Magnolia Mornings: May 17, 2024

• 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 expected in Mississippi through Saturday

MEMA is warning of severe weather Thursday through Saturday, with some breaks in between storms.

“It’s important to note that beginning today through Saturday (May 18), most of the state could experience heavy rainfall and flash flooding up to 4 inches in some areas. Throughout the next few days, Mississippians should remain weather aware as forecasts could change,” MEMA stated on social media.

2. State Auditor investigating unemployment compensation fraud

In a release from the State Auditor’s office on Thursday, Auditor Shad White announced that his office has been conducting a detailed investigation into unemployment compensation fraud called Operation Payback and has secured their first indictment associated with the operation.

“My office found that during COVID, Mississippi handed out over half a billion dollars in illegal unemployment compensation payments,” said White. “It’s tragic to think about what that money could have gone to instead. And much of it went to out-of-state fraudsters that we’ll never catch. But for the criminals who can be identified, we’re going to drop the hammer.”

Operation Payback is different from most other investigations in the State Auditor’s office because of a unique data analytics tool that auditors used. With advanced machine learning, auditors were able to track some of the misspent unemployment funds and identify suspicious activity.

“For example, advanced software tools combed millions of unemployment compensation payments and identified perpetrators who may have close associations,” said White. “When we dug into these, it was obvious some had conspired to defraud the system.”

National News & Foreign Policy

1. Biden asserts executive privilege over Special Counsel interview audio

The Wall Street Journal reports that President Joe Biden has asserted executive privilege over the audio of his two-day interview with the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents. The move comes as Republicans in the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to provide the recordings.

“The Justice Department has released transcripts but not the audio of Biden’s interview last fall with special counsel Robert Hur, who concluded the president mishandled classified material but found no criminal charges were warranted,” WSJ reported. “The House Judiciary and Oversight committees say they need the audio as part of their investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings. Garland denied their subpoenas.”

The contempt charge will now head to the full House.

2. Harris agrees to VP debate with to-be-name Trump running mate

Vice President Kamala Harris, the running mate of Democratic Party nominee President Joe Biden, has agreed to a VP debate with the eventual Republican VP nominee who will run with former President Donald Trump.

As USA Today reported, Biden’s reelection campaign Thursday accepted an invitation by CBS News for a vice presidential debate on either July 23 or August 13.

“Trump, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee, has not named his vice presidential running mate and isn’t expected to until closer to the Republican National Convention, set for July 15 to July 18. The Trump campaign did not immediately say whether it has also agreed to CBS’ invitation,” USA Today noted.

Sports & Entertainment

1. Big 3 Thursday college baseball scores

Here’s how Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss came out on Thursday:

• Mississippi State beat Missouri 4-3 to open their weekend series. The Bulldogs will head to the SEC tournament next week no matter how games two or three end up.

• Ole Miss dropped games one of their series with LSU 5-1. But thanks to Mississippi State’s win over Missouri, the Rebels clinched a berth in next week’s SEC tournament.

• Southern Miss trailed Texas State 7-4 in the 7th when a lightning delay forced the game to be suspended. That game one will resume Friday at noon.

2. Home of Shuckers now Keesler Federal Park

Keesler Federal Credit Union has officially announced that the Biloxi baseball stadium, home of the Minor League baseball team Biloxi Shuckers, will now be named Keesler Federal Park.

Keesler Federal acquired the stadium’s naming rights, which were approved by the Biloxi City Council. The stadium was previously known as MGM Park, but last year MGM Resorts International withdrew its naming option.

The ballpark seats 6,067 people for the Biloxi Shuckers, the Class AA minor league franchise of the Milwaukee Brewers since construction was completed in 2015. The park features 4,500 reserved seats in the seating bowl, 12 suites, two open-air party decks, a terrace, a luxury club, a berm and a 1,472-square-foot scoreboard. Keesler Federal Park sits across the street from the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino and has more than 8,500 parking spaces within a short walk of the ballpark.

Markets & Business

1. Dow tops 40,000 briefly, then retreats on Thursday

CNBC reports that stock futures traded near flat Friday, after the blue-chip average briefly topped the key 40,000 level for the first time in the previous session.

“While it was a modestly down day for the three major averages, there was no shortage of excitement among market participants. The Dow reached an intraday high of 40,051.05, above the psychologically important 40,000 level, before pulling back to end the day down 0.1%,” CNBC reported.

Despite the weak end to Thursday’s session, the indexes are on track to end the week with gains, CNBC noted.

2. SCOTUS reject challenge to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau funding

The New York Times reports that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge on Thursday by a 7-2 decision on the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded, “one that could have hobbled the bureau and advanced a central goal of the conservative legal movement: limiting the power of independent agencies.”

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.

“The central question in the case was whether the way Congress chose to fund the bureau had violated the appropriations clause of the Constitution, which says that ‘no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law,'” NYT reported.