More details on the New Orleans terror attack, Chinese hackers access the U.S. Treasury department, and New York subway riders need protection. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.
Morning Wire
New Years Terror Fallout & U.S. Treasury Hacked | 1.3.25
More info on two suspected terror attacks on New Year's is revealed, including similarities between the incidents. What if law enforcement officials uncovered about the two events? At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, January 3rd, and this is Morning Wire. Chinese hackers have breached the U.S. Treasury accessing several agency workstations and documents. I think it's very serious because small pieces of unclassified information put together a piece of the puzzle that could lead to classified information. And a rash of violent crime on the New York subway has prompted citizens to step in where they say the government has failed. We'll obviously make sure that that train is stopped and that the police respond and then we keep order in the car so that nobody gets hurt. We discuss the return of the guardian angels. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. As law enforcement continues its investigations into the New Year's Day, terror attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas, a surprising number of parallels have emerged. Here with the latest on this ongoing saga is Daily Wire deputy managing editor Tim Rice. So Tim, a lot of information flying around. What do we know for sure? Yeah, good morning, Georgia. So to quickly recap, we're talking about two separate attacks here, both of which took place on Wednesday. In New Orleans, Shamsa Din Jabar drove a truck into a crowd of New Year's revelers in the early hours of the morning, killing 14 and injuring at least 35 more. Jabar, a U.S. citizen and Army veteran, had an ISIS flag in the truck with him and has a history of making statements about wanting to support the Islamic State. More on that later. A few hours later, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, injuring several bystanders. Authorities have identified the Las Vegas attacker as Matthew Livelsberger. Who's Las Vegas sheriff, Kevin McMail. So this is two shocking and tragic terror attacks happening just within hours of each other. That's obviously going to raise some questions. Is there any evidence right now that they're connected? Law enforcement are investigating this as a terror attack as well, and have determined that the car contained a firework-style explosives, fuel, and detonating device. They've yet to identify Livelsberger's motive. Authorities are stressing that there's no evidence the two attacks are connected, but there are a growing number of parallels between the incidents and their attackers. For instance, both men served in the Army. Livelsberger was actually an active duty green berry. And they both served at Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg in North Carolina. It doesn't seem like they overlapped at the fort, but they did live in North Carolina at the same time. Finally, both men rented the vehicles used in their attacks on the app Turo. So we'll have to see if any further evidence comes out linking these two together. We should also note that there's some evidence Jabbar had accomplices. The FBI keeps reversing its stance on this. As of this recording, they're saying he acted alone, but initially the bureau said it was looking into three men and one woman who had been seen planting explosives around Bourbon Street before the attack. The FBI now says it only wanted to talk to those people as witnesses, and that Jabbar can be seen on video planting the two IEDs that have been found in New Orleans. Here's Deputy Director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, Christopher Rhea. We're confident at this point that there's no accomplices, and I'll give you an idea of how that information sometimes a lot of the early reports came out that there were people that extra people that were setting the coolers down, right? It turns out those were just patrons on the street that were looking looking inside the coolers, right? We didn't know that at first. We had to kind of track all that down and put that to rest. You mentioned Jabbar's ISIS connection. What do we know about that? Yeah. According to the FBI, Jabbar had posted at least five videos on Facebook explaining his motives just before Wednesday's attack. Jabbar said he was inspired to join ISIS by a series of dreams and that he was originally planning to kill his friends and family before deciding to launch the Bourbon Street attack. Jabbar also had a bomb-making fission in his home where he left a Koran open to a passage about martyrdom. It's unclear when exactly Jabbar converted to Islam. His brother said, "As far as I know, he was a Muslim for most of his life." But his first ex-wife's current husband implied that Jabbar converted sometime in the past few months during which time he was also, quote, "being all crazy, cutting his hair," and during which time Jabbar's wife had reportedly prevented their daughters from seeing him. Another thing to note, a mosque near Jabbar's home in Texas directed congregants to refer any FBI inquiries to care, the controversial Muslim civil rights group of ties to Hamas. We're not sure if Jabbar attended that mosque, but it's certainly notable that it's essentially telling patrons not to cooperate with law enforcement. One final wrinkle, the Imam of that mosque has a history of making anti-Semitic comments. He once said that Jews control the world's financial system and praised Hitler for making that same assessment. So definitely some concerning behavior at the very least. As we've said, this is a developing story, and we're going to stay on top of it. Tim, thanks for reporting. Of course. Chinese hackers gained access to a number of Treasury Department workstations last month, in yet another brazen example of cyber warfare waged by the CCP. Who are the details is Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips. Hey, Cabot. So a story that's growing disturbingly common now. What can you tell us here? Yeah. This week, the Treasury Department notified lawmakers of a quote major cyber security incident after hackers who they've identified as being sponsored by the Chinese Communist Party remotely gained access to a number of their workstations. The statement said the hackers found a way in through a third party software provider used by the Treasury Department, but stopped short of saying just how many devices had been compromised, or more importantly, what documents the hackers actually gained access to. Its officials say they could have been after sensitive information regarding sanctions, or other international monetary policy. The FBI and cyber security and infrastructure security agency have launched an investigation to try and figure out exactly what they got access to, and to make sure they're not still in the system. So we still don't even know if they've been weeded out yet. Now what sort of response have we seen from lawmakers? Well, news of the hack has resulted in new calls for beefing up cyber security across the federal government, leading the way on that front is Missouri Republican Jason Smith, chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Smith is demanding not only a full accounting of how this hack took place, but a detailed plan for how the Treasury Department and other agencies will prevent it from happening again. He also wants a swift retaliatory response against the Chinese in a statement Tuesday. He said quote America's enemies will continue to test our resolve until we make clear that their consequences says yet another cyber attack on President Biden's watch and the details are worrisome. He went on to add calls for the Office of the Inspector General to quote detail how they plan to help the incoming Trump administration succeed in warding off such attacks. Not sparing the Biden administration there at all. Right. And what about Beijing? What have they said regarding this hack? Well, the Chinese gave their standard response, which is totally denying any involvement. The country's foreign ministry spokesperson said quote we've repeatedly stated our position on such groundless accusations that lack evidence. China consistently opposes all forms of hacking, and we are even more opposed to the dissemination of false information against China for political purposes. But there is no one outside of Beijing who actually believes that denial. And for good reason, the Chinese have done little to hide the fact that they're waging a cyber war on the West. Yeah, we touched on some of this in the past. Get us up to speed on that front. Well, in recent years, the CCP has launched operation salt typhoon, employing a literal army of hackers to steal sensitive information and intellectual property from the West, mainly America. For context, according to the FBI, Beijing steals around $250 to $500 billion with a B worth of American intellectual property every single year. And in recent months, they have become even more brazen, targeting U.S. telecommunications providers. According to the White House, Chinese hackers breached virtually every major American provider, including AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. They stole a vast trove of private information, text messages, and geolocation data. They even compromised wiretapping tools used by our own government to listen in on sensitive phone calls for lawmakers, intelligence officials, and military personnel, including even President Donald Trump and VP JD Vance. And more concerning, the White House says the hackers could very well still have access to those telecommunication systems. Here's Ann Newberger, a Biden national security adviser in December. "The effective companies are all responding. Right now, we do not believe any have fully removed the Chinese actors from these networks. So there is a risk of ongoing compromises to communications. Until U.S. companies address the cyber security gaps, the Chinese are likely to maintain their access." So the key word there is ongoing. These hacking efforts are far from over, as in a Trump has vowed to address this threat, saying there will be consequences for Beijing in the meantime. "Very concerning developments here that have really shaken Washington. Can I have a text for reporting?" A volunteer crime prevention group known as the Guardian Angels has vowed to increase their numbers and once again patrol the New York City subway system where there's been a spike in homicides. Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigeak-Mohamanda, so the Guardian Angels are back in New York City after a four-year hiatus. What exactly do they plan on doing? So these volunteers who are unarmed say they want to make the subway safer. They've already started making a presence on the subway trains during days and at night, and they say that they'll alert the NYPD to any problems they witness. They wear bright red jackets and berets, and from that iconic look, most citizens know that they're there to help and they can contact them. The Angels say that they'll also be handing out water bottles and conducting wellness checks for the homeless or anyone who might seem emotionally disturbed. They're looking to add hundreds of new volunteers, but currently there are 150 members just in New York City. And for those who don't know who the Guardian Angels are, give us a little background if you would. Yes, so they were founded 45 years ago in New York City at a time when crime and homicide was elevated, not unlike today. The group's leader Curtis Sleewa, who's known to be a bit of a character, was a night manager at a McDonald's when he formed this group of 13 unarmed peacekeeper volunteers. They're now a nonprofit that's expanded to over 130 different cities, and their mission is to promote safety and be role models for younger people. They've even had public support from passenger city mayors, including Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, though the current mayor Eric Adams has disparaged the group. Adams office recently suggested that the mayor was solving the crime crisis while these volunteers and Sleewa were engaging in, quote, theatrics. On the other side of that, Sleewa has said that he's never seen the subway so out of control, and he cited Adams's failures for his decision to bring back the Guardian Angels. I'll note that Sleewa has run for New York City mayor before, and he says that he's running to take Adams C in 2025. And about that, do we have any numbers on the city's subway crime crisis? Yes. So in just the past two years, data shows that nearly 50 people have been shoved onto the subway tracks. Murders have spiked by 60 percent compared to last year, and recently a 57 year old woman was intentionally and fatally set on firewall riding the subway. The suspect in that case is a man who's illegally in the country, which brings up another issue the city is facing since it's fashioned itself a sanctuary for illegals. Generally, New Yorkers just don't feel safe on the subway, and some good evidence of that was the verdict that was just rendered last month in the case of Daniel Penny. As we've reported here, Penny stepped in to help subway passengers when Jordan nearly a homeless man with a lengthy rap sheet threatened people on the train. Nearly died after police arrived. The media tried to make that case about race, but the jurors, it seems, even in a liberal place like Manhattan, saw through that and recognized how citizens are being forced to protect themselves. Penny was acquitted on all charges. A verdict many in the city cheered as we documented. So what exactly are New York leaders doing about this subway crime issue? Well, Mayor Adams has maintained that New York City is a success, and he said that random acts of violence are overshadowing that. He said this week that he's added 1,000 police officers per day into the subways, and that has brought down overall crime. As for Governor Kathy Holkle, she said she added 750 National Guard members and 250 members of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority ahead of the holidays. So though violence on the subway is a huge issue for New Yorkers, Holkle was just widely criticized for a tone deaf post that championed subway safety, and that was published on the same day someone was fatally set on fire, and two others were stabbed. And now citizens are taking each other's safety into their own hands. Amanda, thanks for reporting. You're welcome. Hey, thank you for listening this morning. We created the show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and stand with that mission, consider subscribing, giving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know. (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]