Magnolia Mornings: January 30, 2024

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. NASA Stennis marks engine tests as part of Artemis campaign to return to the moon

According to NASA, it has completed the sixth of twelve scheduled RS-25 engine certification tests in a critical series for future flights of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket as engineers conducted a full-duration hot fire January 27 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

NASA said the current series builds on previous hot fire testing conducted at Stennis to help certify production of new RS-25 engines by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company. The new engines will help power NASA’s SLS rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V.

NASA’s Artemis campaign looks to establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon and prepare for human expeditions to Mars.

2. Lee County woman becomes first million-dollar scratch-off lottery winner in Mississippi

WJTV reported on Monday that a Lee County woman walked away from the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters with the title of being the first millionaire winner from the $20 scratch-off game.

As reported by WJTV:

On Friday, January 26, the unidentified woman walked into Blue Sky #735 on North Gloster in Tupelo to purchase a few tickets. Noticing a woman in front of her purchase the $20 Jackson game, she decided to buy one, along with her normal Cash Pop purchase.

The woman scratched it a few hours later at work and was surprised that she had won one of the top prizes worth $1 million.

National News & Foreign Policy

1. SCOTUS to hear multiple high-profile cases including Trump’s eligibility

February 8th “marks a busy and high-stakes day” for former President Donald Trump’s political future, as the U.S. Supreme Court will hear this challenge to the Colorado dispute that kicked him off of the ballot over Section 3 of the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection” clause in reference to Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

According to the Washington Examiner, the Supreme Court’s docket was already packed as “justices plan to release one or more opinions on cases that have already been argued this term just minutes before oral arguments in the Colorado dispute commence.”

Some of those “precedent-setting case this term” include several challenges against executive agency authority, whether Texas and Florida can bar social media companies from censoring online content, a fight against a federal statute that prevents people under domestic violence restraining orders from owning a gun, and much more, the Washington Examiner notes.

Other cases of note, as outlined by the Washington Examiner, are whether a public official can block a constituent on social media and whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s direct funding from the Federal Reserve, not from Congress, is constitutional.

2. IRS leaker of Trump tax documents sentenced to 5 years in prison

Charles Littlejohn has been sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine for leaking IRS tax documents of former President Donald Trump and others to media outlets in 2019 and 2020.

Littlejohn was an IRS contractor who was charged with “unlawfully disclosing thousands of Americans’ federal tax returns and other private financial information to multiple news organizations,” the sentencing memo stated.

He pleaded guilty in October to one count of taking tax return information without authorization.

Sports & Entertainment

1. MSU women take down No. 9 LSU

A strong defensive effort late in the game helped the Mississippi State women’s basketball team upset No. 9 LSU on Monday. The Bulldogs won 77-73.

It was the first Mississippi State win against a Top 25 team since March 2020.

The Bulldogs are now 17-5 overall and 4-3 in SEC play.

2. Southern Miss running back Gore invited to NFL Combine

Southern Miss running back Frank Gore, Jr. has been invited to participate in the 2024 NFL Combine set for Thursday, February 29 until Sunday, March 3, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Gore finished his Southern Miss four-year career with 4,022 rushing yards, which is the third-most in Golden Eagle history, finishing only behind Damion Fletcher (5,302) and Ito Smith (4,538). He is one of only five Southern Miss running backs to rush for more than 1,000 yards in multiple seasons.

Markets & Business

1. First Mississippi Buc-ee’s could open sooner than expected

The state’s first Buc-ee’s, locating on the Mississippi Coast, could be opening sooner than expected.

Harrison County officials say the popular gas station and convenience store is likely to open by November of this year. The hope is that the chain will generate other business opportunities in the area.

The site construction has necessitated infrastructure improvements in the area around Menge Avenue. The Mississippi Department of Transportation expects that work to conclude in October.

2. Musk announced first human Neuralink implant

Elon Musk announced on X Monday that the first human received an implant from his startup Neuralink. He said the patient is recovering well.

“Initial results show promising neuron spike detection,” Musk wrote on X.

Neuralink is seeking to create a generalized brain interface to restore autonomy to those with unmet medical needs and “unlock human potential tomorrow.” The company says their brain-computer interface is fully implantable, cosmetically invisible, and designed to let the wearer control a computer or mobile device anywhere they go.

The company has said that the threads of the implant are so fine that it can’t be inserted by the human hand, meaning their surgical robot designed to reliably and efficiently insert these threads exactly where they need to be has been developed.