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Unraveling a tragedy in New Orleans

Laura L. Davis   Paste BN

New information emerged about the deadly New Year's attack on New Orleans' Bourbon Street. Nearby, the postponed Sugar Bowl finally kicked off. And a frigid winter storm could be headed your way.

👋 Hey, pals! Your old friend Laura Davis here. I hope you had a safe and happy New Year’s holiday! So, this is a little awkward for me, but this will be my last time writing The Short List. I just wanted to take a moment and thank you all for reading along every day – it truly means a lot to me! I can’t believe how much news we have shared over the years, and I will really miss writing this newsletter, but I won’t be going far. I’ll still be in the Paste BN Network, just working in a new role sharing important work by our amazing journalists. If you’d like to keep in touch, I’m pretty good at email, so feel free to send me one. I’d love to hear what you have been up to! 😊

What about the news? Good question. Starting next week, my friend Rebecca Morin will be taking over The Short List and bringing you the same great newsletter you’ve come to expect. She is absolutely brilliant and you are in excellent hands. I made sure of it. 😉

Now, without further ado, let’s get you caught up on what’s been going on Thursday. 

But first: A treasure hunt. 💰 A California crypto-millionaire hid $2 million in treasures in puzzle boxes in five secret locations across the country. How the hunt is going.

A deadly attack on Bourbon Street

A day after 14 people were killed in an attack in the French Quarter of New Orleans, chilling details began to emerge about the man who plowed a pickup into revelers on Bourbon Street in what the FBI is calling "an act of terrorism."

What happened? Authorities say a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran born in Texas rented a truck and rammed it into a crowd in the bustling tourist district, killing at least 14 and injuring dozens more before he was shot dead in a gunfight with law enforcement.

What was found? An Islamic State flag was recovered from the truck, which also carried weapons and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device. 👉 Follow our live coverage.

Details emerge in Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion

The person who died inside a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas on New Year's Day sustained a gunshot wound to the head before the blast, officials said Thursday, as the investigation continued into why it happened.

What we know: The rented Cybertruck exploded Wednesday morning while it was parked near the Trump International Hotel. Though authorities said they could not yet definitively identify the person, several documents found inside the vehicle and other records pointed to a 37-year-old man who was an active-duty member of the U.S. Army’s elite Green Berets. A motive was not yet known. 👉 See the latest updates. 

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Delayed Sugar Bowl goes ahead

Less than a mile from the deadly attack on Bourbon Street, a postponed Sugar Bowl kicked off Thursday afternoon at the Superdome in New Orleans.

It’s game day: Notre Dame and Georgia face off in the final College Football Playoff quarterfinal, with the winner advancing to face Penn State in the national semifinals next week. Officials said heightened security protocols will be in place for the game. 🏈 Our live coverage.

Massive winter storm brewing

Brrrr, y'all! A massive winter storm is expected to bring "significant wintry weather" from the Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic starting later this week.

What to know: The National Weather Service said Thursday that there is growing confidence the storm will begin impacting the Central Plains and Ohio and Tennessee valleys over the weekend, and the Mid-Atlantic region early next week.

More snow? Additionally, a low-pressure system tracking across the central U.S. is expected to produce a light swath of snowfall from Iowa across the Ohio Valley on Thursday and into the Central Appalachians on Friday with up to a foot of snow. ❄️ See the full frigid forecast.

A break from the news

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at Paste BN. Say hi sometime! laura@usatoday.com. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to Paste BN here.

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