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Trump fires official over bad jobs report Economists say tariffs have triggered slowdown By The Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika
McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. “I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on Truth Social. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.” Trump later posted: “In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were
ä Markets have worst day since May. PAGE 5B
RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.” U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, short of the 115,000 expected. Worse, revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls. And the unemploy-
ment rate ticked higher to 4.2% as Americans dropped out of the labor force and the ranks of the unemployed rose by 221,000. The charge that the data was faked is an explosive one that threatens to undercut the political legitimacy of the U.S. government’s economic data, which has long been seen as the “gold standard” of economic measurement globally. Economists and Wall Street investors have long accepted the data as free from political bias. Trump’s move to fire McEntarfer
“I love the joint and it has been there forever and so many people have been affected by it, but it is time to retire.” ART WILCOX, longtime owner of The Dungeon
The Dungeon stays in the family
represented another extraordinary assertion of presidential power. He has wielded the authority of the White House to try to control the world’s international trade system, media companies, America’s top universities and Congress’ constitutional power of the purse, among other institutions. “Firing the Commissioner … when the BLS revises jobs numbers down (as it routinely does) threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions, and all
ä See TRUMP, page 7A
Governor says Angola doesn’t have enough beds Executive order calls for shuttered facility to house violent offenders
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
The tiny door on Toulouse Street in the French Quarter opens to a narrow alley leading into The Dungeon. The sign above the door proclaims it ‘The Quarter’s most unique late nite spot.’
Denizens of the dark and spooky Tou- the Caracci family, which has owned the Legendary French Quarter louse Street haunt, which has been a fix- Dungeon building for decades. of the neighborhood since the late The development puts to rest, for now dive bar to operate under ture 1960s, need not worry about a new pro- at least, concern over the bar’s future. longtime owner’s son prietor spiffing up the place or turning it Earlier this month, word began spread-
into a daiquiri shop. Wilcox is passing the reins to his son, Damien Wilcox, who will continue to opStaff writer erate the Dungeon as-is for the foreseeThe Dungeon, a late-night French able future, according to an attorney for Quarter dive bar known for its Goth, the bar’s landlord. heavy-metal vibe, is getting a new opera“The lease is for years, not months, tor after its longtime owner, Art Wilcox, and he has options to renew,” said athas decided to retire. torney Stephen Bruno, who represents
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL
WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 79 PAGE 8A
ing in French Quarter night life circles that Art Wilcox was retiring when the Dungeon’s lease expires in November, and that the bar would close. Wilcox, reached by phone on Monday, confirmed he is retiring, saying, “I love the joint and it has been there forever
ä See DUNGEON, page 7A
Business ......................5B Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Classified .....................5D Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C Comics-Puzzles .....1D-4D Nation-World................2A
Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola doesn’t have enough beds to house violent offenders, Gov. Jeff Landry said in an executive order declaring a state of emergency that will allow the prison to swiftly reopen a notorious part of the facility that was shuttered due to significant safety concerns. The order, which took effect July 25 and will last until Aug. 23 unless extended, allows the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to suspend procurement and public bidding rules to hasten re- Landry pairs to Camp J, which was closed in 2018. The order indicates the state will transfer violent offenders “who require the highest degree of security” to Angola, but that Angola currently lacks adequate bed space to accommodate them. Camp J was once one of the most restrictive segments of Angola, used to discipline inmates who fought with weapons or otherwise committed serious offenses. It had four cell blocks that held more than 400 individual cells for solitary confinement. In the first seven months of 2017, dozens of weapons were found at Camp J, Landry’s executive order says. Within a year, about 85 corrections officers assigned to the complex resigned, retired or were fired “due to the complex challenges presented there.” Locks for cells in Camp J malfunc-
ä See ANGOLA, page 7A
12TH yEAR, NO. 355