News

(NEW YORK) — One year after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines jet, Boeing said it is “on track with progress showing tangible improvements” in its efforts turn the struggling aerospace giant around and produce safe airplanes.

Boeing shared an update on Friday morning about the company’s safety and quality plan, which it had developed shortly after the Alaska Airlines incident in January 2024.

The plan was a key part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s increased oversight, featuring dedicated efforts to address the company’s systemic safety and quality-control issues.

The FAA said that this was “not a one-year project” in its assessment of the progress that Boeing has made to date.

In its update, Boeing highlighted several key improvements it has made including: reducing defects in 737 fuselage assembly at Spirit AeroSystems by increasing inspection points and introducing a customer quality approval process; addressing more than 70% of action items in commercial airplane production based on employee feedback during quality stand-down sessions; and applying “move ready” criteria across final assembly for the 737 and 787, as well as parts of the 767 and the 777, to manage traveled work and mitigate risks.

The plane maker also reported adding hundreds of hours of new curriculum to quality and safety training programs for its employees. It has introduced new random quality audits of documented removals in high frequency areas to ensure process compliance. Additionally, the company said it has mapped and prepared thousands of governance documents and work instructions for revision.

The company added that it has invested in its Speak Up program to strengthen confidentiality and keep employees informed about the status and resolution of their reports. This comes after numerous Boeing whistleblowers have raised concerns in recent years about the company’s safety and workplace culture practices.

On Jan. 5, 2024, a defective door plug on an Alaska Airlines plane opened up mid-flight, depressurizing the cabin and exposing passengers to open air thousands of feet above the ground.

No one was seriously injured and the plane safely made an emergency landing.

Reflecting on Boeing’s progress one year later, FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker said in a blog post that the company is “working to make progress executing its comprehensive plan in the areas of safety, quality improvement, and effective employee engagement and training.”

“We’re actively monitoring the results and keeping a close eye on work at key Boeing facilities,” Whitaker said.

He outlined the company’s progress, saying: “FAA safety experts continually review the effectiveness of the changes; senior FAA leaders meet with Boeing weekly to review their performance metrics, progress, and any challenges they’re facing; we have conducted an unprecedented number of unannounced audits; and we conduct monthly status reviews with Boeing executives to monitor progress.”

“Our enhanced oversight is here to stay,” Whitaker added.

“But this is not a one-year project,” Whitaker continued, emphasizing that Boeing must prioritize safety over profits. He said the effort will “require sustained effort and commitment from Boeing, and unwavering scrutiny on our part.”

He also reiterated the agency’s support toward the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation of last year’s Alaska Airlines incident.

ABC News’ Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW ORLEANS) — The quiet in New Orleans’ famous French Quarter early Thursday morning was first cut by crews sweeping up trash — then power washing Bourbon Street.

The goal was to reopen it to pedestrians by the time the Sugar Bowl kicked off nearby, 36 hours after the New Year’s Day tragedy.

At 2 a.m. Thursday, mangled metal that once stood as barricades lay scattered on a Bourbon Street that otherwise looked like the aftermath of any other New Orleans celebration — littered with beads, confetti, takeout containers, and bottles of booze.

By 6 a.m., Bourbon Street was clean.

As the sun rose, businesses reopened, and a steady stream of tourists started filling the French Quarter.

Although it was a sunny 60-degree day, a cloud of anxiety weighed on the crowd, and the streets stayed relatively quiet.

Then, around 11 a.m., we heard our first trumpet.

Street musicians, known as buskers, are part of the fabric of New Orleans. Groups of people stopped to listen to The Ohlson Family Roadshow band as they played along Royal Street.

They thanked those who offered tips and implored all to donate to funds for the victims of the terror attack.

Aoleoin Broomfield was scheduled to play after The Ohlson Family Roadshow. Born and raised in New Orleans, she told ABC News she’s happy officials decided to reopen the French Quarter in just one day.

“I still feel like we’re reeling from the aftereffects of Katrina, and even COVID,” she said. “We lost a lot of tourism, and a lot of businesses closed down during COVID. I hate to see another thing happen.”

City and state officials also pushed for a swift return to everyday life in defiance of terrorism fears. Law enforcement deployed additional assets to the French Quarter and Caesars Superdome, according to Louisiana GOP Gov. Jeff Landry.

New barriers were put in place along Bourbon Street as reinforcements and, in a way, reminders.

After Georgia played Notre Dame for a spot in the college football semi-finals, fans would flock to he French Quarter after the final whistle, with a reason to celebrate once again.

A night that ends with street sweepers cleaning up Bourbon Street’s usual litter and a morning that begins with buskers playing in the streets would ensure an even greater victory for the city of New Orleans and its enduring resilience.

“[Music] takes your mind off everything going on, even though it’s temporary,” Broomfield said. “It’s healing,” she told us.

“I just want things to be normal even though it’s not normal. So, I like playing out here just so I can feel a little bit normal,” she said.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LAS VEGAS) — Matthew Livelsberger — the suspected driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on New Year’s Day outside the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel — died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound prior to the blast, officials said at a Thursday press briefing.

Investigators had already collected significant evidence that Livelsberger was behind the wheel of the vehicle before publicly confirming their suspicions.

Officials found credit and identification cards in his name, purchase records identifying him as the owner of weapons found in the destroyed vehicle and identified tattoos similar to Livelsberger’s on the driver’s body, physical injuries to which slowed the identification process.

The Clark County Coroner ultimately identified Livelsberger — of Colorado Springs, Colorado — as the driver on Thursday. His cause of death was a self-inflicted intraoral gunshot wound.

No one else was seriously hurt, though seven bystanders sustained minor injuries, officials said.

An active-duty Army soldier, Livelsberger was found with a gun at his feet. Two firearms — one handgun and one rifle — were found in the vehicle “burnt beyond recognition,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.

Both weapons were purchased legally on Monday, he added.

Livelsberger rented the Tesla vehicle on Saturday in Denver via the Turo app, before driving to Las Vegas through cities in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. His progress was tracked through Tesla charging stations, officials said.

The vehicle first pulled into the Trump International Las Vegas Hotel valet area just after 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, officials said. It then left the area, driving along Las Vegas Boulevard, before returning to the valet area at about 8:39 a.m., exploding 17 seconds after its arrival.

Livelsberger served as a Green Beret in the Army and was on approved leave from serving in Germany at the time of his death, a U.S. Army spokesperson said Thursday.

He received extensive decorations in combat, including the Bronze Star with a “V” device for valor, indicating heroism under fire. Livelsberger received four more standard Bronze Star medals, according to Army records. He also earned the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three stars. Each star represents service in a separate campaign in Afghanistan.

The Las Vegas incident is not believed to have any direct connection to the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people — as well as the suspect — and injured 35 others, according to the FBI. The truck used in the New Orleans attack was also rented using the Turo app, officials said.

“At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas,” the FBI’s Christopher Raia said Thursday morning at a press conference on the New Orleans attack.

The two drivers may have overlapped at Fort Liberty or in Afghanistan, though no evidence suggests the two ever were assigned together or knew each other, McMahill said.

President Joe Biden, in remarks Thursday, said federal investigators have not any evidence of a connection between the attacks but said he had directed them to keep looking.

Livelsberger was a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, an official briefed on the probe told ABC News. His wife, who investigators spoke to in Colorado Springs, said he had been out of the house since around Christmas after a dispute over allegations of infidelity, the official said.

His wife told officials she did not believe Livelsberger would want to hurt anyone, the official told ABC News.

Livelsberger is believed to have told the person he rented the truck from that he was going camping at the Grand Canyon, the official told ABC News.

Investigators are still looking to determine how the items in the truck were detonated, but with the contents of the vehicle so badly burned, it may be a slow process, according to the official.

The sheriff said Tesla CEO Elon Musk helped the investigation by having the truck unlocked after it auto-locked in the blast and by giving investigators video of the suspect at charging stations along its route from Colorado to Las Vegas.

McMahill said police believe the explosion was an “isolated incident” and that “there is no further threat to the community.” He also said police do not believe anyone was helping the Las Vegas suspect.

“We believe everything is safe now,” McMahill said.

Video played at the Las Vegas news conference showed a load of fireworks-style mortars, gasoline cans and camping fuel canisters in the back of the truck.

The property is the subject of frequent threats and heightened security given its connection to Trump.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Stargazers can ring in the beginning of 2025 by witnessing the first meteor shower of the year.

The Quadrantids, one of the “strongest” displays of the year, are expected to peak Thursday night through early Friday morning, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS).

Peak activity is predicted to occur from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. EST, during which the Quadrantids can produce about 120 meteors per hour, according to the AMS.

However, the peak is typically a much shorter timeframe than other meteor showers, according to NASA. Most meteor showers have a two-day peak, but the Quadrantids only peak for a few hours due to the shower’s thin stream of particles — and because Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle.

Therefore, Earth passes through the densest portion of the stream quickly, according to the AMS.

Where do the Quadrantids come from?

The Quadrantids originate from asteroid 2003 EH1, unlike most meteor showers, which originate from comets, according to NASA. Asteroid 2003 EH1 takes about 5.52 years to orbit the Sun and could be a “dead comet” or “rock comet,” a rare celestial body that exhibits characteristics of both an asteroid and a comet.

The “small” asteroid, with a diameter measuring only about two miles, was discovered in March 2003. Quadrantid meteors were first seen in 1825, according to NASA.

The Quadrantids are considered among astronomers as one of the “best” annual meteor showers, according to NASA. They peak every year in early January and can produce 60 to as many as 200 meteors per hour under perfect conditions.

They are also known for their bright fireballs, according to NASA. The Quadrantids originate from larger particles of material, which result in larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor streak.

How to view the Quadrantids

The radiant for Quadrantids — the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to originate — is an obsolete constellation called “Quadrans Muralis,” located between the constellations of Bootes and Draco.

The best way to view the Quadrantids is from the Northern Hemisphere during the predawn hours, as this area of the sky lies very low in the northwest in the evening. But as night progresses, the sky swings 40 degrees beneath the northern celestial pole before beginning a slow rise into the northeastern sky, according to the AMS.

“It is between this time and dawn that you will have your best chance to view these meteors,” according to the AMS.

A waning crescent moon will allow skies to remain dark for good viewing conditions as long as clouds do not hamper visibility.

Viewers can lie flat on their back with feet facing northeast to take in as much of the night sky as possible, NASA said.

“By facing this direction you be able to see meteors shoot out of the radiant in all directions,” the AMS said.

With peak activity expected between 15:00 and 18:00 Universal Time, viewers in the Pacific area, including the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska, are favored to have the best viewing conditions, according to the AMS.

It is important to allow eyes to adjust to the dark for at least 30 minutes to allow for be viewing conditions, according to NASA. “Serious observers” should watch for at least an hour, as numerous peaks and valleys will occur, according to the AMS.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW ORLEANS) — Authorities no longer believe there are any other suspects involved in the New Year’s truck attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured 35 others, the FBI said Thursday.

After investigators reviewed all of the surveillance videos more closely, it appears that the suspect — 42-year-old Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who also died in the attack — placed explosive devices in the area himself and then changed clothes, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The FBI is still investigating whether there were individuals Jabbar spoke to or messaged with prior to the early Wednesday attack, but no one was in the vicinity to help him do anything, the sources said.

“Federal law enforcement and the intelligence community are actively investigating any foreign or domestic contacts in connection that could possibly be relevant to the attack,” President Joe Biden said Thursday.

There is no additional threat to the public, Christopher Raia of the FBI said.

Raia called the attack a premeditated “act of terrorism.”

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Thursday compared the investigation to a jigsaw puzzle.

Over 400 tips have been submitted and investigators are combing through Jabbar’s laptops and phones, Raia said. More than 1,000 law enforcement officers have been “pouring over countless amounts of data, of videos, of surveillances, interviews, tracking down every possible lead,” Landry said.

Jabbar drove from Houston to New Orleans on Tuesday evening and posted several videos online “proclaiming his support for ISIS,” and mentioning he joined ISIS before this summer, Raia said.

“There were five videos posted on Jabbar’s Facebook account, which are time stamped beginning at 1:29 a.m. and the last at 3:02 a.m.,” Raia said. “In the first video, Jabbar explains he originally planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the ‘war between the believers and the disbelievers.'”

An ISIS flag was recovered from the back of the truck, Raia said.

The death toll is not expected to rise beyond 14 people, Dr. Jeffrey Elder of the University Medical Center New Orleans told ABC News Live on Thursday. Sixteen people remain hospitalized at University Medical Center New Orleans, including eight in intensive care.

Jabbar was “hell-bent” on killing as many people as possible, driving a pickup truck onto the sidewalk around a parked police car serving as a barricade to plow into pedestrians, officials said.

The suspect mowed down dozens of people over a three-block stretch on the world-famous thoroughfare while firing into the crowd, police said.

Jabbar then exited the damaged vehicle armed with an assault rifle and opened fire on police officers, law enforcement said. He was also armed with a handgun, sources told ABC News.

Officers returned fire, killing Jabbar, a U.S.-born citizen from Texas, sources said. At least two officers were injured, one by gunfire and the other when the officer was pinned by the truck, authorities said.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said security bollards were not working at the time because they were in the process of being replaced for next month’s Super Bowl.

Surveillance footage showed Jabbar placing two improvised explosive devices in coolers in the Bourbon Street area, Raia said.

“Those are the only two devices that we’ve been able to recover that were functional — both devices were rendered safe on scene,” he said.

Authorities have conducted search warrants in New Orleans and outside of Louisiana, the FBI’s New Orleans field office said.

A home in Houston was among those searched. The FBI in Houston said “there is no threat to residents in that area.”

Raia urged anyone who knew Jabbar to come forward.

“While we have interviewed many people who know Jabbar, we still need to talk to others,” he said. “Whether you know Jabbar personally, worked with him, served in the military or saw him in New Orleans or Texas, we need to talk to you.”

He said police also want to speak with witnesses who were in the French Quarter on New Year’s Eve or early on New Year’s Day.

The FBI has cleared Bourbon Street and authorities have the “confidence” to reopen it to the public ahead of the Sugar Bowl Thursday afternoon, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced Thursday.

The game was initially set for Wednesday and was postponed in the wake of the attack.

“I want to reassure the public that the city of New Orleans is not only ready for game day today, but we’re ready to continue to host large-scale events in our city,” she said.

“Our hearts and prayers continue to go out to the victims’ families,” she added.

There’s no apparent direct connection between the New Orleans attack and Wednesday’s Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, which is being investigated as a possible act of terror, Raia from the FBI said Thursday.

“They have not found any evidence of such a connection thus far — I’ve directed them to keep looking,” Biden said Thursday.

The Las Vegas driver was killed and seven bystanders suffered minor injuries, authorities said. The motive behind the incident remains under investigation, but investigators told ABC News they believe it was “intentional.”

The Cybertruck was rented via the Turo app, as was the truck used in the New Orleans attack, sources told ABC News.

The Cybertruck driver had an Army special operations background but there’s no evidence suggesting he and the New Orleans suspect knew each other, according to officials.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LAS VEGAS) — The man who rented the Cybertruck that exploded outside of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year’s Day has been identified as U.S. Army Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a Special Operations soldier who was on leave from his base in Germany, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Although investigators are still examining DNA evidence of the person found in the truck, Las Vegas Metro Police Department Sherriff Kevin McMahill told reporters at a news conference that Livelsberger’s identification and credit cards were found at the scene. The coroner’s office said the person in the truck sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and a handgun was found at his feet.

Seven people suffered minor injuries when the truck, which was filled with fireworks-style mortars and gas canisters, exploded around 8:40 a.m. PT. Investigators believe the explosion was intentional, but hadn’t determined a motive, authorities said in the news conference.

As they continue their investigation into the blast, a profile of Livelsberger is emerging from the Army and people who knew him.

Livelsberger’s wife told investigators her husband had been out of their Colorado Springs, Colorado, residence since around Christmas after a dispute over allegations of infidelity and said he would not hurt anyone, an official who had been briefed on the investigation told ABC News.

Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas Division, told reporters it was too early to speculate about any politicial connections behind the attack. Livelsberger allegedly supported President-elect Donald Trump, the official who had been briefed on the investigation said.

“It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla vehicle, but we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us or suggest it was because of this particular ideology or any of the reasoning behind it,” Evans said.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a major Trump donor who has been advising the president-elect, has been assisting in the investigation, authorities said, including providing police with video of Livelsberger at Tesla charging stations along his route from Colorado to Las Vegas.

Livelsberger enlisted in the Army as a Special Forces candidate and served on active duty from January 2006 to March 2011, then joined the National Guard that month and served until July 2012, followed by a stint in the Army Reserve from July to December 2012, according to the spokesperson. He went back on active duty in December 2012 as a Special Operations soldier, the spokesperson said.

He spent time at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, and was deployed to Afghanistan three times, according to the spokesperson.

Livelsberger was a Green Beret operations sergeant who was stationed mostly at Fort Carson, Colorado, near Colorado Springs, and in Germany, according to McMahill.

He was on approved leave from the Army at the time of his death, according to U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

Livelsberger received numerous accomodations throughout his military carer including a Bronze Star with a “V” device for valor, and four additional Bronze Stars, according to the Army spokesperson.

“USASOC is in full cooperation with federal and state law enforcement agencies, but as a matter of policy, will not comment on ongoing investigations,” the spokesperson said.

Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck in Denver on Dec. 28 using the car-sharing app Turo, the same app used to rent a truck by the suspect in the New Orleans attack on New Year’s Day, though investigators said they have not established any links between the two attacks.

Livelsberger told the truck’s owner that he was going camping at the Grand Canyon, the official said.

The subject purchased two semiautomatic firearms legally on Monday, Kenny Cooper, the assistant special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, San Francisco Field Division, told reporters.

ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LAS VEGAS) — The suspect who drove the rented Cybertruck that exploded outside of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year’s Day has been identified as Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger, a U.S. Army Special Operations soldier on leave, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Livelsberger was killed when the truck, which was filled with fireworks-style mortars and gas canisters, exploded around 8:40 a.m. PT. Seven people suffered minor injuries, officials said.

Investigators believe the explosion was intentional, but hadn’t determined a motive or how it was detonated as of Thursday afternoon, according to sources.

As they continue their investigation into the blast, a profile of Livelsberger is emerging from the Army and people who knew him.

Livelsberger’s wife told investigators her husband had been out of their Colorado Springs, Colorado, residence since around Christmas after a dispute over allegations of infidelity and said he would not hurt anyone, an official who had been briefed on the investigation told ABC News. Livelsberger allegedly supported President-elect Donald Trump, the official said.

Livelsberger enlisted in the Army as a Special Forces candidate and served on active duty from January 2006 to March 2011 then joined the National Guard that month and served until July 2012, followed by a stint in the Army Reserve from July to December 2012, according to the spokesperson. He went back on active duty in December 2012 as a Special Operations soldier, the spokesperson said.

He was on approved leave from the Army at the time of his death, according to U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

“USASOC is in full cooperation with federal and state law enforcement agencies, but as a matter of policy, will not comment on ongoing investigations,” the spokesperson said.

Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck using the car-sharing app Turo, the same app used to rent a truck by the suspect in the New Orleans attack on New Year’s Day, though investigators said they have not established any links between the two attacks.

Livelsberger told the truck’s owner that he was going camping at the Grand Canyon, the official said.

Tesla has been cooperating with the probe and provided investigators with data and other information, the company’s owner Elon Musk said.

ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.