WINTER STORM BRINGS SNOW, COLD ACROSS MUCH OF U.S. 10A
N O L A.C O M
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S u n d ay, J a n u a ry 25, 2026
Strengthened Carnival security back this year
$2.50X
MINNEAPOLIS
road barriers, National Guard, drones part of law enforcement plan
Federal agent shoots, kills man during protests as tensions escalate, Minnesota deploys National Guard to scene
BY JACK BROOK, STEVE KARNOWSKI and REBECCA SANTANA associated Press
StaFF PhotoS By DaVID GrUNFeLD
Concrete barriers line lower St. Charles avenue in New orleans on Friday. In addition to barriers, several hundred federal agents, local officers, state troopers and deputies from a number of sheriff’s offices will fan out on street corners and along parade routes citywide during the peak of Carnival. BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
The specter of the Bourbon Street terrorist attack loomed over last year’s Carnival season. Armored vehicles flanked parade routes. St. Charles Avenue’s Uptown-bound lanes featured an obstacle course of road barriers. Drones buzzed overhead, and agents in tactical gear kept watch on the ground. This year, New Orleans officials say that level of security is here to stay. At least several hundred federal agents, local officers, state troopers and deputies from a slew of Louisiana sheriff’s offices will fan out on street corners and along parade routes citywide during the peak of Carnival in February. The expanded law presence will include Coast Guard patrol boats on the Mississippi River, police dogs, nuclear and biological weapon detection teams and drones. The stiff law enforcement presence will be most visible for a six-day period in midFebruary when the feds have granted New Orleans a Special Event Assessment Rating 1, the city’s interim Homeland Security director, Richard Chatman, said this week. The designation unlocks the greatest amount of resources and most involved federal planning that local municipalities can receive for big events. “You’re likely going to see some armored vehicles staged,” said Eric DeLaune, former special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations‘ New Orleans Field Office, who led the federal planning for last year’s Carnival season. “You’ll see tactical personnel,” DeLaune said. “Drones in the air. You’re going to see canines out, bomb-sniffing dogs, in different locations. You’re probably going to see a heavier uniform presence from LSP, NOPD and partner state and local agencies.”
ä See SECURITY, page 3A
Weather HIGH 67 LOW 27 PaGe 8B
Krewes cope with tariffs from imported throws Some choose higher-quality items; some must pass costs to riders BY DOUG MacCASH
Staff writer
If there’s one industry in Louisiana that’s been worried about sky-high tariffs on Chinese goods, it’s the Mardi Gras industrial complex. Dread spread among throw importers and parading organizations last year, after President Donald Trump’s ongoing tariff threats reached a stratospheric 145% in April. Although New Orleans krewes have been evolving toward more sustainable and ecofriendly throws, the new taxes could have more than doubled the costs of custom beads and baubles that Crescent City crowds still count on catching. If the cost of those items soared,
would float riders be willing to pay more? Would they simply throw less? Were the tariffs here to stay? Nobody knew. And there was no time to wait: Orders had to be placed with overseas manufacturers in time for Fat Tuesday. In a city where Carnival is a crucial part of the collective cultural identity, this was a purple, green and gold existential crisis, if there ever was one. But after much hand-wringing and strategizing, New Orleans krewes say they have found solutions so that those of us shouting “throw me something mister” from the curbs won’t notice any change from previous years. “We were scrambling,” said Alyssa Fletchinger Higgins, proprietor of the Plush Appeal Carnival supply store. Orders had to be placed with foreign manufacturers months in advance of Carnival 2026, but the tariffs would only be imposed when the goods reached ports in the United States.
ä See THROWS, page 3A
MINNEAPOLIS — A federal immigration officer shot and killed a man Saturday in Minneapolis, drawing hundreds of protesters onto the frigid streets and ratcheting up tensions in a city already shaken by another fatal shooting weeks earlier. Family members identified the man who was killed as Alex Pretti, a 37-yearold intensive care unit nurse ä Man killed who had protested President in Minneapolis Donald Trump’s immigration was ICU nurse, crackdown in his city. After the family says. shooting, an angry crowd gathered and protesters clashed with PaGe 5a federal immigration officers, who wielded batons and deployed flash bangs. The Minnesota National Guard was assisting local police amid growing protests at the direction of Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, officials said. Guard troops were sent to both the shooting site and to a federal building where officials have squared off with protesters daily. Information about what led up to the shooting was limited, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that federal officers were conducting an operation and fired “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached them and “violently resisted” when officers tried to disarm him. The officer who shot the
ä See MINNEAPOLIS, page 4A
Reinsurers’ profits could lead to relief for La. homeowners It’s not yet clear how large rate decreases could be
BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer
a customer shops for Mardi Gras items at Plush appeal in New orleans on Friday. Some Mardi Gras krewes are adapting their throws to overcome high tariffs and sustain tradition.
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Business ......................1E Classified ..................... 2F Deaths .........................3B Living............................1D
After years of losses, fortunes have changed in boardrooms in Bermuda and London. Reinsurers, who backstop the global insurance industry, are seeing healthy profits. An extraordinary spate of wildfires, hurricanes and other disasters wreaked havoc on the reinsurance industry for several years, spurring wide-reaching effects that included surging insurance bills for Louisiana homeowners. Reinsurers charged higher prices to homeowners insurance companies, which got passed along to customers. The steep increases in Louisiana thrust the state into an insurance crisis that’s hollowing out hurricane-prone communities and softening the real estate market.
ä See REINSURERS, page 6A
Metro ...........................1B Nation-World................2A opinion ........................6B Sports ..........................1C
13th year, No. 166