Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 6, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2025 VOL 154 NO 47 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2025 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published six days a week in print and always online at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 CEO / MIKE POWER Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life D1 Classifieds B5 Comics D4 Diversions D5-6 Horoscope D2 Jumble D5 Miss Lonelyhearts D2 Obituaries B5 Opinion A6-7 Sports C1 Television D2 Weather C8 COLUMNISTS: Aaron Epp B2 Dan Lett B3 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada “Our agents are getting answers to where he went, who he met with and how those trips may or may not tie into his actions here,” Myrthil said. Jabbar had also travelled to New Orleans twice in the months preceding the attack, first in October and again in November. On Oct. 31, Myrthil said Jabbar used glasses from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to record video as he rode through the French Quarter on a bicycle as “he plotted this hideous attack.” He said Jabbar was also in New Orleans on Nov. 10. He also wore the glasses capable of livestreaming during the attack, but Myrthil said Jabbar did not activate them. When asked about the glasses, a Meta spokesperson declined comment to The Associated Press. The FBI released Jabbar’s recorded video from the planning trip to New Orleans as well as video showing him placing two containers with explo- sive devices in the French Quarter at around 2 a.m. shortly before the attack. One of the containers, a cooler, was moved a block away by someone unin- volved with the attack, officials said. Joshua Jackson, New Orleans special agent in charge, said Jabbar privately purchased a semiautomatic rifle on Nov. 19 from an individual in a legal transaction in Arlington, Texas. “This was a chance encounter,” Jack- son said. “There’s no way this individ- ual knew that Jabbar was radicalized or had any sort of awareness that this attack was imminent.” Police have used vehicles and barri- cades to block traffic at Bourbon and Canal streets since. Other law enforce- ment agencies helped city officers pro- vide extra security, said Reese Harper, a New Orleans police spokesperson. The first parade of the Carnival sea- son leading up to Mardi Gras in March is scheduled this evening. New Orleans also will host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9. In a previous effort to protect the French Quarter, the city installed steel columns known as bollards to restrict vehicle access to Bourbon Street. The posts normally retract to allow deliv- eries to bars and restaurants. But they stopped working reliably after being gummed up by Mardi Gras beads, beer and other detritus. When New Year’s Eve arrived, the bollards were gone. New Orleans May- or LaToya Cantrell acknowledged the city remains uncertain as to whether the new bollards it is installing in the French Quarter would be able to stop a similar vehicle attack. “The thorough assessment that I am asking for will determine whether they are strong enough,” Cantrell said. “I can’t say with surety that’s the case but an expert will be able to do so, and we’ll respond accordingly.” Cantrell said she requested that Homeland Security upgrade Mardi Gras to the highest Special Event Assessment Rat- ing to receive more federal support for security and risk assessments. President Joe Biden planned to travel to New Orleans with first lady Jill Biden today to “grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack.” After signing the Social Security Fairness Act, Biden was asked Sunday by journalists what his message would be to the families he will meet. He responded, “I’ve been there. There’s nothing you can really say to some- body that’s just had such a tragic loss, my message is going to be personal if I get to get them alone.” The two explosive devices that Jab- bar placed were recovered by federal officials undetonated. ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson cred- ited New Orleans police for responding quickly before the devices could be set off. He said both were equipped with receivers and a transmitter was recovered in Jabbar’s truck. Jabbar exited the crashed truck wearing a ballistic vest and helmet and fired at police, wounding at least two officers before he was fatally shot. Bomb-making materials were found at Jabbar’s home. Jackson said Jabbar appeared to have used a chemical com- pound known as RDX, which he said is commonly available in the U.S. He said field tests found RDX at Jabbar’s Houston home and they are conduct- ing further tests on similar materials found at the New Orleans rental home. Jabbar tried to burn down the rental house by setting a small fire in a hallway but the flames went out before firefighters arrived. Jabbar proclaimed support for the Islamic State militant group in online videos posted hours before he struck. It was the deadliest IS-inspired assault on U.S. soil in years, laying bare what federal officials have warned is a re- surgent international terrorism threat. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos that the country faces “not only the persistent threat of foreign terrorism” but “a significant increase in what we term homegrown violent extremism” in recent years. — The Associated Press, with files from The Canadian Press The fire chief said he has been golfing at the club for more than five decades. The fire is a devastating blow to the community, he said. “It’s not just a golf club, it’s also a community spot where the venue helps with fundraising events for all kinds of different charities, foundations and stuff like that throughout the summer. So, yeah, it is a fairly important jewel for our community and now we are going through another little setback.” “It hits home.” Penner echoed those comments, saying the community raised more than $1 million in support of rebuild- ing the facility after the previous fire, including an additional $300,000 donated by shareholders during the grand reopening. “I’m really at a loss for words,” she said. “We were so immensely proud of that hard work.” Around 200 stakeholders, contrac- tors and community members attended the celebration. For some, it was the first time they got to see the state-of- the art facility, which included a new pro shop, virtual golf simulator and views of the golf course, she said. The facility was built with tourna- ments in mind and was expected to draw tourism to the community. An- ticipation for the 2025 golf season had already begun building, she added. “This setback is significant, but this community is resilient,” Penner said. “It’s in moments like these our com- munity shows our strength and I think we shine our brightest. I have no doubt that, together, the club will rebuild, recover and come back stronger than ever.” tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca NEW ORLEANS ● FROM A1 CLUBHOUSE ● FROM A1 MATTHEW HINTON / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Long Island, N.Y., residents Louis Tenedorio (left) and his wife, Cathy Tenedorio embrace by a memorial on Bourbon and Canal streets in New Orleans, Saturday, where their son, Matthew Tenedorio, was killed as one of the victims of the New Year's Day attack. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION Shamsud-Din Jabbar Ukraine launches fresh offensive in Russia’s Kursk region K IEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces on Sunday launched a new offen- sive in the western Russian re- gion of Kursk, following their surprise incursion into the territory last sum- mer. “Kursk region, good news: Russia is getting what it deserves,” the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, An- driy Yermak, wrote on Telegram, in- directly confirming reports by military bloggers on a new advance in Kursk. Late on Sunday, the General Staff in Kiev said it had recorded 42 armed clashes in the region, 12 of which were still ongoing. “The Russians in the Kursk region are very worried because they were attacked from several directions,” it continued. Neither side has provided any infor- mation about losses, successes or chan- ges to the front line. The main target appeared to be the road to Kursk, northeast of the small town of Sudzha, which the Ukrainians were able to take during their surprise summer offensive. In response, Moscow later mobilized 50,000 troops, including around 10,000 North Korean soldiers, for a counter- offensive that has reclaimed almost half of the occupied territory over the last months. Videos on Sunday purportedly from the region showed several columns of armoured Ukrainian vehicles moving at high speed, with mine-clearing vehi- cles leading the way. According to Russian military blog- gers, Kyiv was also heavily employing electronic jamming to neutralize Rus- sian drones. The Russian Defence Ministry issued a statement saying that Russian artil- lery and the air force had attacked a Ukrainian convoy on its way to the vil- lage of Berdin. Two tanks, a bulldozer and seven ar- moured troop-carrying vehicles were destroyed in the attack. The fighting continues, it said. The information could not be in- dependently verified. The previous evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy re- ported heavy losses of Russian units attempting to recapture the Kursk re- gion. “In fighting today and yesterday around the settlement of Makhnivka in the Kursk region, the Russian army has lost an infantry battalion of North Ko- rean soldiers and Russian paratroop- ers,” Zelensky said in his nightly video message. A battalion of the Russian forces offi- cially has a troop strength of up to 500 men. In recent weeks, videos have repeat- edly surfaced showing attempts by Russian units, sometimes reinforced by North Korean soldiers, to storm the Kursk region. The footage often shows destroyed Russian armoured vehicles and dead soldiers. Military experts attribute the seem- ingly rushed assault attempts to Mos- cow’s desire to gain as much ground as possible before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20, to secure a favourable position in anticipated negotiations. The situation on the battlefield re- mains challenging for Ukraine. Despite the reported losses, Russian troops con- tinued to attack on Sunday. Over the past 24 hours, they report- edly made territorial gains near Kur- akhove, near the strategically import- ant city of Pokrovsk, and also in the contested city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine. Media reports from Kyiv on Sunday said that Russia captured nearly 3,600 square kilometres of Ukrainian terri- tory in the past year, which is roughly the size of Mallorca, or Long Island in New York. Ukraine suffered its greatest terri- torial losses in November, losing 610 square kilometres, the military blog Militarnyi reported, citing map data from DeepStateMAP, another military blog. The losses in 2024 were reportedly multiple times that of the previous year. In mid-December, the Ukrainian Telegram channel UA War Infograph- ics estimated the Russian troop advan- ces since the start of the year at over 2,800 square kilometres. However, Ukraine reportedly also lost an addi- tional 510 square kilometres in Decem- ber. It is noteworthy that the territor- ial losses for Kyiv have significantly increased following its own summer offensive and the incursions into the western Russian region of Kursk. Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for almost three years with the help of Western allies. Separately on Sunday, command- er-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said more Ukrainian military forces are to be reinforced with drone units, and a separate drone brigade is soon to be put into operation. — Bloomberg News ANDRÉ BALLIN AND GÜNTHER CHALUPA ;