- 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. 28 to graduate from National Fire Protection course at State Fire Academy
The Mississippi State Fire Academy says 28 members will graduate from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1001 Firefighter I-II course held at the Mississippi State Fire Academy in Jackson.
Graduation will be held on campus in the Auditorium at 10:00am on Thursday February 22, 2024. The ceremony will be open to the public.
This intense seven-week course includes online, classroom, and hands-on instruction in the areas of fire behavior, fire suppression, rescue, incident command, hazardous materials, and other fire related topics. This course meets and exceeds the National Fire Protection Association for Firefighter Qualifications and the uniform minimum training standards stated in the Mississippi Code section 45-11-7.
2. Mississippi joins $1.5 million multistate securities settlement against Crypto Platform, TradeStation
Secretary of State Michael Watson and the Securities Division of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office have entered into a settlement with TradeStation Crypto, Inc. (TradeStation) to resolve Mississippi’s investigation into TradeStation’s crypto interest-earning program.
Announced Wednesday by the SOS, the $1.5 million multistate settlement, on behalf of 51 United States jurisdictions, is the result of a North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) task force of eight state securities regulators from Alabama, California, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Washington, and Wisconsin. The task force determined that during the offering period, TradeStation engaged in the unregistered offer and sale of securities via its crypto interest-earning program.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. DeSantis, Ramaswamy among possible Trump VP picks
During a Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” interview, the host posed a few names to Republican frontrunner and former President Donald Trump of those he may be considering as his running mate. Among those, who Trump said were all on his list, were:
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
- U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina
- Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy
- South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
- Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida
- Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii
All are Republican except Gabbard, who ran for President as a Democrat and has since turned independent.
Trump said the main quality he’s looking for in a VP pick is someone who would be a great President. Should he win another term, Trump would be term limited, meaning he could only serve four more years, leaving his potential VP as the future frontrunner for a Republican field that could be quite extensive.
2. Spending talks coming down to the wire once again
Congressional leaders are racing toward yet another budget deadline as a possible partial government shutdown could occur by next week.
According to Reuters, funding is due to run out on March 1 for some federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation, while others like the Defense Department face a March 8 deadline.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) have been working to find an agreement. However, on Wednesday, 28 Republican Freedom Caucus members in the House asked Johnson to abandon talks with Senate Democrats on bipartisan spending legislation to avoid a government shutdown and instead implement an automatic spending cut agreed to by his predecessor, according to Reuters.
A proposal for is expected in the coming days.
Sports & Entertainment
1. Ole Miss falls flat at Miss. State
Ole Miss men’s basketball went into The Hump on Wednesday night to face in-state rival Mississippi State in a key SEC contest as the NCAA Tournament nears, and the Rebels fell flat.
The Bulldogs, surging as of late in the SEC, beat the Rebels 83-71.
Mississippi State now sits at 7-6 in SEC play and 18-8 overall while the Rebels fell to 6-7 in SEC play and 19-7 overall.
2. Southern Miss picks up mid-week win on the diamond while State, Ole Miss get upset
Southern Miss baseball is off to a good start to the season, winning 2 out of 3 in their first series versus Marist and then besting Air Force on Monday. Wednesday night, the Golden Eagles stayed hot, topping UNO 15-10.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State, however, didn’t have as productive of an evening on Wednesday, with both teams being upset. The Rebels lost 4-2 to Arkansas State and the Bulldogs went down to Austin Peay 13-10.
Markets & Business
1. AT&T, other carriers hit with nationwide outages
According to NBC News, AT&T’s network suffered a widespread outage across the country Thursday morning with cellular service and internet down, according to the tracking site Downdetector.
In addition, NBC News reports that some Verizon and T-Mobile customers also reported outages, though theirs appeared to be less widespread than AT&T.
It’s unknown as to what caused the outages at this time.
2. JSU students selected to join FedEx’s third Student Ambassador Cohort
Two Jackson State University College of Business students have been selected to join the third cohort of the FedEx-HBCU Student Ambassador Program. The world’s largest express transportation announced that Mya Grimes, a sophomore, and Carter Smith, a junior, were chosen from JSU.
The program, launched in 2022 as part of an expanded five-year $5 million commitment to HBCUs, helps prepare students for the workforce after college. Students from eight HBCUs will gain exposure to FedEx leadership, team members, and unique learning experiences that help build leadership and career-ready skills.
