Daily Briefing: Coordination or coincidence?

A Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion happened just hours after 15 people were killed and about 30 others injured in an attack involving a truck in New Orleans. The rescheduled Sugar Bowl will kick off on Thursday. We chatted with some of America's treasure hunters.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Forget millennials v. Gen Z — welcome Gen Beta.

Are two deadly events connected or coincidence?

President Joe Biden said federal authorities will investigate whether there may be a link between Wednesday's fatal truck assault in New Orleans and the deadly blast outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas just hours later.

Terror on New Year's Day: Federal agents say the deadly assault in New Orleans is "an act of terrorism" and are looking for potential acts of terrorism related to the Las Vegas incident that left one person dead and seven others injured.

• What happened in Vegas: A Tesla Cybertruck caught fire and exploded, forcing an evacuation of a hotel and sending terrified guests pouring from the building Wednesday afternoon.
• The latest from New Orleans: The FBI identified the driver of in the Bourbon Street rampage as 42-year-old Shamsud Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen and an Army veteran, who carried an ISIS flag on the trailer hitch of the truck. Jabbar was fatally shot by police after he opened fire on officers.
• Tourists and residents in both cities are reeling. New Years revelers in Las Vegas and tens of thousands of college football fans in New Orleans were met with fear, confusion and grief following the attacks.

Superdome won't go silent today

"We're very somber. You could hear a pin drop on Bourbon Street."

~ Coleman Sapp, who was visiting the city with friends and family from Georgia for the game. Fans of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgia Bulldogs had been eagerly awaiting the Sugar Bowl, which was set to take place Wednesday. But they were awakened by the news of an overnight attack in New Orleans' French Quarter. Officials rescheduled the Sugar Bowl for 4 p.m. ET on Thursday in New Orleans.

Here's everything to know about the Sugar Bowl right now:

• Former Princeton WR Tiger Bech, brother of TCU's Jack Bech, died in the New Orleans attack.
• Will it be safe? Officials conducted a full sweep of the Superdome to make sure there are no security breaches before, during or after the game.
• When you're ready, it's okay to think about the football: Here are the biggest keys to this quarterfinal matchup.

More news to know now

• If you're reading this in the car: Buckle up!
• COVID began five years ago this week.
• Congress reconvenes tomorrow. A nasty Speaker fight could occur.
• FBI says it seized the largest cache of explosive devices in its history at a Virginia farm.
• These space missions may define 2025.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Which new laws are going into effect in 2025?

A number of federal policies are destined to change when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office. But alongside a busy election year, many states charged forward with their own legislative sessions, passing laws to tackle everything from restrictions on what eggs can be sold to penalties for those convicted in large-scale, smash-and-grab robberies. Here are some of the laws that went into effect this week.

Meet America's sleuths searching for a crypto-millionaire’s hidden treasure

Since November, legions of amateur treasure hunters have been racing to decipher clues. What are they after? A treasure worth more than $2 million hidden by California crypto-millionaire Jon Collins-Black in five puzzle boxes in five secret locations across the country. The public hunt, which kicked off in November, has swelled online discussion groups and sent aspiring millionaires searching from Vermont to California. Here's how the hunt all started.

Today's talkers

• Justin Baldoni made accusations about Ryan Reynolds.
• Gypsy Rose Blanchard is a parent!
• New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce welcomes WNBA star Caitlin Clark on Thursday.
• Visit Europe in 2025, but don't break the bank.

Could a Yellowstone supervolcano blow again?

Scientists are tracking changes at the giant supervolcano that lies under Yellowstone National Park, but they say there's no need to worry at the moment. Yellowstone is one of the planet's largest volcanic systems — the Yellowstone caldera is the enormous volcanic crater left from the last time Yellowstone experienced a giant eruption, 640,000 years ago. It covers an area about 30 by 45 miles. In the past this was often pictured as a single underground lake of lava beneath volcanos, but newer mapping and imaging techniques make it possible to see the complex systems of reservoirs the magma gathers in. So will it erupt?

Photo of the day: The Ducks were limited

Ohio State got revenge for one of its two regular-season losses, and it's now headed to the College Football Playoff semifinal. The eighth-seeded Buckeyes came out with a fast start and never looked back to take down No. 1 Oregon in dominant fashion with a 41-21 victory in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.