- 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. Ingalls to graduate over 100 apprentice graduates
Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula will recognize its latest apprentice program graduates during a ceremony at the shipyard on March 16th. Ingalls will celebrate over 100 apprentice graduates.
These apprentice graduates have invested time in the classroom and shipyard to prepare them for a shipbuilding career. Ingalls leadership will provide remarks during the ceremony and acknowledge each of the graduating apprentices.
Since 1952, the Ingalls Apprentice School has produced more than 4,000 graduates in support of Ingalls’ operational needs. The Ingalls Apprentice School offers a total of 15 registered Department of Labor apprenticeship programs that involve comprehensive three to four-year curriculum for students interested in shipbuilding careers.
2. Gipson calls out legislation he says threatens State Fairgrounds events
According to Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, a pair of bills moving through the Mississippi Legislature are threatening to end a large number of events traditionally held at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds and the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum, both in Jackson, Mississippi.
House Bill 1357 and Senate Bill 2631 would restrict or prevent Fairgrounds and Ag Museum private event funds in the form of sponsorships, advertising and naming rights, sweeping private funds into the “control” of the State Legislature effective July 1. Currently, these voluntary private sector dollars fund Fairgrounds and Ag Museum operations, improvements, and repairs.
Gipson says the passage of these bills would threaten not only the existence of the Dixie National Rodeo and Livestock Shows, but also the Mississippi State Fair and livestock shows and all the sponsored Fair activities and sponsored Ag Museum activities in Jackson.
In addition, most other private events on the Fairgrounds would be in jeopardy or have services and facilities diminished because the Mississippi State Fair and Dixie National Rodeo pay most of the operational and repair costs of the State Fairgrounds.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Special Counsel Hur speaks on Biden investigation
Former Special Counsel Robert Hur testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, discussing his report on President Joe Biden’s handling of the classified documents. Hur’s report caused a stir when it pointed out the President’s issues with his memory.
“My assessment in the report about the relevance of the president’s memory was necessary and accurate and fair,” Hur said. “I did not sanitize my explanation nor did I disparage the president unfairly.”
Hur’s opening remarks are linked above.
2. Biden Administration sending $300 million in weapons to Ukraine
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the Biden Administration is sending up to $300 million in weapons to Ukraine, the first new aid package for the country since funding ran out in late December.
“The package, pulled together from money that Army accountants cobbled from savings from contracts that came in under bid, includes air defense interceptors, artillery rounds and armor systems, senior defense officials said. It was unclear whether the measure included longer-range missiles known as ATACMs,” NYT reported. “It is a stopgap measure at best, the officials said, but Ukraine is in dire need of air defense systems in particular, as Russia has continued its bombardment of towns particularly in the east.”
NYT noted that the makeshift solution would keep advancing Russian troops at bay for only a few weeks, one official said.
Sports & Entertainment
1. Saban participates in D.C. roundtable on future of college athletics
Former Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban sat on a roundtable in D.C. on Tuesday regarding current issues in college football, including NIL and the transfer portal. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz hosted the roundtable.
“All the things I believed in for all these years, 50 years of coaching, no longer exist in college athletics,” Saban said. “It was always about developing players. It was always about helping people be more successful in life. My wife even said to me, we have all the recruits over on Sunday with their parents for breakfast and she would always meet with the mothers and talk about how she was going to help impact their sons and how they would be well taken care of, and she came to me right before I retired and said, ‘Why are we doing this?’ and I said, ‘What do you mean?’ All they care about is how much you’re going to pay them. They don’t care about how you’re going to develop them which is what we’ve always done, so why are we doing this?”
Cruz held the roundtable discussion with some of the biggest names in college sports on the urgent need for Congress to find consensus and pass bipartisan legislation to codify name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights for student-athletes.
Watch the full event at the link above.
2. Southern Miss tops Alabama on Tuesday; Ole Miss wins, State loses
In Tuesday midweek college baseball action for the state’s Big 3, Southern Miss came away with the biggest win of the night on the diamond.
The Golden Eagles beat No. 14 Alabama at home in Hattiesburg by a score of 9-7, holding off a later rally by the Crimson Tide that fell short. Southern Miss is now 11-6 on the season.
Over in Louisiana, Ole Miss held on to beat ULM 5-3 to move to 13-5 on the year.
And down in Biloxi, Mississippi State lost 6-5 to South Alabama at the home of the Shuckers. The Bulldogs are now 12-5 on the season.
3. M-Braves hosting Southeastern High School Baseball Classic
The Mississippi Braves are hosting four high school teams at Trustmark Park for the 2024 Southeastern High School Baseball Classic, beginning on Friday afternoon.
The four-game, two-day event starts at 4:00 pm Friday and includes the top-ranked team in Mississippi, Lewisburg Patriots from Olive Branch, who is also ranked No. 5 in the MaxPreps National Top 25 baseball rankings.
The day’s initial matchup features the Oak Grove Warriors of Hattiesburg, taking on the Christian Brothers Purple Wave of Memphis, TN. At 6:30 pm, the evening concludes with Lewisburg taking on the Houston High School Mustangs of Memphis, TN.
The teams that come up short in Friday’s games will meet at noon on Saturday, with the winners battling for the site championship at 3:00 pm. The winner of Saturday’s championship game will advance to play at AdventHealth Stadium in Rome, Georgia, on March 22.
Markets & Business
1. Inflation comes in higher than expected
Inflation was stronger than expected in the latest Labor Department report released on Tuesday, coming in at 3.2% in February.
According to the Wall Street Journal, however, the uptick in inflation “did little to change expectations that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting rates later this year.”
“The second straight month of firmer-than-expected inflation is likely to reinforce the central bank’s wait-and-see posture toward rate reductions when officials meet next week. Still, officials are focused on when to cut rates—rather than whether to raise them again. Inflation has declined notably from 40-year highs following the most rapid rate increases in four decades,” WSJ reported.
2. CNBC breaks down inflation by catergory
CNBC released the chart below showing some of the core categories, plus other items with notable year-over-year price changes, from the latest inflation report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday.
