TODAY’S PARADES SLIDELL: Poseidon, 6:30 p.m. l MARIGNY/FRENCH QUARTER: Krewe du Vieux, 6:30 p.m. maps, 2B
ICONIC ACTRESS CATHERINE O’HARA DIES AT 71 10A
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S at u r d ay, J a n u a ry 31, 2026
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A FRIDAY STROLL
WASHINGTON MARDI GRAS
Lutnick sees bright future for state
‘Louisiana has the assets to be incredibly successful’ 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 ecoINSIDE nomic powerhouse. “Great assets left in the garage don’t pro- ä While in town for duce anything. You Mardi Gras, New need leadership. You Orleans Mayor Moreno need the talent. You gets chance to meet need drive,” Lutnick said in a luncheon at with President Trump. Washington Mardi Page 7A Gras on Friday. “Loui- ä Photos from siana has the assets to Friday’s activities in be incredibly success- Washington. Page 7A ful.” Gov. Jeff Landry said the state’s energy economy and infrastructure is fueling that 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. Landry and Lutnick addressed the
ABOVE: Cellist Helen Gillet dances aboard her float in the Krewe Bohéme parade on Friday. The krewe marched and danced through the Marigny neighborhood and the French Quarter to the theme, ‘Midnight in the Garden of Absinthe’ with Gillet as the Supreme Green Fairy. RIGHT: Big Chief John Ellis, of the Original Wild Tchoupitoulas Mardi Gras Indians, sings and dances before the parade on Friday.
ä See ASSETS, page 6A
CARNIVAL 2026 INSIDE, 1B
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
NOLA.COM
Howard Lutnick, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, speaks at the Economic Development Luncheon on Friday.
NORD changes, expansion in the works
DOJ opens civil rights probe of Minn. killing BY MICHAEL BIESECKER, REBECCA SANTANA and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
BY JONI HESS
Associated Press
Staff writer
New Orleans’ public recreation department is on the verge of an overhaul shaped by Mayor Helena Moreno’s campaign promises to expand youth programs, improve park maintenance and bring new leadership to a historically underfunded city resource. And with the City Council’s approval this week of five new mayoral appointees to oversee the New Orleans Recreation and Development Commission, Moreno’s vision has begun to unfold, with changes aimed at making the troubled department function more efficiently.
ä See NORD, page 5A
WEATHER HIGH 38 LOW 25 PAGE 10A
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By yUKI IWAMURA
A photo of Alex Pretti is displayed during a vigil by nurses and their supporters outside VA Ny Harbor Healthcare System in New york on Thursday.
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
13TH yEAR, NO. 172