Southwest
New Orleans terrorist's radical shift a wake-up call for all Americans: 'ISIS and others are back'
A 42-year-old Texas consultant named Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove through a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans as they celebrated the beginning of 2025 — flying an ISIS flag from the hitch of his rented pickup while killing 14 and injuring another 30.
On the 350-mile drive from Houston to the Big Easy, Jabbar recorded selfie videos declaring his allegiance to ISIS and saying he initially planned to kill his own friends and family but decided on attacking innocent members of the public in order to attract more attention to what he called a “war between the believers and the disbelievers,” according to the FBI.
He was a U.S. Army veteran and had a lucrative job at a major consulting firm, but he brought a pair of IEDs and two firearms with him to attack civilians — allegedly radicalized in just weeks. And authorities are warning of similar lone wolf attacks and how deadly they can be, as New Orleans officials work to bolster security following the ramming attack on its iconic, pedestrian-packed Bourbon Street.
“ISIS and others are back,” James Jay Carafano, an expert on national security and foreign policy, warned in a recent Fox News op-ed. “Biden’s humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan reignited the hope that America really was the paper tiger that Usama Bin Laden claimed we were.”
NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST RADICALIZED BY ISIS ONLINE WITHIN WEEKS, FBI DIRECTOR SAYS
The FBI released photos of surveillance footage that shows Shamsud-Din Jabbar an hour before he drove a truck down Bourbon Street, New Orleans, early Jan. 1, 2025. (Federal Bureau of Investigation via AP)
Although the shockingly violent group’s “territorial caliphate” was destroyed during the first Trump administration, its propagandists continue to encourage and radicalize potential terrorists. Jabbar, in one of his videos, declared that he had “joined ISIS before this summer,” FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia told reporters in a news briefing.
“The threats from international terrorism, domestic terrorism, and state-sponsored terrorism are complex and persistent — and notably, they are all simultaneously elevated,” Raia said. “We continually face threats from foreign terrorist organizations, violent extremists across the ideological spectrum, and criminal actors that aim to bring violence to the United States.”
A black flag with white lettering lies on the ground rolled up behind a pickup truck that a man drove into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing and injuring a number of people, early Wednesday morning, Jan. 1, 2025. The FBI said they recovered an Islamic State group flag, which is black with white lettering, from the vehicle. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Jabbar traveled to Cairo, Egypt, from June 22 to July 3, 2023, then returned to the U.S. In a separate trip on July 10, 2023, he traveled to Ontario, Canada, and returned to the U.S. a few days later, the FBI said during a press conference. It was unclear whether the visit was connected to the attack, but Raia said the Bureau is investigating whether Jabbar had any associates in the U.S. or overseas.
BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT SAYS NEW ORLEANS ATTACKER EXHIBITED ‘RED FLAGS’ BEFORE ATTACK
Investigators said they are still looking into how and why Jabbar became radicalized. In an interview with “60 Minutes” over the weekend, FBI Director Christopher Wray said he believes the killer was inspired by ISIS content he found on the internet.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a suspect in the New Orleans attack, is seen in this picture obtained from social media, released in November 2013, in Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk), Louisiana, U.S. (1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division via Facebook via REUTERS)
“[Jabbar] appears to have been inspired — from afar — by ISIS, and it is, in many ways, the most challenging type of terrorist threat we face,” Wray told the interviewer, Scott Pelley. “You’re talking about guys like this, who radicalize not in years but in weeks, and whose method of attack is still very deadly but fairly crude. And if you think about that old saying about connecting the dots, there are not a lot of dots out there to connect. And there’s very little time in which to connect them.”
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK
Wray is warning that lone wolf attacks are a major priority for the FBI and began warning of an elevated threat more than a year ago.
The New York Times earlier this month noted that the way Jabbar flew his flag, from the trailer hitch in the back of his rented Ford F-150 EV, was the same as in an ISIS propaganda poster uncovered by the Daily Mail, in 2017.
Investigators continue to block off Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana on Thursday, January 2, 2024, after the New Year’s attack. (Audrey Conklin/Fox News Digital)
The image, which shows an SUV driving over a pile of skulls in front of an urban backdrop, includes the caption, “Run over them without mercy,” as written in English. That year saw vehicular terror attacks in London, New York City, Jerusalem, Barcelona and elsewhere.
A year earlier, an ISIS-inspired terrorist drove a truck into Bastille Day celebrations in Nice, France, killing 84.
Older terror groups, like Al-Qaeda, focused on highly planned attacks on a global scale, like Sept. 11, 2001, an earlier attack on the World Trade Center with a car bomb in 1993, according to Paul Mauro, a former NYPD inspector. ISIS promoted a shift toward small but brutal attacks that could be perpetrated anywhere around the globe.
“You didn’t have to take down the Brooklyn Bridge. You were a lion of Islam if you stabbed your neighbor because he was an apostate,” he said.
As ISIS rose to prominence, the terrorists posted horrific videos of violence that were highly produced, depicting torture and murder in extremely graphic detail.
U.S. THREAT LANDSCAPE, DOMESTIC EXTREMISM POSE A DAUNTING—BUT FAMILIAR—TEST FOR TRUMP’S SECOND TERM
But even after its defeat, the terror group continues to maintain an online presence that includes propaganda videos and a weekly newsletter, according to the Times report.
A member loyal to the Islamic State waves an ISIS flag in Raqqa June 29, 2014. (REUTERS/Stringer)
Roughly a year before Jabbar’s rampage, ISIS propagandists urged supporters to invade people’s homes and “kill them wherever you find them,” Voice of America reported at the time.
Counter-terror investigators have been fighting lone wolves inspired by such campaigns for years, Mauro said.
He’s calls it a “loser-to-lion” syndrome — radicalized lone wolves who have nothing going for them become convinced they can achieve martyrdom through acts of terror.
But even with increased surveillance and awareness of the issue, attackers can slip through the cracks.
In another New Year’s attack, on Dec. 31, 2022, a 19-year-old Maine man named Trevor Bickford drove to New York City and attacked three police officers with a machete while shouting “Allahu akbar.”
He had reportedly been on the FBI’s radar already, and earlier that year became radicalized and decided to “wage jihad.” He is serving a 27-year prison sentence.
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
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Southwest
Man arrested on misdemeanor DUI charges outside Nancy Guthrie’s home after sobriety test
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TUCSON, Ariz. — A 34-year-old man was arrested late Thursday night outside the Arizona home where Nancy Guthrie went missing earlier this month, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday, deputies arrested 34-year-old Antonio De Jesus Pena-Campos in front of Guthrie’s home on misdemeanor DUI charges, the department said.
The arrest is not related to the Guthrie investigation, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department added.
Pima County sheriff’s deputies stopped a blue Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV near Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. A man was later taken into custody after what appeared to be field sobriety testing. (Fox News)
Footage shows Pima County sheriff’s deputies shining a flashlight into the driver’s side of what appeared to be a blue Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV parked near the home where Guthrie was last seen Feb. 1.
Moments later, deputies spoke with Pena-Campos near a white canopy tent set up along the roadside as a deputy shined a flashlight toward the man’s face.
In another sequence, Pena-Campos walks in a straight line in what appears to be part of a field sobriety test. In subsequent footage, he is placed in the back of a sheriff’s pickup truck.
The man was detained as investigators continue searching for Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, who was reported missing Feb. 1 after authorities said she was taken during a home invasion. Investigators have said her pacemaker last synced with her iPhone around 2:30 a.m. that morning.
Her family has since offered a $1 million reward for information leading to her safe return as authorities continue to pursue leads.
NANCY GUTHRIE’S NEIGHBOR SAW SUSPICIOUS MAN WALKING NEARBY 2 WEEKS BEFORE SUSPECTED ABDUCTION
A deputy shines a flashlight toward a man’s face during what appears to be field sobriety testing outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. The man was later taken into custody. (Fox News)
The development comes after a Catalina Foothills resident’s street-facing Ring camera captured 12 vehicles passing by between midnight and 6 a.m. on Feb. 1, the morning Guthrie is believed to have been abducted.
Some of the activity occurred around the 2:30 a.m. mark, roughly when authorities said the 84-year-old’s pacemaker last synced with her iPhone.
A man walks in a straight line under the direction of deputies during what appears to be field sobriety testing outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. (Fox News)
Homeowners Elias and Danielle Stratigouleas told Fox News Digital that police had not canvassed their neighborhood in the 25 days since Guthrie was allegedly taken from her bed in what authorities have described as a home invasion kidnapping.
The couple said they alerted both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department to the footage. It was not immediately clear whether the video would prove useful to investigators or whether any of the vehicles had traveled on Guthrie’s street.
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Pima County sheriff’s deputies speak with a man near a white canopy tent set up along the roadside outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. (Fox News)
The Stratigouleas home sits on a back road that leads out of Guthrie’s neighborhood and avoids major intersections. The property is approximately 2½ miles — or about a seven-minute drive — from the crime scene, according to Google Maps.
One of the videos was recorded at approximately 2:36 a.m., roughly eight minutes after Guthrie’s pacemaker last synced with her iPhone, based on the sheriff’s timeline.
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz and Olivia Palombo contributed to this report.
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Southwest
Trump introduces Cornyn, Paxton but stays mum on endorsement in heated GOP primary
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The Texas Senate primary for Republicans is a bloodbath, and President Donald Trump isn’t wading in.
Trump, who appeared in Corpus Christi, Texas, to tout his energy agenda Friday, had the opportunity to stake his claim in the contentious race and endorse a candidate.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is the longtime incumbent fending off seven challengers.
But the real race is between Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas.
President Donald Trump stops to speak to the media as he departs from Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington, D.C. ( Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
All three were in attendance at Trump’s rally, reminiscent of the made-for-TV spectacles that dominated his successful 2024 election campaign. Yet Trump didn’t endorse any of them as Election Day in the primary fast approaches.
Trump acknowledged all three — he paired Cornyn and Paxton and mentioned Hunt later in his remarks. He noted that they were all engaged in an “interesting election.”
“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. “You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.”
HUNT FILES POLICE REPORT AGAINST CORNYN CAMPAIGN STAFFER OVER ALLEGED FAMILY ‘DOXXING’ INCIDENT
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and John Cornyn, R-Texas (Getty Images)
Cornyn is running for a fifth term in the Senate and fighting for his political life in a nasty primary election that Trump has time and again refused to weigh in on. He’s got the full weight of Senate Republican leadership behind him, too.
Paxton, who has faced headwinds with scandals over the years, has strongly aligned himself with the president and built a coalition of conservative backers in the House, including Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who brought him to Trump’s State of the Union earlier this week.
And while the trio duke it out, money is being burned at a record pace. So far, a whopping $110 million has been spent on the Senate primaries, and $88 million of that has been dumped into the GOP contest, according to data from AdImpact.
CORNYN WARNS PAXTON WOULD BE ‘KISS OF DEATH’ FOR GOP AS BLOODY PRIMARY RACE RAMPS UP
Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, walks up the House steps for a vote on the budget resolution in the U.S. Capitol April 10, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Given the crowded field, it’s likely the race will head to a runoff, which will turn into a brutal sprint until late May. Paxton believes he could come out on top with at least 50% of the vote come March 3, while Cornyn is eying the long game.
The coveted Trump endorsement could put either over the top in ruby red Texas. And he may be close to picking his favorite.
Ahead of the event, Trump was asked if he had decided who to endorse.
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“Pretty much,” he told reporters.
But when asked if he would say who, he said, “No.”
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Southwest
Jasmine Crockett reveals Colbert hasn’t invited her on show since furor over Talarico interview
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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, revealed Friday she’s still not been asked to appear on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” days after the host claimed pressure from the Federal Communications Commission effectively censored an interview with her Senate primary political opponent, James Talarico.
Earlier this week, Colbert said CBS prevented the broadcast of Talarico’s appearance due to guidance from the FCC requiring shows to provide “equal time” to opposing candidates.
In response, the late-night host criticized the FCC and his own network. The Talarico interview was posted online, where it has garnered more than 8 million views on YouTube alone. The tumult and extra attention to the interview helped raise more than $2.5 million for Talarico’s campaign.
“No, I’ve not been invited on Colbert prior to his interview nor post his interview,” Crockett said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” Friday.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett speaks to members of the media following a House Oversight and Accountability Committee deposition in New Albany, Ohio, on Wednesday, Feb. 18. (Dustin Franz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Crockett explained that while she has appeared on Colbert’s show twice before, she has not been invited since she launched her candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
“The only information that I got was after this debacle took place, I did receive a phone call from the parent company,” Crockett said.
She said that CBS representatives told her they did not tell Colbert he couldn’t air the Talarico segment. Instead, they said that if he had Talarico on, he had to offer the same time to Crockett.
COLBERT FUMES AT CBS, SAYS IT BARRED HIM FROM INTERVIEWING TEXAS DEM AMID FCC CRACKDOWN
Texas state Rep. James Talarico, left, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, both Democrats and U.S. Senate candidates, participate in a debate during the 2026 Texas AFL-CIO COPE Convention in Georgetown, Texas, on Jan. 24. (Bob Daemmrich/The Texas Tribune/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“They just said, if you air it, just make sure that you offer the representative equal time. Now, obviously, I wasn’t engaged in that conversation, so I cannot confirm the veracity of any statements,” she said.
“But I can confirm that I had never been asked to go on as it relates to kind of talking about the Senate race,” Crockett added.
CBS released a statement denying it censored Colbert, insisting the show chose to share the interview on YouTube instead to avoid the equal-time requirement.
‘THE VIEW’ PANEL ERUPTS AS GUEST DEFENDS TRUMP AGAINST RACISM CLAIMS
Texas state Rep. James Talarico appears with Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” in New York on Feb. 16. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
However, during Monday night’s broadcast, Colbert insisted he and his guest were being censored, telling his audience, “[Talarico] was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.”
The media attention and Colbert’s multiple segments this week about the controversy provided a boon to Talarico’s campaign. On Tuesday, Colbert crumpled up the CBS statement denying it had forced the comedian not to air the interview and put it into a dog waste bag before throwing it away.
On Wednesday, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr dismissed the controversy as a “hoax,” stating that Talarico “took advantage of all of your sort of prior conceptions to run the hoax, apparently for the purpose of raising money and getting clicks. And the news media played right into it.”
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A spokesperson for Colbert’s show didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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