Terror on Bourbon Street
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It's Thursday, January 2nd, right now on CNN This Morning. When we face evil, we have a choice. We can run in fear or we can indeed stand in strength. Terror on Bourbon Street. The latest on the ongoing FBI investigation into the New Orleans attack and the victims identified this morning. Mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS.

Inspired by ISIS, authorities finding potential ties between the terror group and the suspected army veteran behind the wheel. Our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not. That is our goal and that's what we're trying to do. A cyber-tug explodes outside of Trump's Las Vegas hotel hours after the New Orleans attack. Investigators are now looking for a link. I think they'll support Speaker Johnson. He's the one that can win right now.

At numbers game, despite a key endorsement from the president-elect, the House Speaker fighting to secure the votes to hold on to the gavel. 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. Here's a live look at the Superdome in New Orleans, home of today's Sugar Bowl, after it was postponed following yesterday's attack on Bourbon Street.

Good morning everyone. I'm on a Raju in for Casey Hunt. Thank you for joining us this morning. We have new details about the New Year's Day's attack in New Orleans. At least 15 people are dead and dozens more injured after a driver rammed through a crowd of people on Bourbon Street yesterday.

You hear the screech of tires and when I turn my head around there's like a Yukon or Escalade or something just barreling down the street bro I kid you not like real life horror movie everything the car is hitting it's getting thrown it's getting thrown up into the air and away and just or under the car.

The University of Alabama has confirmed one of its students is among the dead. Also killed a 27-year-old Princeton football player, Tiger Betch, who was a native from Lafayette, Louisiana, home visiting for the holidays. And Reggie Hunter was 37. His cousin described him as a loving father and said he was known for his sense of humor. He leaves behind two young children.

The incident that's being investigated by the FBI is an act of terrorism. And according to the FBI, potential explosive devices were found in the French Quarter, separate from where the car drove into the group of people. They also said an ISIS flag was found in the vehicle used in the attack.

Now, law enforcement says the suspect involved in the incident was 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsuddin Jabbar of Texas. He was killed in a firefight with police. In a video we're about to show, you can see and hear that chaotic moment. We want to warn you, though, this may be disturbing to some viewers. Multiple officials briefed on the investigation tell CNN, and a series of videos show the suspect discussing plans to kill his family and wanting to join ISIS.

Authorities believe he made the recordings when he was driving from his home in Texas to Louisiana. CNN has not reviewed those videos. The law enforcement and intelligence community are continuing to look for any connections, associations, or co-conspirators. We have nothing additional to report at this time. The investigation is continuing to be active, and no one should jump to conclusions.

The attack took place less than a mile away from where the college football Sugar Bowl was supposed to happen last night. The playoff game now has been postponed until today. This city has been tried by fire before, but fire purifies. Fire makes things stronger. We have a plan. We know what to do. We are going to get these people. There is a path forward.

Additionally, in Las Vegas, another New Year's Day incident, a Tesla trunk exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. The FBI is working to determine if that incident was a terrorist act. The driver there was killed. President Biden says law enforcement is looking into whether there's any connection between the two incidents.

joining me now donald harvin with georgetown university's emergency and disaster management cnn's political politics senior reporter stephen collinson former biden biden white house director of messages planning megan hayes and republican strategist matt gorman good morning to you all thanks for joining me donnell i want to start with you uh a

You're a security expert. You've worked in these areas for many, many years. I want to know what you think about the investigation that's happening as we head into day two and how the investigators right now are trying to figure out co-conspirators that could have been involved in this attack and where they go from here.

Well, there's two different tracks of the investigation right now, Manu. There's running down all the leads and contacts that may have been affiliated with the actual attacker who they know and they have identification on.

And then there is those improvised explosive devices, those IEDs, those bombs that were placed near the French Quarter that actually may not have anything to do with the truck vehicle ramming. And so first they have to look at that physical evidence, see if that links to that individual. That could take DNA. So they may be taking DNA swabs, not to get too technical, off of the individual and the devices.

There have other ways to look and look at the surveillance to see if that person was there before to plant those things. So there's a whole lot of things going on. There still may be, according to the last FBI presser, other individuals that may be affiliated or unaffiliated with this attacker that did the vehicle ramming that are out at large. And so that's what's going on right now.

There's this investigation that's ongoing, too, about what's happening in that Las Vegas incident, the Tesla vehicle that exploded outside the Trump Hotel. What is the likelihood that you believe that these could be linked and the concerns that the public should have about the impact to their safety as well?

i don't like to prognosticate especially when i don't have access to the information that's going on but i i will tell you that it is a coincidence that a these attacks happen both at the same day and b that both the vehicles that were used in these incidents were leased or rented from the same online rental company toro i believe it's called and so that's unique they may be completely unlinked

And, you know, the law enforcement community, the intelligence community is really on alert for these things. It may have nothing to do with each other, but that's something they're looking at as well. We still don't have publicly released information on the individual that was driving that car, the individual that's deceased yet. But I anticipate some more information will be coming out today on that.

And, Dono, these big events are still happening in New Orleans, the Sugar Bowl, as we know is happening today, the Super Bowl next month, Mardi Gras in March. How comfortable are you as a security expert in them carrying out these major events in the wake of this attack? Well, I'll let you know that the NFL has a long history of doing the Super Bowl without incident.

The NFL Super Bowl event is listed as a tier five event. So for DHS's standpoint, it is almost like a national security special event. They throw all the resources available at the state, local and federal level to make sure that venue and the surrounding venues around the NFL are totally safe.

um and so obviously the sugar bowl that's going to happen today is going to be completely locked down i'm not as concerned about the core venues of these what we've always worried about is what we call the last mile you know tailgating parties you know think about what happened over the summer with taylor swift that that terrorist wasn't going to attack the terrorists with the taylor swift

concert that individual is looking at the parking lot or other associated venues that large gatherings happen that are not protected by the security apparatus of the venue and that's what officials needs to look at

All right. We'll bring this back into the room here. Stephen, let's talk about the reaction from some of the politicians here. So Biden come out, came out, gave a speech yesterday, said he shouldn't jump to conclusions. This investigation is ongoing. Trump very much seemed to jump to conclusions, suggested in this social media post that that right off the bat that there was

Potentially this was an undocumented or an immigrant that came into the country. Turns out this is a U.S. citizen who is a suspect here. What do you make of the way Trump responded here? Right. It seemed that the president-elect was immediately trying to make a political point, referring back to his time on the campaign trail rather than pivoting to becoming president in just a few days. Three weeks. Right. So that is somewhat troublesome. And Biden's comments did seem to be an implicit rebuke.

of the present elect when he said, you know, let's not jump to conclusions here. I will say I watched a lot of this on social media yesterday and the absolute torrent of misinformation was extraordinary, both on the New Orleans situation as well as what happened in Vegas. So that is also something that the present elect is actually playing into and exacerbating.

What did you think of Trump's reaction? I think, as I understand it, it was likely based on an initial news report from another network claiming that the person came across the border two days ago, then it was actually the truck, and then it wasn't two days ago, it was actually two months ago. So I have a fairly safe assumption that he was basing it off that. I think in some of these respects, because one of the things I also recognize was I woke up yesterday morning to a reaction from the press conference that had already happened.

happened, the first one, where I think some of these officials got up talking a little too quickly before they had a full handle on the situation. And if you remember, that initial press conference, I think it was like 8:00 Eastern time, fairly early for New Year's Day, there was disagreement at the actual press conference between the FBI special agent in charge and the mayor whether or not there was actually a terrorist attack. Now, look, normally I like getting information out there from government officials.

especially on a holiday where people are not waking up as early as they would be if this was a regular Wednesday morning people are going to work seem like they could take a step back taken a beat got their arms around a little more. It's good to get information out there quickly but it needs to be accurate right because you're playing into what the president did then that just makes everyone spin then it makes it a political you know more political than you have the president coming out a couple hours later giving a statement saying no don't let's not jump to conclusions and so you know it's unfortunate the president elected that because I think that his job is to

make people calm. That's what you're supposed to do as a president. He's no longer campaigning. He is governing. But I do think that you're right. A lot of this is fueled from the press conference where they were giving out misinformation. And I don't think it was purposeful. I'm not blaming them at all. But they do need to take a step back and just remember, like, these are massive events. These are...

there's a lot of people in new orleans afford you know the sugar bowl and i think that they need to take a beat yeah i mean such as a complex investigation typically wait for the faxed come out first before you base your conclusions to make your conclusions of course is a lot more we need to learn and my parents and stick around but donald harvin thank you so much for trying to give me your expertise this morning appreciate that and straight ahead on c_n_n_ this morning new overnight shooting outside of queens nightclub believes at least ten injured

Plus, the FBI is investigating whether or not the deadly explosion outside of Trump's Las Vegas hotel was an act of terror. And House Speaker Johnson's bid to secure the gavel for the upcoming Congress faces a potential battle from GOP hardliners.

The fact is that these folks are playing with fire, and if they think they're somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they're kidding themselves. Mike Johnson is arguably the most conservative speaker that's ever been elected to the office. It was just unimaginable casualty. I mean, just the disfigurement and the bodies strewn

Something you can't unsee, you'll never forget. Just the fact that these people are somebody's people and they're not going to be there this morning is rough.

Condolences pouring in after Wednesday's horrific tragedy in New Orleans. As new information in the investigation comes to light this morning about the suspect. Court documents show 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsuddin Jabbar pleaded guilty to drunk driving charges in North Carolina in 2015. CNN's Lee Waldman is live on the scene. So, Lee, what can you tell us about this latest information and what else are you learning?

Good morning. We're learning that Jabbar drove a rented truck from his home in Texas here to New Orleans. We know that he is an Army veteran and that during his course of his drive from Texas to New Orleans here, he recorded a series of videos. And in those videos, he elaborated on the fact

He wanted to gather his family for a celebration and he said he wanted to kill his family. Then he switched from that plan and decided he was going to join ISIS. Now, we also have found court records that show he had a series of financial troubles as well. We're also learning, like you mentioned, he had a DUI arrest.

back in 2015. Now I want to talk to you about what we've seen here this morning, more than 24 hours since he carried out this deadly attack in the early hours of New Year's Day. It's a flurry of law enforcement activity. This is Canal Street here. He turned down Bourbon Street. You can see

A lot of law enforcement still here on Bourbon Street. We've seen street cleaners turning down Bourbon Street. People are power washing, taking brooms down Bourbon Street, trying to clean that area. Yesterday, law enforcement said it would be at least 48 hours before they could open up Bourbon Street back to the public. We know this is a heavy tourism area.

A lot of people spend a lot of time on Bourbon Street here. So it's a flurry of law enforcement activity as they try and conduct this investigation in a very large scale area here. So a lot of activity is still happening more than 24 hours after this deadly attack occurred. And Lee, let's talk about the Sugar Bowl that's been postponed until later today. What are you seeing in terms of security on the ground?

Well, as far as security on the ground for the Sugar Bowl, we know that that's top of mind for so many people here. Obviously, that was postponed due to public safety reasons. We're hearing from law enforcement that there's going to obviously be increased presence to keep people safe and to make sure that they won't feel safe. We also know that they're going to have increased number of canines who have explosive detection ability.

surrounding the Sugar Bowl. The Sugar Bowl is going to be played less than a mile from where this attack occurred. New Orleans is going to play host to the Super Bowl in a month. It's also going to host Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest. There's a lot of big activities that New Orleans hosts throughout the course of the year. So safety is a big factor.

We've been highlighting those mechanical barricades that weren't working on New Year's Eve into New Year's Day. Those will supposedly be working during the Super Bowl, but they weren't working when this attack occurred. But tonight, when it comes to the Sugar Bowl, we're going to see a lot more law enforcement patrolling that area, making sure that all the people that are in town for that game will be kept safe and make sure that they feel safe tonight.

Yeah, no question. A huge, huge question about how the security will play out tonight. A lot of people will be watching. Let's hope everything stays safe. Lee Waldman from the French Quarter, thank you for that report. And ahead on CNN this morning, the New Orleans attacker found with an ISIS flag. Investigators now trying to determine whether he was actually recruited by the terror group. Plus, a potential terror attack in the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Was this a message to the president-elect?

An ISIS flag was located on the trailer hitch of the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject's potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations. The suspect in the deadly New Orleans truck tragedy had an ISIS flag with him as he carried out the attack on Bourbon Street. A police source telling CNN multiple suspected explosive devices were found in an ICE chest in the pickup truck used by the suspected attacker. The FBI also reported to me

that mere hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by ISIS, expressing a desire to kill, a desire to kill.

Multiple officials tell CNN the suspect made a series of video recordings before Wednesday's attack, claiming to have joined ISIS. CNN's Nick Robertson joins us live from London. So, Nick, you have covered ISIS across the globe over many years. What sort of influence does this terrorist ideology have in places like the United States? And how does that compare now to the group's reach in the past?

Yeah, I think there's one way to look at this, and this is what we've been hearing from intelligence officials. And we heard here in the UK just a couple of months ago from the MI5 chief, Ken McCollum, saying, look, he believes that ISIS is trying to have a renewed effort to export terrorism. Does that mean they're trying to send somebody from their camps in Syria or their setups in Afghanistan or in other places to the United States? Or are they trying to use

their brand, their message online influence somebody in the United States. It's not quite clear what it means, but it does mean that that threat level is up. The MI5 chief said in the UK alone, one third of his resources at MI5

intelligence service were taken up with looking at international terrorism. So is the attacker here working online, perhaps less of a threat? Is he conspiring with others? Was he conspiring with others for other attacks?

Was he alone through his actions going to inspire somebody else like himself who is seeing away a root of vengeance or anger or whatever it is through ISIS, through attributing their attacks to ISIS? So is there going to be something that will follow on? But I think for intelligence officials right now,

The ISIS threat and the potential of it through lone attackers, although we understand he may have been working with others, is a very, very real threat. And I think what we've witnessed in the past 24 hours really highlights that. Nick, can you talk about this campaign that ISIS has launched to recruit followers? How are they doing it and how effective is it, especially in places like the United States?

They will try to do it online. They will try to influence people to perpetrate lone wolf type attacks. They will, and Al-Qaeda was doing this as well about 15 years ago, they recognize that they can't

organize online and bring people together to work in a unit of four or five people, something like that, to build a number of bombs and then move those bombs together in a coordinated way. They can't do that easily. The easiest way to attack is perhaps through a vehicle or a shooting. And that's what they're advising their followers. Find a pedestrian area.

a crowded pedestrian area, drive a vehicle at speed, the maximum speed, the maximum casualties. This is how they're trying to inspire and motivate people. And they will typically, if they can identify people, motivate those that are going through some kind of personal, family, financial trauma upset. This is what we've seen them do in the past. And potentially that's the case here.

All right, Nick Robertson, thank you for that report live from London for us. Appreciate it. And coming up on CNN this morning, New Orleans officials weighing in on why some heavy metal posts designed to stop vehicles failed to prevent the deadly attack in New Orleans. Plus, more questions as the FBI investigates a deadly Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas.

We believe this is an isolated incident, but again, over the next few hours and days, we will continue to do our best to research that as much as we can and get to the bottom of this. And we won't stop until we're 100% certain as to what happened and why. The epic story. She was going to kill everybody. Do I look like a monster to you? Concludes. The man's are a cult. We need to get her out of there. With one. Oh, there she is. Last. I hear like moaning. Like a porno. Twist. What are you hiding?

We cut. The Curious Case of Natalia Grace, the final chapter. An I.D. documentary event. Starts Monday, January 6th at 9. We are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. We're aggressively running down all of the leads to identify the possible subjects' associates. We're working to ensure that there is no further threat.

Law enforcement entering day two of the investigation into yesterday's deadly attack in New Orleans. The FBI calling the incident an act of terrorism. Questions are being raised about how and why the suspect was able to access the area with his vehicle.

There are metal bollards that come up out of the ground that are supposed to prevent any oncoming vehicles from driving into the crowd. We were told today at a briefing that apparently they were not working properly. Therefore, there were vehicles that were placed in the place where the bollards would have been.

All right, joining our panel now, Jameel Jaffray. He's a former counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security. Jameel, thank you so much for joining me this morning. Really appreciate it. All right, so as we head into day two of this investigation, what are your big questions? What would you be focusing on right now to try to understand how this happened?

Well, one, I think you need to figure out how did this guy get radicalized, right? You've had an American citizen born in the United States, served in the military with what appears to be an honorable discharge for almost 13 years, eight years as active duty, five years as a reservist. How does he get radicalized? How does he get to the point where he decides to drive a car into a crowd in New Orleans, kill 15 people, and have bombs in his truck in an attempt to potentially kill others? I mean, how prevalent do you think that is? I mean, there's been this concern about lone wolf violence.

attacks in the United States, how concerned should U.S. officials be about people trying to replicate this, about other lone wolf attacks coming forward? Well, we know that's been a target of ISIS. ISIS and al-Qaeda have been trying for years to recruit Americans in the United States and, frankly, Europeans in Europe to conduct attacks in their home countries, not to come to the fight in Syria or come to the fight in the Middle East, but to conduct those attacks here.

to bring terror to the United States. So it's definitely a concern. We saw Major Nidal Hassan back in the day conducting an attack like this, another military officer. So these are concerns that need to be addressed in figuring out what is causing this radicalization, how can we prevent it, how can we identify it ahead of time before it ends in deadly results like this one did?

one thing that I've been wondering about is that we've learned about there's some videos that he apparently posted saying that he wanted to join ISIS and he wanted to apparently kill his family. Now, CNN has not reviewed those videos, but apparently they are out there. Should that have like raised some red flags for officials or

when you say something like that that's against the law to say that i want to kill my family i mean shouldn't there shouldn't shouldn't have authorities been alerted to this well look obviously if they're if those videos were out there we heard president biden talk about these videos on social media i haven't seen them out there yet but if we identify those if you can identify them ahead of time then of course authorities need to take action do the investigation see if this is a real threat right at the same time americans are able to talk about their own political views now this case he's talking about killing people threatening people that's a problem right

But we haven't seen these videos. We've got to see what they are, see who saw them, and what was identified and why we didn't catch this. And were there any communications that he had with folks overseas in ISIS or other groups? Or was he simply watching videos online? And if so, how do we address that issue as well? Stephen, these lone wolf attacks have been a concern of U.S. officials for many years. Right. FBI Director Wray has been warning about this for months, even years. Every time he goes before the Congress, he says,

Our biggest fear is homegrown terrorism. And I think one of the concerns is not just how difficult these things are to stop. It's when you look at the situation in Syria, the fall of the Assad government, if there's a power vacuum there and ISIS can make a comeback, then it gives people who are disaffected, who are looking for inspiration, something to latch onto. And that's going to be one of the big questions for the Trump administration coming in. Do they maintain that U.S. presence in Syria, which is disheartening?

designed purely to stop ISIS as a way of trying to make people in the homeland safer. How much do you think this will impact the inauguration? I mean, this is coming up on January 20th. And the transition, this is coming in, obviously, there's already been questions about how the transition would take place and this happening with just three weeks until Trump takes the office. I mean, I think that people will be looking at this differently. They'll have a different lens. But I do think that in Washington for these events, the federal government needs to be prepared.

preparations for them and they've been, you know, their NSSE events, they handle the conventions which are traditionally very safe. So I'm not concerned about something happening here. But I do think that people are going to be taking note at different things, you know, like the Rose Bowl parade next year and different bigger events that are not under the federal government.

And one of the things that was really interesting to me, you said earlier in the show, was it's really the last mile they're very concerned about securing, right? It's rare that you're going head-on against the actual event itself in some sort of attack. It's the tailgate at Taylor Swift. It's the Bourbon Street. I mean, look, a lot of us have been to New Orleans. We know how close the Superdome is to Bourbon Street. It's essentially walkable, which is rare for an arena like that and an event like that. So it's a compact security kind of perimeter. And so you're right. It's not just the events themselves.

But the things around them that a lot of people might go to but aren't in that say, you know I use this kind of word colloquially hardened perimeter All right Well, the FBI is trying to determine whether a Tesla's cyber truck explosion outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas was a terrorist act Authorities believe fireworks gas tanks and camping fuel were connected to a detonate detonation system controlled by the driver who reportedly had a military background the driver was found dead inside the vehicle and

As of right now, our number one goal is to ensure that we have the proper identification of the subject involved in this incident. Following that, our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not. I know everybody's interested in that word and trying to see if we can say, hey, this is a terrorist attack. That is our goal and that's what we're trying to do.

What are your big questions here, Jamil, about what happened in Las Vegas? Well, you know, we're hearing rumors this guy was a military officer, served for almost two decades, including in the Special Forces. There's also a claim out there that he may have served at the same base with our New Orleans suspect. We haven't confirmed any of that as yet.

The question is, one, were these two attacks related? They used the same car sharing app, rented it both-- Yeah, what do you make of that? Yeah, you know, it just could be a bad day for that car sharing app, Turo. Or it could be that there was a relationship here, right? That the inspiration, where they got the idea from, may have suggested, hey, use an app like this to get a car. They both rented their cars in remote locations

one in Texas, one in Colorado, then drove their targets, Las Vegas and New Orleans respectively. So query whether there's something going on here that's a relationship. It doesn't appear so at this time, right? It appears the attack in Vegas looks a little more political. You know, an Elon Musk Tesla vehicle with the Trump Hotel, that has a political feel to it, as the sheriff noted in his press conference. At the same time, there are these weird coincidences

both US Army officers, both running on the same app, same day, right? More to be seen. ISIS types like to do the coordinated attacks on the same day. That's exactly right. This is part of their playbook. They're looking to recruit Americans. They're looking for particular kinds of targets, vulnerable individuals. We know that Shamshtedin Jabbar, for example, had issues with divorce, potential mental health issues, money issues, right? He's vulnerable, right? And we see now

how deadly that turned out. Yeah, and there's so many more questions about that as well. Jamil, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Appreciate your expertise. Thanks, Manu. All right, still coming up after the break, New Orleans still reeling from yesterday's Bourbon Street attack as the city prepares to host a major college football game later today. Plus, 10 people injured after a shooting outside of Queens, New York. And tomorrow, lawmakers set to vote on whether Mike Johnson will remain Speaker of the House.

I remain undecided as do a number of my colleagues because we solved so many of the failures last year. I don't believe that he has the votes on Friday. We literally just got there. We're barely dancing, barely doing anything. You hear the screech of tires. I kid you not, like real life horror movie. Everything in the car is hitting. It's getting thrown.

A shocked and somber New Orleans. Warning this morning as the city processes yesterday's deadly Bourbon Street terror attack. The way it happened, like so, so, so fast. It was just like a big blur. It's very scary. And how it could have been me and my mom, like it's just very sad.

New Orleans also preparing for today's postponed sugar bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia at the Superdome. The city's coroner has yet to identify the 15 people who were killed in yesterday's attack, but the victims' family and friends begin to speak out about their loved ones.

The University of Alabama confirming one of its students is among the dead. We've also learned 27-year-old former Princeton football player Tiger Beck was killed and 37-year-old Reggie Hunter, who is remembered as a dad of two, both Beck and Hunter, texting their family members Happy New Year not long before the attack.

Joining me now is Oliver Thomas, New Orleans City Councilmember. He also sits on the city's Criminal Justice Committee. Councilman, our thoughts are with you and your city on this very, very difficult day. I know you spent time at the hospital yesterday visiting and praying with the victims' families. Tell us what's happening on the ground and how the injured are doing.

Well, we're waiting. We're going to get updates at the mayor's press conference and the police chief's press conference on the injury, as well as the joint task force that are working with our federal partners. We'll get that this morning. But on the ground, we continue to assess the situation. I'm out here in the French Quarter downtown area right now, just driving around looking, trying to imagine.

looks like. What could we have done different? And we're still mourning. New Orleans is a festive city where we take pride in hosting events and honoring people, but we've been turned upside down. And yesterday for me was from the emergency room to six o'clock in the morning to late at night yesterday. It was just thinking about what could have we not only what could we have done different, but what

What kind of world, Manu, do we live in? When I think about it, right, so think about all the resources we used since 9/11 with TSA. Think about all the resources we're going to have to use now to reinvent public safety. That money could go to kids in schools. It could go to our seniors for housing.

So in many cases, even if we're successful at preventing some of these events, the evil people are successful at making us redirect our finances that could go to help American citizens and help American programs. And we're putting it into security just so we can stay alive and be safe. That's crazy. Councilman, you said you were trying to figure out what the city could have done differently. What's the answer to that?

I don't think when you're dealing with madmen, evil people, people who are willing not only to take lives but risk their own lives, I don't think...

This whole issue about mental health and people being programmed and reprogrammed, I think that's a real issue in the world today. But that's not just something New Orleans has to deal with. That's something that all of us has to do. So think about New Orleans, a city that's known for hosting events. Our police officers train other people around the world on how to host major events with

with millions of people on the street. Other cities now are looking at how do you stop somebody from driving around a barrier or around a police car to go down the sidewalk? You know, what happens when they start parachuting off of buildings or from balconies?

So, I mean, we're reeling right now, but we're also a strong and resilient city. We bounce back from Katrina, malaria, storms, floods.

Nothing's gonna stop our culture and our tradition. We're gonna keep fighting. - And New Orleans, as you know, is hosting the Sugar Bowl today, not to mention a number of other big events in the coming couple of months. How confident are you in the security for today's event? And what can you tell us about these extra precautions that the city is now taking in light of yesterday's tragedy?

Well, the Joint Task Force, our federal partners, our state partners, and with our chief, who's been stellar. What I do know is that there's no stone unturned, no cover not being pulled back to take a look at what we can do to make

make it safer, right? And so that we can have a safe event. Yesterday, the conversation in the briefings were about how do we access, what are the access points? How do you set up hard sites that people can't get through? How do you funnel pedestrian and vehicular traffic? So

All of those things are being taken into account and everybody's working extremely hard together. I mean, I'm just here trying to reimagine the quarter and how folk access the streets and what can we have discussions about with our partners to do something different. But no, I mean, I am confident and I wish I could say that I'm 100% sure we can stop something from happening.

But how can we say that anywhere in the world today, Manu? Yeah, it's a great question. And Councilman, we are thinking about you and obviously all the victims from yesterday's horrific attack. We wish you the best as you deal with these big events that are coming up, including today. Thank you for coming on and sharing your perspective about what's going on on the ground. Really appreciate it. Well, thank you. But I also would like you guys to think about how much money this is costing us. So even if we save lives,

The evil perpetrators and the people who want to wreck our economy, we're redirecting billions and trillions of dollars to how people walk down a sidewalk or drive down the street or how we access airports right now. At what point does the dollar amount stop money that could be going to educate our kids or educate people who don't have adequate housing? So in many cases, even when we're safe,

they're winning because those are funds that we that american cities and other communities could use to help our seniors or to help our children final thank you man yeah the debate in washington and in communities all around the country as well about how best to use those taxpayer funds councilman again thank you for your time appreciate that this morning

And we're now 52 minutes past the hour, so here's your morning roundup. A shooting outside a New York nightclub injuring at least 10 people Wednesday, and that includes some minors. This video from the Citizen app taken in Queens. Police say four men attacked a group of 15 people in line for a private event, firing about 30 rounds, then took off in a light-colored sedan. No one is in custody at this point.

Three women are dead in Hawaii after an explosion caused by illegal fireworks. More than 20 people are also hospitalized, including three children. According to Honolulu police chief, a large New Year's firework tipped over after being lit and sparked the blast.

President Biden has revealed that 20 Americans he will honor today with the Presidential Citizen Medal, one of the highest civilian honors, and there is one notable name on that list, former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney. Biden also will award Congressman Bennie Thompson with the same award. Cheney and Thompson led the Congressional Committee that investigated the January 6th Capitol attack.

And now, what do you think about that move by Biden to give Cheney a award here? Obviously, someone who has been

You know, centered to Donald Trump's attacks, almost, I don't know if you would say poking him in the eye, but sending a message. Certainly, and just a few days before the fourth anniversary of the January 6th attack on Congress, it'll play into this increasingly tense interplay between the outgoing president and the incoming president,

I think it will also lead to questions about whether this will be the only thing that the president awards to Liz Cheney, Bennie Thompson and other members of the committee. There's been talk about whether he would offer a pardon given the fact that especially Cheney has been rumored to be a target of the incoming Trump Justice Department.

And also the Congress, the incoming Republican Congress. - Yeah, what do you think of that move? - I was looking at the list before the break. It's a random assortment of folks, whether it's Liz Cheney, Bennie Thompson, Chris Dodd, Carolyn McCarthy, former Congresswoman. Look, this might be a scene at its face. Obviously an award could also be a very subtle, maybe not so subtle, troll of Trump. And look, we'll see. My advice, if I'm giving advice to President Trump on this one, let this pitch pass.

be very different I think if there was any sort of preemptive pardon that way I think you know create a very different set of circumstances this is some random reward that I think people won't pay attention to afterwards well Trump may pay attention to it yeah it's very true let that bitch pass is not usually Donald Trump's lesson but also on this list are some advocates for gay rights and some other things and women's rights that the president's worked hard on in his career including Senator Kaufman who's been a long standing advisor who's one of the most

create its public servants for President Biden and a great person that we worked for or I worked with and for. So, you know, there are other people on this list that are controversial. There are. That's right. I will see how and if Trump reacts to that. Will we let the pitch pass? A little skeptical.

All right, turning now to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are returning from their holiday recess for tomorrow's big vote on Mike Johnson's speakership. Facing the narrowest House majority in nearly 100 years, the Louisiana congressman can only afford a single Republican defections if all members vote for a specific candidate. Johnson's most important ally, however, seems unworried about that. I think they'll support Speaker Johnson. I think we're going to have a...

great time in Washington and I think we're going to get great support. He's the one that can win right now. People like him. Almost everybody likes him. Now, some of Johnson's supporters are warning that a prolonged speakership battle could delay Donald Trump's electoral victory certification. But some GOP hardliners remain defiant in their opposition.

Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massey, a Republican, telling the Wall Street Journal, quote, I don't know how to say this without cussing. If they thought I had no Fs to give before, I definitely have no Fs to give now. My panel is back. Okay, so this is an interesting situation because you have Trump supporting Johnson. However, he has no margin for error. I mean, you already lost Matt Gaetz. Assuming Matt Gaetz does not return tomorrow, that means there's a 219 to 215 majority. He's lost Thomas Massey.

That's it. You can't lose any more. Do you think he's going to lose more? I don't think so. I think they will probably, and this is just my speculation, they'll find out a way for these folks who are ambivalent about Johnson to save face, maybe vote present.

And that way, Johnson can ascend. I think there's a very different tolerance in 2023, Democratic Senate, Democratic president, you're not gonna get anything of substance done to burning the clock on what's essentially the first 100 days or first 150 days of a Republican trifecta. Very different. But that's a practical argument that Matt is making. But

that argument does not usually, doesn't always translate well among some members of the conference. Yeah, I could see people eventually voting for him. I think one or two votes will go by where they don't to make their point known. But I also think that this is where Republicans need to learn how to compromise, right? Like they reneged on a deal with the CR and that can really backfire now. They need Democratic help to get Johnson reelected as speaker. And so I do think that this is, you know, a lesson for Trump and Musk, like don't get involved in these fights that there is compromise being done and that's how they're going to get their agenda passes with compromise.

It's interesting because Trump endorsed Johnson during the campaign, during the re-elect, before November, said he backed him for Speaker. I think even immediately after Trump won, if I recall correctly, said that he would back him for Speaker. And then he let it kind of twist in the wind a little bit. Didn't like the deal that had to be cut to keep the government open. Trump won and made some last-minute demands that were just unable to get the votes in Congress.

But then it ultimately came out and decided to endorse Johnson late. But this is a test of Trump's strength at this point, too. Definitely. I do think that Trump's endorsements are only as good as long as Trump sees the person he's endorsing as, you know, a multiplier of his power. If there was someone else that Trump thought would be a more effective speaker,

this might be a different issue, but we saw with Kevin McCarthy, what was it, 15 rounds it took to get to a speaker. That kind of circus would be an absolute disaster for Republicans. They've got unified control of government. They actually want to get some bills on Donald Trump's desk on January the 20th. They've got no time to waste whatsoever.

I think later on in the year, we're going to go through all of these battles. There's going to be more resentments in the caucus. Then Johnson could potentially be in trouble and expendable for Trump. But right now, they need to get going as fast as they can. But this just underscores how complex this is going to be to implement Donald Trump's agenda with virtually no margin for error and...

ambitious agenda. They've got to deal with huge issues like raising the debt limit. He made a promise on how they deal with the debt limit just recently. That's going to be hard to implement. And avoiding a government shutdown in March, not to mention all the things they want to do on immigration, energy, and other life. Look, the speaker fight is going to be important. What I'm also watching is I think members are going to stay in town for at least part of this weekend to really game plan the next, you know, 160 days, 100 days,

What does that first reconciliation package look like? What does the second reconciliation package look like? And you're right. How do you factor in debt limit and government funding? And how do you, I think, for Republicans, get quick wins on the board that can unify the caucus to get some momentum behind you? And you're going to need the Democrats. So it's not quite the mandate that Donald Trump was talking about in November. I don't know about that. We'll see. A mandate of one. The Democrats may sit back and just watch it all happen. They should. And see what they do. All right. Thanks for our panel. Thank you for joining us. I'm Manu Raju. CNN News Central starts right now.

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