THE BIG STORIES
Terror strikes an American New Year

📣 Overnight, we learnt more about the New Orleans vehicle attack, and saw the death toll reach at least 15. A further 30 were injured when a pickup truck was driven through pedestrians in the city’s French Quarter early on New Year’s Day. It was being driven by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a US citizen from Texas who was a US Army veteran: the FBI is investigating the incident as a terrorist attack. Guns and an improvised explosive device were found in the pickup, and other devices were found elsewhere in the French Quarter, while President Joe Biden said the FBI had found videos online posted by the driver, hours before the attack, saying he was inspired to kill by the Islamic State group. They don’t believe the attacker worked alone. (AP) (New York Times) (Daily Mail)

📣 Lorna Slater, the Scottish Green co-leader, says another Bute House coalition agreement is possible after next year’s Scottish Parliamentary elections. She told The Herald: “We are here to get things done. We want to be as effective as possible. The parliamentary arithmetic in 2026 is certainly going to be interesting to see.” This intervention may not be entirely welcomed by the SNP. (The Herald)

📣 Russian gas stopped flowing through Ukraine yesterday: the impact on gas prices here and across Europe will be limited: it was already expected and priced in before the New Year break in trading. Of greater significance is that it ends Russia’s era of dominance over Europe’s energy markets. (Reuters)

WHAT’S GOT US TALKING
Edinburgh’s damp squib

🗣️ Author Irvine Welsh captured, with characteristic bluntness, what more than a few Edinburghers must have been thinking on Hogmanay. Put simply, the weather wasn’t that bad: damp, bit of a breeze, certainly within the usual parameters of a December night in the Scottish capital. Michael MacLeod, of the estimable Edinburgh Minute, noted gusts in London were heavier - and they got their fireworks on.

To cancel the Edinburgh’s famous fireworks and wreck the plans of 45,000 partygoers was always going to be a big call. And when the weather simply didn’t merit it, it appeared to be the wrong one.

Alan Thompson, director of organiser Unique Assembly events, told Sky News on Monday: “We need 48 hours to build the event to put in all the infrastructure”, from stages to gates, and said the bad weather since Sunday had made that impossible. With the weather due to worsen, they couldn’t guarantee there would be entertainment for all those people, or that it would be safe. The decision to cancel was supported by Culture Secretary Angus Robertson on the Today programme yesterday.

Moreover, safety - or a lack of it - has overshadowed Edinburgh’s Hogmanay for decades. As Edinburgh Live reminds us, some roots of the tightly organised - Welsh would call “corporate” - party lie in the scare of January 1 1997, and a huge crush which left dozens injured, when 300,000 people had tickets to enter the city centre. The event was already organised by then - it was the fifth edition of the ticketed New Year party, which replaced “the mad ones at the Tron” of which Welsh writes. But numbers were cut heavily the following year, to 180,000. It’s noteworthy how much smaller again this year’s event was due to be.

But there will be fallout. The City of Edinburgh pays Unique Events £812,456 a year to run the Christmas and New Year events, which are said to generate £150m for the city. The reputational damage of it all being called off by the weather will deter visitors next time. And it’s not clear, yet, what the direct cost of this year’s decision will be.

Some may choose to reflect on the words of the great Billy Connolly, who famously said: “There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing”. Maybe there’s no such thing as bad weather at a Scottish Hogmanay celebration… just the wrong festival arrangements?

AROUND SCOTLAND

📣 Police have released pictures of 19 people they want to speak to after large-scale disorder before the Scottish League Cup final in Glasgow last month. The move comes ahead of today’s Old Firm league match. (Police Scotland)

📣 It’s properly cold across Scotland, as the weather forecast above notes, and the plunging temperatures and snow will bring the usual travel disruption and power cuts. If you’re travelling, you’ll want to plan ahead. (BBC)

📣 Scotland welcomed its first babies of the New Year at maternity units across the country: the BBC highlights three. (BBC)

AROUND THE UK

📣 There was significant flooding in the North West of England after heavy rainfall. The cleanup begins today. (Daily Mail)

📣 Drone footage shows flooding caused by the collapse of the Bridgewater Canal in Cheshire. It’s an extraordinary mess. (BBC)

📣 Neil Young won’t be playing Glastonbury. He hadn’t been announced yet… but said on his website that the BBC’s involvement had placed the festival “under corporate control”. He and the BBC have form. (The Guardian)

AROUND THE WORLD

🌎 It’s not yet clear what was behind the explosion of a truck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas yesterday. But firework mortars and camp fuel canisters were found in the back of the Tesla Cybertruck that blew up, killing a suspect inside and injuring seven nearby. (New York Times)

🌎 Three died and 20 were injured in Honolulu with “the worst possible, war-zone injuries” after a large firework fell over after being lit. (AP)

🌎 See how the world brought in the New Year with a colourful gallery of images. (AP)

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS

💰 It’s going to prove a “tough” 2025 for progressive corporate initiatives. Semafor wraps up widespread predictions of cutbacks across climate and diversity pushes this year, as companies adjust to Trump in power and criticism of ESG initiatives from both left and right-wing activists. (Semafor)

💰 What’s going to be the biggest business trends of 2025? The FT places its bets on AI, of course, although it’s uncertain when the boom will end. Luxury hopes for a revival in China, while more renewable energy companies could delist. Trump’s return to the White House looms over everything. (FT)

SPORT

⚽️ Today’s Old Firm clash at Ibrox is unlikely to lead to much in terms of the league, given Rangers are 14 points off Celtic before the game starts. But it will still be the biggest game of football in the world today, with millions keeping an eye on events to see if Celtic will confirm their dominance, or if Rangers can give their fans any hope for the New Year. Rangers don’t have their troubles to seek: goalkeeper Jack Butland is out of hospital after suffering an internal bleed in his leg, but won’t play. Captain James Tavernier is also out after being injured in the disappointing 2-2 draw with Motherwell. Celtic manager Brendan Rogers insists today’s game will be no “dead rubber”. That’s likely to be the only point on which the two halves of the Old Firm agree. (Sky Sports Main Event, 3pm)

⚽️ There’s a full card of Scottish Premiership fixtures today: expect fan protests at Hearts v Motherwell, and metaphorical as well as literal fireworks in Dundee as the city’s two clubs face off on TV (Sky Sports Main Event, 5.30pm) to complete Sky’s double header.

🎯 Is all this football - indeed, all life - a warm-up for Luke Littler playing tonight? The darts prodigy, age 17, takes to the stage at around 7.30pm tonight in the semi-final of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace. Now is the time to get interested if you want to be able to faux-knowledgeably swap notes in the office next week. Do mention his amazing composure and very precise technique. Do not question whether this is actually a sport. The final’s tomorrow. (Sky Sports)