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Eight escape from jail in N. La.
WASHINGTON MARDI GRAS
‘Louisiana has the assets to be incredibly successful’
Four of the escapees were being held for Baton Rouge BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER
Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, speaks at the Economic Development Luncheon on Friday.
Commerce Secretary Lutnick sees bright future for state BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pointed to huge projects being developed in Louisiana and said the pieces are in place for the state to become the next generation’s economic powerhouse. “Great assets left in the INSIDE garage don’t produce anything. You need leadership. ä While in Washington, You need the talent. You need New Orleans Mayor drive,” Lutnick said in a luncheon at Washington Mardi Moreno gets chance to meet with President Gras on Friday. “Louisiana has the assets to be incredibly Trump. Page 7A successful.” ä Photos from Friday’s Gov. Jeff Landry said the activities in Washington. state’s energy economy and infrastructure is fueling that Page 7A growth. “For so long, our citizens have been used to bad news. They don’t know or they don’t believe because when they heard good news before, they didn’t believe it was sustainable,” Landry said.
Larry Allen, left, a former Washington Mardi Gras king from 2014, dances to the Treme Brass Band at a reception during Washington Mardi Gras on ä See ASSETS, page 6A Friday.
LIGO dodges significant budget cuts
BY MICHAEL BIESECKER, REBECCA SANTANA and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press
BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD
ä See LIGO, page 5A
WEATHER HIGH 37 LOW 19 PAGE 10A
ä See ESCAPE, page 5A
DOJ opens civil rights probe in Minn. killing
Staff writer
After facing possible steep budget cuts that could have shut down a Louisiana space observatory, scientists are breathing a sigh of relief after recently approved federal science funding exceeded earlier proposals. Scientists at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), tucked away in the piney woods of Livingston Parish, feared their operation detecting black holes would be shuttered after the
Eight inmates escaped the River Bend Detention Center in Lake Providence early Friday — including four being held for Baton Rouge, one a murder suspect who was still at large late in the day. By Friday afternoon, three of the eight had been recaptured. They were reported missing around 1:20 a.m. Friday, according to Louisiana State Police. Four of them were facing charges in East Baton Rouge Parish. “All fugitives are considered violent offenders. Do not approach under any circumstances. If you observe or have information regarding their whereabouts, contact law enforcement immediately,” LSP said in a statement Friday afternoon. At least four were being held on murder counts. Neither State Police nor the East Carroll Parish Sheriff’s Office has provided details on how the eight men escaped. Three of the inmates with charges in East Baton Rouge Parish have since been captured and returned to custody: 31-year-old Savon Wheeler, 27-year-old Hugo Molino and 29-year-old Trenton Taplin. Because of limited space at its aging prison, East Baton Rouge Parish regularly pays other parishes to hold its inmates, often those awaiting trial. According to a spokesperson for the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, a total of 454 inmates are kept at facilities outside of the parish. Of those, 381 are detained in East Carroll Parish. Taplin is facing charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. He was taken into police custody in 2020 in a shooting that killed 23-yearold Gary Fieldings and injured a 21-year-old woman. He has had multiple sanity hearings in the case, with another scheduled for April.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
Joseph A. Giaime, observatory head of LIGO Livingston, shows off the 4-kilometer long steel vacuum tubes that are shielded by concrete enclosures.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti, the Minneapolis resident killed Saturday by Border Patrol officers, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday. “We’re looking at everything that would shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to what happened,” Blanche said during a news conference. Blanche did not explain why
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the DOJ decided to open an investigation into Pretti’s killing, but has said a similar probe is not warranted in the Jan. 7 death of Renee Good, who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis. He said only on Friday that the Civil Rights Division does not investigate every law enforcement shooting and that there have to be circumstances and facts that “warrant an investigation.” “President Trump has said repeatedly, ‘Of course, this is something we’re going to investigate,’ ” Blanche said of the
ä See PROBE, page 5A
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