to hold him accountable and what processes, what legal processes, which investigative processes to do that under.

NEWTON: Yes. And it does seem that, in this political polarization, the institutions are not functioning the way they should. There doesn't seem to be easy agreement on even what they should be doing.

Duyeon Kim, we will continue to check in with you, as well. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Now, authorities have revised the death toll to 14 in that horrific terror attack in New Orleans. We have some disturbing new video that shows just how frightening the situation was.

It shows 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar speeding down Bourbon Street. You see it there, in that white pickup truck. Pedestrians obviously out celebrating the new year, but then having to scramble to get out of the way.

The FBI has released new pictures of Jabbar walking around the French Quarter in the hours before the attack. One shows a blue cooler with a long handle, which investigators say contained one of the two improvised explosive devices that were planted in that area.

Now, another video obtained exclusively by CNN, appears to show Jabbar putting a white pole with a black top into the back of the truck. Police say an ISIS flag was attached to the trailer hitch during the attack.

Now, the White House says so far it has seen no evidence of foreign direction or involvement in the New Orleans terror attack. But the FBI is focusing on the suspect's apparent interest in ISIS.

CNN's Ryan Young has our details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER RAIA, FBI DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A change in theory and a brand-new timeline laid out one day after the deadly attack on Bourbon Street.

RAIA: We do not assess, at this point, that anyone else is involved in this attack, except for Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

YOUNG (voice-over): The FBI now saying they believe the suspect acted alone after initially saying Wednesday they believe he was not solely responsible for the deadly attack.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar first rented the white pickup truck in Houston, Texas, on December 30th.

RAIA: He then drove from Houston to New Orleans on the evening of the 31st, and he posted several videos to an online platform, proclaiming his support for ISIS.

YOUNG (voice-over): New Ring video, obtained exclusively by CNN from a New Orleans resident, shows the suspect unloading the white pickup truck at an Airbnb just hours before the attack.

JEFF GONZALEZ, RING CAMERA OWNER: The white truck was parked right in front of our place. YOUNG (voice-over): The FBI also revealed dark details about Jabbar's

Facebook videos the morning of the attack. His last one, posted at 3:02 a.m. just moments before he plowed down crowds on Bourbon Street.

RAIA: Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the, quote, "war between the believers and the disbelievers," end quote.

YOUNG (voice-over): And the FBI is sending an important message to the public.

RAIA: So far, we have received just over 400 tips from the public. Whether you know Jabbar personally, worked with him, served in the military, or saw him in New Orleans or Texas, We need to talk to you.

YOUNG (voice-over): Investigators revealed that two laptops and three phones were recovered linked to the suspect, and are being reviewed for leads, and more evidence was released about the reported explosives found near the site of the attack.

[00:15:10]

RAIA: FBI bomb technicians also recovered two IEDs in coolers, one from the cross-section of Bourbon and Orleans Street, and the second at an intersection approximately two blocks away.

CHIEF ANNE KIRKPATRICK, NEW ORLEANS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: New Orleans is a resilient city. We have every resource nationally, locally, statewide. We're a team.

YOUNG (voice-over): A much-needed sentiment for a shattered community.

YOUNG: What message are you trying to send?

KIRKPATRICK: Presence and making sure that people know that we're confident that we can keep them safe.

YOUNG: So, you can hear some of the sounds of Bourbon Street back. There are families out here. There are tourists who are walking down this famous road once again.

One of the things you will notice, though: there is extra police protection here. And as we walk back this direction, the barricade that was down that night is up. They've been having technical issues with this, but they wanted to make sure this was up. They have a big truck blocking this way, as well.

And the sidewalk is blocked, so no truck could ever make it through here again.

We know the city will be focused on security from here on out, and it's something that we'll continue to follow.

Ryan Young, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE) NEWTON: For more, we're joined by CNN's senior law enforcement

analyst, Chief Charles Ramsey.

Listen, a lot of relief. I think you could sense the relief from authorities saying that this was not a cell, a terror cell. This was indeed a lone attacker.

How significant was it that they were able to actually underscore that today?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I mean, it's very important.

First of all, you know, whenever you have an offender, even if they're dead, but if you -- if you tell people that you've got additional people out there, then, you know, the anxiety is still going to be pretty high.

So, at that point in the investigation, when they made that announcement that they didn't think he acted alone, that was based on what they had at that moment.

But as the investigation progresses and more information becomes available, they recovered the video that he recorded in the car on his -- on his way to New Orleans.

All those things together, as well as going over the video evidence, the forensic evidence that they had, it -- they were able to come to the conclusion that he acted alone.

NEWTON: Bourbon Street open. Sugar Bowl went ahead, well attended. No incidents.

New Orleans has changed its security profile, though, and they say it will continue to change for all events going forward. What could that look like, do you believe, Chief, not just in New Orleans but in other communities?

RAMSEY: Well, I think as far as New Orleans goes, you got a preview of it tonight with the Sugar Bowl, with the added precautions on Bourbon Street and the added presence of police.

They even had, I believe, National Guard assisting along with state police. And so, you saw a massive presence.

And of course, they have the Super Bowl coming up in another month.

But this is a lesson not just for New Orleans. This is for police departments around the country, especially those hosting major events or major times like New Year's, for example, when you know you're going to have a lot of people. That's a soft target in and of itself.

You have to take a look at your security plan. You have to make sure that you have sufficient resources, that you do all you can to try to prevent not just a vehicle-borne attack, which is what this was, but any kind of attack. You can't be 100 percent certain that you can stop everything, but you

can certainly make it less likely to occur. And so, the police departments are going over their security plans now.

NEWTON: Yes. And some of that deterrence posture can also prevent attacks. Anybody who's scoping it out decides against it, just given the security posture that they see.

When we talk about lessons learned, though, you know, if we take Bourbon Street -- and you have so much insight into this just in terms of law enforcement, everyone was saying, well, why weren't the barriers up? Certainly, the barriers went up today.

But it is much more complicated, right? Because if you put a ring of security around a place like Bourbon Street, you also have to make sure that first responders can get in, and you have to make sure, if there is, let's say, a mass -- mass casualty event, that people can also get out. It is more complicated than it sounds.

RAMSEY: Well, if you look at like today, they had that wedge-like barrier that could go up and down. That's really kind of a thing that you need to have, or the bollards that come up from the ground like they do in D.C. by the White House, for example, for the upcoming inauguration.

You know, normally, those are up. That day will be down, because the motorcade will go through that area.

Just a way in which you can allow emergency vehicles or authorized vehicles in but, at the same time, stop all other traffic.

And so, they got to come up with a plan that really allows for some flexibility. You've got businesses there that need deliveries. It's residential. You've got people that live in the area there.

And so, you know, to -- to permanently shut it down is something that just doesn't make a lot of sense. But at the same time, you have to be very mindful that, you know, this is a target.

[00:20:04]

I mean, Bourbon Street with all the people. I mean, you've been there. I've been there. It gets pretty crowded and would be an easy, soft target.

NEWTON: And yet, so many cities, like you said -- and not just in the United States and beyond -- can obviously relate.

When we talk about the mood, though, in New Orleans, as a law enforcement professional, and you see that there wasn't defiance necessarily, but there were certainly resilience and almost seeming to want to honor -- to want to honor the victims. What do you tell people who say, maybe it was too early? Why does it look like business as usual out there?

RAMSEY: Well, you can't let the terrorists win, because if they do -- if you do, it's only going to get worse, because they're going to shut down everything if they think that it's going to put everything -- bring everything to a standstill.

I mean, you know, think of something as simple as, you know, kids that pull fire alarms in schools, and you empty the whole school. You know, time after time after time, they do it over and over again or call in a bomb threat or whatever. And we -- just to see the reaction.

And so, I'm not saying that you can't take steps, you know, just to make sure. It only takes one time for that bomb threat to be real.

But at the same time, you have to have some balance there, because if you shut everything down every single time you get a threat that's not even a credible threat, then of course, you go to the opposite extreme.

It's a balancing act, and it's very difficult. It's very difficult.

NEWTON: Well, I'm sure, as you say, lessons will be learned. And that really is the tribute to the family members who have lost so much in this incident, that they realize that things will change, and others will be safer going forward.

Chief Ramsey, as always, thanks so much.

RAMSEY: No, thank you.

NEWTON: Now, the U.S. secretary of homeland security says there's no evidence so far linking the New Orleans attacker to the person believed to have caused a Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas.

That driver has now been identified as Matthew Livelsberger, an active-duty U.S. Army sergeant.

CNN's Natasha Chen has more now from Las Vegas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Authorities say they believe the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded just outside the entrance doors of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas was 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger.

His body was burned beyond recognition, and police are waiting for additional forensic analysis for final confirmation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In how we're trying to identify him -- and I'm feeling comfortable to give you this information -- is a tremendous amount of substantial evidence.

CHEN (voice-over): The motive for the bombing remains unknown, but police say Livelsberger died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head just before the explosion. They found two guns, a military I.D., a smart phone, and a smart watch inside the Cybertruck.

They've also identified two tattoos they say Livelsberger had. KEVIN MCMAHILL, SHERIFF, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: One

of which was on the stomach and one of which is on the arm, that we can see bits and pieces of it, as in comparison to what it is that we now know he had on his body.

CHEN (voice-over): Livelsberger was an active-duty member in the Army Special Forces operation, serving in Germany with previous tours in Afghanistan.

He was awarded five Bronze Stars and held the rank of master sergeant, a senior enlistment, according to four U.S. officials.

He was on approved leave when police say he rented the Tesla Cybertruck in Colorado, arriving in Las Vegas on New Year's Day. He drove up and down Las Vegas Boulevard before passing the Trump Hotel.

Livelsberger then circled back and parked the Cybertruck in the entrance driveway just moments before the fiery blast, according to law enforcement officials.

Video of the aftermath shows the bed of the Cybertruck loaded with fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel.

KENNY COOPER, ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT, ATF: The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from -- from an individual with this type of military experience.

CHEN (voice-over): Police credit the Tesla vehicle's body construction forcing the blast upward and limiting the damage to the hotel driveway, even leaving the glass doors intact.

Law enforcement officials say they have not connected the explosion at the Trump Hotel to the deadly terror attack in New Orleans in the early morning hours on New Year's Day, but acknowledged the similarities.

Like Livelsberger, the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, used a vehicle to carry out the attack, killing 14 people. Both have a military background. Jabbar was an Army veteran and served in Afghanistan. They even rented their trucks through the same company, Turo.

MCMAHILL: If these turn out to be simply similarities, very strange similarities to have. And so, we're not prepared to rule in or rule out anything at this point.

CHEN: It was a frightening moment for the seven people who were injured in the immediate vicinity, as well as hotel guests inside.

We spoke to a couple of guests who were here at the time, staying between the 40th and 50th floors, who felt the windows rattle. And they said smoke was billowing in the stairwells and coming out of the elevator doors.

Now, something investigators are now working on is trying to retrieve any possible footage from any cameras inside the Cybertruck before the explosion happened. Investigators said Elon Musk is sending staff to Las Vegas to help them with that.

Natasha Chen, CNN, Las Vegas, Nevada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Families mourn the senseless killing of the victims of New Year's terror in New Orleans. Their stories remembered when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:27:19]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To honor and remember those affected by the horrific acts of violence that occurred yesterday morning, in the French Quarter (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Fans and players paused in silence before Thursday's Sugar Bowl game to honor the victims of the New Orleans terror attack.

The game, where Notre Dame beat the University of Georgia, had been postponed by a day following the New Year's attack.

Now, despite earlier concerns, the game went off with no problems before a crowd of some 57,000 people.

Now, we're learning the names and seeing the faces of some of the victims killed in the Bourbon Street attack. One of the victims, Matthew Tenedorio, had dinner with his family on New Year's Eve, and they begged him not to go to New Orleans that night.

Now they mourn and look for answers, along with the families of other victims. CNN's Danny Freeman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA BOUNDS, COUSIN OF MATT TENEDORIO: My grandma, grandpa, everybody's just crying, wailing together. And yesterday, my grandma cried nonstop for eight hours. Like, we just can't believe it.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-five-year-old Matthew Tenedorio was from Slidell, Louisiana. The youngest brother of three loved working with his dad at the Superdome.

Matt had dinner with his family earlier on New Year's Eve, and his cousin said Matt was not hit by the truck that night, but died from a gunshot. Matt's mother devastated.

BOUNDS: She wanted people to know that he was so lovable and kind and that he liked skateboarding, you know, and he loved his niece and nephew. And yes. And that they're heartbroken.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Matt is just one of 14 who were killed in the New Year's Day morning horror on Bourbon Street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They mattered. The families matter and matter to the city of New Orleans.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Thirty-seven-year-old Reggie Hunter was a father of two: an 11-year-old and a 1-year-old. He was from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

TRAVIS HUNTER, COUSIN OF REGGIE HUNTER: Reggie was a beautiful person inside and out. To know Reggie was to love Reggie.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Reggie survived the initial attack but passed away at the hospital from internal injuries.

HUNTER: He could change the environment in a room. Always smiling. Just a pure person. Good, pure-hearted person.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Tiger Bech was 27 years old. The former Princeton football player from Lafayette, Louisiana. According to his sister, Virginia, Tiger was walking back to his hotel with his best friend on New Year's Eve when they were both struck.

His friend survived, but Tiger passed away at the hospital.

Tiger's sister Virginia telling CNN she's heartbroken. But evil will not prevail.

Twenty-one-year-old Hubert Gauthreaux was killed in the attack, as well. His high school in Marrero, Louisiana, asking the community to "pray for the repose of Hubert's soul, his family and friends during this difficult time."

[00:30:08]

Drew Dauphin graduated from Auburn University in 2023. "Words cannot convey the sorrow the Auburn family feels for Drew's family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time," wrote the university's president, Christopher Roberts.

The University of Alabama confirmed student Kareem Badawi was also one of the victims. The president of that school writing, "I grieve alongside family and friends of Kareem in their heartbreaking loss."

We're still learning more about the 14 people lost and the dozens injured on New Year's Day. Parents, siblings, students, locals, and tourists, loved and not forgotten.

Danny Freeman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Joining me now is Shirell Jackson. She's the cousin of one of the victims of the attack, Reggie Hunter.

And firstly, I just want to extend our condolences to you and your entire family. And we'd love to start with you just telling us about your cousin, what made him special.

You know, I was looking at some of the pictures you sent over, and just him holding his kids. He seems like such a happy guy.

SHIRELL JACKSON, COUSIN OF REGGIE HUNTER: Yes. That's true. He really, really -- I keep saying the word "was." You know, you've got to get used to that.

Awesome guy. Life of the party. Gentle soul. Loved his kids. Like, one of the things that he would say that made him the proudest is he's a great father. And that is proven, like you said, just from the pictures; you can tell.

But life of the party. Very nice, outgoing. Funny, funny, funny guy. Love little cousin Reggie.

NEWTON: Little cousin Reggie. I cannot imagine your loss at this time. And you guys just trying to process everything that happened.

And so, what did happen? It wasn't even that long ago. And it must just seem like such a blur.

JACKSON: It is. From the minute that we got the phone call, 5:30, 6 a.m. that morning, he was involved in an accident. We needed to get to the hospital.

From getting to the hospital and finding out that he was no longer with us. And then the nature that he was taken from us. It has just been unbearable.

And as a family, we just communicate, talk to each other. We all met up at the hospital. A lot of crying, holding, hugging each other, emotional. All over the place, praying for one another and just staying together like the family unit that we already -- you know that we truly, truly are. That's what's getting us through this.

We just had conversations tonight on doing a vigil for him and trying to come up with a best -- the best day that's going to work with everyone's schedule and just do something, again, in his honor and just to remember him and shine light on him in this horrific situation that we're faced with.

NEWTON: Absolutely. I'm sure it will bring you all comfort.

In terms of what happened that night, have police been able to really give you details of how this happened to him?

JACKSON: No. I've spoken to several people for -- you know, on behalf of the family, his sister speaking with people. We don't have a coroner -- coroner's report yet. There's not -- no one said, Hey, he was ran over by a truck, or that was the exact reason.

How did it happen? The time? We're just like the rest of the world, videos on social media, on TV, on Instagram, snippets of just seeing that horrible night flash, you know, in front of our eyes. That's what we're going off of. But not a direct link to, say, this person, you know, murdered your

cousin, and it was done in this fashion. No, we have not received that.

NEWTON: How difficult is that?

JACKSON: We've come to the conclusion, you know, what we think happened. And we're just processing that. To have it formally in writing, I don't think that's necessarily a hiccup for us, because it's so many people are working, trying to figure out, was it an individual person? Was it multiple people? Is it terrorism? It's all over the place.

We just know, at the end of the day, whoever it was, whatever reason, our cousin Reggie, he's no longer with us. So, that's what we're focusing on: how to move forward and be there for each family member. Knowing that Reggie's never coming back to us.

NEWTON: Yes.

JACKSON: That's what we're focusing on.

NEWTON: And so tough, considering he has two children.

Shirell, before I let you go, New Orleans opened up again. They had the Sugar Bowl. Bourbon Street is again open. How is your family feeling about that? Do you think that's right and just that that happened now?

JACKSON: We are a very close-knit family. one of the things that we would do every single year is Mardi Gras. Love it. It's in our blood. We're there under the bridge every single Fat Tuesday.

[00:35:16]

I know that Reggie wouldn't want people to just say, I'm staying at home. Don't go to New Orleans. It's not a safe place. It's not a good place.

This was an unfortunate event that occurred. We -- no one could have prevented what this person, this hateful, evil thing that this person set out to do. It could have happened at any city.

Why did he pick New Orleans? We don't know, but New Orleans is a beautiful city. Our family love it. We love Louisiana. We want people to come. We want people to visit and go to the Super Bowl. Enjoy it. That's like an American thing that we do every single year. You know, that's what Americans do. We love football. We love the Super Bowl.

Go enjoy it. Be with your family. Continue to live your life. Come to New Orleans, enjoy the food. Enjoy the Southern hospitality. Enjoy Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday.

Everyone was there that night to have a good time and enjoy themselves, and someone just snubbed that away from them. But that doesn't mean that New Orleans isn't a safe place and that you can't continue to come and visit this beautiful city and enjoy it with your family.

We definitely will be in New Orleans for Fat Tuesday, celebrate Mardi Gras in Reggie's honor like we've done so many years before.

NEWTON: Yes, in Reggie's honor.

Shirell, I can't thank you enough for showing so much grace and strength and for sharing your memories, because we really want to put the focus here on the victims where, it should be.

Shirell Jackson for us. Thank you so much.

JACKSON: Thank you. You're welcome.

NEWTON: We're going to take a short break here. We'll be back in a moment with more news.

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NEWTON: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton.

Authorities are actively seeking information about the man who carried out the deadly New Year's terror attack in New Orleans as they try and piece together his movements ahead of the bloodshed and dig into how he became radicalized.

The FBI says Shamsud-Din Jabbar was 100 percent inspired by ISIS. These new images show the 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran in a tan coat and jeans, casually walking the French Quarter about an hour before the attack that killed 14 people.

This newly released surveillance footage, in fact, captures some close calls, as Jabbar's rented Ford pickup drove over barricades and barreled down Bourbon Street at a dangerously high speed while, as you can see there, people darted out of the way.

Authorities now say it's likely this was a lone-wolf attack with no accomplices.

[00:40:06]

These exclusive images of Jabbar were captured by a neighbor's doorbell camera. They show him unloading the truck outside the Airbnb he rented, hours -- about five hours, in fact -- before the carnage.

Meantime, investigators have revealed a new, detailed timeline of the events leading up to the ramming attack. CNN's Randi Kaye has that story from New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Around 3:15 a.m., soon after revelers in New Orleans rang in the new year, a devastating scene. A white pickup truck accelerated through a crowd on Bourbon Street, mowing down everyone in its path. JIMMY COTHRAN, WITNESS: A mother twisted up, obviously deceased. We

counted around eight bodies very quickly, right in our area. One gentleman crushed, had tire tracks across his back.

KAYE (voice-over): Dozens of people were injured and 14 declared dead. The driver of the F-150 truck was then killed in a shootout with police.

KIRKPATRICK: This man was trying to run over as many people as he possibly could. It was not a DUI situation.

KAYE (voice-over): Mechanical sidewalk barricades had been installed around Bourbon Street, but officials said they were being repaired at the time of the attack.

Some eyewitnesses to the carnage awakened in their hotel room by screams and what sounded like an explosion.

ANNICA S., WITNESS: Saw a wheelchair that was sitting there. You know, at first, I thought, like, is that a motorcycle? Like what? My eyes had to strain to understand what I was seeing, and then to see the man from the wheelchair laying in the gutter was heart-wrenching.

KAYE (voice-over): The suspect, later identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a Texas-born U.S. citizen and Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. Inside his truck, an ISIS flag.

KAYE: The FBI says Jabbar placed two IEDs in the area before the attack, likely sometime between 1 and 2 a.m. One of those devices was found here at the intersection of Bourbon and Orleans Street. The other, the FBI says, was located just two blocks away.

KAYE (voice-over): The FBI is convinced Jabbar had been planning the attack for days, renting the F-150 in Houston on December 30th and driving to New Orleans on the 31st.

RAIA: Let me be very clear about this point. This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated, and an evil act.

KAYE: The FBI found five videos on the suspect's Facebook account. The last video was apparently posted at 3:02 a.m. That's just 13 minutes before he terrorized this community and came barreling down Bourbon Street.

KAYE (voice-over): According to the FBI, Jabbar proclaimed in the videos he originally planned to harm his family and friends and that he joined ISIS before the summer.

More than 1,000 law enforcement agents in multiple states are sifting through data and leads. They focused on the suspect's Houston home and an Airbnb in New Orleans, where they believe the suspect stayed.

RAIA: We have recovered two laptops and are currently reviewing them for any potential leads.

KAYE (voice-over): Randi Kaye, CNN, New Orleans. (END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: So now, the FBI says that the driver, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, also had an ISIS flag in his truck during the attack.

Nic Robertson has more on the potential resurgence of the terrorist group.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): 2024 saw ISIS attacks spike. This massive concert hall attack in Moscow, killing more than 100 people in March, their deadliest, claimed by their most active franchise, ISIS-K or ISKP in Afghanistan.

A month later, this bloody attack inside a Russian jail, four guards killed.

A stabbing attack followed in Germany. They attacked in Afghanistan and Iran.

Another of their estimated ten franchises or provinces fought Nigerian troops.

AARON ZELIN, SENIOR FELLOW, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: We've seen a huge increase in tempo over the last year or two. In 2024, there were like 14 or 15 arrests related to the Islamic State in the U.S.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's a far cry from five years ago when ISIS appeared to be on the back foot.

Their short-lived Iraq and Syrian caliphate, beaten by U.S. and coalition partners into a seeming surrender.

But not anymore, according to MI-5's intelligence chief.

KEN MCCALLUM, DIRECTOR GENERAL, MI-5: After a few years of being pinned well back, they've resumed efforts to export terrorism. We and many European partners are detecting I.S.-connectivity in our homelands, which we're moving early to disrupt.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour in Vienna, beneficiary of the heightened safeguarding. An ISIS-inspired plot forcing her to call off her show.

[00:45:06]

What has changed, Zelin says, is that ISIS is centralizing, learning from its mistakes in Syria.

ZELIN: They integrated a lot of their provinces together under this general directorate of provinces. So, there's a bit more coordination on the global level within its network.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): In the Mideast, the ISIS brand is apparently still attracting supporters, like these three Omanis in one of many such ISIS propaganda videos the terror group posts.

Their bloody bounce-back began several years ago, gaining temporary global attention, killing 13 U.S. troops as coalition forces pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021.

But since then, most of ISIS's recovery has not sparked massive global attention. 2025 might be the year that changes.

ZELIN: If they can do something in the U.S., if they can do something in Europe, if they can do something in Russia, Turkey, Iran, central Asia, if they can do it, they'll do it because, for them, it's a global war.

ROBERTSON: And success for ISIS in this context could be as simple as an attacker like Shamsud-Din Jabbar claiming, as he has, to have acted in ISIS's name when he may not have had any physical contact or support from them.

Nic Robertson, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Still ahead for us, displaced Palestinians struggle to survive the elements, in addition to the fighting in the second winter of war in Gaza. Stay with us.

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NEWTON: Israel's prime minister has approved sending negotiators to Qatar to continue talks for a Gaza ceasefire and release of hostages.

Benjamin Netanyahu's office says Israeli security and intelligence officials are expected to travel to Doha, Qatar, for the talks.

Now, both Israel and Hamas have blamed the other for talks stalling in recent weeks. Indirect discussions are ongoing, even as official negotiations have been deadlocked for months.

Now, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum welcomed the renewed efforts for negotiations, while adding there is no time to waste for those still being held captive in Gaza.

Meantime, Palestinian officials say an Israeli strike in Southern Gaza killed 11 people, including the head of Gaza's police and a top deputy.

Gaza's Interior Ministry accused Israel of attempting to undermine law and order, while the Israeli military accused the police deputy of being a terrorist in coordination with Hamas.

The location of the strike, Al-Mawasi, was previously designated by Israel as a humanitarian area, but has repeatedly come under attack anyway.

[00:50:02] Elsewhere, a local hospital and relatives say an Israeli drone strike killed at least eight people working at a petrol station in central Gaza.

The U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees is calling on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza as winter sets in. UNWRA warns that frigid temperatures and heavy rain are threatening lives.

Several people, including at least five infants, have died from the severe cold weather in recent days.

Details now from CNN's Paula Hancocks. A warning: her report is graphic and may be disturbing to some viewers, but it's also a reminder that this is the reality for Palestinians in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I did everything I could, my son. I swear I did.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A father seeks forgiveness from his 20-day-old baby. Juma (ph) froze to death in a tent in Gaza.

His twin, Ali, is fighting for his life in intensive care.

His father says, "I came from the North, from Beit Lahiya, because of the Israeli bombing, only to come here and watch them die from cold and hunger."

Juma (ph) is one of at least five babies to have died from hypothermia in Gaza in recent days.

As funeral prayers are recited above two tiny bodies, children look on: trauma buried in eyes that have seen almost 15 months of horror.

Ali is fighting sepsis. His doctor says he is in critical condition.

"They live in a tent," the doctor says. "In this freezing winter weather, even adults suffer from the cold. So, imagine the severe threat to young children."

Juma's mother folds up clothes he will never again wear. She shows a heating device given by a U.N. agency the day before he died. She never had the chance to wrap him in it.

Since Juma's death, conditions in Gaza have only worsened. Storms and torrential rain making surviving in makeshift tents almost impossible.

This man from Jabalya camp stands outside his flooded tent. He says it collapsed under the weight of the rain. His family's' bedding is soaked.

As children walk by, he says, more water comes in.

This barefooted boy tries to dig a mud defense for his family's tent, but the sheer volume of water makes most barricades worthless.

Despite the heavy rains transforming streets into rivers, drinking water remains scarce, causing chaos at the stations when the water trucks arrive.

Some try to see the fun side of the rain. Shoeless children run in between the waterlogged tents.

But the misery is acute. This newborn baby, Salah Mahmoud al-Fasi (ph), froze to death on Christmas day. The cruel irony: she died in a tent in al-Mawasi, an area Israel has designated a humanitarian zone.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: And we will be right back with more news in a moment.

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NEWTON: A security camera in Southern California captured this frightening moment.

A small plane crashing into a commercial building just about a minute after taking off. Now, police say two people were killed and 18 injured.

[00:55:01]

It happened in the city of Fullerton, South of Los Angeles.

First responders worked to put out the fire and evacuate surrounding buildings. The warehouse that was hit was a home to a furniture upholstery manufacturer.

Residents of a remote village in Kenya got quite a scare in 2024. A huge, red-hot object fell from the sky on Monday, prompting an immediate investigation from the Kenya Space Agency.

The metallic ring measures 2.5 meters in diameter, about eight feet, and it weighs about 500 kilograms, or 1,100 pounds. The KSA says it's a fragment from a space object, probably a separation ring from a rocket.

Police say the ring was still hot when officers arrived, and residents cordoned off the area until it cooled down.

To Washington, now, where Mike Johnson is fighting to keep his job as speaker of the House. The speaker's election is set for the coming hours. And looking to avoid a drawn-out speaker fight, Donald Trump is throwing his support behind Johnson and is even calling out potential holdouts.

But allies say the speaker is resisting cutting any backroom side deals to keep his position.

CNN's Lauren Fox reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A critical moment for Speaker Mike Johnson --

FOX (voice-over): -- as he tries once again to clinch the speaker's gavel on Friday.

Now, it's still not clear whether or not Johnson is going to have the votes that he needs in order to win the speaker's race on the first ballot.

FOX: But he was confident earlier on Fox Business, making clear that he believes that they're going to be OK on Friday and that he thinks that they may actually be able to get there in the first round of voting.

Now, Johnson can only afford to lose one Republican member.

FOX (voice-over): And already, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky has said he's going to vote for another candidate in this race.

Earlier on Thursday, Johnson huddled --

FOX: -- with some of those remaining holdouts, and they had conversations about what structurally Johnson could do and promised them now that would ease any concerns they had about handing him the speaker's gavel once again.

But many of those members, including Ralph Norman, said that they are still weighing their decision for Friday morning.

It's also possible that Johnson continues to meet and have phone calls with members who are still on the fence. Obviously, it's a very tight margin when you can only afford to lose one vote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Our thanks to Lauren Fox there.

Now, President Joe Biden handed out Presidential Citizen's Medals, one of the country's highest civilian honors, to 20 people on Thursday. And among them, Republican former Representative Liz Cheney, vice chair of the House Committee that investigated the January 6th, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Cheney received a standing ovation for her work on the committee and her service to the country.

Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson, who led the January 6th committee, was given a medal, as well, and also received a standing ovation.

I want to thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Paula Newton. I'll be right back with more news in a moment.

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