Daily Briefing: The 119th Congress convenes

A new Republican-controlled Congress will be sworn in on Friday. The latest updates on deadly incidents in Las Vegas and New Orleans this week. The College Football Playoff semifinals are set.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. It's about to get really, really cold.

Speaker vote comes as the GOP has small margin of power

The 119th Congress starts work on Friday. Their first task? Vote for a leader.

What's happening: Current House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will try to hold on to his position and lead House Republicans through two more years — under a second Donald Trump presidency where his party also holds control of the Senate.

• Why the worry for Johnson? A tumultuous, last-minute spending deal to avoid a government shutdown in December prompted a handful of Republicans to publicly question their support for Johnson, raising the possibility that the House will be frozen in limbo for days or weeks without a speaker.
• Why is a stalled House an issue? That could create complications for the certification of electoral votes on Jan. 6 with Trump's inauguration fast approaching on Jan. 20. Members can’t tackle any other business until someone is chosen — and Trump wants to hit the ground running.
• Trump's endorsement may make the difference. The former and future president threw his weight behind the Louisiana Republican earlier this week.

More news to know now

• Up to 5 cats were sickened in California after bird flu was found in another raw pet food brand.
• Net Neutrality rules were struck down this week. Here's what it means for you.
• South Korean investigators suspended efforts to arrest their impeached president.
• Ágnes Keleti, the oldest living Olympic medal winner and Holocaust survivor, died at 103.

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

The latest updates on a terrifying week

Hotel guests in Las Vegas. Party-goers in New Orleans. Americans across the country this week were faced with deadly incidents that caused anxiety and grief during moments intended to be celebratory.

What happened this week: In Louisiana, 14 people were killed in an attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans after a man plowed a pickup into revelers on Bourbon Street in what the FBI is calling "an act of terrorism." Later the same day, a Tesla truck exploded in Las Vegas, killing its sole occupant. Authorities are still determining if it was an act of terrorism.

Investigators revealed the latest in Las Vegas:

• Authorities are using Tesla data. Tesla vehicle telematics and records are providing key insights into the New Year's Day explosion in Las Vegas – data that may not have been available decades ago but which raise troubling questions about how governments and companies track personal travel information.
• More about the man who rented the Cybertruck: Matthew Livelsberger, who died Wednesday, was an active-duty Green Beret and had served in the Army for 19 years. 
• Cybertruck explosion timeline: The blast happened Wednesday morning before 9 a.m. in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

In New Orleans, a tune of resilience:

• The attacker planted explosives on Bourbon Street. At a White House news briefing with reporters Thursday, President Joe Biden said the driver in the attack, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, had a remote detonator in his truck that was supposed to set off explosive devices the suspect placed in two ice coolers on Bourbon Street. They didn't go off.
• New revelations about Jabbar: The U.S. Army veteran had grown increasingly withdrawn and devout in his Muslim faith, according to family and friends.
• A shaken French Quarter vows to rebound. Anxious and grieving residents and workers began cautiously reopening the Bourbon Street area on Thursday, a day after a terror attack that killed 14 amid New Year's celebrations at the famously raucous party destination.

Heartbreaking losses: Here are the victims of the New Orleans truck attack.

Today's talkers

• Here's what menswear experts want you to know about dressing in 2025.
• Apple TV+ is free for everyone this weekend.
• Duchess Meghan will star in Netflix's "With Love, Meghan."
• Rosita Missoni, knitwear pioneer, has died at 93.

Who will win Golden Globes this weekend?

Is "The Brutalist" building the foundation for a best picture run? Could "Anora" seduce everyone this awards season? Or might those "Wicked" witches defy gravity – and stiff competition – on the way to Oscar glory come March 2? Although no movie stands as a massive favorite so far, Sunday's 82nd Golden Globe Awards (CBS, 8 p.m. EST/5 PST, and streaming live on Paramount+ with Showtime) will begin to make the road to the 97th Academy Awards a little clearer. Paste BN predicted who will win (and who should) in the top film categories.

Photo of the day: The dogs go down

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals following a 23-10 victory Thursday afternoon over the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs struggled to get the run game going, finishing with just 62 rushing yards. Read Paste BN Sports' recap of the Sugar Bowl.

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.