Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
JXN Water provides water system update for capital city
On Sunday, JXN Water announced the capital city’s water system is showing signs of stabilization with better pressure, lower water use and water production keeping up with demand.
Some 12,000 customers in south and west Jackson remain under a boil water notice. Water testing continues in hopes of lifting this notice early in the week once test results verify the lift.
JXN Water says a handful of customers in areas with higher elevation have extremely low pressure or perhaps still no pressure as of Sunday morning. New leaks are estimated at putting 2.5 million gallons of demand on the system.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. DeSantis drops out of Presidential race
On Sunday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he was ending his presidential bid, just two days ahead of the New Hampshire Republican Primary.
In his message – shown below – DeSantis said it’s clear to him that a majority of Republican voters want to give former President Donald Trump another chance. DeSantis endorsed Trump, saying the GOP can’t go back to the past with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
DeSantis finished second in the Iowa caucuses last week.
2. South Carolina Senator Scott proposes to girlfriend
South Carolina Republican U.S. Senator Tim Scott has proposed to his girlfriend. Mindy Noce. The former presidential candidate made the announcement on X on the weekend.
Scott is rumored to be among the potential candidates under consideration to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate in the 2024 cycle.
Sports & Entertainment
1. NFC, AFC Championship games set
The NFL season is down to four teams vying to make a trip to the Super Bowl.
On the NFC side, the Detroit Lions will meet the San Francisco 49ers next week. The Lions defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday 31-23 while the 49ers held off the Green Bay Packers on Saturday for a 24-21 win.
In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs are back in the title game next week with the Baltimore Ravens waiting in the wings. The Chiefs held off the Buffalo Bills Sunday for a 27-24 win. The Ravens easily beat the Houston Texans on Saturday 34-10.
The conference championship games will get underway next Sunday, January 28th.
2. Ole Miss falls, Miss. State wins on Saturday
Ole Miss suffered their lost loss of the season so far at the hands of the Auburn Tigers on Saturday. Nothing fell for the Rebels in the 82-59 loss. The Tigers now sit atop the SEC while the Rebels are 2-3 in conference play. The Rebels are now 15-3 overall.
As for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, they, too, are 2-3 after a weekend 68-55 win over Vanderbilt. State is now 13-5 on the season.
3. Southern Miss sitting at 2nd in SunBelt
Southern Miss men’s basketball pulled off the largest comeback win at Reed Green Coliseum and the third-largest comeback win ever on Saturday as the Golden Eagles took down Troy in a 64-63 win.
The Eagles are now second in the SunBelt Conference at 5-2 (11-8 overall) behind Appalachian State.
Markets & Business
1. Chineses auto parts maker in Ohio raided by Homeland Security
UPI News is reporting that U.S. Department of Homeland Security officers have searched a Chinese auto parts maker that a congressional committee has accused of trade fraud.
“DHS officers executed the search warrant at Harco Manufacturing Group in Moraine, Ohio, on Thursday, according to the Dayton Daily News. Harco is a subsidiary of Sunsong, the Chinese parts manufacturer. Sunsong acquired Harco in 2015,” UPI reported.
According to Axios and Bloomberg, there is growing concern among U.S. lawmakers that some Chinese companies are evading U.S. tariffs.
2. Stock futures up to start the week
CNBC is reporting that stock futures are up to start the week this Monday morning as investors looking to build on the S&P 500′s fresh all-time high from Friday.
“Futures tied to the benchmark S&P 500 added 0.4%, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 74 points, or 0.2%,” CNBC notes, adding, “Stocks roared back to life on Friday after losing ground earlier in the week.”
According to the report, the S&P 500 broke both its intraday and closing record from January 2022, ending the day at 4,839.81.
