Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
1. OSHA cites Hattiesburg poultry processing plant
For the second time in just over two years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration says a poultry processing plant in Hattiesburg has disregarded safety standards that have led to a worker’s death, this time a 16-year-old sanitation worker who was pulled into a machine, federal safety investigators found.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that on July 14, 2023, a contract worker employed by Onin Staffing, LLC was performing a deep clean of the deboning area at the Mar-Jac Poultry MS, LLC plant. OSHA states that while sanitizing the still-energized machine, the teen was caught in the rotating shaft and sprockets and pulled in, sustaining fatal injuries. Investigators found that – despite a manager’s supervision in and around the area prior to and during the fatal incident – lockout/tagout procedures were not utilized to disconnect power to the machine and a lockout/tagout device was not used to prevent the machine from unintentionally starting during the cleaning.
“Mar-Jac Poultry is aware of how dangerous the machinery they use can be when safety standards are not in place to prevent serious injury and death. The company’s inaction has directly led to this terrible tragedy, which has left so many to mourn this child’s preventable death,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt Petermeyer in Atlanta.
OSHA cited Mar-Jac Poultry with 14 serious and three other-than-serious violations, and has has proposed $212,646 in penalties, an amount set by federal statute.
2. AG announces new pregnancy resource app
On Tuesday, Attorney General Lynn Fitch unveiled the free Mississippi Access to Maternal Assistance (MAMA) mobile app that connects pregnant women and mothers to private and public resources available across the state.
Since launching the MAMA website in October 2023, over 7,200 individuals have visited the site, the AG’s office said.
Like the website, the AG’s office said the new mobile app is designed with the goal of connecting mothers directly to the resources and services in three clicks or less. The mobile app, as well as website, is organized by nine categories, including pregnancy, adoption, health, food, goods, safety, child care, money and jobs.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Tax credit plan rolled out in Congress
A potential bipartisan tax agreement was announced on Tuesday as lawmakers seek to push the proposal through Congress over the coming weeks, perhaps by the end of January when tax filing begins in earnest. The agreement is being touted by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Rep. Jason Smith (R-Missouri).
The legislation titled The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 would “revive expired breaks for businesses and increase the child tax credit for low-income families,” as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The $78 billion plan would provide low-income households with more money from the child tax credit available this tax year while also retroactively reversing several business-tax changes for companies with interest costs, capital expenses and research spending.
2. Middle East tensions rising
Fears of turmoil spilling over from the Israeli-Hamas conflict are being realized. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have continued attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, prompting the U.S. to target dozens of locations throughout Yemen for air strikes. U.S. forces intercepted missiles heading to Yemen from Iran. Tehran has simultaneously launched offensives against targets in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.
3. Hutchinson ends presidential campaign
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson ended his campaign for the White House on Tuesday. The Republican was only able to muster a sixth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses on Monday.
Hutchinson’s Iowa tally fell well behind former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and Ryan Binkley. Binkley is a pastor who did not qualify for any of the five GOP debates.
Ramaswamy also dropped out of the contest following the Iowa results and has endorsed Donald Trump in his bid to retake the White House.
Sports & Entertainment
1. Saints fire three offensive assistants including the OC
New Orleans Saints Head Coach Dennis Allen announced that the team has parted ways with Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael, Senior Offensive Assistant Bob Bicknell and Wide Receivers Coach Kodi Burns.
“I would like to thank Pete, Bob and Kodi for their service to the New Orleans Saints and to this coaching staff,” said Allen. “These types of decisions are never easy to come to, but are necessary as we move forward.”
“I would especially like to thank Pete for his contributions to this staff for 18 seasons. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the job he has done and as a colleague.”
2. Shuckers hosting annual job fair
The Biloxi Shuckers, soon to be Mississippi’s only Double-A baseball team, will host their annual job fair at the ballpark on the Coast on Tuesday, January 23 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The Shuckers are looking for energetic, enthusiastic, friendly and dependable employees to join their gameday staff for the 2024 season.
Multiple gameday positions are open throughout the ballpark and those who attend will be able to apply and interview for positions.
Available positions include ushers, ticket takers, ticket sellers, access control, camera operators, press box production, official scorer, game day stringer, mascot, retail, grounds crew, bat boys/girls, entertainment team and on-field emcee. Interested applicants can visit the visitor’s clubhouse entrance to get an application form.
3. 75th Primetime Emmys draw small audience
On Monday, Fox hosted the 75th Primetime Emmys award show. The ratings were the worst in program history, with viewership down 27 percent since the 74th Emmys aired on NBC.
Markets & Business
1. Apple overtakes Samsung, Judge blocks JetBlue’s acquisition Spirit Airlines
While the iPhone reigns supreme in the U.S., globally Samsung smartphones have ruled the roost since 2011. New data, however, shows the iPhone surpassing Samsung with nearly 20 percent of the global smartphone market share.
JetBlue’s acquisition of Spirit Airlines was poised to create the fifth largest air carrier in the U.S. On Tuesday, a federal judge blocked the $3.8 billion merger after the Department of Justice argued that it would be anti-competitive to allow it. Judge William Young said the merger would harm price-conscious travelers. Spirit’s stock price plummeted by 47 percent in the wake of the decision, while JetBlue saw a bump of nearly 5 percent. An appeal of the decision is likely.
2. Stock Market remains in limbo as interest rates tick higher
A “Santa Claus” rally that closed 2023 has not carried over into the new year. While certain high flyers like chip processors Nvidia and AMD have continued to make new highs, the broader market has stalled, with many stocks retracing previous gains. Markets got optimistic for multiple interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2024, but those cuts have been called into question by Fed officials in recent days and interest rates have ticked higher. All three major market indexes, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq, are lower in futures trading.
3. Housing shortage eases
FoxNews reported on Tuesday that the number of homes for sale on the market rose for the second straight month in December as a severe housing shortage finally begins to ease.
“A new report from Realtor.com shows that the total number of homes for sale, including homes that were under contract but not yet sold, rose by 4.9% in December compared with the same time a year ago,” FoxNews reported. “It marked the second month since June 2023 that would-be homebuyers were able to see a larger number of unsold homes than compared with the same time last year.”
FoxNews noted that the housing inventory in the South surged by 7.7% in December when compared with the year-ago period.
“However, it was a different story elsewhere in the country. Inventory climbed just 0.2% in the Midwest, fell 8% in the Northeast and plunged 14.8% in the West,” the news outlet wrote.
