The University of Notre Dame is asking fans in New Orleans ahead of the Sugar Bowl to "join us in prayer" after an apparent terror attack killed at least 10 people and injured more than 30 others early Wednesday morning. 

The statement shared on social media comes as thousands of college football fans have traveled to the city for the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game between the Fighting Irish and the Georgia Bulldogs.

"We are aware of the incident this morning in New Orleans and are working with law enforcement and others to determine the full scope and impact of the tragedy," the statement posted on X read. 

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"We ask our fans to join us in prayer for those injured and lost in this senseless act of violence." 

The university urged those in New Orleans to avoid the surrounding area. It also encouraged anyone interested to attend a mass the university is holding at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel. 

The FBI is investigating a suspected act of terror after a driver plowed through a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing 10 people and injuring at least 35 others. Police said the suspect was killed while exchanging gunfire with law enforcement. 

SUGAR BOWL OFFICIAL SPEAKS OUT AFTER DEADLY BOURBON STREET ATTACK LEAVES AT LEAST 10 DEAD HOURS BEFORE KICKOFF

The tragedy has raised security concerns ahead of the Sugar Bowl, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday night at the Caesars Superdome, which sits just a mile away from the crime scene. 

"The Sugar Bowl Committee is devastated by the terrible events from early this morning," Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We are in ongoing discussions with authorities on the local, state, and federal levels and will communicate further details as they become available."

New Orleans Police Commissioner Anne Kirkpatrick indicated at a press conference on Wednesday that the game will continue as expected. 

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• I work at Coach as a sales associate, and spotting fake bags is pretty easy.
• I often check the story patches and hang tags to see if a bag is actually authentic. 
• Fake purses usually have sloppy stitching and too-shiny, lightweight hardware. 

I've been a fan of Coach for a while, and I now work as a sales associate for the brand.

I wasn't fully taught how to spot fake bags during my training process, but I've found many employees learn as they go. Throughout my time with Coach, I've encountered a few fakes, and spotting them is easier than you might think.

There are exceptions — for example, some types of Coach bags don't have style patches or were released before the hang tag became a staple — but here's what I look for when authenticating a bag.

Story patches are a key feature of most Coach bags

Most Coach bags have a leather creed or story patch, which is a leather patch inside a bag that's embossed with the bag's serial number and history.

Some people try to make fakes of these patches, but they don't really work.

One time, a customer brought in a bag for repair. When inspecting it to find the bag style, I noticed the story patch had a serial number that had never existed in the Coach database.

The leather and material of the bag can help me determine if a bag is fake

Quality and material play a big factor in determining a fake.

First, I check the material of the hang tag, which every Coach bag has come with for decades.

An authentic bag should have a tag made of the exact leather used on the bag. It should also feel thick. To me, a flimsy, low-quality hang tag often screams a bag is fake: The leather often doesn't match the bag and is very thin.

If you choose to remove a hang tag from your real Coach bag, you might want to hold onto it anyway to help prove authenticity later on.

Also, just touching a bag can be telling. For example, fakes I've seen of the popular Tabby bag, which has a "C" on the front, has leather that isn't pebbled or smooth and buttery — it has a plastic-y feel.

It's also good to compare the bag's color to the official Coach listings online. Fakes tend not to be quite the right shade.

I check for sloppy stitching and edges

Coach takes pride in the craftsmanship of its products, especially when it comes to its edges, stitches, and zippers.

When looking for a fake, I look at the edges and tips of the bags since that's where the sloppy overstitching tends to be most visible.

Most times, when a fake comes in, the stitching is very sloppy and/or crooked.

Hardware often makes the real bags heavier

Hardware seems to be a giveaway for a lot of fakes I've seen, even when it comes to other high-end bag brands. Sometimes I can spot a fake just by looking at its clips and clasps.

One of Coach's main choices of hardware is brass, which isn't very shiny. However, a lot of fakes I see have plated-gold hardware, which looks super bright and shiny.

Brass — and nickel, another popular Coach choice — also tends to be heavier, so I've found many fake bags are lighter in weight.

When in doubt, check your sources

Buying directly from Coach is a safe bet if you want an authentic bag.

Other trustworthy sites include Coach.com, Coachoutlet.com, and department stores that are official Coach retailers.

If you're shopping secondhand, make sure to research who you may be purchasing from and how they authenticate items.

This story was originally published on February 29, 2024, and most recently updated on January 1, 2025.

The US has issued sanctions on organizations in Russia and Iran for attempting to interfere with the 2024 presidential election. The Treasury Department said on Tuesday that the groups tried to “stoke socio-political tensions” and influence voters.

One group, the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise, has ties to Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), and built a server to host its own AI tools “to avoid foreign web-hosting services that would block their activity.” The organization then used these tools to “quickly create disinformation” that it spread across dozens of fake online news outlets, while also providing US-based companies with money to maintain its AI server and operate a network of “at least 100 websites” used in its campaign.

Additionally, the Russian organization manipulated a video to “produce baseless accusations concerning a 2024 vice presidential candidate”. In October, the US accused Russia of creating a video that attempted to smear Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz.

The Treasury Department also sanctioned the Cognitive Design Production Center, a subsidiary of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), for planning to interfere with the election “since at least 2023.” In the weeks leading up to the election, the US Department of Justice indicted Iranian nationals accused of waging a cyberattack against President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign, while OpenAI reported banning ChatGPT accounts linked to an Iranian influence operation.

“The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns,” Bradley Smith, the Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in the press release.