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Isa Soares Tonight
Officials Believe Cybertruck Driver Identified; FBI Believes New Orleans Attacker Acted Alone; New Orleans Attacker Inspired by ISIS; Ukraine Cuts Russian Gas to E.U.; Johnson Battles to Remain U.S. House Speaker. FBI Says Suspect in New Orleans Attack Acted Alone and was Inspired By ISIS; Sources Tell CNN Driver of Tesla Cybertruck that Exploded at Trump Hotel in Las Vegas was an Active Duty Green Beret. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired January 02, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, we are following two breaking news
stories for you this hour. The FBI says the suspect in the deadly attack in New Orleans acted alone and was inspired by ISIS. We'll have the very
latest from law enforcement officials.
And sources telling CNN the man linked to the rental of a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas was serving in the U.S.
Army. Police there are expected to give an update soon, and of course, we'll bring you that as soon as it gets underway -- actually, it's underway
right now. Let's just listen in.
KEVIN MCMAHILL, SHERIFF, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: And if you'll notice on a lot of these guns that we're going to talk about here,
they're almost just burnt beyond recognition as well. There's an SLR model B 30 semi-automatic firearm, a number of fireworks that were still in the
vehicle that had to be removed. Notably, we found an iPhone and a smartwatch and then several credit cards were also in the name of our
subject.
Our subject is 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger. He's of Colorado Springs, Colorado, born July 22nd of 1987. Now, as you all see here on a picture of
his driver's license -- let's see, the question really still remains for me, and I know that there's a lot of new folks in the media that are
identifying this person as the person in our vehicle.
As I mentioned to you already, his body is burnt beyond recognition, and I do still not have confirmation 100 percent that, that is the individual
that was inside of our vehicle. And so, as I'm calling it now, the subject or person of interest, I will not come back until I have the confirmation
through DNA or medical records that this is indeed, in fact, the subject inside of the vehicle.
Now, further complicating this identification of this individual, we also discovered through the coroner's office that the individual had sustained a
gunshot wound to the head prior to the detonation of the vehicle. One of the handguns was found at his feet inside of the vehicle. Obviously, 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 to include, he
rented the Turo vehicle.
There are two tattoos, 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, that has given us a lot of confidence that this is, in fact, the same person as well as which -- the
clearly obvious, which is the credit cards, the military identification, the passport.
And then furthermore, as you'll see here, in just in a very short period of time, we tracked his movements from Colorado to Las Vegas, and in a number
of the photographs that we were able to determine, he was the individual that was driving the vehicle. And also, I'd like to reiterate this point to
you.
[14:05:00]
We still have only ever seen him in this vehicle, and we're not aware of any other subjects involved in this particular case. Now, I would like to
acknowledge a couple of things because I know what's going on in the social media world, and there are a number of things in this case that are similar
to the attack in New Orleans. We do know that, our subject here served in the military.
In fact, he is a current member of the military. Both of the subjects served at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. What we do know about that is, it's a
very large military base, and we have no record that they served in the same unit or even at the same years at Fort Bragg, something that continues
to remain under investigation.
I also know that they both served in Afghanistan in 2009. We don't have any evidence that they were in the same province in Afghanistan, the same
location or the same unit. Again, something else that remains under investigation. And we also know, of course, that they both used the rental
company Turo to rent their vehicles.
As far as his military background, it's been confirmed by DOD that he was indeed in the United States Army. He was also a Green Beret operations
sergeant who spent most of his time at Fort Carson, Colorado, and in Germany. He was on approved leave from Germany where he was serving with
the 10th Special Forces Group.
He was also previously in the National Guard and the Army reserve. I'd like to point out to you that through exceptional joint investigative effort,
we've gotten to a place where we believe we can show you his route to Las Vegas from Colorado, and Carlos(ph) will pull up the map there for you.
And we know that he rented the Cybertruck in Denver on December 28th, we tracked his movements through the Tesla charging stations to Monument,
Colorado, on December 30th. On the 31st of December, the truck was charged in Trinidad, Colorado, Las Vegas, New Mexico and Albuquerque and Gallup,
New Mexico.
On January 1st, the truck was charged in Holbrook, Flagstaff and Kingman, Arizona. We last tracked the truck in Kingman at 05:33 yesterday morning.
The truck was first spotted in Las Vegas at 7:29 a.m. yesterday, and Carlos will pull up a picture of the truck pulling onto fashion show drive here.
And that picture was observed at about 7:34 a.m. We know that he pulled into the Trump valet, and I believe we have a video of that. You can see
the Cybertruck highlighted there. So, through extensive surveillance video, we were able to track him leaving there, and we know that he went to
several different places along Las Vegas boulevard and he spent some time in a parking lot of a business near Flamingo in Las Vegas boulevard.
We then did have a video of the truck pulling back onto Las Vegas boulevard from the Sands. You see that there, goes -- that's north on the boulevard
from Sands at 8:39, and where he then immediately heads to the Trump hotel, pulls into the valet area, and as, of course, you all know the explosion
occurs within 17 seconds of his arrival at the valet.
There's some additional investigative updates that are going to be provided to you by a couple of the other speakers here, the first of which will be
our special agent in charge of the FBI local office, Spencer Evans. Spencer.
SPENCER EVANS, SPECIAL AGENT, FBI, LAS VEGAS: Good morning. My name is Spencer Evans, I'm the special agent in charge of the FBI's Las Vegas
division. As the sheriff mentioned, we've been working through the night with our partners, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and other
agencies to gather all the facts and determine a motive to what was initially reported to the FBI as a bombing incident to which our special
agent, bomb techs and others responded.
Obviously, we're always concerned in these sorts of events to ascertain what the motive is. We understand that's -- everybody is at the forefront
of everyone's thoughts. And so, looking into exactly what the motivation is remains our number one priority. This is why the FBI's joint terrorism
taskforce has been brought into play.
[14:10:00]
The joint terrorism taskforce's most important part of that acronym is joint. It is done in concert with our partners, which are comprised of more
than a dozen investigative agencies here throughout the state of Nevada. We've been working hand-in-glove, side-by-side, tirelessly to determine is
there any ongoing threat to the public to identify the subject, to determine any potential connection to other events going on in the world,
most notably in New Orleans?
And then obviously, to determine if there's anything else that we need to be tracking down. At this time, as the sheriff's pointed out, we feel that
the subject has been identified, although not conclusively, waiting for DNA evidence on that front. However, we do feel like we have the subject
identified, and at this time there is no information about additional subjects that the FBI is tracking on.
We -- resources, as I mentioned, that have been deployed in support of this event include special agent bomb techs, our evidence response team, which
is processing crime scenes side-by-side with the -- with the forensics folks from Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, our investigators, our
Intelligence analysts, and then outside of the FBI, Las Vegas field office, we have investigative leads that are being conducted by FBI field offices,
both internationally and domestically as well.
As always, when the FBI is involved with any sort of thick case like this, we ask for help from the public. Anyone with information related to this
incident, we encourage you to please call 1-800-Call-FBI, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. We've already received thousands of tips
related to this incident.
The challenge that we face moving forward is to separate those that are pertinent and relevant to those that can be verified for those -- from
those that have not. For example, one of the tips that we received just today relates to information alluding to this subject's personal
experiences related to his time and activity in the military.
Again, that's unverified and uncorroborated, but one of many tips and leads that we will be following up in the days that come. If you have any
additional information, again, encourage everyone, 1-800-Call-FBI or submit it online, tips.fbi.gov. We will tirelessly work to exhaust all
investigative leads and conclusively determine what the nature of this particular incident was, what the motivation was, and to the extent
possible, share all that information as we obtain it.
I'll now turn sometime over to the assistant special agent in charge from the ATF, Kenny Cooper.
KENNY COOPER, ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT, ATF: Good morning, everybody, my name is Kenny Cooper, I'm the assistant special agent in charge of ATF San
Francisco field division. ATF is bringing our expertise in post-blast investigations and our crime gun Intelligence to specifically assist in
this investigation. I will tell you that our special agent bomb techs are working with the FBI and with Las Vegas Metro, and sifting through that
post-blast debris to find components and investigative leads that will derive from that evidence process.
We're too early into that investigation process to give any determination as far as how this device was initiated. I will say that we do know that
the components primarily consist of fireworks, mortars, aerial shells, and are all consumer fireworks, nothing commercial grade has been discovered at
this point, and we have identified some fuel enhancers like the Coleman fuel and BP racing fuel and some explosive targets that can be purchased at
any sporting goods store.
We've also -- as you've -- as the sheriff mentioned, we've identified two semi-automatic handguns recovered from the Tesla. We have successfully
traced those firearms, and I can tell you that Matthew Livelsberger lawfully purchased both of these firearms on December 30th, 2024. We have
agents following up those investigative leads.
We know exactly where those firearms were purchased, and we will share any developments from those leads as they come in. Thank you.
MCMAHILL: We also have the Clark County fire chief here, John Steinbeck, and he didn't have any additional updates. But if there's any questions in
regards to what the Fire Department did during this, he's here to answer those questions as well. With that, I'd just like to say, before I take a
couple of questions from all of you, you'll notice that we're not releasing information that we haven't corroborated and verified.
We're very well aware of all of the things that are going around on social media, but that's just the way we're going to conduct this investigation.
We're not putting it out until we can tell you for a fact what information it is that we're putting out. And so, we're going to continue to do that.
But I'm also confident to tell the Las Vegas community and this great nation that we don't believe there's any further threat from this subject
or anybody associated to him here in Las Vegas.
[14:15:00]
With that, Denise(ph), I saw you had your hand up, if you could, just identify yourself, please.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here with the news, "Channel 3" Las Vegas. Did the suspect have any other connection to Las Vegas? Had he ever been here
before or any reason to be here?
MCMAHILL: So, the question was, did he have -- did the subject have any ties to Las Vegas or had he ever been here before? I do believe we had had
one instance a number of years ago where he stayed at a local hotel, but we're still trying to verify that information as well. Sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: David Shaheds(ph), "KLS TV". There was -- you have a gentleman in a Cybertruck, Trump hotel, there's information that the FBI
was in Colorado Springs last night, possibly at this gentleman's home. Any information about why?
MCMAHILL: I think I'll let Spencer answer that question.
EVANS: Yes, so, as I mentioned, the motivation at this point is unknown. We are as a -- mentioned earlier, following investigative leads both
domestically and internationally as well. And so, that includes search warrants and witness interviews, collecting forensic information and
basically trying to compile the facts.
And so, there's investigative activity taking place literally around the globe, trying to determine what the potential nexus is. But at this time,
at this particular moment in time, as the sheriff aptly said, we have to focus on what we know and what we don't know. We know we have a bombing.
Absolutely. And it's a bombing that certainly has factors that raise concern.
It's not lost on us that it's in front of, you know, of the Trump building, that it's a Tesla vehicle. But we don't have information at this point that
definitively tells us or suggests it was because of this particular ideology or the -- you know, any of the reasoning behind it. That's the
purpose of the investigation that we're conducting, is to get to the bottom of exactly what happened, why and how?
MCMAHILL: Sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tim Caputo(ph) with "ABC" in Los Angeles. You mentioned a number of similarities between this case and the one in New Orleans. How
far in the investigation process do you guys go to try to rule out that they are connected, knowing that you already have a couple of things that
seem to connect them together?
MCMAHILL: So, the question is, is how we're working to rule in or rule out any connections to the New Orleans event? And the answer to that is every
tip and lead that comes in, every piece of evidence that comes in, we don't discount it. We work it through it. You know, it's an interesting thing
during these kinds of investigations that 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. There's lots more for us to do in this investigation. We haven't even
gotten into the phones or the computers which are usually very instructive and informative to us as we investigate. And we've got a lot more work to
do to trace him, to see the stores that he went to, to rule out anybody else. Lots and lots of investigative work to do. And we're just trying to
give you an update on what we know now that is factual.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brianne Emar(ph), "AP". Was the gunshot wound to his head self-inflicted?
MCMAHILL: We believe -- the question is, was the gunshot self-inflicted? And we do believe it was since he was the only person in the vehicle. And
it occurred immediately prior to the vehicle blowing up. Back there, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. Morgan Chesky(ph), "NBC News". With the evidence you've seen so far, are you comfortable now calling this a suicide
mission?
MCMAHILL: The question is, am I comfortable calling it a suicide mission? I'm comfortable calling it a suicide with the bombing that occurred
immediately thereafter, I'm not giving it any other labels.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And with the friends and family you've spoken to so far, have they shared any prior red flags?
MCMAHILL: The question is, did we have any of the family members share any particular red flags? Again, I'll go back to what I know is circulating on
social media, but none of that has been verified at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The final question real quickly. Are all the components you found inside the Cybertruck, were they all purchased in Colorado?
MCMAHIL: The question is, did we -- were all the components found inside of the Cybertruck purchased in Colorado? And I don't know the answer to
that. That's part of why we're doing the extensive part of the investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Neil(ph), the "Associated Press". Can you talk a little bit about the security measures you have in place at the hotel now?
MCMAHIL: So, as you all know, we had just successfully completed a new year's eve event where hundreds of thousands of people come to Las Vegas.
I've extended our posture just like it is for a new year's eve event, where I have thousands of police officers that are working day-in-and-day-out,
obviously, dozens and dozens of people that are working on this investigation as well.
We'll continue to look at what that security posture looks like, but I'm confident in the safety of our community as we move forward. Go ahead -- in
the middle there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some allege -- "Channel 13" here in Las Vegas and "ABC". Did -- looking to have any sort of criminal record at all, and also,
do you know when that Turo vehicle was rented?
[14:20:00]
MCMAHIL: The question was, is there any criminal record? None that I'm aware of that has not been brought to my attention that he had a criminal
record, and I said that the Cybertruck was rented on December 28th in Denver, Colorado. Right here.
STEPHENY PRICE, WRITER, FOX NEWS: Hi, Stepheny Price, "Fox News".
MCMAHIL: Hi.
PRICE: Hi. Have you guys been able to verify that he checked into the Resorts World Hotel the day before this?
MCMAHIL: The question is, do we know if he checked into the Resorts World the day before this? I'm not aware of that information. Sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike Allen(ph), "Fox 5" Vegas. You mentioned increased security presence at the Trump International. That won't extend further
along the Strip or is it just there? And how long do you anticipate that?
MCMAHIL: The question is generally about the security posture. And that's entirely our entire community, not only Fremont Street and the Strip, but
surrounding neighborhoods as well. Just to make sure that we have the community feeling that level of safety that they need to feel after an
event such as this. Right next to you there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Katie(ph) from the "Las Vegas Review-Journal". How exactly were you guys able to use the charging stations to track the
cars through?
MCMAHIL: The question is, how were we able to use the tracking or the charging stations to track the vehicle all the way through? And I'm not
exactly sure how to answer that question just yet. I know that there's some capability by being able to determine that the car is connected to the
charger.
One of the things that we're looking for is anybody that may have been at the charging location at the same time, we're looking to try to identify
them because their vehicles would have also had cameras that would have taped anybody in and around them. We're trying to get people that may have
been in the same locations at the same time, that have video on their vehicle that could provide that video to us as well. I'll take two more. Go
ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Inadio Newmont(ph), "NEP", when is the -- can you talk about the damage being contained by the Cybertruck itself? And do you
think that plays into whether he was aiming to hurt others or was it a public suicide?
MCMAHIL: Yes, the question is about the Cybertruck and the lack of damage to the Cybertruck and containing the explosion. And Carlos(ph), if you can
put that truck back up there, it might be helpful. But you know, you'll see if you look on the outside of that vehicle, it's hard to tell from that
photograph. But other than the windows being gone, that's a bit more disassembled than it was at the scene and the back area being blown off.
There's no evidence of physical damage to the sides of that vehicle. And so, the explosion that was in that vehicle sort of vented out and up, but
it didn't even damage the glass doors at the Trump. So, I'm not sure what that means. I also know that there's a number of unexploded pieces of the
things that he had inside of that vehicle, and so, I just don't think that it was done as well as he was expecting it to be done. But go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sophia Rodriguez(ph) with "Univision Vegas". I was wondering, were you able to recover the video from the Cybertruck or was
that destructive?
MCMAHIL: So, the question is, are we able to recover the video from the Cybertruck? And many of you may know that those Cybertrucks contain a
tremendous number of cameras. Again, Mr. Musk has sent out a number of his folks that will be arriving here this afternoon with the intent to try to
capture the -- part of that, that captured all of the video from inside of the truck. Sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just quickly, you had mentioned a number of the components in the back of the truck that did not go off. Maybe this is a
better suited question for ATF. But when it comes to the rudimentary nature of the bomb, I think we mostly think of a bomb that is connected. This
seems like individual kind of incendiary and combustible components put together.
Can you speak to how you think this is a bomb or was it just several pieces of things that might blow up, that might explode that were just lit and
gone off at the same time?
COOPER: Yes, it -- I'll tell you, it does appear that it was -- I want -- just want to be careful of my language here, but it -- the level of
sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience. That most of that -- the materials inside that
Tesla were fuel to an -- to help fuel a greater explosion.
But it's too early to answer any questions, is if there was sophisticated connectivity to those components to make it ignite in the way that it did.
MCMAHIL: All right, it was one last hand over here, I'll take your last question.
MIKE CARTER, NEWSMAX: Sorry, this is for special agent Evans. Mike Carter, "Newsmax". Any idea of the suspect has been in touch with any outside
terrorist groups? Has this investigation extended globally?
MCMAHIL: The question is, do we know whether the subject's been in touch with any outside terrorist groups or if it's been investigated globally?
And especially, he wants me to -- OK.
EVANS: So, the -- yes, the question about whether it's being investigated globally absolutely. Like I said, we're running down investigative leads
around the world.
[14:25:00]
No information that we're aware of right now that connects this individual to any terrorist organization around the world. But that's obviously the
thrust of the investigation is ruling out that there's any sort of, you know, terrorism nexus. And then again, getting at what the ideology is.
MCMAHIL: We appreciate the -- you all coming, and we will be back before you when there are substantial updates to provide to you. Thanks for all
your great work.
SOARES: You have been listening there to Las Vegas officials including the sheriff as you just heard last there speaking, giving us an update on the
Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas that injured seven others. The subject was killed. We know that the subject is a
37-year-old man called Matthew Livelsberger, he said from Colorado Springs.
He said the subject has been identified but not conclusively. They're waiting for DNA, given the burn, of course, on his body. So, not a 100
percent, they said, but they are waiting for the DNA. We also heard from the sheriff that the subject sustained a gunshot wound to the head that was
suffered before the explosion. He believes the gunshot was self-inflicted.
In terms of how -- in terms of the confidence, they believe they may be this individual, they said they found military identification on him,
credit cards, passport, and they also identified a tattoo that they showed. They're not aware of any other subjects that were involved in this case.
And they talked about the -- he was a current member of the military.
He served in Afghanistan previously, National Guard, Army Reserve and active duty Army Green Beret. So, a lot of questions still being asked that
did give us idea of the trajectory. Natasha Chen was listening in, and we got a lot of detail, Natasha, from the officials from Las Vegas telling us
when the car was rented in Denver and make -- and really the detail going as far as outside, of course, the hotel.
But there's a lot we don't know, and what they're trying to get to the bottom of from what I understand, is motive right now.
NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. That is the big question they are still working on, and they made it clear this is a global
investigation because he was active duty and serving in Germany and was on leave from that -- from that service in Germany when this explosion
happened.
So, you can imagine the international work that has to go into this right now, looking for records, looking for interviews with people who might have
known what he was up to in the days and weeks before this. One of the things that they mentioned that happened just days before this explosion
was the lawful purchase of the firearms that they found in the burned vehicle.
The two semi-automatic handguns that police say were lawfully purchased by him two days earlier on December 30th, 2024. They also found, as you
mentioned, the military ID, the passport, fireworks, an iPhone, a smartwatch, credit cards. They mentioned that most of the material in there
was to help fuel a greater explosion.
Now, they did mention, as you discussed, that the subject in the vehicle was -- had died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound just shortly before the
explosion. And the way they characterized it was by saying this was a suicide with bombing that occurred immediately after. They also mentioned
it's not lost on them that this was a Tesla outside of a Trump hotel.
But at this moment, there's no confirmed ideology or explanation of motive related to politics or otherwise. They did say that there are some
coincidental similarities with the person who attacked the crowd in New Orleans. But at this point in time, there is no confirmed link between the
two cases. The similarities that we know of are that both men had served at Fort Bragg.
That's a very large base, and it's not confirmed whether they were in the same unit or were there in the same years, same thing with their service in
Afghanistan, don't know if they were in the same location or the same unit. So, there's still a lot to go through. And they did say that they -- their
teams in a joint investigation worked through the night.
We spoke to some of the guests who are just now checking out, but they were here yesterday when this explosion happened. We talked to a couple who were
staying really high up above the 40th floor, and said that at the time of the explosion, they could feel the windows shaking, and that it sounded
like a bomb had gone off.
And that after 9:00 a.m., shortly after 9:00 a.m., they even saw smoke billowing from the stairwells and from the elevator doors, and elevator
service was shut down for a while. So, that was a frightening experience for those who were inside. And of course, this being the day after New
Year's, we see a lot of people now trying to check out. So, we will continue seeing if the police have any more updates on who did this and why
later today.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: In the meantime, what are you learning, Natasha, about this search that happened in the residence in
Colorado Springs, what are you hearing about that?
CHEN: Right. The FBI in Denver did mention that they have been conducting what they call law enforcement activity at a residence in Colorado Springs.
Our colleagues were there to capture some video of that, really shut down a whole town house complex. And it's believed that this Cybertruck was rented
from Colorado as investigators just traced the path to Las Vegas in the last couple of days.
So, it's believed that they could potentially find some information or they're looking for some information or they're looking for some
information about his -- perhaps his last place of residents, any family members, any neighbors or friends who might have known something about what
he was up to. And we are still waiting to hear more about that as well.
Although, FBI Denver did refer all questions to Las Vegas and said that they are just conducting that activity in relation to this explosion here.
SOARES: Yes, still many questions, but we are starting to get a clearer pictures now. Natasha Chen, appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Now, I want to take you to a major update to the truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and left dozens more injured. The FBI says it
now appears the man who drove through a packed crowd of revelers in the French Quarter hours into the New Year acted alone. In a series of videos,
a suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, talked about wanting to kill his family, and now he had joined ISIS. Law enforcement officials believe he was 100
percent inspired, their words, by the terror group to carry out the deadly attack. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER RAIA, DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, FBI COUNTERTERRORISM DIVISION: This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act. We do
not assess at this point that anyone else involved in this attack is involved in this attack, except for Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the subject you've
already been briefed on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, the FBI says at this point there is no definite link between the New Orleans attack and the Cybertruck explosion that we were just
talking about outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas just hours later. A newly released surveillance video shows the absolutely chilling moment,
though. The truck goes after a downed barrier, you can see there on Bourbon Street, narrowly missing terrified pedestrians as they run for safety.
Bourbon Street has reopened the last 20 minutes or so -- well, 30 minutes I should say, as the city welcomes thousands of fans for today's Sugar Bowl
college football game, which kicks off in just two hours. The mayor says the victims and their families remain in her thoughts as New Orleans move
forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LATOYA CANTRELL, NEW ORLEANS MAYOR: I want to reassure the public that the City of New Orleans is not only ready for game day today, but we're ready
to continue to host large-scale events in our city because we are built to host at every single turn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Let's dig deeper into the investigation with Chief Law Enforcement Analyst John Miller. And, John, we'll talk about New Orleans in just a
moment just because I want to pick your brain about what we've heard in the last few minutes from Las Vegas officials. We're starting to get a picture.
We know the subject's name. We know -- now identified, but not conclusively. They are waiting for DNA, but we also know that he sustained
a gunshot wound to the head before the explosion, police beliefs it was self-inflicted. We are starting to get a clearer picture of this
individual. What stood out to you from what we heard in the last 20 minutes or so?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, I think what we learned from Kevin McMahill, the Las Vegas sheriff, was that
they are still in their investigation, but they are. starting to drift away from the idea that this was necessarily a terrorist attack or connected to
the one in New Orleans, in that they are learning the individual left the place he lived, drove across multiple states, had collected a large amount
of fireworks and weapons, but ultimately, drove around the strip, apparently killed himself with a gunshot wound to the head right after
initiating the explosion that happened in front of that hotel, but no connection has been found between him and the New Orleans truck suspect. No
communications has been uncovered.
[14:35:00]
Of course, they have to keep doing that. He did flag the coincidences that they served at the same base and that they served in Afghanistan where
there was crossover there, but not necessarily any connection between them.
SOARES: No connection, but he -- I think he did say strange similarities were his words. He did talk about -- I think it was the FBI talking about
the level of sophistication in terms of what they had, what he had on him, fireworks that we consume (ph), fuel enhancers, and he talked about fuel --
to fuel a greater explosion, that speaks to potentially questions of a motive. Did that stand out to you?
MILLER: Well, it was -- the comment from the ATF agent and their experts in fire and explosives, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, was
that he was surprised at the lack of sophistication where an individual got gasoline tanks, camping fuel, and then threw a bunch of fireworks mortar
shells, the kind you would shoot up for big fireworks, you know, at a party or something, and then had a detonation system which could have been a fuse
or something else to make it go off.
But we've seen far more sophisticated versions of this, where the explosive black powder from the fireworks has been harvested from them and put in a
container with shrapnel and other things. This was very amateurish in terms of trying to create an explosion. And what you saw there, with the lack of
injuries to people, the lack of damage to the building, was it went off like a big firework show with a fire and then, that was basically it.
SOARES: Let's turn to New Orleans, because there's still many questions, and we are getting some answers, but as we heard earlier today, there were
lots of caveats, John, you know, at this stage of the investigation.
The FBI, as we've heard in the last two hours or so, basically saying they believe a premeditated act of terrorism, the suspect acted alone. 100
percent, their words, inspired by ISIS. Just your thoughts on what we've heard so far. Just piece this all together for us.
MILLER: Well, I think they've been able to learn a great deal in the 24 hours. So, let's look back when yesterday the FBI assistant special agent
in charge said, we believe that others were involved, that he had accomplices. But they've had time to pour through those videos and see that
the people who approached these two improvised explosive devices, far more sophisticated, by the way, than what we see in Las Vegas, these were pipe
bombs that were made with remote control settings that could have been self-activated on a command detonation from the guy driving the truck, the
suspect, that people who were looking in those things were not the people who placed them there.
A more careful video canvas, more detailed has shown, according to the FBI, that the suspect post -- placed both of the coolers with the explosive
devices there had made them in the Airbnb that he rented where he had set some kind of timer to cause a fire to possibly destroy the evidence there.
And there's the five recordings he made talking about his family problems, financial problems, and the fact that he was inspired by ISIS and doing
this in their name that really has kind of narrowed their thinking to he was acting alone and he was self-radicalized.
SOARES: And on those recordings, the video recordings, he states he joined ISIS. We also know, we heard from officials, that he had three phones, I
believe two laptops. What exactly -- just talk us through, what exactly will the FBI be looking at as they try to investigate this, his links and
his path to radicalization here, John?
MILLER: So, that's going to be critical. It's going to help them understand the story, which is going back through what searches did he do
online, what websites did he return to again and again, did he watch propaganda from ISIS, did he watch any particular videos or tapes or
messages more than once, had he found what we used to refer to as a spiritual sanctioner, one of these individuals like Sheikh Faisal or Ammar
al-Awlaki who radicalizes with messages meant for who's ever listening. They're going to want to see all of that.
They've gotten into one of the devices. They're still trying to get past the security and passwords in two of those phones. They have the two
laptops. But the FBI's CART team, which is the Cyber Analysis Response Team, they're very adept at getting into these devices. It may take a
while, but they usually are able to get into them without losing data, which is the risk there. And they're going to want to look back through his
history. Not just the devices, too. They'll subpoena the carriers and the providers and see what kind of digital trail he left on their servers as
well.
SOARES: John Miller, as always. Thank you, John. Appreciate it.
MILLER: Thank you.
SOARES: We're going to take a short break. We'll be back after this.
[14:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: In just more than an hour from now, tens of thousands of fans are expected to fill the Superdome in New Orleans for the Super -- Sugar Bowl.
That's just blocks away, of course, from where the French Quarter attack happened. And the game was supposed to take place, if you remember, on
Wednesday. As a precaution, it ended up being postponed for 19 hours to ensure public safety. The game will see the University of Georgia face off
against Notre Dame.
I want to bring in our Andy Scholes for more. And, Andy, I mean, I imagine as we look at these images now, that security has been stepped up
significantly. Just walk us through the plans here for this now rescheduled Sugar Bowl. Are these live images that we're getting? Just to get
clarification.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes.
SOARES: They are. Fantastic. I mean, look at the crowds.
SCHOLES: Yes, there are already thousands of fans for -- you know, Georgia fans, Notre Dame fans already outside of the stadium, Isa. And Sugar Bowl
officials, they told us earlier today that, you know, security is enhanced all around the Superdome. There are hundreds and hundreds of law
enforcement officials just lining the streets, there's bomb sniffing dogs all over the place. They said fans should plan on arriving early to get
through the extra layers of security.
Now, kickoff is at 4:00 p.m. Eastern today from the Superdome. Many of the Georgia and Notre Dame fans, they've been out and about in New Orleans all
afternoon long in what looks like is a very nice day there in the city. And we've heard from some of the fans who say they feel safe moving around New
Orleans.
[14:45:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we feel for all the families and the victims that were involved. You know, we want to make sure that they're taken care
of. And I think New Orleans has done a great job securing the city. But at the same time, we won't let terrorism disrupt what we're doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In terms of like public safety, I had no concerns. You know, I figure it's probably the safest place to be right now anywhere
around here. Plus, you don't want to let the terrorists win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Now, Georgia's football team arrived in the Superdome a short time ago as we're now less than 90 minutes away from kickoff there. In ahead of
what's going to be an emotional game, here's what Georgia's head coach Kirby Smart had to say to ESPN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRBY SMART, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA HEAD COACH: It's saddening. It's scary. I first want to thank the first responders who have done such a tremendous
job keeping the city safe since then and doing what they do. And these kids want to come play a football game and do what they love to do, and they got
an opportunity to do that today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes, now the winner of this Sugar Bowl moves on to face Penn State in the Orange Bowl, which is going to take place one week from today,
and a spokesperson for the Sugar Bowl, they say they will be holding a moment of silence, Isa, before the game to honor those victims from
Wednesday's terror attack.
SOARES: Andy, I know you'll be across it. Thank you very much. Andy Scholes there. We are going to take a break. I'll see you on the other
side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. Russian gas is no longer flowing to Europe through Ukraine after a transit deal between Kyiv and Moscow expired.
Despite the war between the two countries, Russian gas had still been moving through Ukraine. But Kyiv refused to renew the deal. Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls it one of Moscow's greatest defeats, accusing Russia of turning energy into a weapon.
The E.U. has been preparing for this scenario for more than a year. A spokeswoman says Europe's infrastructure is flexible enough to provide non-
Russian gas via alternative routes. Our Clare Sebastian has more on how Ukraine's move could affect Europe's energy market.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, markets were reacting for the first time Thursday to the expiry of Ukraine's gas transit deal with Russia
on January 1st, ending a decades old supply route.
Now, despite the fact that this was expected, Ukraine had been making it clear for months it would not renew the deal. Parts of Europe are now
having to shift quickly to alternative suppliers, even as the weather turns colder, and that's raising concerns about higher prices for consumers. And
it's also highlighting the political fault lines on the continent.
[14:50:00]
The pro-Russian prime minister of Slovakia, which up until now got about two-thirds of its gas from Russia via Ukraine, accusing Europe of putting
politics first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT FICO, SLOVAKIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Nobody, I repeat, nobody, is pushing Slovakia away from the living space that is the
European community. But we must see that selfish national interests of the big ones and meaningless geopolitical goals are beginning to dominate this
community, and on the other hand, ignoring the needs of smaller ones.
In world politics, it absolutely applies that it does not matter whether elephants love or fight, the grass always suffers. I do not want Slovakia
to be such grass as we see these days when the transit of gas through Ukraine has stopped, which will have drastic impacts on all of us in the
European Union, but not on the Russian Federation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: Well, the only country that seems to be facing immediate shortages is Moldova. It declared a state of emergency over energy supplies
in mid-December in anticipation of this. And on Wednesday, the separatist region of Transnistria announced it was cutting heating and hot water
supplies to residents. Ukraine's president calling on European countries to support Moldova through this.
Now, as for Russia, the foreign ministry spokeswoman Thursday accused the U.S., now a key supplier of natural gas to Europe, of being behind
Ukraine's decision, calling it, quote, "the main beneficiary of the redistribution of the energy market of the old world."
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And our thanks for Sebastian for that report. We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Turning to Washington, Mike Johnson is fighting to stay on as U.S. House Speaker, even after getting an endorsement from President-Elect
Donald Trump earlier this week. He is racing to win over a number of Republican holdouts ahead of tomorrow, Friday's vote, as Johnson's allies
warn that a speakership battle could delay Trump's victory certification. Our Lauren Fox has more details for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A really difficult task tomorrow ahead for House Speaker Mike Johnson as he tries once again to
clinch the gavel. Only now he can only afford to lose a single Republican vote. That's assuming that every Democrat and Republican is in the chamber
and every Democrat is voting for Hakeem Jeffries.
[14:55:00]
But we already know of one Republican, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who says he's going to be voting for another candidate. That means that Johnson
can't lose any other Republican members. But CNN knows of at least more than a dozen Republicans right now who have not confirmed that they are
going to be voting for Speaker Johnson on Friday.
Already Republicans are beginning to prepare for a scenario where they could have multiple rounds of voting, obviously echoing back to win Kevin
McCarthy tried to clinch the speaker's gavel and went 15 rounds before successfully getting the speakership back in 2023.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Thank you very much for that, Lauren Fox. And the update, of course, will bring you the very later when that happens tomorrow. Expect to
be fireworks on that front.
That does it for us for this evening. Thanks very much for your company. Don't go anywhere, though, we'll be back at the top of the hour with much
more news. Do stay right here. You are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
