- 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. Gov. Reeves announces appointments to state agencies, boards
Governor Tate Reeves announced 8 appointments on Tuesday. Those individuals receiving appointments to state agencies and boards include:
- Dr. William J. “Bill” Ashley was appointed executive director of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
- Rhoshunda Kelly was reappointed commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Banking and Consumer Finance.
- Billye Jean Stroud was appointed to the Mississippi State Board of Education, representing the 3rd Supreme Court District.
- J. Matthew “Matt” Mayo was appointed to the Mississippi State Board of Education representing the First Supreme Court District.
- Donald Clark, Jr. was appointed to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, representing the First Supreme Court District. He replaces Chip Morgan.
- Jerry Griffith was appointed to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, representing the Second Supreme Court District. He replaces Tom Duff.
- James “Jimmy” Heidelberg was appointed to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, representing the Second Supreme Court District. He replaces Dr. Alfred McNair.
- Charles “Charlie” Stephenson was appointed to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, representing the Third Supreme Court District. He replaces Dr. J. Walt Starr.
All eight nominees will be submitted to the Mississippi Senate for confirmation.
2. Mississippi arrested for actions on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol riot
Donald Walker, 48, of Kosciusko, Mississippi, has been arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges related to his alleged conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Walker is charged in a criminal complaint filed in D.C. with a felony offense of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining and disorderly conduct in a restricted building or grounds and parading, picking, and demonstrating and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
He was arrested Monday and appeared in the Southern District of Mississippi.
In the 38 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,358 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 486 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Gag order placed on Trump in NY case
Reuters reports that former President Donald Trump was issued a judge’s gag order on Tuesday barring him from publicly commenting about witnesses and court staff ahead of his April 15 criminal trial involving hush money paid to a porn star.
“Justice Juan Merchan granted a request by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg…,” Reuters noted. “Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide reimbursements to his former lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to buy her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she claimed to have had with Trump a decade earlier.”
Trump’s campaign spokesman called the gag order unconstitutional.
2. Kennedy picks California activist as VP candidate
Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. has announced that California-based lawyer Nicole Shanahan is his pick for a running mate.
The vice presidential candidate is a lawyer with tech industry and abortion rights activism connections. Shanahan is the president of Bia-Echo Foundation that, among its focuses, advocates for criminal justice reform and environmental activism.
Sports & Entertainment
1. Big 3 mid-week baseball roundup
Here’s a rundown of how Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss baseball teams did on Tuesday:
- Ole Miss bested Austin Peay in Oxford by a score of 13-9 to move to 18-8 on the season. The Rebels will host Kentucky this weekend.
- Mississippi State took down Samford in 10 innings, winning 9-5. The Bulldogs are now 18-8 on the year. State will head to Gainesville to play Florida this weekend.
- Southern Miss topped Tulane 9-4 in Hattiesburg on Tuesday, putting the Golden Eagles back on track with a record of 16-9. USM will face Troy this weekend.
2. Saints, Pelicans get official credit union partner
At its annual membership meeting on Tuesday, Keesler Federal Credit Union announced that it is the Official Credit Union of the New Orleans Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans.
“This partnership is a perfect fit for Keesler Federal, and we are thrilled to become the only official credit union partner of these great teams,” Andy Swoger, Keesler Federal President and CEO said. “Our footprints in the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama markets align, and this partnership will allow us to expand our brand to the regional communities we serve and engage in community endeavors with these NFL and NBA organizations.”
Keesler Federal is not only the largest Mississippi-based credit union, but also one of the largest credit unions in the Southeast, serving customers for over 75 years.
Markets & Business
1. U.S. business executives meet with China’s President
CNBC reports that U.S. business leaders met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, the latest of Beijing’s efforts to bolster foreign investment in China amid tensions with the U.S.
CNBC says Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman, Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon, Bloomberg Chair Mark Carney and FedEx President Rajesh Subramaniam were among the attendees, according to state media.
“The executives and others from major international companies were in Beijing this week for the annual China Development Forum (CDF), which took place Sunday to Monday,” CNBC noted.
2. AI jobs paying high dollar
The Wall Street Journal reports that the fight for AI talent is getting fierce.
“Tech companies are serving up million-dollar-a-year compensation packages, accelerated stock-vesting schedules and offers to poach entire engineering teams to draw people with expertise and experience in the kind of generative AI that is powering ChatGPT and other humanlike bots. They are competing against each other and against startups vying to be the next big thing to unseat the giants,” WSJ reports.
Magnolia Tribune
