Magnolia Mornings: February 8, 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. Lottery transfers over $8.5 million to state

The Mississippi Lottery Corporation (MLC) has transferred $8,521,485.75 in net proceeds to the fund the Lottery Proceeds Fund in the Mississippi State Treasury for January 2024.

Fiscal Year-to-date, MLC has transferred $74,754,319.14 to the state.

According to the Alyce G. Clarke Lottery Law, the first $80 million is set aside for the Mississippi Department of Transportation while funds over that are directed to the Education Enhancement Fund.

2. $2.9 Million awarded to Mississippi fisheries for 2019 Bonnet Carré Spillway openings

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has awarded $2,993,283 in federal disaster relief funds to Mississippi’s shrimp and oyster fisheries, according to Senator Roger Wicker.

The funding is available because DOC declared a “commercial fishery failure” in 2020 after the repeated openings of the Bonnet Carré Spillway in 2019.

Wicker’s office says the state will distribute the funds to fishermen, aquaculture businesses, and seafood processors to help cover some of their losses.

National News & Foreign Policy

1. McDaniel looks to be leaving RNC

According to multiple reports, former President Donald Trump, the leading Republican candidate to win the party’s nomination, has met with Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel about her future with the party.

Trump said on Truth Social that he would “be making a decision the day after the South Carolina Primary as to my recommendations for RNC Growth.” That primary is February 24.

McDaniel has served as the RNC Chair since 2017 and was recently re-elected to a fourth term in January.

Based on Trump’s recent remarks regarding McDaniel, it appears he will make a push to replace her, saying to FoxNews this week, “I would say right now there’ll probably be some changes made.”

2. Netanyahu rejects ceasefire, moving Israeli forces further into Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas demands for a cease-fire and vowed to press ahead with Israel’s military offensive in Gaza until achieving what he called “absolute victory,” according to CBS News.

Netanyahu also said Israeli Defense Forces were preparing to move further into Gaza into the southern city of Rafah near the border of Egypt. Rafah is where many of the 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are fled since the Israeli response to the Hamas attack on October 7th began.

As CBS News reported, the Israeli Prime Minister said “agreeing to the terms proposed by Hamas, which has long been designated as a terror organization by Israel, Hamas and the European Union, would ‘invite another massacre.'”

Sports & Entertainment

1. Miss. State gets mid-week win over Georgia

Mississippi State defended their home court Wednesday night against Georgia, winning the match of the Bulldogs by a score of 75-62.

The Magnolia State Bulldogs now sit at 15-8 overall and 4-6 in SEC play.

State will head to Missouri next to face off with the Tigers this weekend. 

2. Southern Miss picked No. 2 in preseason Sun Belt baseball poll

The Golden Eagles were picked second in the preseason 2024 Sun Belt Conference poll in a vote by all 14 league schools that was released Wednesday afternoon.

Coastal Carolina got 12 of the 14 first-place votes to be picked to win the regular season crown.

Also, Southern Miss starting pitchers Niko Mazza and Billy Oldham have earned selection to the 2024 Sun Belt Conference preseason team.

The Golden Eagles open their 2024 season next Friday, Feb. 16, against Marist at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg.

Markets & Business

1. Billionaire donors behind Biden’s action against LNG terminals

A Wall Street Journal report says charities controlled by members of the Rockefeller family and billionaire donors were key funders of a successful campaign to pressure President Biden to pause new approvals of liquefied natural gas exports from the U.S. 

“The Rockefellers, along with other wealthy donors including the philanthropy of Michael Bloomberg, have provided millions of dollars in recent years to front-line environmental groups that are campaigning against fossil-fuel projects, including LNG terminals that have been proposed on the Gulf Coast, according to people familiar with the effort,” WSJ reported Thursday morning.

Read more on how these groups funded and lobbied community leaders are every level of government over the last few years leading up to Biden’s recent action here.

2. California’s forced minimum wage hike could cost businesses, consumers

Savvy Dime is reporting that as California’s minimum wage increase for many fast-food employees is set to take effect in April of this year, many business owners in the state are worrying about how they are going to pay for these forced wage hikes, with some threatening to cut worker hours or raise menu prices to compensate. 

The outlet says customers who are already weary from high inflation rates are surely dislike the increased prices at their local fast-food chains. Restaurant Business Magazine reported that prices have risen as much as 30% on menu items since 2019 in the United States.    

“With prices rising in such a short time, people may start abandoning fast food altogether for other options. If there are no jobs for people to work at, then it doesn’t matter what the minimum wage is for fast food workers,” Savvy Dime notes.