A Bad Start

2025 is a year many of us hope will be a time of renewal and revival in America. Sadly, it got off to a bad start. A deadly terrorist attack in New Orleans killed more than a dozen people and wounded dozens more, while an attempted attack at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas injured seven people. Here's what we know.

• The FBI initially claimed that the attack in New Orleans was not “a terrorist event.” New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick was far more forthcoming, stating that the perpetrator, an Army veteran, was “hellbent on creating carnage” and that he also shot two police officers.

• It wasn’t long before the FBI had to change its story, admitting that they found ISIS material in the truck. The attacker, a recent convert to Islam, was flying the ISIS flag on his truck. They knew from the very beginning this was an Islamist terror attack, but they tried to cover it up. Why is this always their impulse?

• Then the FBI indicated that more suspects were likely involved, saying that the perpetrator was not “solely responsible.” Today, the FBI retracted that statement. Why?

• The mosque the attacker attended is being uncooperative and is referring questions to CAIR, a radical Islamist organization.

• Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy was furious with the misinformation coming from the FBI. At a press conference, Kennedy said, “Here’s what I want to ask from the federal government: Catch these people and then tell the American people the truth. . . find out what happened and who was responsible, or I will raise fresh hell, and I will chase those in the federal government . . . like they stole Christmas.”

• Raymond Arroyo of Fox News noted that January 1st is a Catholic feast day celebrating Mary, the mother of Jesus, and that explosive devices were found near the historic Catholic cathedral in New Orleans.