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Tesla Cybertruck bomber used ChatGPT to plan attack: Las Vegas police

January 7, 2025
Las Vegas police said Tuesday, Jan. 7, that the attacker who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel used the generative artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to plan the attack. An investigation into 37-year-old former soldier Matthew Livelsberger found his ChatGPT search history included questions about firearms and explosives.

Authorities said Livelsberger looked for information on explosive targets, ammunition speed and whether fireworks were legal in Arizona. They say this was when he reportedly considered an attack on the skywalk at the Grand Canyon.

The Las Vegas sheriff said it was the first incident he is aware of in the U.S. where an attacker used ChatGPT to help build a device.

ChatGPT owner OpenAI told the Associated Press, “ChatGPT responded with information already publicly available on the internet and provided warnings against harmful or illegal activities. We’re working with law enforcement to support their investigation.”

The investigation also turned up notes detailing Livelsberger’s motivation. They included that he felt a burden taking lives as a service member. He warned the U.S. was collapsing and urged Americans to rally around President-elect Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
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Zuckerberg says Meta is ditching fact-checkers for community-driven oversight

January 7, 2025

Meta announced Tuesday, Jan. 7, that it will replace its third-party fact-checking program with a community-driven system called Community Notes. The change will begin rolling out in the United States on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, with plans for global implementation in 2025, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

In a video statement, Zuckerberg explained that the transition is aimed at simplifying policies, reducing moderation errors and prioritizing free expression. He criticized the existing fact-checking system as overly complicated, leading to errors that impacted millions of users.

“So we’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms. More specifically, here’s what we’re going to do,” Zuckerberg said. “First, we’re going to get rid of fact checkers and replace them with community notes similar to X starting in the U.S.”

Meta’s fact-checking initiative, launched in 2016, involved partnerships with independent organizations certified by the International Fact-Checking Network and the European Fact-Checking Standards Network. These groups reviewed flagged content, assessed its accuracy and assigned ratings such as “False,” “Altered” or “Missing Context.”

Under the outgoing system, flagged posts had their visibility reduced while users received notifications before sharing inaccurate content. Repeat offenders faced penalties, including reduced reach and restrictions on monetization. Zuckerberg said the complexity of the system led to unintended consequences.

“So we built a lot of complex systems to moderate content. But the problem with complex systems is they make mistakes even if they accidentally censor just 1% of posts. That’s millions of people. And we’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes in too much censorship,” Zuckerberg said.

Community Notes, modeled after a similar feature implemented by X, will rely on user contributions to flag and add context to posts. Meta plans to refine the system in the United States before expanding it globally. The company described the move as part of an effort to enhance transparency and involve users more directly in content moderation.

Meta emphasized that strict oversight will remain for content related to terrorism, child exploitation and drug-related issues. While the company acknowledged concerns about the potential for increased misinformation, it expressed confidence that refinements to Community Notes will mitigate these risks.
Pentagon transfers 11 Yemeni detainees from Guantánamo Bay to Oman

January 7, 2025

The Pentagon said it transferred 11 Yemeni detainees, including two former bodyguards for Osama Bin Laden, from Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Oman, which has agreed to help re-settle them. The U.S. never charged the Yemeni detainees with crimes.

The move comes amid steps to reduce the population at the controversial U.S. military facility. Only 15 detainees remain at Guantánamo Bay’s detention facility, which the U.S. set up when the war on terror began after Sept. 11, 2001.

Of the 15 current detainees, only three are eligible for transfer. The Pentagon said three detainees are eligible for a periodic review and seven are involved in the military commissions process.

The U.S. convicted and sentenced two detainees.

In recent weeks, the Biden administration transferred four other detainees from Guantánamo, including one brought to the detention facility the day it opened in 2002. The U.S. never formally charged that person.

The move follows a recent decision by a military judge that sparked outrage. The judge ruled plea agreements with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and two other accused terrorists are valid and binding. Those deals take the death penalty off the table for the three men, who also remain at Guantánamo Bay.
FBI warns of potential ‘retaliatory attacks’ after deadly New Orleans assault

January 3, 2025
Federal law enforcement agencies have issued a bulletin warning of possible “copycat or retaliatory attacks” following the New Year’s truck attack in New Orleans. The bulletin cites the ease with which someone can commit a terror attack using a vehicle.

Around 3 a.m. on Jan. 1, a suspect drove a rented pick-up truck through Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens of others. Police later killed the suspect, identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an Army veteran inspired by the terror group ISIS.

ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

The FBI released the bulletin Thursday, Jan. 2, to law enforcement agencies, as reported by Reuters.

The bulletin states that vehicle attacks “are likely to remain attractive for aspiring attackers given vehicles’ ease of acquisition and the low skill threshold necessary to conduct an attack.”

The surge in vehicle-ramming attacks “may inspire similarly motivated actors to adopt the same method,” the bulletin said.

The federal agency also warns that such perpetrators may have access to secondary weapons, such as explosive devices or guns.

Investigators said Thursday that Jabbar had a rifle and handgun at the time of the attack and had planted two IEDs, which authorities later found and neutralized.

The Bourbon Street incident marks the seventh assault in the United States inspired by a foreign terror group since 2001 and the first deadly one since 2017, the bulletin stated.

Online foreign terror organizations and various groups that support them celebrated the New Orleans attack. CBS News reported they called for violence during the holiday season.

In December, a man drove a car through a Christmas market in Germany, killing five people and injuring more than 200 others.
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FBI criticized after reporter videos inside NOLA terror suspect’s home

January 3, 2025
A video showing a journalist inside the Houston home of a suspected New Orleans terrorist is drawing attention from lawmakers. The New York Post recorded the footage just 37 hours after the deadly car attack on Bourbon Street.

One senator is questioning the FBI over what she calls an “unsecure perimeter” around the suspect’s home between FBI searches.

Around 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day, authorities say Shamsud-Din Jabbar was the driver of a truck that plowed through a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more.

The suspect died in a shootout with police. Authorities believe ISIS inspired the attack. They found an ISIS flag, weapons and explosive devices inside Jabbar’s truck. The FBI identified Jabbar’s last known residence as a home in Houston, where agents raided the property between Jan. 1 and Jan. 2. They also reportedly discovered bomb-making materials inside the home.

However, less than eight hours after the FBI left, a New York Post reporter posted a video of herself walking through the unsecured house. She filmed items left behind by the FBI, including computers, a Quran and what she described as a “bomb-making station.”

EXCLUSIVE TOUR of the NOLA terrorists home—-

where we found a bomb-making station and a Quran open to a chilling passage about martyrdom @nypost https://t.co/LKV7npCOE5 pic.twitter.com/a1znIURjyM
— Jennie Taer 🎗️ (@JennieSTaer) January 2, 2025

The reporter received online backlash for entering the home, and criticism has also been directed at the FBI for leaving the site unsecured after the initial raid. Following the incident, the FBI confirmed to several news outlets on Friday, Jan. 3, that agents had returned to the house for a second search.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., criticized the FBI’s handling of the situation, posting on X, “The fact that a reporter has better intel than the FBI tells us all we need to know. The FBI has failed its core mission.”

Local Houston news outlets report that they arrived at the home on New Year’s Day before investigators. They witnessed FBI, SWAT vehicles and local sheriff’s department officers arriving at the scene. By Thursday morning, the first search had concluded, and the second search was also completed Friday morning. It is unclear why authorities returned or if they collected more evidence during the second search.

As of now, the FBI has not commented on why a journalist was inside the home between the two searches.
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FBI says they now believe suspect in New Orleans terror attack acted alone

January 3, 2025
After the deadly vehicle attack in New Orleans, the FBI has changed its view on a key point. They now believe the suspect likely acted alone.

As recently as Wednesday, Jan. 1, authorities believed this was not the case. They said they changed their assessment after hundreds of interviews and reviewing the suspect’s messages.

New Year’s in New Orleans took a deadly turn at around 3 a.m. when a suspect drove a rented pickup truck through the streets and then opened fire on pedestrians.

Police arrested Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran, after the attack. Prior to the attack on Tuesday, Dec. 31, Jabbar posted videos to his Facebook page pledging allegiance to the terror group ISIS, and police found the group’s flag inside his car.

Jabbar’s brother told The New York Times that the suspect was raised Christian and converted to Islam.

Jabbar’s niece joined Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, speaking under the username “bruhbabe11″ about her uncle. She said he changed roughly five years ago after separating from his second wife.

“I think your analysis of the narrative of him being a divorced dad and having all that stress and the money stress is the actual cause of the issues,” Jabbar’s niece said. “And then you just needed some sort of scapegoat, I guess, or some reason to be so drastic.”

Among the 15 people killed in the attack were a nursing student, a father, and a former college football player.

Law enforcement officials have also said there is “no definitive link” to another vehicle-related attack in Las Vegas. On Wednesday, Jan. 1, an attacker exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Both used the car-sharing app Turo to rent the vehicles in their attacks. In a statement, The company says they are “heartbroken” by the attacks and are working with law enforcement on both incidents.
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New Orleans truck attack: What we know about the victims

January 2, 2025
A nursing student, a father of two and a former college football player are among the at least 14 people killed in the early morning of New Year’s Day, Wednesday, Jan. 1. Authorities said a man plowed his pickup truck onto New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, hitting multiple people and injuring more than 30.

The driver was killed in a shootout with police. As authorities investigate the suspect’s motives, friends and families are sharing information about the victims of the deadliest attack in the U.S. in over a year.

Tiger Bech

Tiger Bech, 27, was a former football player at Princeton University. After graduating in 2021, the Louisiana native moved to New York City for a job at capital markets firm Seaport Global Holdings.

Matthew Tenedorio

ABC News spoke to the parents of 25-year-old Matthew Tenedorio, a fiber optics and video professional at the nearby Superdome, who was out celebrating with friends.

“His beautiful face. His laugh. ‘I love you, Mom.’ He was just a wonderful son,” Kathy Tenedori, Matthew Tenedori’s mother, told ABC News.

“I think as time goes by, I’ll see something that reminds me of him and I’ll break down,” Louis Tenedorio, Matthew Tenedori’s father, said. “I know that’s going to happen, probably for the rest of my life.”

Reggie Hunter

Reggie Hunter, 37, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was remembered on Facebook by his cousin Shirell Jackson for his sense of humor. Hunter was a father of two and worked as a warehouse manager. A GoFundMe page has been set up for his family.

“This hurts. This is terrible. We want as much justice for him as we possibly can get,” Jackson told CBS News.

Kareem Badawi

With “great sadness and grief,” the father of University of Alabama student Kareem Badawi announced his son’s death in a message on Facebook.

University of Alabama President Stuart Bell also confirmed Badawi’s death in a post.

“I grieve alongside family and friends of Kareem in their heartbreaking loss,” Bell said.

Badawi’s high school, the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, said it will host a prayer service on Thursday, Jan. 2, for Badawi and another recent graduate who was critically injured in the attack.

Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux

Nikyra Cheyenne Dedeaux, 18, was preparing to start Blue Cliff College later this month as a nursing major. Her mother, also a nurse, posted on Facebook, “My baby is gone. She is no longer with us…”

Hubert Gauthreaux

Twenty-one-year-old Hubert Gauthreaux is remembered by his former school. Archbishop Shaw High School shared a photo of Gauthreaux, asking the community to pray for his family and friends.

Nicole Perez

A family friend and employer of 27-year-old Nicole Perez told ABC News she was a great mother to her 4-year-old son.

“She was allowed to bring her son into the office when he didn’t have school and so she was helping him learn to read,” Kimberly Usher-fall said of Perez.

These are only some names of the more than a dozen victims who lost their lives in the attack on New Year’s Day in New Orleans. More of their stories, and those of the over 30 injured, will be told in the days ahead.
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- FBI searches Houston location after New Orleans truck attack
  Tesla Cybertruck fire at Trump Hotel appears to be act of terror: Musk
  FBI doesn’t believe New Orleans attacker acted alone, ISIS flag found on truck
US precision strike in Syria: 2 ISIS operatives killed, weapons destroyed

December 24, 2024

The U.S. military conducted a precision airstrike in Syria’s Dayr az Zawr Province on Monday, Dec. 23, killing two ISIS operatives and wounding a third. The operation also destroyed a truckload of weapons the group was transporting. The strike occurred in an area previously under the control of Syrian and Russian forces.

This airstrike is part of an ongoing U.S. effort to disrupt ISIS operations and prevent the terror group from regaining strength. It follows a series of recent strikes in the same region, including one last week that killed ISIS leader Abu Yusif and another operative. In total, U.S. forces report eliminating 12 ISIS operatives in Syria over the past week.

CENTCOM Commander General Michael Erik Kurilla underscored the importance of these actions, particularly as ISIS attempts to reorganize and free more than 8,000 of its members currently held in detention facilities. He emphasized that the U.S., in coordination with regional allies, remains committed to preventing ISIS from regaining strength or planning future attacks.

These operations are part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a coalition campaign against ISIS that began in 2014. According to Airwars.org, the coalition has conducted approximately 35,000 airstrikes across Iraq and Syria over the past decade, nearly 20,000 of which targeted ISIS positions and infrastructure in Syria.

While these efforts have significantly weakened ISIS and led to the loss of nearly all its territorial control, U.S. officials warn that the group remains a persistent threat.
Former DC police officer convicted of feeding information to Proud Boys leader

December 23, 2024
A retired Metropolitan Police officer has been found guilty by a District of Columbia judge on Monday, Dec. 23. Shane Lamond was convicted of tipping off a leader of the Proud Boys group and then lying about it.

Lamond now faces up to 45 years in prison for feeding Proud Boys leader, Enrique Tarrio, information that helped him plan the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The former lieutenant led the Metropolitan Police Department’s police intelligence unit. He pled not guilty to charges of obstruction of justice and three counts of making false statements.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson handed down the verdict, stating that Lamond acted as an informant for the Proud Boys group.

“The defendant was not using Tarrio as a source; it was the other way around,” she said.

During the two-week bench trial, prosecutors said Lamond covered up his communication with Tarrio. He deleted messages and used an encrypted app.

The prosecution said conversations showed Lamond telling him there was a warrant for his arrest for burning a Black Lives Matter flag during a pro-Trump rally in 2020.

They also said Lamond pledged his support for the Proud Boys. He said he personally supported the group and didn’t want to see its reputation “dragged through the mud.” Lamond’s defense said his conversations with Tarrio didn’t breach police conduct. His lawyers argued Lamond was actually key in Tarrio’s arrest.

Tarrio is currently serving 22 years in prison for helping to coordinate the attack on the Capitol. Tarrio also testified in Lamond’s defense; he said he lied about receiving information from Lamond to other members of the Proud Boys.
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Calif. man shared planned attack with teen Wis. shooting suspect: FBI

December 19, 2024
The FBI detained a California man on Tuesday, Dec. 17, that officials said was plotting an attack during conversations with the 15-year-old girl suspected of committing a deadly school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin. Police and FBI agents reportedly swarmed the home of 20-year-old Alexander Paffendorf in Carlsbad, California, on Tuesday to seize his guns and ammunition after a judge’s order under the state’s red flag law.

The court’s order came following allegations that Paffendorf was planning a mass shooting with Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, the suspected Wisconsin shooter.

Officials said, during the interview with FBI agents, that Paffendorf admitted that he told Rupnow he planned to arm himself with explosives and a gun in an attack on a government building.

The FBI did not provide further details on the pair’s communication. It’s also unclear if authorities arrested Paffendorf or if he faces any charges.

However, law enforcement said there is no current threat to the local community. Madison Police said Rupnow opened fire at a private Christian school on Monday, Dec. 16, killing a teacher and student and injuring six others.

Police found Rupnow’s body at the scene with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A motive for the shooting is still being investigated.
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