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Quest Means Business
FBI Now Believes New Orleans Attacker Acted Alone; Officials: Cybertruck Driver Identified, Awaiting on DNA; Ukraine Ends Transit of Russian Gas to Europe; New Orleans Attacker "100 Percent" Inspired by ISIS; Turo Actively Partnering with Investigators on Recent Attack; Rescheduled Sugar Bowl in New Orleans Underway; Iconic Musical "Gypsy" Returns to Broadway. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired January 02, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:12]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street. First day of the trading day of the New Year, and
the market is a little bit disgruntled all the way. It was up for most of the session, then turned turtle in the afternoon.
Trading is now over. There we go. Thank you, sir. Solid gavels bringing trading to a close. Those are the markets and the events that you and I are
talking about today.
It is a lone wolf. The FBI now believes the driver in the New Orleans attack acted on his own.
New details about the driver of the Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas. Officials believe he was an Army Green Beret on active duty.
And natural gas prices are on the rise in Europe after Ukraine shuts the pipeline from Russia.
Live from New York, delighted that you and I start the New Year together on Thursday, January the 2nd. I'm Richard Quest, and I mean business.
Good evening.
The FBI now believes that the man who carried out the New Orleans vehicle attack acted alone. Investigators are finding out everything they can about
Shamsud-Din Jabbar. He killed 14 people when he drove the white pickup truck into Bourbon Street crowd on New Year's morning.
CNN has obtained exclusive video of Jabbar and his rented truck only hours before the attack. This was captured by the RING doorbell camera of a New
Orleans resident.
Now, President Biden has been speaking in the last few moments. He says law enforcement is investigating any contacts that Jabbar may have had.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As I said yesterday, the attacker posted several videos just several hours before the attack,
indicating his strong support for ISIS.
Federal law enforcement and the intelligence community are actively investigating any foreign or domestic contacts and connections that could
possibly be relevant to the attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: In New Orleans itself, the city is doing what it can to move forward. Bourbon Street itself was reopened to the public this afternoon. A
band and a group of religious leaders marched down the street to mark the occasion, and the Sugar Bowl football game, only blocks from the crime
scene, is getting underway just now. The investigation, of course, has also begun.
To bring us up to date with that story, here is CNN's Ryan Young.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTOPHER RAIA, FBI DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: This was an act of terrorism. It was premeditated and an evil act.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL 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 believed 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): Dark details also revealed about Jabbar's Facebook videos the morning of the attack. His last one, posted at 3:02 AM 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 "war between
the believers and the disbelievers."
YOUNG (voice over): The FBI also 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 reveal 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 nearby the site of the attack.
RAIA: FBI bomb technicians also recovered two EIDs in coolers, one from the cross section of Bourbon and Orleans Street, and the second at an
intersection approximately two blocks away.
GOV. JEFF LANDRY (R-LA): You can't go out there and say, oh, I'm going to put this in place and that in place and hope that evil doesn't show up on
your doorstep, because it will. You have to crush it.
[16:05:05]
YOUNG (voice over): A ubiquitous message being sent by all those investigating the attack.
YOUNG (on camera): What message are you trying to send?
ANNE KIRKPATRICK, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT SUPERINTENDENT: Presence and making sure that people know that we are confident that we can keep
them safe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: The New Orleans terrorist attack is raising very serious questions around the whole security, despite the police chief's comment there that
she is confident they can keep people safe. That shows you why.
The surveillance footage shows the moment the suspect sped down the street, narrowly missing those people that you saw. But if you also see the video
of when it turned onto Bourbon Street, literally just driving around one police car, the city officials say the barriers that were supposed to
protect the pedestrians were in the process of being repaired and replaced, although they say the suspect drove over the sidewalk to get past where
they would have been anyway.
John Miller is with me.
John, the first bit of -- there is so much to unpack here, but -- and by the way, you're doing double duty for us because we are going to do this
first, and then we will talk about the Cybertruck in Las Vegas.
But on this one, look, the first bit of video shows him driving around the police car. Whoever thought it was a good idea just to put one police car
there, as I mean, I am being slightly sarcastic, obviously, bearing in mind what I saw on New Year's Eve in Times Square. These massive dumpster
trucks, garbage trucks full of grit that you could not move come hell or high water.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So what they had there was not a blocker car. That was traffic control. That was if
somebody is trying to make that left off of Canal Street onto Bourbon and it is like, nope, this is close to traffic, but it is not going to stop
someone who is going to go around the police car or go up on the sidewalk.
Frankly, somebody who is going to purposefully murder as many people as possible is not really going to worry about whether he is going to get a
ticket for going around the police car, so that was inadequate.
Bourbon Street is complicated in that the barriers that they used, the bollards that go up and down, the delta barriers as some of them are
called, have mechanical issues. Sometimes they get stuck in the up position, sometimes they get stuck in the down position, sometimes they
remove them on the idea that they're going to get new barriers, but then things slow down.
They need those streets to be openable because, one of the things about Bourbon Street is it can be a tinderbox. These buildings are all attached.
Many of them are wooden. If there is a fire, they can't have the fire trucks kind of waiting at the barrier for the person who has the key.
So that was just really underestimating the threat of a ramming attack.
QUEST: But, you know, one always -- it is so easy to be clever after the event, isn't it? It is so wonderful for me sitting here in my comfortable
chair to say, sure --
MILLER: But Richard, I am with you. I mean --
QUEST: You see, the problem is the German attack two weeks ago.
MILLER: Yes.
QUEST: That's the difficulty. The German attack two weeks ago should have had everybody in New Orleans saying, ah, we need to get a very large
garbage truck, fill it with as much concrete as we can, and grit and park it at both ends.
MILLER: Well, that's correct. What you're supposed to do is your threat posture is supposed to be adjusted by the threat stream, and the threat
stream has been telling us three things. ISIS is in resurgence. ISIS is using propaganda again to recruit people online. And ISIS is making
suggestions of keep it simple terrorist attacks.
You don't have to make a bomb. You don't have to do anything complicated. Ramming attacks is one of the things that they give very specific
instructions on. And this suspect, Mr. Jabbar, literally followed their instructions to a T.
QUEST: Right, right.
Stay with me, sir. Stay with me. We've got to talk a little bit more on the things -- I am going to give the background on our latest discussion point.
The FBI says that as of now, there is no link between the New Orleans attack and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas. The blast occurred on
Wednesday in front of the entrance to the Trump International Hotel. Just look at that. Extraordinary.
Now, the man who rented the Cybertruck has been identified as an Army veteran, Matthew Alan Livelsberger. I think I pronounced that correctly.
Officials provided this update on how he died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN MCMAHILL, LAS VEGAS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT SHERIFF: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: So, Natasha is with me in Las Vegas. This is extraordinary, isn't it? I mean, remarkable, they now know, but they know who or roughly who.
They just don't know why.
[16:10:01]
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Richard, they definitely have a lot of clues that were found as they combed through that truck and
the charred remains overnight, but police were very careful to say that they didn't want to confirm with 100 percent certainty who it was inside
the truck because that, they said, would require DNA and medical records to say for absolute sure.
But they have evidence inside the truck related to Livelsberger. I am going to let them say this bit here from the press conference about what they
found.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCMAHILL: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: And they were careful to characterize this, too, as a suicide with bombing that occurred immediately after, because they described the gunshot
wound to the head, they believe self-inflicted just seconds before this explosion happened.
And again, this was New Year's morning and there were many hotel guests in the Trump Hotel. We spoke to a couple that were staying, actually in one of
the higher floors above the 40th floor, and they said they could hear that bomb sound go off and they could feel the windows shaking.
They also saw at one point, smoke billowing in the stairwell and out of the elevator doors. And so the elevator service was shut down for a while. They
were told to stay put on their floor for the time being. So it was a very troubling experience for those nearby.
Again, the one person who died was the person inside the truck, but seven others in the immediate vicinity were also injured. Authorities also made
it clear that this damage could have been far worse, if not for the construction of the Cybertruck itself that contained that damage.
When we took a closer look, the glass in the front was actually not damaged at all. It was just the ceiling that had smoke damage and a hole left there
-- Richard.
QUEST: Natasha, I am grateful, in Las Vegas. Thank you for bringing me up- to-date.
John is still with me.
This is a peculiar one, isn't it? Because somebody who is active service essentially built a do-it-yourself type of explosive device, kills himself
at the same time as blowing it up, it would seem. I am speculating, but from what we know, this is reasonable.
What do you make of it, sir?
MILLER: The same thing you do, Richard. Very strange.
I mean, here you have not just a person who has had military service, but someone who is active duty US Special Forces, Green Beret, highly trained,
five bronze stars according to CNN's Haley Britzky, who covers the Defense Department, one for extreme heroism. So this is not the kind of person you
think is going to be behind what appears to be a truck bombing.
QUEST: Right. But we cannot ignore the fact, number one, it was at the Trump International Hotel. President-elect about to take office. And number
two, it was a Cybertruck, Elon Musk, you know, and you know that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, eventually you've
got to say there has got to be some sort of whatever warped reasoning this person had.
The Trump hotel, the Musk truck. Will we ever know, I wonder?
MILLER: I think we are going to know. The FBI has conducted extensive interviews with his command in Germany, his command at Fort Carson in
Colorado. People that he served with, with his wife, and with his mother, and they are getting some insights into some of the things going on,
personal issues in the background of his life that could have caused this kind of turmoil and this event, but they are far from complete on that.
QUEST: This is an odd one. I want to go back to the Bourbon Street one, which in some sense -- I don't -- short of locking down cities with big
trucks and they've only got -- the assailant only has to find the little weak link to get to ram the thing through. You know this much better than
anybody else.
And I don't know how you keep people safe in large metropolitan areas if we are going to carry on with our normal lives.
MILLER: Right. So there is no such thing as total security in a free society, we've learned that. Even in oppressive societies like Iran, ISIS
attacked the funeral of the -- the memorial service for General Soleimani. So, not exactly a permissive environment.
So let's go back to basics, though. You have New Year's Eve, you have Bourbon Street. You know, it is going to be packed. This is a thing where
you borrow things, you borrow a city bus, okay.
[16:15:08]
The city bus goes across that intersection. Nothing is getting by there that is on four wheels. Short of that, you invest in concrete block. This
is stuff where you flatbed it in, a crane, puts it down. When the event is over, you send it back, it goes back to the parking lot where you store it.
In the post 9/11 world, Richard, there have been a lot of ways that you have to kind of cover the margins with different things, from borrowing
vehicles to putting down concrete to buying expensive barriers and maintaining them. But there wasn't that in New Orleans.
And, you know, that's not a police thing exactly. That's a public works thing, but it is also a City Hall thing. It is a city council thing.
Somebody has got to look at the oversight there and decide, what are we going to do?
QUEST: Is it a resignation matter, do you think, for somebody somewhere?
MILLER: I don't think so, because it is not a single point of responsibility. It is a single point of failure, but I don't know if you've
dealt with New Orleans before, but things don't move at a snappy patter pace of a place like New York City or somewhere else. They have a certain
way of doing things.
QUEST: Thank you, and good to see you, sir. Happy New Year by the way.
MILLER: You, too, Richard.
QUEST: We will talk on more pleasant matters, I hope, as the year moves on. Thank you.
It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, the start of a New Year. Ukraine is ending the supply of Russian gas to Europe. Well, we were expecting it, but it has an
impact anyway, and it is happening just as the coldest months of the year arrive.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Ukraine has now shut down one of the last gas pipelines that links Russia to Europe. Kyiv refused to extend the transit deal in what they
describe as the interests of National Security.
The war in Ukraine has sent the price of natural gas in Europe skyrocketing, and Europe's had to turn to other suppliers. The price rose
28 percent or so last year.
CNN's Clare Sebastian now reviews where it may be going next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 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 is raising concerns about higher prices for consumers.
[16:20:05]
And it is also highlighting the political fault lines on the continent. The pro-Russian prime minister of Slovakia, which up until now has got about
two-thirds of its gas from Russia via Ukraine, accusing Europe of putting politics first.
ROBERT FICO, PRIME MINISTER OF SLOVAKIA (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 is stopped, which will have drastic impacts
on all of us in the European Union, but not on the Russian Federation.
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, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Thursday accused the US, now a key supplier of natural gas to Europe, of being behind Ukraine's
decision, calling it, "the main beneficiary of the redistribution of the energy market of the old world."
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: So, the New Year has started for us all as our investments and -- well, take a look, the triple stack shows we were off just a tad or two,
although it had been up earlier in the session and they've been on a huge two-year run.
The S&P posted back-to-back gains of more than 20 percent. The NASDAQ up nearly 80 percent since last year -- since two years ago began, and now
Donald Trump's policies and how whether they will sustain this and promote it further, after all, promising deregulation and income tax cuts along
with steep tariffs.
Paul La Monica is with me, Guru La Monica.
First of all, sir, a very, very good New Year to you. I am sure somewhere in the folklore of Wall Street, there is a little ditty that says if market
is down on Jan1, then the year will be like no one knows or something like that, but what does it mean for us, do you think?
PAUL R. LA MONICA, SENIOR MARKET ANALYST WRITER, BARRON'S: Yes, Happy New Year to you as well, Richard.
I think that clearly there is disappointment about the fact that the market slid, kind of limped its way towards the end of 2024 and is now off to a
sluggish start of this year. But let's keep in mind, the so-called January effect, looking at this just narrow window of the last couple of trading
days of one year and the first two trading days of the next, yes, there is a lot of folklore about what it might mean for the rest of the year, but if
you look back at what happened in the market at the end of December 2023 and the first two trading days of last year, stocks were down a tiny bit
and 2024 wound up being a very great year for the markets.
So I wouldn't get too caught up in this market selloff, especially since November was so great after the election.
QUEST: So Donald Trump has vested interest in a booming stock market. Let's ignore for one second about what the Fed -- ignore the Fed and how it might
put the brakes on if it feels inflation. But how does he achieve that goal? How -- if his barometer of success is a booming market, what does he have
to do?
LA MONICA: Yes, that's a great question. So I will ignore the Fed per your request. I think that probably Trump and the Republican Congress realize
that they are going to have to look very closely at what the negatives of potential economic policies from a fiscal standpoint might be, namely, any
tariffs and immigration controls, because those could both be inflationary. They could hurt the job market.
We all know that the promise of deregulation and lower corporate taxes, Wall Street loves that. Corporate America loves that. But will inflation
remain stubbornly, if not as high as it was two years ago, higher than it - - and sorry, I am going to ignore you now -- the Federal Reserve would like, then that could be potentially a problem.
QUEST: Yes, yes.
LA MONICA: We can't just cut off the Fed.
QUEST: Oh, no. I could see you inching your way, and finally you let the flood rivers go. But here is a good one for you. Look, is there a feeling
that the bull run is tired? And, I mean, we've had a few good years post pandemic, now the last bull market ran for more than a decade.
[16:25:10]
So by definition it can go a lot longer. But what's the gut feeling on just the sheer natural impetus of this market? Bearing in mind AI and all of the
other things that will be promoting it?
LA MONICA: Yes. No, definitely. I think that there is a strong case to be made that we are still in the early stages. As you point out, I mean, 2022
was not a good year for the market. So, if you look at the past two years being as strong as they were, bull cycles can go on for a fair amount of
time. This is only year three, and I think what investors are hoping for is that the broadening of the rally that we started to see a little bit before
the election last year, maybe that picks up again.
So you start to look at small caps, you know, benefiting from fiscal stimulus and also, you know, beaten down sectors. You know, the piece on
"Barron's" about how you could see consumer staples stocks and even healthcare despite the threat of RFK, Jr., the valuations are reasonable.
They pay decent dividends. The earnings growth is steady.
So we might see this broadening out of the rally. It's not just the Magnificent Seven or Great Eight. If you want to throw Broadcom in there
now, too.
QUEST: Now, I've got to move on, but I know, Pamela is listening, my producer. Before too long, you and I need to talk about growth versus value
because I am seeing a lot of -- your article is one of them -- but a lot of chatter now that maybe the sensible balancing of a portfolio is towards
growth rather -- sorry, value rather than growth.
We will talk about that. Thank you, sir. I am grateful. Have a good one.
LA MONICA: Thank you.
QUEST: Thank you.
LA MONICA: Now the US House Speaker Mike Johnson, is facing a tough battle to keep his job, even with an endorsement from President-elect Trump. The
House is set to vote on Friday on whether he keeps his gavel and his speakership.
His allies are bracing for the possibility that the race goes into multiple rounds, as it has before. A battle could delay the certification of Donald
Trump's election win.
It is process and politics. Here is CNN's Lauren Fox.
(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 is assuming that every Democrat and Republican is in the
chamber, and every Democrat is voting for Hakeem Jeffries, but we already know of one Republican, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who says he is 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 when Kevin
McCarthy tried to clinch the Speaker's gavel and went 15 rounds before successfully getting the speakership back in 2023.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: An attacker 100 percent inspired by ISIS That's how the FBI is describing the man who drove into and through the crowd in New Orleans. He
is 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar and we will tell you more details about him after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:47]
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS as we continue.
The attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas had one thing in common. Both trucks were rented from the Turo Car Service. We'll explain the
significance of that. And back on Broadway, the iconic musical "Gypsy." I'll speak to the cast and let me entertain you, as they say.
Before that this is CNN, and here on this network, the news always comes first.
Officials in Gaza say an Israeli airstrike has killed at least 11 Palestinians, including the head of Gaza's police and his deputy. The
strike hit a tent encampment in an area previously declared a humanitarian zone. Children and women are among the dead. Israel says the strike
targeted the deputy police chief and called him a terrorist.
Authorities in Montenegro are providing new details about one of the worst mass killings the country has seen. They say a man shot and killed 12
people in a small town and then turned the gun on himself. And the police say he initially killed four people at a restaurant and then eight more at
three different locations.
President Biden is to honor Liz Cheney in the next hour. It will be for her service to the United States. Mrs. Cheney was the top Republican to
investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol building. She was subsequently voted out of Congress. She will receive the Presidential
Citizen's Medal, one of the nation's top awards.
The FBI says the New Orleans attack was, in their words, 100 percent inspired by ISIS. And now the investigators are looking into Shamsud-Din
Jabbar's path to radicalization. Detectives found an ISIS flag inside the truck that he used and two improvised explosive devices were also in the
Bourbon Street area. Current and former U.S. officials have publicly warned the U.S. is at risk from the so-called lone wolf terror attacks.
Beth Sanner is a CNN national security analyst, former deputy director of U.S. National Intelligence.
And this is exactly what people like yourself fear because there's no radio chatter. There's no vast troves of intelligence that can be gleaned. It is
somebody who's gone off the rails and decided to do a dastardly act.
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Exactly, Richard. I mean, it's so hard for law enforcement to check, you know, every single Telegram
private area, people doing internet searches. You know, we believe in privacy in our country, right? And it just makes it really hard. So, you
know, there have been quite a few of these attacks plotted and law enforcement have caught a lot of people this year in Europe and in the
United States. Last year, I should say. But you can't catch them all.
[16:35:01]
QUEST: This does seem to have been, I mean, let's put him to one side. This does seem to have been a spectacular failure of basic policing, bearing in
mind what we know about ramming of car attacks and what happened in Germany. You'd have thought they'd have had a bit more at the end of
Bourbon Street than a lone police car.
SANNER: Yes, I mean, I really don't know exactly how all of that went down. And I do think that, you know, there were alerts that went out to law
enforcement across this country about the Christmas bombing in Germany. And the risk of that here in the United States. And it does appear that more
should have been done to block that grid off.
QUEST: Right. Now, if we're talking about radicalization, what do they do to find out? I mean, short of, I mean, obviously they're going to go
through all his background, who he dealt with, any religious contacts that he may have of an unsavory nature, but what else do they do?
SANNER: Well, I mean, this person, he did not convert to Islam until very recently despite the sound of his name. I mean, it was just over the summer
when he started looking into ISIS, and it is pretty easy when you get into some of these sites, especially on Telegram, to find ISIS propaganda. And
they are putting that out there far and wide. So, you know, it doesn't take much, Richard.
QUEST: That's the problem. And it really comes full circle back to your original point in a free society, and I mean, we don't want everybody
spying on everybody, do we? Sort of reporting, and yet at the same time, actually we do want everybody spying on everybody for when they might see
something like this happening. Square that circle for me.
SANNER: It is almost impossible to square that circle, Richard. I mean, I think that this is why, you know, this is kind of the price of freedom in
some ways. But that said, we still have to do a good job of paying attention. We have to up our protections from law enforcement. And frankly,
all of us as citizens need to be more alert, not just staring at our phones as we're walking down the street, right?
And there were people in New Orleans who literally opened the coolers where IEDs were implanted. Now, I don't know if they were covered or not, but
that's why originally they thought that multiple people were involved. Where are the citizens saying, uh-oh, you know, this is a problem?
QUEST: I'm grateful for your time and I wish you a happy new year. And I wish we were talking about something more pleasant at the start. But that's
the way it is. Thank you. Thank you very much, ma'am.
Now, the vehicles used in both attacks, New Orleans and Las Vegas, they were rented through Turo. This is a platform that -- it's sort of a sharing
platform. It allows you to rent out your car for money. It's the -- I supposed it's the Airbnb for cars, if you will, although I'm sure that'll
upset Turo.
Turo says it does not believe either renter has had a criminal background that would flag them as a security threat. The company says it's working
with law enforcement on their investigations.
Clare Duffy is with me.
Clare, really simple start for this one. Is the Turo aspect a red herring or is there something about this nature of sharing platforms that would
have made -- that arguably if you walked into a traditional car rental, you might have been -- had a bit more difficulty?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes. Richard, it's not clear that that's the case at this point. As you said there, Turo is saying that it doesn't
appear that these suspects had any criminal background that would have raised a red flag for it, or potentially for any other kind of rental
company.
It is possible that this was maybe a bit more easy to access for these folks than you have to maybe drive to the airport to go to a Hertz, whereas
with Turo you can rent essentially sort of from your neighbors, you can rent from another person in your area who has a car. So this may have made
it just a bit easier, but it's not clear that there were any red flags that the company should have paid attention to in advance.
QUEST: And certainly if your intention is to kill a large number of people and expect to die yourself, you know that that makes it more difficult. And
for Turo, what do they do?
DUFFY: Well, Turo is saying, as you said, they're working with law enforcement, but this is a real blackeye for the company. This is a company
that has grown significantly since the pandemic, when there was a car rental shortage through traditional agencies, prices were much higher. And
so people turned to alternatives like Turo. The company says it now has 3.5 million users, and it's actually been preparing for an IPO for the past few
years.
It's unclear when that's going to happen, but I was reading through the prospectus and in the risks section, it actually lays out that there is a
risk of financial damage, of brand damage if people use these cars to commit criminal acts.
[16:40:06]
So I thought that was really interesting that they had acknowledged this was a risk here. The company may also be on the hook to pay out the owners
of these cars. It says that it provides costs up to the cost, the cash value of a car or $200,000 if there is damage to the owner and to the
company partners with a third party insurance company called Travelers to provide third party liability insurance for bodily damage or physical
damage that occurs to somebody during the course of a booking.
Now, I reached out to both companies and they didn't respond, so it's not clear how that might play out in this case with these victims. But it's
likely that this company is going to have, you know, a real cost of all of this.
QUEST: You know, you've raised something I hadn't thought of there. The novel way in which those victims will claim that Turo was negligent. I
don't know, we'll watch and wait on that one.
Claire, as always, you bring us something, and we learn more from hearing what you say. Thank you.
DUFFY: Thank you.
QUEST: Now, we are learning more about some of the 14 victims of that attack. So let's just take a moment, a pause for thought and memory, if you
will. 37-year-old Reggie Hunter, father of two children, a 1-year-old and an 11-year-old.
And then there is 25-year-old Matthew Tenedorio. Now, according to his family, was out celebrating with friends on New Year's Eve and indeed his
friends, his family had asked him not to go out, but he decided to.
Drew Dauphin was a recent graduate of Auburn University, the class of '23. And 21-year-old Hubert Gauthreaux. His community is asking for prayers for
his family.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:45:00]
QUEST: The deadly attack in New Orleans was only hours before the city was due to host the Sugar Bowl, one of the games in the new college football
playoffs. That quarterfinal game is underway at the city's Superdome, with thousands of fans inside. The University of Georgia taking on Notre dame
after a postponement of one day.
CNN's Andy Scholes is with me.
Andy, how's it going?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Richard, you know, officials in New Orleans, they certainly said that they were going to have to beef up
security today for the Sugar Bowl and that's been the case. You know, hundreds of law enforcement personnel, they lined the streets around the
Superdome. They had bomb sniffing dogs, you know, scouring in and out of the stadium for the last 24 hours.
The game right now is underway there in New Orleans. And the fans we have heard from said, well, they felt safe moving around the city today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like after yesterday, this is probably going to be the safest square mile in America, so I'm not too concerned. I'm just
ready to watch the Dogs win, you know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we feel for all the families and the victims that were involved. You know, we want to make sure that, you know, they're
taken care of. And I think New Orleans has done a great job securing the city. But at the same time, we wouldn't let terrorism disrupt what we're
doing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In terms of like, public safety, I had no concerns. You know, I figured 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)
SCHOLES: Now, before the teams took the field, they did hold a moment of silence to honor those who lost their lives and those impacted by
yesterday's terror attack.
Now, the city of New Orleans will also be hosting the Super Bowl next month, and security will certainly be a topic leading up to the week of the
game. Now, Jason Williams, the Orleans Parish district attorney, well, he tells CNN things are going to be drastically different for the city moving
forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON WILLIAMS, ORLEANS PARISH DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It's almost like just after 9/11. You used to be able to run from your car to your gate. I grew
up like that. Everything changed after 9/11. I think you're going to see everything change about largescale events. What parking areas will be
allowed in the Superdome, bomb-sniffing dogs being a part of everyday protocol getting into the Sugar Bowl.
We're going to do everything we can to make sure that the public is safe, that our visitors are safe, and that this event that is important to
Americans goes off safely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes. And, you know, the Super Bowl is always one of the biggest events in the U.S. every single year, more than 100,000 people will be
going to New Orleans for the week of the Super Bowl. So security will be a hot topic there, Richard. And, you know, but all the fans we were hearing
for today, you know, they felt like with the amount of law enforcement that was in place after what happened on Wednesday, they certainly felt safe.
And, you know, another theme we heard from a lot of those fans was not letting the terrorists win.
QUEST: Yes. Absolutely.
SCHOLES: And getting that game on the field.
QUEST: And by the way, my producer had to remind me, of course, that it's Notre Dame, Notre Dame, not Notre Dame. I mean, I've been saying that the
cathedral for so long that I had to remind me how to say it for the team.
Thank you, sir.
SCHOLES: All right.
QUEST: I'm grateful. Thank you.
The musical classic "Gypsy" is back on Broadway. Now I'll speak to the new cast next week about the show, the era, and I'll even show them my audition
video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Are you Rum Tum Tugger?
QUEST: Rum Tum Tugger, the curious cat. We are tonight celebrating Broadway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:51:10]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, everybody. I'm name is Gypsy. What's yours?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: It's a clip from the 1962 movie "Gypsy." The year I was born. Now that musical has made a triumphant return to Broadway. It's becoming one of
last year's highest grossing shows. I spoke to two of its stars as they set their sights on success this year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (voice-over): Everything is coming up roses for "Gypsy" in 2025. The show originally opened in 1959, and 65 years later, it's become iconic.
DANNY BURSTEIN, BROADWAY ACTOR: It's a great show. Stephen Sondheim, who I worked with three times, told me it doesn't get much better than "Gypsy."
QUEST: It's often referred to as one of the greatest musicals ever written. The "New York Times" called it Broadway's brassy answer to Shakespeare's
King Lear, and the current revival has been one of the highest grossing shows on Broadway in its early preview weeks. One of the keys to the early
excitement, the quality of its cast.
BURSTEIN: You're so impressed. You know, we get to go to work with the most talented, beautiful people in the world every single day. We feel
incredibly lucky, and everybody throws their egos out the door, and there's not one bad --
JOY WOODS, BROADWAY ACTRESS: Egg.
BURSTEIN: Egg in the entire batch. This is an incredible company. There's always somebody, everybody goes, oh, my god.
QUEST: There must be.
BURSTEIN: Even at CNN, I'm sure.
QUEST: I don't know what you're talking about. I can't imagine. I'm probably that person.
(Voice-over): The six-time Tony winner, Audra McDonald, stars as Mama Rose, a mother who will stop at nothing to make her daughters famous.
AUDRA MCDONALD, BROADWAY ACTRESS: This child is going to be a star.
QUEST: The role has been previously filled with stars such as Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, and Patti LuPone. McDonald is joined by a rapidly rising
star in the Broadway world, Joy Woods, who's taking on her biggest role yet as Rose's daughter, Louise. Then there's another Tony winner, Danny
Burstein. His role as candy salesman turned agent Herbie makes "Gypsy" his 20th Broadway production.
We spoke at the peak with priceless restaurant at the edge at Hudson Yards. He's in no doubt as the significance of this show.
BURSTEIN: Every scene is so precise and funny and smart, and --
WOODS: It's all purposeful.
BURSTEIN: Right.
QUEST: What is the purpose?
WOODS: Well, I think it's a great story about recognition and whether that's recognizing truth that allows you to move forward. I think there are
a lot of themes about people with dreams and the way they go about them, and what happens and what they choose to do when those dreams are either
coming true or deferred.
WHITFIELD: But what I took is that last moment. All right. So you get the process, the metamorphosis, the change. You get the message. You get all of
that. And then right at the end with the mink stole going over, we don't really change that much.
WOODS: I think that is a very starkly human thing that happens in people's lives, the way that you keep your parents around or anybody really.
BURSTEIN: Right. You have to, at a certain point, accept them, flaws and all.
QUEST: Is it hard? Is it -- not to accept flaws. That's difficult. That's a lifelong. That's a subject for another day. Is it actually hard to do the
show?
WOODS: I think right now it is because I feel like I'm still finding my land legs, and --
QUEST: What do you mean by that?
[16:55:05]
WOODS: Figuring out lines, where to stand, how the moves go, how the songs go. To remember this at the end of the reprise every day.
BURSTEIN: Right.
WOODS: There are still so many parts of the show that I'm still thinking about.
QUEST (voice-over): The stakes are high for "Gypsy's" revival. Competition is fierce on Broadway. Dozens of shows opened in 2024, and more are coming
next year.
How long -- when you started doing things, how long did you sign up for, or do you just sign up?
BURSTEIN: We're all signed up for a year.
QUEST: For a year. But this has got potential for, I mean, look at that. That's the theater you're in.
BURSTEIN: Yes, the Majestic.
QUEST: The Majestic. Phantom.
BURSTEIN: It was there for 35 years.
WOODS: Thirty five. Hopefully "Gypsy" has the same fate.
BURSTEIN: Yes.
WOODS: Who's to say if we'll be a part of it for that long but I hope that it's always nice to know that you've built something and that it lives past
you.
QUEST (voice-over): As the production completes its previews and gets into full swing, the cast has a tall task ahead of them, to live up to "Gypsy's"
reputation. With its first shows, they hope to put their own mark on this classic as they begin a new year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Magnificent, and I'll have a "Profitable Moment" as we start the year together.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." Day one together of you and me. And it's going to be a busy year ahead. That much I am sure of. I was very
interested tonight to hear the words of the Slovakian Prime Minister, Robert Fico, talking about the cutting off of European gas or Russian gas
to Europe. He talks and criticizes other members. He says we must see that selfish national interests of the big countries.
I assume he's meaning Germany, France, Spain and the like, who are taking - - who agree with it, and meaningless geopolitical goals are beginning to dominate the European community.
Meaningless geopolitical goals. Is he referring to the support that the E.U. is giving to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression?
Meaningless geopolitical goals? If he's not referring to that, then I'm not sure what he is talking about, but I'm sure the Ukrainians don't see their
support as being meaningless or just geopolitical goals.
The reality is it sounds like Slovakia and Hungary are going to be in for a difficult year with the rest of them.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the hours, years ahead, I hope it's profitable.
All set.
END
