>> he was hellbent on creating the carnage and the damage he did. >> the fbi is now investigating the attack as an act of terrorism. and a cyber truck explodes in front of the trump hotel in las vegas, in another possible act of terror. are the two connected? good morning. i'm michael george. two attacks in two different cities. and now, questions about whether the two could be linked. first, the mayhem that unfolded in new orleans that left 15 dead and dozens injured. the attacker is shamsud din jabbar. he was in beaumont, texas, served in afghanistan and was apparently inspired by isis. and officials do not believe he was acting alone. we're learning more about the victims.

nikyra cheyenne dedeaux was a nurse. nicole perez had a son. tiger bech, a former football player. and reggie hunter, a father of two. the attack happened on the famous bourbon street near the site of the sugar bowl, that was rescheduled to today, under extremely tight security. cbs' nicole valdez joins us with the latest from new orleans. nicole, what's the mood like in the city this morning? >> reporter: michael, good morning. well, it's quiet. a much different environment here from the usually packed french quarter, just 24 hours ago or so, there were thousands of people celebrating the start of a new year here. now, this is the site where so many remember the carnage of the attack that killed 15 people and hurt nearly 40 others. right now, federal investigators called this attack deliberate, thought-out, and say they are investigating it as an act of terror. >> we have dozens of people that

got hit by this car. >> reporter: frantic messages from first responders in new orleans, just moments after a man drove his truck through crowds celebrating the new year on the city's famed bourbon street. >> just heart this squeal. and, like, the rev of an engine and a huge, loud impact. and then, people screaming. >> reporter: the fbi has identified the attacker as 42-year-old army veteran shamsud din jabbar, a u.s. citizen that lived in texas. witnesses say after he rammed the crowd, experts say he was in a rented ford truck and fired at police. he was killed in the gunfight. two officers were wounded. >> we are working with partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. we do not believe that jabbar was solely responsible. we're aggressively running down every lead. >> reporter: the fbi says they found an isis flag on the vehicle and possible improvised explosive devices there and in the city's french quarter.

>> hours before the attack, he posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by isis, expressing a desire to kill. >> reporter: these are some of the victims who died in the attack. including 28-year-old former princeton university football star, tiger bech. >> he was a standup guy that we really respected and honored. >> reporter: later today, the sugar bowl is set to kick off at the nearby superdome, after it was postponed due to yesterday's horrific attack. now, sugar bowl officials say the superdome is safe today, ahead of the match-up between the georgia bulldogs and the notre dame fighting irish. meanwhile, the nfl says it is creating a comprehensive security plan for the next big event at the superdome, which is, of course, the super bowl. michael? >> all right. nicole valdes in new orleans, thank you. we want to turn to cbs' jarred hill. jarred, you've been looking into the suspect's pass. what do we know right now? >> we're looking in the

suspect's pass to find a connection or motive or what led to this. what we're learning at this point is that investigators say shamsud din jabbar was a 42-year-old u.s. citizen, born in beaumont, texas. he served in the army from 2006 to 2020 and was deployed in afghanistan in 2009. doing some digging, he graduated from the university of georgia, with a degree in computer science, paid for with the g.i. bill. recently online, he started to describe himself as a real estate agent. texas criminal records also show that jabbar was charged in 2002, with misdemeanor theft and 2005, with driving with an invalid license. authorities were at his neighborhood in texas just yesterday and were talking to anybody who might have had any kind of connection to him to figure out what might have happened here. as president biden mentioned earlier, it is believed that jabbar was inspired by isis. but a big question, especially when we talk about coconspirators, is when and how he became radicalized.

>> jarred, there was also a fire at an airbnb linked to the suspect. is that believed to be connected? >> they don't think this was a coincidence. michael, they think there was a connection here. the airbnb was a couple of minutes from bourbon street. the building caught on fire yesterday. louisiana's attorney general has gone on to say in interviews, they believe the ieds, the explosive devices around the french quarter, were being made at that airbnb. >> all right. jarred hill, thanks for your reporting. police are working to see if there's any link between the new orleans attack and the tesla cybertruck that exploded outside of the trump hotel in las vegas, killing seven inside and injuring several others. police video the mortars and gas canisters were found in the truck. and it was rented in colorado, using the same app as the new orleans attack. cbs' andres gutierrez has that story. >> reporter: the tesla cybertruck exploded and burst into flames just outside of the

trump hotel. >> it looks like mortars, from a fireworks. >> reporter: people at the hotel and on the sidewalk, had to scramble to safety, as fire crews tried to douse the flames. >> we saw smoke started showing from the vehicle. then, a large explosion from the truck occurs. >> reporter: police say the person in the cybertruck died in the blast and several people suffered injuries. >> it was like a firework. it was popping sound, bang sound. and a lot of sparks fly. >> reporter: police moved quickly to evacuate the 52-story hotel. the president-elect's son expressed gratitude for emergency crews' quick response. elon musk, the tesla ceo, who will be leading a trump administration advisory commission, says he has the whole tesla team investigating the explosion and posted, we've never seen anything like this. andres gutierrez, cbs news.

president-elect donald trump has been following the developments in new orleans and responding on social media. this comes as he is working to get his choice to be the next speaker of the house. nidia cavazos reports from capitol hill. >> reporter: president-elect trump weighed in on the new orleans attack on wednesday, saying his heart is with the victims. he added, the trump administration will fully support the city of new orleans as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil. he talked about crime while speaking with reporters outside of his new year's eve party at mar-a-lago. >> the crime numbers are going through the roof. >> reporter: mike johnson met at mar-a-lago as he tries to shore up support to be re-elected as speaker on friday when the new congress convenes. >> he's a good man. he's a very -- he's a wonderful person. and that's what you need. >> reporter: trump has endorsed johnson to retain the speaker's gavel when the new congress convenes on friday. the president-elect believes johnson will win the election, but concedes, there's work to be done.

>> there's a lot of work to be done right now. almost everybody likes him. others are good, too. they have 30 or 40 people that don't like them. that's tough. >> reporter: kentucky congressman thomas massey is one of the house republicans who say he won't vote for johnson. and others say they are unsure. >> i remain undecided as do a number of my colleagues because we saw so many failures last year that we are concerned that might limit or inhibit our ability to advance the president's agenda. >> reporter: trump says he will be calling some of the holdouts to urge them to vote for the speaker. nidia cavazos, cbs news, capitol hill. coming up, deadly fireworks blast. how three people were killed in hawaii during a celebration. and some of the new laws in the new year that will be impacting millions of americans.

an illegal new year's eve fireworks display near honolulu turned into a deadly explosion, killing three people and

critically injuring at least two dozen more. the state's governor compared the force of the explosion to a bomb. authorities say a partygoer lit a bundle of aerial fireworks which then fell on its side, setting off crates of additional fireworks. a fourth person was killed in a different fireworks explosion on the island. president biden will award the presidential citizens medal to 20 people in a ceremony at the white house today. liz cheney and bennie thompson, the leaders of the congressional investigation into the january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol, are among those receiving the second-highest civilian honor. president-elect trump has called their actions on the panel inexcusable and has said they should be jailed. a new year means thousands of new laws on the books in all 50 states. this year, millions of minimum wage workers are getting a raise. and several states are taking aim at gun laws. cbs' bradley blackburn reports from new york. >> reporter: this new year, there will be more cash in the pockets of minimum wage workers.

21 states are increasing minimum wage beginning january 1st. washington state leads the nation at $16.66 an hour. >> lives have changed. a lot has changed. cost of everything is going up. >> reporter: in florida, children under 14 are banned from having social media accounts. and 14-year-olds and 15-year-olds can only use social platforms if their parents approve. the law is not being enforced right now because of a pending lawsuit. >> it's not just about the law in effect. it's also about an education campaign, saying to parents that, there's some issues with minors and social media. >> reporter: california is cracking down on retail theft with more than a half-dozen new laws. one increases jail time for large-scale smash-and-grabs. >> i think, if it's a punishment for the stuff they've been doing, they are going to stop doing it, you know? >> reporter: california is also one of several states enacting more gun safety legislation. while new hampshire is bolstering gun rights with nra-backed privacy protections that prohibit the use of

specific merchant category codes that could link a gun purchase to a credit card. and a first in the nation law here in new york, the state is offering 20 hours of paid leave a year for prenatal care for ultrasounds or even fertility treatments. chickens in colorado were feeling the wind in their feathers. producers with more than 3,000 hens are required to provide a cage-free environment for the birds. and all eggs sold in the state must come from a cage-free facility. >> it aims to curb predatory pricing. >> reporter: and you may remember the ticketmaster meltdown over taylor swift concerts. a new law in minnesota, lets buyers know every fee up front. bradley blackburn, cbs news, new york. coming up ahead, rose bowl blowout. the buckeyes dominate oregon in their march to a national championship.

here's a look at today's

forecast in some cities around the country. ♪ well, it was a stunning upset at the rose bowl. number eight seed ohio state dominated number one-ranked oregon, who had been undefeated all season. the buckeyes looking for revenge after losing to the ducks by one point the last time they met. but ohio making sure it wasn't even close, winning the rose bowl, 41-21. the buckeyes now advance to a college football playoff semi final against number five seed, texas. the new year starts with two new recalls. here's wendy gillette with today's "money watch." >> wall street was closed for the new year's holiday. in the last day of 2024, the markets lost ground. the dow slid 29 points. the nasdaq fell 175. and the s&p 500 finished 25 points lower.

a couple recalls to tell you about. ford is recalling almost 300,000 diesel engine trucks because a defected fuel pump could cause a loss of power, increasing the risk of a crash. the national highway transportation safety commission, says drivers could experience an extended crank when starting the vehicle, a check engine light, noise, and reduced engine power. seven models from 2020 to 2022 are part of the recall. and the other recall involves broccoli. braga is pulling 12 ounce bags of marketside broccoli florettes sold in walmart in 20 states due to possible listeria contamination. it has a best-buy date of december 12th. anyone with the product in the freezer is urged to throw it out. it was not a banner year at the box office.

domestic movie ticket sales for 2024 fell over 3% from 2023, to $8.75 billion according to comscore. the hollywood strikes of 2023 were one of the contributing factors. that's your "cbs money watch" report for this thursday morning. i'm wendy gillette, cbs news, new york. up next, the plot thickens. the latest legal fight involving actors blake lively and justin baldoni. ♪today my friend you did it, you did it♪ pursue a better you with centrum. ♪♪ it's a small win toward taking charge of your health. ♪♪ so, this year, you can say... ♪you did it!♪ downy light adds a subtle fresh scent to your wash. it doesn't overwhelm like: it's campfire leather musk overload.

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around

the country. ♪ well, meghan markle, the duchess of sussex, is making a splash with a new year's return to instagram. the former actress posted a video of herself writing 2025 in the sand on a beach from the account @meghan. markel and her husband, prince harry, the duke of sussex, left the app in 2020. that's when the pair announced they were stepping back from their official royal roles. actor blake lively and director justin baldoni have filed new lawsuits, surrounding the drama on the set of their movie "it ends with us." on wednesday, lively filed a federal lawsuit against baldoni, alleging harassment and a coordinated attack to her reputation, after she came forward on her alleged treatment on the set. earlier in the day, baldoni sued "the new york times" for libel,

saying it was lively and the newspaper who coordinated a smear campaign on his reputation. and best-selling author stephen king's rock radio station will continue rolling into the new year after all. the novelist was set to close wkit on january 1st, but two businessman saved the day, buying the station from king, citing its tremendous history. king, now 77, purchased his first radio station in 1983. coming up on "cbs mornings," tony dokoupil is live in new orleans with the latest on the investigation into the deadly truck attack.

♪ welcome to "cbs mornings." i'm nate burleson. >> i'm adriana diaz. >> i'm dana jacobson. >> tony dokoupil is covering the new year's attack on bourbon street. first, today's "eye opener." it's your world in 90 seconds. dozens of people g