- 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. Severe weather possible in most of Mississippi
Severe weather is moving across the state, with possible golf ball size hail, high winds up to 60-70 mph, and tornadic activity in its path.
The front began to push through late Thursday and is expected to continue throughout the day on Friday.
All Mississippians are encouraged to stay weather aware.
2. “Goon Squad” to be sentenced next week
The “Goon Squad” – six former law enforcement officers who pled guilty to torturing two black man – are set for sentencing next week.
According to court documents, U.S. District Judge Tom Lee rescheduled the hearings for the former officers to the following dates:
- Hunter Elward and Jeffrey Middleton – March 19
- Christian Dedmon and Daniel Opdyke – March 20
- Joshua Hartfield and Brett McAlpin – March 21
Attorney Trent Walker told WJTV on Thursday that the sentencing is up to the judge, but based on what it is that they pled guilty to, as well as the circumstances of the beating and torture, he’s “certain that there will be prison time for everybody.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Schumer calls for election in Israel to replace Netanyahu
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat on Capitol Hill, made waves on Thursday when he said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has lost his way” and called for new elections in Israel aimed at choosing a new government.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Schumer said Netanyahu is “allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel” in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday, adding that Israel “cannot hope to succeed as a pariah opposed by the rest of the world.”
“His speech is the latest in a series of high-level warnings and White House moves aimed at pressuring Israel and Netanyahu’s government to permit more humanitarian aid into Gaza and to rethink its war plans for Hamas, the U.S.-designated terror group whose bloody Oct. 7 attack on Israel sparked the war,” WSJ reported. “The address also marked an unusually direct criticism of the democratically elected leader of a close ally, and sparked sharp pushback from congressional Republicans and from Israel’s ambassador to the U.S.”
2. Sotomayer, Barrett jointly promote civility in debate
The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that U.S. Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Sonia Sotomayor, ideological opposites, “have teamed up to promote the art of disagreeing without being nasty about it.”
The two spoke at the National Governors Association in February and at a conference of civics educators this week, saying in their message that “the need for civil debate has never been greater than it is in these polarized times,” according to the LA Times, pointing to the model used at the nation’s high court.
“The justices’ appearances hark back to the traveling road show conservative Antonin Scalia and liberal Stephen G. Breyer put on 15 or so years ago. But Breyer and Scalia cheerfully debated their different approaches to the law. Barrett and Sotomayor acknowledge they see things differently but instead focus on their determination to disagree civilly,” the LA Times noted.
Sports & Entertainment
1. Miss. State advances in SEC Tournament play
Mississippi State men’s basketball team found its way in the second half on Thursday in the SEC Tournament, defeating LSU 70-60.
The Bulldogs are back in action on Friday in Nashville as they are set to play top-seeded Tennessee at Noon.
The win versus LSU on Thursday could likely have been enough for Mississippi State to receive an NCAA Tournament bid.
2. Ole Miss ends regular season with loss to Texas A&M in SEC Tournament
Ole Miss took on Texas A&M in the SEC men’s basketball Tournament on Thursday evening, falling 80-71.
The Rebels went on a 10-0 run late in the second half to pull within three but the Aggies held on for the opening round conference tournament win.
Ole Miss ends its 2024 regular season with a record of 20-12 overall and 7-11 in the SEC.
Markets & Business
1. Mnuchin to buy TikTok?
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has long called for TikTok to banned if the Chinese Communist government owned or had a stake in it, told CNBC Thursday that he was putting together a group to possibly purchase the the app.
“I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin said on CNBC Thursday morning. “It’s a great business and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok.”
Mnuchin’s comments come after the U.S. House voted Wednesday to ban the app in the U.S. if parent company ByteDance doesn’t divest itself of the business. The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration.
2. Four-day, 32-hour work week proposed by Sanders
NBC News is reporting that Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders is pushing a bill to reduce the standard U.S. workweek to four days without loss of pay.
“The bill, titled the ‘Thirty-Two Hour Work Week Act,’ would reduce the standard workweek from 40 to 32 hours over the span of four years, including lowering the maximum hours required for overtime compensation for nonexempt employees,” NBC reported. “It would also require overtime pay at time and a half for workdays that last more than eight hours and overtime pay that would pay workers double their regular pay if their workday is longer than 12 hours.”
Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House by California Democratic Congressman Mark Takano.
The legislation is unlikely to gain real traction in either chamber.
Magnolia Tribune
