- 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 this afternoon, evening across Mississippi
MEMA is warning Mississippians of a chance of severe storms on Tuesday that could cover the entire state, saying the risk increases in North Mississippi, especially around Corinth.
See the graphics above for potential impacts and locations, as shared by MEMA on Monday.
2. Starkville’s Jennifer Jeffries makes it into American Idol’s Top 24
Starkville native Jennifer Jeffries, 17, has made it into American Idol’s Top 24.
The announcement came Monday night on the ABC reality show as the judges – Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan – selected the singers moving forward in the competition.
Jeffries, who also writes music, has impressed the judges each time she has performed this season. She and her fellow participants are on their way to Hawaii for the show’s next airing on Sunday and Monday night when America gets to vote on who they want to move forward.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump posts $175 million bond
Former President Donald Trump, the eventual Republican nominee for President again this year, posted a $175 million bond on Monday related to his New York case related to his business practices in the state.
The move halts collection of the over $450 million judgement in the case and stops the state from moving forward in seizing his assets.
The bond is a guarantee made to the court that Trump will pay the judgement if the ruling is allowed to stand on appeal. Should Trump win the appeal, the money will be returned.
2. Top Iranian commander killed in airstrike in Syria
A top Iranian commander and several diplomats were killed Monday in an airstrike that leveled a building in Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus, according to Reuters as reported by USA Today. Media outlets are reporting that Israel is responsible for the strike.
“Israel has not commented, in keeping with its practice in other high-profile strikes against Iran and its proxies. Attacks from Iranian-backed militants in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen have increased markedly since the Oct. 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war,” USA Today reported.
Among those reported as dead is Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
Iran has vowed a response to the “same magnitude and harshness.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. Hubbard returning to Mississippi State
A simple social media post meant a ton to Mississippi State basketball fans on Monday.
Bulldog standout Josh Hubbard announced on X that he would be returning to Starkville, forgoing entering the transfer portal this off season.
Hubbard posted on X Monday, “let’s run it back Starkvegas, year 2 loading…”
2. Women’s Final Four set
The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four is now set after UCONN defeated USC and Iowa defeated LSU on Monday night.
The Women’s Final Four matchup will be North Carolina State versus South Carolina and UCONN versus Iowa.
It’s the first time in NCAA Tournament history that two schools have both a men’s and women’s team in the Final Four. They are UCONN and North Carolina State.
Markets & Business
1. Dollar General, Family Dollar locations point to expansion, contraction
The Wall Street Journal reports that America’s two leading dollar-store chains are heading in opposite directions, with one discounter – Dollar General – expanding aggressively while its rival – Family Dollar – contracts. WSJ says the difference comes down largely to the choice of real estate.
As WSJ notes, Dollar General stores, which recently announced an expansion of 800 locations, “are located predominantly in rural areas where they usually face little competition.” On the other hand, Family Dollar stores, closing 600 locations this year, “are concentrated in more expensive urban and suburban areas, where a variety of discounters compete for market share.”
“Even with Family Dollar’s shrinking footprint, the dollar-store sector is expected to add thousands of stores in the coming years as demand remains strong for low-price essentials,” WSJ notes.
2. Bee colonies booming
A Washington Post analysis asks, “Where in the unholy heck did all these bees come from?!”
“After almost two decades of relentless colony collapse coverage and years of grieving suspiciously clean windshields, we were stunned to run the numbers on the new Census of Agriculture (otherwise known as that wonderful time every five years where the government counts all the llamas): America’s honeybee population has rocketed to an all-time high,” writes Andrew Van Dam in WP, adding that almost a million bee colonies have been added in the past five years.
“Much of the explosion of small producers came in just one state: Texas,” he writes in WP. “The Lone Star State has gone from having the sixth-most bee operations in the country to being so far ahead of anyone else that it out-bees the bottom 21 states combined.”
