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Tangipahoa explosion prompts evacuation
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday opened the door to lowering interest rates in the coming months.
Powell signals Fed may cut rates
Inflation risks remain despite possible move BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP economics writer
PHOTO PROVIDED By TANGIPAHOA PARISH SHERIFF’S OFFICE
A fire rages Friday at the Smitty’s Supply Inc. oil and lubricants plant near Roseland. The complex is known to store a variety of highly flammable products, according to state regulatory papers.
Former governor among evacuees near plant in Roseland BY DAVID MITCHELL and WILLIE SWETT
Staff writers
An explosion and raging fire at a plant in Tangipahoa Parish known to store highly flammable products prompted an evacuation order within a mile radius on Friday, affecting an elementary school and former Gov. John Bel Edwards, while firefighters battled the towering blaze. An aerial photograph from local authorities showed a portion of the facility in the small community of Roseland engulfed in flames with a dark black plume rising above it. Gov. Jeff Landry said his office was closely monitoring the situation. Firefighters battled the blaze for hours after it was reported just before 1:20 p.m., but by late Friday afternoon, parish
officials couldn’t yet estimate when it would be brought under control. No injuries had been reported. “This is one of the worst things that has happened to our community,” Roseland Mayor Van L. Showers said at the Amite Community Center, which had been set up as a shelter. He added that he was focused on making sure the town’s 960 residents who evacuated have a place to stay. On the steps outside the center, a pastor led a prayer as residents wearing white masks bowed their heads. The plume of smoke could be seen from there, located several miles away, and the air was acrid. School officials evacuated nearby Roseland Elementary
Shaq to invest in new LSU arena He says BR deserves facility, vouches for developer
BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER
Staff writer
Former LSU basketball player, four-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal will invest in the proposed new arena on the LSU campus. “LSU and Baton Rouge deserve a worldclass arena and I’m very excited to endorse Oak View Group’s plan,” O’Neal said in a statement Friday. “I look forward to becoming the first investor to help bring this new venue to Baton Rouge and LSU.”
ä See ARENA, page 5A
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STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Louisiana State Police block off U.S. 51 as smoke rises from ä See EXPLOSION, page 4A Smitty’s Supply Inc. in Roseland on Friday.
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday opened the door ever so slightly to lowering a key interest rate in the coming months but gave no hint on the timing of a move and suggested the central bank will proceed cautiously as it continues to evaluate the impact of tariffs and other policies on the economy. In a high-profile speech closely watched at the White House and on Wall Street, Powell said that there are risks of both rising unemployment and stubbornly higher inflation. Yet he suggested that with hiring sluggish, the job market could weaken further. “The shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance,” he said, a reference to his concerns about weaker job gains and a more direct sign that the Fed is considering a rate cut than he has made in previous comments. Still, Powell’s remarks suggest the Fed will proceed carefully in the coming months and will make its rate decisions based on how inflation and unemployment evolve. The Fed has three more meetings this year, including next month, in late October, and in December, and it’s not clear whether the Fed will cut at all those meetings. “The stability of the unemployment rate and other labor market measures allows us to proceed carefully as we consider changes
ä See POWELL, page 5A
Deal furthers plan for wetlands restoration next week and as coastal ‘Hurricane highway’ advocacy groups press the Army Corps of Enproject still needs U.S. gineers to move forward to be funded on the plan for the Missis-
BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer
An agreement signed Friday by federal and state officials could help advance a stalled plan to restore wetlands destroyed by a notorious southeast Louisiana shipping channel labeled a “hurricane highway” after Katrina, but money must still be approved for the STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD work. The deal comes with the A rock dam stretches across the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet near 20th anniversary of Hurrithe Breton Sound Marina. cane Katrina approaching
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sippi River Gulf Outlet, or MRGO. The agreement was signed by the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Corps, a statement from both agencies said. The original plan in 2012 aimed to restore and protect around 57,000 acres of wetlands and coastal habitat. It was estimated to cost $3 billion at the time, though the first phase addressed in Friday’s agreement alone amounted to $1.3 billion. The
ä See WETLANDS, page 4A
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