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10 dead after driver plows into New Orleans crowd; suspect killed

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10 dead after driver plows into New Orleans crowd; suspect killed

NEW ORLEANS, La. — A man in a white pickup truck, who was “hellbent” on killing as many people as possible, drove around barricades and plowed his vehicle through a crowd of New Year’s Eve revellers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early on Wednesday, leaving at least 10 dead and injuring dozens of others, city and federal officials said.

The suspect was killed by police in shootout, ABC News Aaron Katersky reports.

At least 10 people are dead and about 30 others injured after a vehicle struck a crowd on Bourbon Street, New Orlea…Show more

In addition to going at a fast pace, the suspect was allegedly firing a gun as he mowed people down, law enforcement officials said. He was shot and killed by police when he got out of his vehicle with an assault rifle, the officials said.

LaToya Cantrell, the mayor of New Orleans, described the incident as a “terrorist attack.” The FBI said it wasn’t yet using that term. Anne Kirkpatrick, superintendent of police, said the driver had attempted to kill as many people as possible.

By the time the melee had ended, some 30 people were injured, New Orleans police and city officials said.

The strike appeared to be intentional, police told ABC News, adding the driver had not been taken into custody. Local authorities asked the FBI for assistance early on Wednesday, a senior federal law enforcement source told ABC News. A command center was being set up, the source said.

“A horrific act of violence took place on Bourbon Street earlier this morning,” Gov. Jeff Landry said, adding that his family was praying for the victims and first responders.

Leading up to the holidays, federal law enforcement and intelligence had warned police around the country that low-tech vehicle ramming was a key area of concern and that they needed to prepare — and that was before the German Christmas market attack on Dec. 20, in which five people were killed.

In a Dec. 9 assessment for the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration, federal and local agencies wrote: “We remain concerned about the use of vehicle ramming against high-profile outdoor events…Vehicle ramming has become a recurring tactic employed by threat actors in the West, marked by a continued interest by (terrorists, extremists) and lone offenders in targeting crowded pedestrian areas.”

The City of New Orleans, describing Wednesday’s event as a “mass casualty incident,” said the vehicle drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon streets. Police said the strike happened at about 3:15 a.m., according to ABC News affiliate WGNO.

“There are 30 injured patients that have been transported by NOEMS and 10 fatalities,” the city said, using an acronym for the New Orleans Emergency Medical Services.

The police superintendent later said at least 31 had been injured. They were taken to five local hospitals, according to the city. They were at University Medical Center, Touro Hospital, East Jefferson General Hospital, Ochsner Medical Center Jefferson Campus and Ochsner Baptist Campus.

The New Orleans Police Department said it was “staffed 100%” for New Year’s Eve and the Sugar Bowl, a college football game played annually on New Year’s Day. An additional 300 officers were on duty from partner agencies, the force said.

“President Biden has been briefed on the horrific news that a driver killed and injured dozens of individuals in New Orleans overnight and the White House has been in touch with New Orleans Mayor Cantrell to offer support. The FBI is already on the ground supporting local law enforcement in the investigation and the President will continue to be briefed throughout the day,” the White House said in a statement.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Chilly conditions ahead for New Years Eve, arctic front possible next week

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Chilly conditions ahead for New Years Eve, arctic front possible next week

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Cooler and seasonal conditions are here to start off January and 2025 before even cold weather arrives next week.

For all the New Year celebrations, we expect temperatures to fall through the 50s during the evening and make it into the upper 40s under a clear sky at the stroke of midnight. There should be enough wind blowing to prevent any foggy concerns. In years past, fireworks smoke has mixed with dense fog to bring terrible visibility, but we do not expect that to occur this year. Temperatures will then continue to fall into the low-mid 40s by Wednesday morning with a cool and sunny day ahead for the first one of 2025.

Is any more severe weather on the way?

Thankfully, no! We will have a chance of chilly showers on Thursday followed by a shower and thunderstorm chance on Sunday when our next cold front arrives. This front will mark a pattern change that could bring arctic air into the state of Texas next week.

What can we expect for the first weekend of 2025?

The weekend will start off with sunshine and mild weather with afternoon high temperatures in the upper 60s Saturday, then mid 70s for Sunday! This warm up though is paired with the next weather system that could bring a few showers and storms for Sunday. Right now we have a 40% chance for storms on Sunday.

Is a hard freeze possible, and could we get any frozen precipitation?

The answer to both questions is yes, but it’s too soon to know how severe the cold will get and if we’ll have the moisture around to get any wintry precipitation. If the arctic air slides more southeast toward Florida, we would just end up with a light freeze and stay dry.

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However, if the arctic air slides straight toward Texas and we get an upper low to throw Pacific moisture over the top, then we could get a hard freeze and see that overlap of cold and moisture lead to snow, sleet, or freezing rain. It’s just too soon to know how it will all unfold, so stay looped in for now. The earliest we expect any freezing weather to arrive is next Monday, so we have all this week to monitor the situation, and we’ll have a mild weekend ahead to prepare. If we were to get any wintry precipitation, that would likely occur on or around Wednesday of next week.

No one injured after tourist helicopter tilts over near the Seawall, Galveston PD says

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No one injured after tourist helicopter tilts over near the Seawall, Galveston PD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A tourist helicopter flipped over after attempting to take off near the Galveston Seawall Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities.

The Galveston Police Department said it happened at round 12:21 p.m. in the 500 block of Seawall Boulevard.

Police said the pilot was the only one on board and was not injured. The pilot was able to exit the aircraft on his own, according to police.

SkyEye flew over the scene, showing the chopper tilted over and a $50 helicopter ride sign.

After completing their investigation, the FAA released the scene back to theaircraft’s owner, Galveston Helicopter Adventures, so they could make arrangements for removal of the damaged helicopter.

Here’s what Texas laws are changing soon, including property taxes, vehicle inspections and more

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Here’s what Texas laws are changing soon, including property taxes, vehicle inspections and more

Several laws, including changes to vehicle inspections and property taxes, take effect on Jan. 1 in Texas.

During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 2, known as the Property Tax Relief Act.

Most of it is already in effect to help with property tax relief, but what’s new in 2025 is a tax circuit breaker.

Homeowners and businesses may be eligible to claim a circuit breaker tax credit. That credit essentially limits the amount property taxes can increase in a certain period in Texas.

The remaining provisions of the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, which have already taken effect in most parts, are also new for 2025.

The new section authorizes procedures for Texans to designate a registered agent who may make data privacy-related decisions on behalf of another resident.

Texas lawmakers begin the 89th Legislative session on Jan.14 in Austin.

Lawmakers have already filed a record number of bills, with some of the big topics being abortion, border and immigration, guns, property taxes, and, of course, public education.

There is a major push for school choice, which could lead to a type of school voucher program that would provide public funds directly to families to help them pay for their children’s private schooling and other educational expenses.

Texas vehicles will no longer need safety inspections beginning Jan. 1

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Texas vehicles will no longer need safety inspections beginning Jan. 1

Beginning Jan. 1, Texas drivers will no longer need to get an annual safety inspection to register their vehicles.

However, vehicles must pass emissions tests in major metropolitan areas, and all drivers will pay a $7.50 inspection replacement fee when renewing their vehicle registration. State lawmakers approved the policy change, spearheaded by Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, during the 2023 legislative session.

“With Texas being one of only a handful of states that still requires yearly safety inspections, eliminating the mandate is long overdue,” Harris said in a statement to Community Impact. “These inspections do not make roads safer, as evidenced by over 40 other states.”

Here’s what Texans should know before registering their vehicles in 2025.

The details

The new state law, House Bill 3297, eliminates mandatory safety inspections for noncommercial vehicles.

The $7.50 “inspection program replacement fee” will go to the state’s general revenue fund, a clean air account and the Texas Mobility Fund, which supports the construction and expansion of state highways. Drivers registering new vehicles will pay a $16.75 fee to cover two years, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Texans whose vehicles are registered in the following 17 urban counties will need to get an emissions test before renewing their registration:

  • Brazoria
  • Collin
  • Dallas
  • Denton
  • Ellis
  • El Paso
  • Fort Bend
  • Galveston
  • Harris
  • Johnson
  • Kaufman
  • Montgomery
  • Parker
  • Rockwall
  • Tarrant
  • Travis
  • Williamson

Bexar County will begin requiring an emissions test in 2026, according to the DPS.

Zooming in

During an emissions test, an inspector will check a vehicle’s engine and electronic systems to ensure cars do not release too many pollutants. In the above counties, vehicle registration will be denied if an individual has not gotten their emissions system checked or if the vehicle did not pass the inspection, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Electric vehicles will remain exempt from emissions tests, according to the DPS, and commercial vehicles—such as delivery trucks, buses and taxis—must still pass safety inspections.

Texans still need to register their vehicles annually with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.

The DPS encourages motorists to regularly service their vehicles to keep Texas roads safe. This includes ensuring a vehicle’s headlights, tail lights, horn, mirrors, windshield wipers, tires and more work properly. Driving a vehicle without functioning safety features is against the law, according to the DPS.

“Texans are responsible [and] fiercely independent, and I trust them to keep their cars and trucks safe while on the road. … I am proud to author this bill, which will free up over 40 million hours per year for Texas drivers,” Harris said.

Biden announces $2.5 billion in Ukraine defense assistance

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Biden announces $2.5 billion in Ukraine defense assistance

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced on Monday that the United States would offer almost $2.5 billion in defense assistance to Ukraine, a move that will bring an “immediate influx of capabilities” as the country defends itself against Russia’s assault.

“At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office,” Biden said in a statement.

The support will include both a $1.25 billion drawdown package for Ukraine’s military and a $1.22 billion package authorized through the U.S. Department of Defense’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, according to Biden. The department has now used all funds allocated by Congress under that initiative, he added.

Prior to the announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the support would be “significant” for his forces fighting against the Russian invasion.

“This support is crucial to stabilizing the front lines — every additional supply from our partners means more saved lives of our soldier,” he said on Sunday. “We are also working to ensure that other partners maintain their support at the necessary level.”

The new support packages are expected to help the Ukrainian military with ongoing battlefield efforts, along with “longer-term supplies of air defense, artillery, and other critical weapons systems,” Biden said.

He added that he’s “directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible — including drawing down older U.S. equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons.”

The U.S. Department of Defense will be delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets and hundreds of armored vehicles to Ukraine, Biden said, “which will strengthen Ukraine’s hand as it heads into the winter.”

Jimmy Carter’s state funeral to be held Jan. 9 at Washington National Cathedral

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Jimmy Carter’s state funeral to be held Jan. 9 at Washington National Cathedral

The funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Sunday at the age of 100, will be held on Jan. 9 at Washington National Cathedral.

Carter, the son of a peanut farmer who was elected the nations 39th president, passed away surrounded by family at his home in Plains, Georgia, just months after he became the longest-lived former chief executive in U.S. history.

RELATED: Former President Jimmy Carter, celebrated champion of human rights, dies at 100

President Joe Biden, who praised Carter as a “man of principle, faith, and humility,” has also marked Jan. 9 as a National Day of Mourning for the former Democratic president.

Biden said in March 2023 that Carter had asked him to deliver his eulogy. Their relationship spans decades, back to when Biden endorsed Carter for the presidency during Biden’s first term as a senator in 1976.

In remarks on Sunday evening, Biden spoke about Carter’s support for him and his family after his son Beau died of cancer. Carter was later diagnosed with metastatic melanoma.

“I think that what Jimmy Carter is an example of is just simple decency, simple decency,” Biden said as he reflected on that time in his life. “And I think that’s what the rest of the world looks to America for.”

Washington National Cathedral, situated just miles north of the White House, has been the site of several state funerals for former presidents, including Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush.

Carter is expected to be buried in Georgia next to his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter, who died last year at the age of 96. Carter, who had been in hospice care, made a rare public appearance to attend his wife’s memorial service.

The couple previously spoke about being laid to rest together at their family residence, near the edge of a pond on the property where they fished together.

Alvin ISD officials expected to give update after elementary school destroyed by deadly tornado

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Alvin ISD officials expected to give update after elementary school destroyed by deadly tornado

ALVIN, Texas (KTRK) — Recovery efforts are underway in Alvin ISD after a deadly tornado destroyed Walt Disney Elementary School.

It was one of many structures damaged by tornadoes this past weekend across southeast Texas. One person was killed in Alvin, and officials say at least four others were hurt.

SkyEye flew over the storm-ravaged areas and captured video of severe damage.

A tornado in Montgomery County had peak winds of 145 miles per hour, while a tornado in Brazoria County was on the ground for eight miles and had winds between 115 and 135 miles per hour.

Administrators surveyed the damage at Walt Disney Elementary School on Sunday. They said they hope to have an update for the community on Monday.

RELATED: Damage assessment begins in Brazoria County after deadly tornado passed through, officials said

Brazoria County was left storm-ravaged after a strong storm produced a deadly tornado.

At this point, no announcements have been made about where the teachers and students will go once the Spring semester starts next week. The Alvin ISD school board is holding an emergency meeting at 11 a.m. Monday.

The National Weather Service said the tornado that struck the school on Saturday was an EF-2.

SEE ALSO: 5 confirmed tornadoes that hit Waller, Montgomery, Brazoria, Galveston and Chambers Co., NWS says

The district said many teachers lost valuable materials, some of which they paid for out-of-pocket.

To help combat the losses, the Alvin ISD Education Foundation is taking donations. They said they’d provide information soon on where the community can drop off physical items for donation.

179 dead, 2 rescued after plane crashes while landing in South Korea

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179 dead, 2 rescued after plane crashes while landing in South Korea

All 181 passengers and crew aboard a passenger jet that crashed upon landing in South Korea on Sunday morning are presumed dead except for two people rescued from the wreckage, authorities said.

Jeju Air flight 2216 was landing at Muan International Airport around 9 a.m. local time when the plane went off the runway and crashed into a wall.

There were a total of 175 passengers and six crew members aboard the Boeing 737 aircraft, which had taken off from Bangkok, according to the Korean Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport. The official death toll, which has been provided by the National Fire Agency, has climbed steadily in the hours since the crash.

Firefighters and rescue team members work at the Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (Maeng Dae-hwan/Newsis via AP)

Maeng Dae-hwan/AP

MORE: Survivors of Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash report hearing bangs, explosions during flight

A plume of smoke at the scene of the Jeju Air crash in Muan, South Korea.

Courtesy Yoo Jung-Pil

The transport ministry was on the scene investigating the cause of the crash, and details of what happened were beginning to come into focus. Prior to the plane’s crash landing, the control tower issued a warning of a possible bird strike, the ministry said. About a minute after that warning, a pilot sent a mayday distress signal, after which the tower issued permission for the aircraft to land, the ministry said.

Video from the scene at the time of the crash appears to show the landing gear was up when the plane touched down, possibly indicating some sort of malfunction, and it also appears the plane landed at a high speed. Videos taken at the scene showed flames and a thick column of dark smoke at the crash site.

As of 1 p.m. local time, authorities said the plane had completely burned. A temporary morgue was being set up at the airport.

By about 8 p.m., the official death toll had climbed to 176 people, the National Fire Agency said. Eighty-three of the dead were women and 82 were men, the agency said, adding that another 11 bodies remained unidentified. According to the flight manifest, there were five children under 10 years old on the flight, the youngest of them 3 years old.

A man and a woman were rescued from the wreckage and were taken to the hospital, according to the transport ministry. Both were crew members, the fire agency said. Their conditions were not released.

Initially, there were conflicting reports on the number of people rescued.

Jeju Air is a South Korean low-cost carrier that operates an all Boeing fleet, with 42 planes and nearly 3,000 staff.

“We deeply apologize to all those affected by the incident at Muan Airport,” Jeju Air said in a notice posted in English on its website. “We will make every effort to resolve the situation. We sincerely regret the distress caused.”

The website’s landing page replaced Jeju Air’s logotype, which is usually orange, with an all-black version.

Boeing was in contact with Jeju Air regarding the crash and was “standing ready to support them,” a Boeing spokesperson told ABC News.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones, and our thoughts remain with the passengers and crew,” the spokesperson said.

Muan, a city of roughly 90,000 people, is located in southwest South Korea.

Winning ticket for Mega Millions $1.22 billion jackpot sold in California

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Winning ticket for Mega Millions $1.22 billion jackpot sold in California

The winning ticket for the $1.22 billion Mega Millions jackpot has been sold in California, with the winner set to take home the fifth-largest prize ever.

The winning ticket was sold in Shasta County at the Circle K on 3505 Rhonda Road in Cottonwood, California, and matched all six numbers in Friday night’s drawing.

The winning numbers were 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and gold Mega Ball 6 and the cash value of the jackpot is estimated to be $549.7 million, according to the lottery.

Lottery tickets for the Mega Millions jackpot are seen in a store on Aug. 8, 2023 in New York.Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images, FILE

No one has won the grand prize in the last 30 drawings, as the jackpot has ballooned. The last time the jackpot was won was at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10.

MORE: $1.13 billion Mega Millions jackpot from March claimed by New Jersey resident

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, according to Mega Millions.

“Congratulations to our $1.22 billion jackpot winner from California,” said Joshua Johnston, lead director for the Mega Millions Consortium. “What an amazing present this holiday season! At an incredibly special time of year, this is both an incredibly special moment for our winner, and for all the great organizations and causes that benefit from lottery ticket sales around the country. Thank you to everyone who plays. Because of you, we have winners all around the country taking home cash prizes both big and small, and we have educational causes, parks and many other great organizations benefiting as well. Thank you and congratulations to all our winners.”

In total, there were more than 31.4 million winning tickets across all prize tiers during the 31-drawing run, which began after the last jackpot was won in Texas on Sept. 10 — including 65 second-tier prizes of $1 million or more, won in 26 different jurisdictions from coast to coast, according to Mega Millions.

“It’s only the fourth Mega Millions jackpot won in 2024, and with only one more drawing this year, odds are that the year will end with the fewest jackpots won in any year since the game began in 2002,” Mega Millions said following Friday’s drawing. “In addition to the $810 million Texas win on September 10, a $552 million windfall went to an Illinois online player on June 4 (the largest lottery prize ever won with an online ticket purchase), and a huge $1.128 billion prize was won in New Jersey on March 26.”

Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets are $2 for one play.

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