TULANE HAS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY AGAINST OLE MISS 1C
N O L A.C O M
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T h u r s d ay, s e p T e m b e r 18, 2025
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Federal Reserve cuts key interest rate Quarter-point reduction first this year; two more projected BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP economics writer
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point Wednesday and projected it would do so twice more this year as concern grows at the central bank about the health of the nation’s labor market.
The move is the Fed’s first cut since December and it lowered its short-term rate to about 4.1%, down from 4.3%. Fed officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, had kept their rate unchanged this year as they evaluated the impact of tariffs, tighter immigration enforcement, and other Trump administration policies on inflation and the
economy. Yet the central bank’s focus has shifted quickly from inflation, which remains modestly above its 2% target, to jobs, as hiring has ground nearly to a halt in recent months and the unemployment rate has ticked higher. Lower interest rates could reduce borrowing costs for mortgages, car loans
and business loans, and boost growth and hiring. “In this less dynamic and somewhat softer labor market, the downside risks to employment appear to have risen,” Powell said at a news conference following the Fed’s two-day meeting. Fed officials also signaled that they expect to reduce their key rate twice more this year, but just once in 2026. Before the meeting, investors on Wall Street had pro-
Stolen statue turns up in pieces
jected five cuts for the rest of this year and next. Stocks initially rose following the release of the projections, which seemed to support Wall Street’s widespread expectation for more cuts to interest rates. Such moves can give the economy a kickstart, and stock prices had already run to records on the bet that several cuts are on the way.
ä See RATE, page 7A
N.O. misses key Super Bowl bid deadline Saints, state officials working to finalize Superdome lease
BY ANTHONY MCAULEY, TYLER BRIDGES and JEFF DUNCAN Staff writers
miscreant might get caught — and the rare, precious statue could possibly be returned. Kelly was right. Last week Lincoln came back home, but not in the condition he had hoped. Heartbreakingly, the stunning little statue had been brutally carved up into chunks, a decapitated torso and other odd shapes. It was far beyond repair. The artwork that was stolen in
New Orleans has missed a key NFL deadline in its bid to host Super Bowl LXV at the Caesars Superdome in 2031, jeopardizing the city’s chance to secure the game as the Saints and state officials work to finalize the team’s long-term stadium lease. Owners of the NFL’s 32 teams gathered in New York this week for the league’s fall meetings, and on Tuesday, the Fan Engagement & Major Events Advisory Committee met to review city proposals for hosting the league’s major events, including the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft, before recommendations go to the full ownership. The Saints had planned to submit New Orleans’ bid for the 2031 game. But Saints spokesperson Greg Bensel said the team was unable to do so because a lease extension with the state of Louisiana, which owns the stadium, has not yet been finalized beyond 2030. As such, New Orleans isn’t on the short list of potential host cities that will go to a full vote of owners sometime later this year. “Unfortunately, the Super Bowl committee did meet yesterday and our city cannot advance as an option to bid on future Super
ä See STATUE, page 7A
ä See DEADLINE, page 7A
PHOTO PROVIDED By KEVIN KELLy
The sculpture of Abraham Lincoln by Gutzon Borglum was cut to pieces by thieves hoping to sell it for the price of the silver it was made from.
Parts of silver sculpture of Lincoln taken from Houmas House found in pawnshops BY DOUG MACCASH
ply walked onto the plantation property, found a small stone statue of a dog outside the 19th-century building, used it to bash It was Sunday, Sept. 7, when Kevin in a window, grabbed Lincoln through the Kelly, owner of the Houmas House plan- broken glass and fled. If the thief was a crazed art lover who’d tation between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, learned that his antique, solid sil- kidnapped the 16th president for his or ver statue of Abraham Lincoln had been her own secret collection, Kelly said, he stolen. The foot-tall Lincoln sat pensively knew he’d never see the statue again. But on a bench, stovepipe hat by his side, the if the burglar intended to fence the glintweight of history on his shoulders, when ing Lincoln on the black market, or sell suddenly, a nearby window shattered. it for its value as 64 pounds of precious As Kelly explained, a thief had sim- metal — an estimated 46 grand — the Staff writer
Cleanup costs soar after massive plant fire in Tangipahoa Smitty’s faces lawsuits in wake of explosion
BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer
Three weeks since Smitty’s Supply in Roseland caught fire and exploded, the bill for the lead response agency is already in the tens of millions of dollars and may rise, officials said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set aside at least $39 million and is seeking more through
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federal emergency petroleum spill money, an agency spokesperson said. The rising EPA numbers, which don’t include additional local and state costs, provide a measure of the environmental impact of the huge fire that started Aug. 22 and took more than two weeks to fully extinguish. The new figure represents a sharp rise in the cost of the response, which earlier this month was involving as many as 261 EPA staffers and contractors and 20 local officials. The fire at the lubricants plant off U.S. 51 sent up a large black plume
that rained down soot as far as 15 miles away, forced a 1-mile evacuation for a few days and spilled millions of gallons of chemicals into local ditches, ponds and nearly 50 miles of the Tangipahoa River. Potentially a responsible party for the fire, Smitty’s is not paying for response efforts undertaken by the EPA. In a late August report, the EPA said it had taken over the response on Aug. 24 and shifted away from counting on the company due to “financial solvency
PHOTO PROVIDED By LOUISIANA STATE POLICE
ä See CLEANUP, page 8A Smitty’s Supply caught fire and exploded on Aug. 22.
Business ......................6A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
13TH yEAR, NO. 37