At least 15 people are dead and dozens more are wounded after a US army veteran ploughed his pick-up truck into crowds celebrating the new year.

Revellers were ringing in 2025 in the New Orleans' French quarter, the city's busiest party district in the early hours of New Year's Day.

Federal authorities are describing it as an act of terror.

Today, former FBI and department of homeland security official, Dr. Javed Ali on how the New Orleans investigation is unfolding and the planning required to pull off such a deadly attack. 

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Dr. Javed Ali, former FBI and department of homeland security official

Australians are guaranteed to head to the polls in the first five months of 2025.

And while high interest rates and cost of living pressures are expected to be the top concerns for both major parties and voters, the battleground itself will also look different, with new changes to electoral seats and boundaries. 

Today, the ABC's Chief Elections Analyst Antony Green speaks with ABC News Radio’s Tom Melville about why the next parliament is set to change.

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Antony Green, ABC Chief Elections Analyst

At least 300 prisoners of war have returned to their homeland in a highly anticipated New Years swap between Ukraine and Russia.

It comes just days after Oscar Jenkins became the first known Australian citizen to be captured by Russian forces, after enlisting in Ukraine's foreign legion earlier this year. 

Today, international law expert Professor Don Rothwell speaks to ABC News Radio about whether Australia could make exchange negotiations similar to those used for the New Year’s prisoner swaps, to bring Oscar Jenkins home.

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Professor Don Rothwell, ANU College of Law

South Korea is now in seven days of mourning after 179 people were killed in the deadliest aviation disaster the country has ever seen.

The plane, which was flying from Thailand to Muan International Airport in South Korea, was attempting an emergency landing when it crashed. 

There were only two survivors.

Today, US aviation industry consultant Scott Hamilton speaks with ABC News Radio's Sarah Mourice about what could have happened in the cockpit moments before the tragedy. 

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Scott Hamilton, US aviation industry consultant Leeham Company

Don’t you get sick of the constant text messages warning that you haven’t paid a toll, or that you’ve missed a package delivery or have a refund owing?

In many cases they’re clearly fake but there are scams that aren’t so obvious, and Australians have lost billions of dollars to them. 

Today, consumer affairs reporter Michael Atkin on why more of us are falling for the traps set by criminals and what the big banks should be doing to protect us. 

First published 10 May 2024.

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Michael Atkin, ABC consumer affairs reporter

You would have thought with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, China wouldn’t be too worried about the number of people living there declining a bit.

But as it faces the challenges of an economic slowdown and an ageing society, Beijing is urging families to have more babies to stop a population decline that’s been recorded for a second year in a row. 

But is a falling birth rate necessarily a bad thing? 

First published 26 February 2024. 

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Stuart Gietel-Basten, Professor of Social Science and Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Have you ever wondered just how much better electric vehicles are for the environment?

It’s more complicated than you’d think. 

Today, climate reporter Jo Lauder compares the lifetime greenhouse gas footprint of an electric car with that of a petrol car and delivers the verdict. 

First published 31 May, 2024.

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Jo Lauder, ABC climate reporter

We all love a trip to Europe in summer, but have you ever felt like you’re not really welcome there? 

Melbourne woman Claudia had that inkling in Barcelona recently when locals made it clear they wanted her to go home. 

Today, we look at the growing anger in some of the most popular tourist cities and what is being done to try to ease the pressure. 

First published 24 May, 2024.

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Claudia, Australian tourist

Sebastian Zenker, professor in tourism at the Copenhagen Business School

Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson said no when OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman asked if she could be the voice for a new version of ChatGPT. 

But they went ahead and released a chatbot that the actor thinks sounds “eerily similar” to herself. 

As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated, how do we protect ourselves from being copied? 

First published 24 May, 2024.

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Sharon Goldman, AI reporter at Fortune

Fifty years ago, Cyclone Tracy's ferocious winds destroyed 85 per cent of Darwin's housing and most of the city's infrastructure. 

It was the third time Darwin had been razed to the ground by a cyclone, but within three days the prime minister had committed to rebuilding Australia's northern capital in the same spot. 

In this final of a two-part series, Darwin reporter Jane Bardon hears how Tracy prompted an overhaul of the National Construction Code. 

It's supposed to ensure buildings on Australia's northern coast can withstand a category four cyclone.

But is the building industry adhering to the code, and as climate change threatens more severe cyclones and storms surges, is the code up to the job?

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Jane Bardon, ABC Darwin journalist

Leo Athanasiou, Darwin builder and Athanasiou Group Director

Dawn Lawrie, former Northern Territory Assembly MLA

Jared Archibald, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory history curator

Elisha Harris, Harris Kmon Solutions structural engineer

Charmain Enthaler, Charles Darwin University architecture lecturer

On Christmas Eve in 1974, Cyclone Tracy razed Darwin to the ground, killing 66 people and prompting a massive evacuation from the city of 35,000 people.

Now, 50 years since the disaster that changed the nation, Darwin's population is three times what it was then. 

Why did so many survivors return to the cyclone belt to rebuild Darwin and their lives?

In this first of a two-part series, Darwin reporter Jane Bardon hears first hand accounts of a night of terror and explores how the event became life-defining.

What we can learn from how survivors have dealt with their trauma, as we face a changing climate in which many more communities will suffer the effects of cyclones, floods and fires?

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Jane Bardon, ABC Darwin journalist

Richard Creswick, former ABC Darwin journalist

June Mills, Larrakia elder

Alan Haines, former fuel depot worker

Dr Sadhana Mahajani, former Darwin doctor

Dr Arun Mahajani, former Darwin surgeon

Jared Archibald, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory history curator