- 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. Refugees in Mississippi?
WJTV reported on Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center that compiled statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in Mississippi in February 2024.
Countries where refugees arrived from in February in Mississippi:
#1. Venezuela: 4
#2. Guatemala: 3
Since the start of the fiscal year in October 2023, Mississippi has accepted the most refugees from:
#1. Nicaragua: 6
#2. Eritrea: 4
#2. Venezuela: 4
#4. Guatemala: 3
#5. Sudan: 2
2. NEMCC Police Chief dies
WTVA is reporting that Northeast Mississippi Community College Police Chief Anthony Anderson has died as the age of 61.
“Prentiss County Coroner Greg Sparks says Anderson collapsed at the Northeast basketball game Saturday night. He was rushed to Baptist Memorial Hospital,” WTVA reported. “Sparks says it was a natural death.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Whatley, Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara named new RNC chair and co-chair
On Friday, the Republican National Committee voted to elected North Carolina GOP leader Michael Whatley as their new Chairman along with Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump as the new Co-Chair.
The move comes after Trump, the party’s frontrunner and eventual nominee for a third time, expressed the desire to make changes in RNC leadership while calling for then-chair Ronna McDaniel to step down, which she did when the RNC met in Houston.
Trump had backed both Whatley and his daughter-in-law for their posts, just as he did McDaniel seven years ago.
“In less than eight months, we are going to determine the fate of not only the United States but of the entire world,” Whatley told the RNC members. “And this body, the RNC, is going to be the vanguard of a movement that will work tirelessly, every single day to elect our nominee Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the United States, flip the Senate, expand our majority in the House of Representatives.”
In other news, Trump advisor Chris LaCivita is also moving to the RNC to oversee day-to-day operations.
2. Biden defense budget to slow shipbuilding, weapons programs
According to Reuters, President Joe Biden’s overall U.S. defense and national security budget request expected on Monday will be just 1% higher than last year, forcing a slowdown in spending on a wide range of programs and delaying efforts to rebuild weapons stocks depleted by wars in Ukraine and Israel.
“The $895 billion national security budget request, which includes funds for homeland security as well as nuclear weapons-related activities carried out by the Department of Energy, is the result of a two-year budget deal struck in mid-2023 that limited the budget to a 1% increase,” Reuters reported.
Among the programs to face delays include “slowing orders for an aircraft carrier made by Huntington Ingalls Industries and Virginia-class submarines made by Huntington and General Dynamics.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. Big 3 get series wins on the diamond
Southern Miss, Mississippi State and Ole Miss all had series wins on the diamond over the weekend.
The Golden Eagles took two of three from Louisiana Tech in Ruston, moving to 10-6 on the season.
State and Ole Miss both won all three in their contests are home in Starkville and Oxford, respectively. The Bulldogs took down Evansville while the Rebels bested Morehead State.
State is now 12-4 on the season and Ole Miss is 12-5.
2. Cox announces retirement
Former Mississippi State defensive lineman Fletcher Cox announced over the weekend that he would be retiring from the NFL.
The Yazoo City native has been with the Philadelphia Eagles for the last 12 years after being drafted No. 12 in the 2012 draft. Since then, he has been to 6 Pro Bowls.
“Growing up in Yazoo City, there aren’t many athletes who have a chance to compete at a professional level, let alone dream of becoming a World Champion,” Cox said in his announcement. “I’m proud to represent my hometown, the State of Mississippi, and Mississippi State University, but Philly has been my home for the last 12 years and will always hold a special place in my heart.”
Markets & Business
1. Dow has worst week since October
The Dow’s worst week since October leads to stock futures being down to start the week.
“U.S. stock futures fell on Monday, on track to extend last week’s losses as investors geared up for fresh inflation data,” CNBC noted. “Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dipped 75 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures each declined 0.1%.”
CNBC went on to note that “the 30-stock Dow slid 0.9% last week, notching its worst performance since October.”
2. Bitcoin hits record high
Bitcoin hits a record high on Monday morning, according to CNBC, “after the British financial watchdog said it would allow exchanges to list cryptocurrency-linked exchange-traded products for the first time.”
“Bitcoin’s price surged over 3% to $71,726.49 at around 4:30 a.m. ET, hitting a fresh all-time high. Ether climbed nearly 2%, to $4,014.90,” CNBC reported.
