[Republishing this edition to clarify that it was the attacker in New Orleans who posted video to social media and to correct that it was the truck he drove that carried the Islamic State banner.]
Chaos connected? Updating coverage: Warning not to “jump to conclusions,” President Biden says law enforcement has been investigating the possibility of a link between a U.S. Army veteran’s driving of a pickup into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans, killing at least 15, and the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.
■ Update, 10:54 a.m.: The FBI now says the New Orleans truck attacker acted alone in an “act of terrorism.”
■ The New Orleans driver had posted video to social media hours before, crediting the Islamic State with inspiring him to kill …
■ … and the FBI says it found the Islamic State’s banner in his truck.
■ Will Selber at The Bulwark: “Nobody inside the United States government should be surprised by these attacks. … At some point, we decided we were done with radical Islamic terrorists. But that doesn’t mean they’re done with us.”
■ The Atlantic’s Juliette Kayyem decries the postponement of New Orleans’ Sugar Bowl playoff game: “Defiantly proceeding with our lives … is the best response to an attack.”
‘Evil knuckleheads.’ That’s what Tesla chief Elon Musk calls whoever was behind the Vegas attack: “Cybertruck actually contained the explosion.”
■ Vegas police are praising Musk for aiding their investigation.
■ Sources tell the AP the driver was an active-duty U.S. Army soldier.
■ Tesla’s sales last year dropped for the first time in at least nine years.
‘Fear is beginning to settle in.’ The Tribune reports that at least one Chicago church has canceled in-person Spanish services—a potential target if Donald Trump carries through with his threats of mass deportations.
■ Columnist Charlie Madigan is skeptical of Trump’s ability to follow through: “To gather up every undocumented alien … he would have to raid every restaurant, every orchard, lots of the big farms that grow almost everything we eat, and food processing plants, not to mention the companies that mow and tend almost everything green, and the guys who show up to fix your cement steps.”
■ After wrongly linking the New Orleans attack to migrants, Trump insists he was “right about everything.”
‘The only real firewall.’ Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich sees the nation’s federal judges—most of them now appointed by Democratic presidents—as essential to protecting “the rights of the tens of millions of Americans who didn’t elect Trump and even of many who did.”
■ Unmoved by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ year-end report, in which he expresses concern about intimidation of judges, Liz Dye at Law and Chaos says Roberts “knows damn well that the only person claiming that judges have it in for them ‘because of the judge’s race, gender, or ethnicity’ is the incoming president.”
■ In a move that Wonkette’s Evan Hurst says will “make Trump’s butt itch,” Biden plans to honor ex-Republican Rep. Liz Cheney with the nation’s second-highest civilian medal for her role in leading the investigation of Trump’s 2021 insurrection.
■ Axios: “Democrats are pushing back furiously against a proposed change to House rules that would allow only Republicans to force a vote on removing the speaker of the House” …
■ … but present Speaker Mike Johnson’s path to reelection ain’t exactly sprinkled with rose petals.
■ Power restored after massive blackout, Puerto Rico today swore in a new governor.
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Whoops. The U.S. Treasury says it got hacked by China—specifically, the highly sensitive Treasury office in charge of imposing penalties on countries and groups of individuals.
■ Jill Lawrence at The Bulwark: “Republicans’ assault on IRS resources gives away their fake populist game.”
■ Lots of companies are watching what happens at Amazon, which as of today has ordered workers back to the office five days a week.
Beware Big Potato. The Lever takes a critical look at the four biggest companies in the frozen potato market, “accused of operating as a ‘cartel’ and conspiring to hike prices, jacking up the cost of french fries and Tater Tots.”
■ The Onion: “Turkey-Weary Nation Makes Triumphant Return To Eating Shrimp.”
■ Chicago’s first baby of 2025 is a girl.
Shovel-ready? Snow was headed Chicago’s way this afternoon …
■ …with “a major winter storm” possible Sunday.
Thanks. Mike Braden, Doug Freedman and Patrick Olsen made this edition better.
■ Chicago Public Square hates mistakes but loves having readers who take the time to set things straight.
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