I hope you had a nice New Year celebration! The Space Needle reportedly looked great. Unfortunately, 2025 seems to be all downhill from here.

Bad omen: Tahlequah, the southern resident orca J pod-member who carried the body of her dead calf around for 17 days and 1,000 miles in 2018, gave birth to another calf on Christmas Eve. That calf, a daughter, was confirmed dead on New Year's Eve. Tahlequah is once again carrying her dead calf which she does by "pushing it ahead of her with her head, carrying it atop her head, or holding it by a tiny fin with her teeth," according to a heartbreaking description by the Seattle Times. This does not bode well for the struggling southern orcas nor for the editors at the Times who will surely have to field a similar mountain of sad poems from readers as the one they received last time Tahlequah mourned her child. Let's not even delve into the superstitions of this kind of thing happening on New Year's Eve. 

New Orleans attack: A truck barreled down New Orleans' Bourbon Street at 3:15 am on New Year's Day, when 2025 had barely even begun, plowing into revelers on a holiday about hope and possibility. The suspected driver, a 13-year U.S. Army veteran, struck the crowd with his vehicle before exiting and opening fire on local law enforcement. Officers returned fire, and the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect allegedly posted videos ahead of the attack saying he was inspired by the Islamic State. He killed 15 people. Among the dead were an aspiring nurse, a father of two, a former Princeton football player, and a single mother. Thirty others were injured. The mayor of New Orleans called the attack an act of terrorism. 

Bollards needed: Bourbon Street, a pedestrianized zone, usually has short metal posts known as bollards blocking its entry points from vehicles. Those bollards were down for repairs at the time of the New Year's Day attack. New Orleans was in the process of replacing the vital infrastructure ahead of the city's hosting of the Sugar Bowl, an effort meant to prevent vehicular attacks. Experts say bollards are the most effective way to keep people from weaponizing vehicles and causing mass attacks. Time to pedestrianize all popular public spaces? 

Las Vegas cybertruck explosion: A Tesla cybertruck exploded outside of Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel on New Year's Day. Authorities found "fireworks mortars, [fuel] canisters, and other explosive devices" in the back of the truck. The explosion killed one person—the driver—and injured seven others. The cybertruck was reportedly rented in Colorado. Tesla CEO and new Trump inner-circle member Elon Musk helped track the truck's journey by providing video footage from Tesla charging stations. 

 

A link between tragedies? Investigators are looking into whether the Las Vegas and New Orleans incidents are connected. The attacks have a few similarities in common, such as how the people who rented each of the cars in the attacks used the same rental app, Turo. 

Shooting at Queens nightclub: Late Wednesday, "three or four gunmen" opened fire at a group of young people waiting to enter Amazura nightclub in the Jamaica neighborhood of the city’s Queens borough for a private event. Of the 15 or so people outside the club, 10 were wounded by the shots. The gunmen fled on foot. 

At least 12 dead in Montenegro: After an alleged Montenegro bar brawl, a man pulled out a gun and killed the bar owner, then killed the owner's children, and then his own family members. He then killed himself. Montenegro is in mourning. 

Teen dead in Lynnwood: A 14-year-old boy is dead following a shooting. Another teen was also shot and injured. 

Palate cleanse: At least we now have the United Kingdom's biggest ever dinosaur footprint site to enjoy. 

 

ICYMI: A 17-year-old Texas teenager confessed to killing her 15-year-old rival's show goat by force-feeding the goat, Willie, a pesticide with a drench gun. 

You know what time it is: Time to pretend this is the year you're going to do an entire 30-day yoga challenge. Live in the bliss of who you could be.