Crime

Bourbon Street will return to normal in time for the Sugar Bowl on Thursday ... with the New Orleans Mayor expecting full operation prior to kickoff -- one day after the New Year's terrorist attack.

The Georgia vs. Notre Dame matchup slated to go down at the Caesars Superdome on Jan. 1 was postponed in the wake of the tragedy that killed 14 people ... and while some officials have called for more time for the community to heal, the game will go down Thursday at 1 PM PT.

With thousands of football fans in town for the College Football Playoff contest, mayor LaToya Cantrell told reporters the iconic French Quarter street will be available to those looking to watch the action from the venues in the area.

Bomb-making materials were found in a burned-out Airbnb property linked to the New Orleans terror attack New Year's Eve ... hours after 14 people were killed by a speeding truck in the popular French Quarter tourist area.

A fire was reported at an Airbnb property in New Orleans early Wednesday ... hours after the New Year's Eve attack on Bourbon Street. Firefighters responded at 5:30 AM Wednesday, and the area was immediately evacuated -- and the ATF was called to the scene. Bomb-sniffing dogs were seen searching the property.

Fox 8 in New Orleans was first to report bomb-making materials were found.

Investigators are meticulously examining the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside Trump International Hotel in a possible terrorist attack ... and they even used a drone to peer inside the vehicle's burned-out carcass.

TMZ obtained exclusive video showing the drone hovering over the Cybertruck in the valet area as inspectors in white hazmat suits looked over every inch of the Tesla near the entrance of the hotel in Las Vegas.

Law enforcement personnel commonly utilizes drones for emergency situations to provide investigators with aerial views of incident locations or to document scenes where crimes and accidents occurred, among other things.

New Orleans Saints star Cam Jordan is doing his part to help his community following the New Year's Day tragedy -- making a large financial contribution to the victims of the attack.

The 35-year-old defensive end shared his condolences shortly after the news broke Wednesday morning ... and hours later, he revealed he was teaming up with the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the city to help those affected.

Jordan wrote a $25,000 check to support the families who lost loved ones ... as well as the dozens who were severely injured in the attack.

The younger brother of New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar is reportedly blaming "radicalization" for his kin's rampage that killed 15 people and injured scores more.

Abdur Jabbar told the New York Times Shamsud-Din was a practicing Christian in his early years in Beaumont, Texas, but then turned to the Muslim faith, spending most of his life studying Islam.

But, Abdur noted, "What he did does not represent Islam. This is more some type of radicalization, not religion."

3:11 PM PT -- Jabbar made a series of recordings just hours before the attack in which he said he was planning to kill his family. This makes the story below way more ominous. According to CNN, which got the information from an FBI source, Jabbar pivoted and decided to conduct the terrorist attack in New Orleans in the name of ISIS, because he wanted to kill.

The terrorist who killed at least 10 people in a violent attack in New Orleans early Wednesday had a divorce that was acrimonious enough that his then-wife got a restraining order against him.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, seen above in a video he had posted, was in the throes of a divorce during the pandemic, when his wife, Shaneen Chantil Jabbar, went to court to get a restraining order.

We do not have a copy of the wife's petition, but we do have the order of the judge who granted the restraining order. It says, among other things, "both parties are prohibited from "threatening the other party or a child of either party with imminent bodily injury."

A Former wife of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the terrorist at the center of the New Year attack in New Orleans, is in disbelief ... but recounts a marriage she says was "abusive" -- and this is a different wife from the one who got a restraining order against him.

The ex-wife, Tiera, tells TMZ … she was married to Shamsud-Din for about 5 years before they divorced in 2016. She says their union was unhappy, saying Shamsud-Din abused her ... though she would not get specific.

Still, Tiera tells us she didn't think he was capable of mass murder and had no clue how such hatred washed over him.

The Sugar Bowl -- one of the most anticipated football games of the year -- has been postponed twenty-four hours after a horrific New Year's Day attack left scores dead in the city of New Orleans, the location of the big CFB quarterfinal tilt.

Jeff Hundley, CEO of the Sugar Bowl, announced Wednesday morning that the football game between 2-seeded University of Georgia and 7-seeded Notre Dame University would kick off Thursday night just before 8 PM local time, instead of Wednesday night as planned, after consulting with the teams, TV network, and others.

"All parties and all agree that it's in the best in the best interest of everybody and public safety that we postpone the game for 24 hours," Hundley said.

Matthew Stafford is pulling out all the stops to make sure he's not the next athlete targeted in the recent string of burglaries -- TMZ Sports is told the Rams quarterback invited police officers and NFL security to inspect his L.A. area home for any potential weak spots.

Law enforcement sources tell us league staffers and cops met at the Super Bowl champ's residence this month to scope out his current setup ... and provided tips and safety measures on what his family can do further to deter crooks from targeting his pad.

While Stafford himself was not present, we're told the NFL specifically asked the cops about the South American burglary crews believed to be behind all the hits ... as well as how they can work together to make it more difficult for the criminals to execute their operation.

Joe Budden was charged earlier this month ... after authorities claimed his neighbor saw him outside their apartment on Ring Camera footage -- completely naked.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ ... Budden was charged on December 4 in Edgewater, New Jersey for lewdness.

The Edgewater Police Department released a statement on December 30 about the incident after news of the charge broke online ... explaining officers were called to an apartment complex in the area at approximately 7:21 AM.

Jay-Z's attorney says there are a bunch of holes in the rape lawsuit against the rapper ... and he's looking to have the case thrown out.

In new court documents obtained by TMZ ... Alex Spiro, the lawyer representing the rap mogul, says he's gearing up to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against Jay-Z ... claiming the statute "Jane Doe" is suing under didn't even take effect until after the alleged sexual assault ... and can't be applied against the rapper retroactively.

As Jay-Z's attorney puts it ... the statute was enacted in December 2000 -- 3 months after Jane Doe claimed she was sexually assaulted by Jay-Z and Diddy at an MTV Video Music Awards after-party.

Simu Liu's 2024 is ending on a not-so-Marvel-ous note ... 'cause his house was broken into last week -- though we're told there may be a silver lining for the actor.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Simu's Los Angeles-area home was broken into Friday when someone smashed a glass door around 11 PM.

Security was alerted to the break-in at Liu's home and called police ... who searched the house for any suspects, but no one was inside.

The FBI is warning pro athletes to be vigilant ... confirming Monday groups of organized thieves are targeting stars' homes in search of high-priced valuables.

The feds issued the alert just a couple days after NBA superstar Luka Doncic became the latest A-lister to have his place broken into ... explaining criminals are hitting residences belonging to big-time players while they're on the road or at games.

"These homes are targeted for burglary due to the perception they may have high-end goods like designer handbags, jewelry, watches, and cash," FBI officials said, according to ABC News.

The disturbing trend of celebrity athletes having their homes broken into continued over the weekend ... as Luka Doncic's Dallas-area residence was burglarized.

According to the Mavericks superstar's business manager, Lara Beth Seager, the break-in occurred on Friday night ... as the Mavs were in Phoenix for a game against the Suns.

Thankfully, Seager said in a statement, no one was home at the time of the incident ... and "Luka and his family are safe."

Several people connected to Liam Payne's death are facing formal charges in Argentina ... according to local reports in the Latin American country.

Infobae -- an Argentinian online newspaper -- revealed Saturday that sources with direct knowledge of the case confirmed five people have been charged by a judge.

Among them ... Liam's friend Roger Nores -- who says he left Liam at the CasaSur Palermo hotel about an hour before he fell to his death -- who authorities have charged with negligent homicide.

Keanu Reeves is a lucky man as police have arrested a suspect who stole three expensive pieces of jewelry from the actor and the items turned up half way around the world.

According to CNN Chile, police in Chile arrested a 21-year-old suspect over the weekend after they recovered three watches belonging to "John Wick" star including a Rolex believed to have been stolen from his Los Angeles home back in 2023.

One of the watches is a $9,000 Rolex Submariner that KR had inscripted with his first name and the words "2021, JW4, thank you, The John Wick Five." According to CNN, cops located the watch on Saturday during a raid targeting local robberies.