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Who is the New Orleans attacker who killed 15 US citizens

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Fifteen people have been killed and over 35 others received injuries after a man apparently inspired by the Islamic State (IS) group drove into large crowds in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The suspect, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas who once served in Afghanistan.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden said that the FBI reported to him that Jabbar had posted videos on social media indicating that he was inspired by Islamic State, according to Reuters.

BBC reported that at 03:15 local time on New Year’s Day, a Ford pick-up truck rammed into crowds gathered on Bourbon Street in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter.

CCTV footage shows a white, Ford F-150 Lightning vehicle driving around a police car before hitting pedestrians.

What do we know about Jabbar?

The US officially announced that Jabbar, the 42-year-old Texas man accused of driving a pickup truck into a crowd at a New Year’s Eve party in New Orleans, served 13 years in the US Army and among other things, he was sent to Afghanistan.

He was killed in an armed conflict with the police after running over people who were celebrating the beginning of the new year.

Federal authorities and New Orleans police say Jabar did not act alone. They are now looking for his accomplices. The FBI said Jabbar had an IS flag on his car. The FBI is investigating the attack as a possible act of terrorism.

While the investigation is ongoing, no information has yet been released to explain why Jabbar, an American citizen who grew up in Texas and served in the military, carried out the attack.

According to Reuters, Jabbar served as a human resources specialist and information technology specialist in the army from 2007 to 2015.

The suspect, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas

He then joined the Army Reserve as an IT specialist and continued to serve in the Army until 2020. At the end of his service, he had the rank of sergeant. Jabbar also served in Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010.

A US Navy official also told Reuters that Jabbar enlisted in the Navy under a delayed entry program in August 2004 before serving in the military, but was discharged a month later.

Jabbar’s work records show that he has been working in odd jobs in recent years. In a promotional video for a real estate business posted on YouTube in 2020, a man of the same name said his time in the military taught him the importance of providing excellent service and taking everything seriously.

“I’ve learned these skills and applied them to my career as a realtor, and I feel like what really sets me apart from other realtors is my ability to be a tough negotiator,” said the man with the same name (Jabbar) in that video.

FBI starts investigation after IS flag found in Jabbar’s rented Ford Pickup truck

In the video, the man introduces himself as the manager of Blue Meadow Properties LLC and asks people to contact him. The Texas-based company’s license was revoked in 2022. Jabbar’s background check also shows that he was a real estate consultant for four years until February 2023.

The FBI believes that Jabbar rented a Ford pickup truck. After running over a large number of people who were celebrating, he opened fire on the police.

The presence of the IS flag on the truck has led to the start of an investigation into Jabbar’s possible connection with terrorist organizations. Police also found weapons and potential explosives in the French Quarter, where Jabbar drove into people.

“We don’t believe Jabar acted alone,” FBI Special Assistant Althea Duncan said. “We are following every lead.” Court records show that Jabbar divorced his wife in 2022 after five years of marriage. The couple had one child.

According to the Reuters report, Jabar does not appear to have had a violent criminal record prior to this attack. According to Texas records, Jabbar was convicted of theft in 2002 and arrested in 2005 for driving with an invalid license. The York Times quoted Jabbar’s brother as saying that he converted to Islam at a young age.

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US tariffs on steel and aluminum set to impact $150 billion market

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The 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products imposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday is expected to create upward pressure on prices for approximately $150 billion worth of imports, negatively impacting the profits of American automakers and other companies.

The US imports about one-fifth of the steel it consumes. More than 20% of this import by weight comes from Canada, followed by Brazil at 16%, and the European Union at 7%, with Japan ranking seventh at 4%. Canada is also the largest supplier of aluminum to the US.

Because the direct cost of tariffs falls on importers, this will mean higher costs, especially for manufacturers in the US auto industry.

US-based Wolfe Research anticipates the 25% tariff will drive the price of steel products up by as much as 16% above the 2024 average. Aluminum prices, which are already trending upward, are expected to nearly double.

Nomura Securities research analyst Anindya Das estimates the impact on automakers’ fiscal 2025 operating profits from a 10% increase in steel and aluminum prices compared to the 2024 average. According to this analysis, American players Ford Motor and General Motors will face a hit of approximately 3% to 4% if they cannot pass on their costs through higher prices.

Toyota Motor will experience a smaller decline of 0.5%, while the impact on Subaru, which conducts a large portion of its production in North America, will be around 2%.

Some parts manufacturers affiliated with Toyota bring steel from Japan for use in their US production facilities, and there have been calls for the company to cover the higher costs resulting from the tariffs.

A Toyota executive stated, “Tariffs are a factor outside their control, so we will respond appropriately.”

Japan has pushed to be exempted from the tariffs. “Steel and aluminum products from Japan do not harm the national security of the US,” Cabinet Chief Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Wednesday. “On the contrary, high-quality Japanese products are difficult to substitute and are necessary to make the US manufacturing sector more competitive, and greatly contribute to US industry and employment,” he added.

According to EU-based Global Trade Alert, the tariffs announced by the Trump administration last month cover a total of 289 categories, excluding overlaps between the steel and aluminum lists. These items, which also include kitchen and sporting goods, accounted for approximately 4.5% of the US total last year, with $151 billion in imports.

China was the largest importer at $35 billion, followed by Mexico at $30.6 billion, the EU at $20.3 billion, and Canada at $17.1 billion. Japan ranked seventh at $7 billion. When EU members were counted as separate countries instead of a single bloc, 27 economies had exposures exceeding $500 million.

To avoid tariffs, steel and aluminum exports previously destined for the US may be sold in other markets instead. Jakob Stausholm, CEO of Anglo-Australian iron ore miner Rio Tinto, said last month that selling aluminum in other markets such as Europe was an option.

Tadashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Iron and Steel Federation and president of Nippon Steel, recently stated that the biggest concern is that the tariffs “contribute to the market collapse caused by China’s excessive exports.”

With China’s economy declining, steelmakers are selling products at low prices elsewhere that cannot be absorbed by the domestic market. If they face higher barriers in the US, these goods could flow to other countries.

The US is also the world’s largest exporter of scrap iron and steel, and rising scrap prices leaving the country are likely to reverberate in the global market.

A representative from Japanese aluminum manufacturer UACJ said, “The short-term impact will be small, but it could be larger in the long term.”

Although the company generally produces products for the US domestically, it imports some products with special requirements from Japan in small quantities. According to UACJ, starting alternative production in the US could take three to four years.

Other companies are turning to completely different materials. Coca-Cola stated last month that it would switch some packaging from aluminum to plastic if the tariffs came into effect.

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Trump signs order for ‘strategic crypto reserve’

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US President Donald Trump, in a move aimed at revitalizing the digital assets sector, has signed an executive order authorizing the federal government to stockpile cryptocurrency assets seized through law enforcement agencies.

According to a post on X by David Sacks, the White House’s crypto and artificial intelligence czar, under the executive order, the federal government will retain bitcoin assets seized by federal law enforcement, which will enter a “strategic bitcoin reserve.”

Sacks added that the reserve “will not cost taxpayers a single penny,” further authorizing the Treasury and Commerce departments to “develop budget-neutral strategies to acquire additional bitcoin, provided these strategies do not incur any additional costs on American taxpayers.”

Sacks wrote about bitcoin, “The reserve is like a digital Fort Knox. The early sale of Bitcoin has already cost US taxpayers over $17 billion in lost value. Now, the federal government will have a strategy to maximize the value of its holdings.”

The order also established a separate “US Digital Asset Stockpile” to include other cryptocurrencies seized by the government. Earlier this week, Trump hinted at the possibility of including tokens such as Ripple’s XRP, Solana, and Cardano, alongside bitcoin and ether, in what he termed the “Crypto Strategic Reserve,” causing the prices of these tokens to rise with investors’ hopes that the US government would enter the market as a major buyer of digital assets.

However, crypto prices fell immediately after Sacks’s post and recovered shortly thereafter. According to CoinGecko data, as of 4:45 PM (presumably local time, though unspecified), bitcoin was trading at approximately $88,000, down 2.8% from the previous 24 hours.

The creation of the reserve and stockpile is part of a broad shift in Washington towards policies aimed at benefiting the crypto industry. It comes ahead of a crypto summit to be held at the White House on Friday, which will be attended by leading figures in the digital assets world.

For supporters, the bitcoin reserve is a chance for the US to participate in the growth of the original cryptocurrency, and many in the market believe that the market is poised to climb higher as Trump pursues a crypto-friendly regulatory agenda.

Yet, there are still many questions about how the reserve and stockpile will operate. For example, some critics doubt that the federal government can cash in its bitcoin holdings without spooking other investors and triggering a sell-off.

Trump first promised to create a crypto reserve during a speech at a major bitcoin conference in July.

Sacks said, “I want to thank the President for his leadership and vision in supporting this cutting-edge technology and for his swift action in supporting the digital asset industry. His administration is truly moving at ‘technology speed’.”

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BlackRock to acquire Panama Canal ports in major deal

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New York-based asset management giant BlackRock announced on Tuesday that it will acquire two ports serving the Panama Canal from Hong Kong’s CK Hutchinson, as part of a larger $22.8 billion deal.

US President Donald Trump had threatened to regain control of the Panama Canal, believing that US ships were not being treated fairly due to Chinese influence. This deal could potentially alleviate those concerns.

The ports will be acquired by a consortium that includes BlackRock, as well as Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited.

Hutchinson’s official statement said the deal was “completely unrelated to recent political news regarding the Panama Ports,” and that the deal was the result of a “fast” process.

BlackRock declined to comment further, but sources say the firm has informed both the White House and Congress about the deal.

According to the *Financial Times* (*FT*), CEO Larry Fink himself informed senior leaders in the Trump administration, including the president, to secure their support for the takeover, in order to overcome possible political obstacles.

A source added that the consortium would not have proceeded with its offer if it believed the US government would not support the deal.

The deal consists of two parts, one of which covers Hutchinson’s 90% stake in the ownership and operation of the Balboa and Cristobal ports in Panama.

This transaction will be conducted separately from the second part, which covers 43 ports in 23 countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom, and 80% of the shares will be sold. Hutchinson’s ports in China are not included.

The remaining 20% stake is held by PSA, a port operator owned by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

BlackRock did not provide an estimated closing date, likely due to the number of different regulators whose opinions will need to be sought. The deal is expected to be formally signed by April 2.

CK Hutchison, controlled by Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, and his family, has a portfolio consisting of ports, retail, telecom, and other infrastructure. Port operations account for approximately 9% of CK Hutchison’s total revenue of HKD 461.6 billion (USD 593.97 billion) in 2023.

Hutchison Ports, one of the world’s largest container terminal operators, has been managing the ports at both ends of the canal since 1997 under concessions from the Panamanian government.

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