- 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. Jackson selected as 2025-2027 National Folk Festival Host City
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba announced on Tuesday that Mississippi’s capital city has been named the official 2025-2027 National Folk Festival Host City. Jackson was among 42 cities nationwide that competed for the honor of hosting the nation’s preeminent traveling celebration of traditional arts and culture for a three-year stay in 2025, 2026, and 2027.
To provide a taste of what’s to come, several artists were on hand to perform at the announcement, including Bobby Rush, the Rising Stars Fife & Drum Band, and Max and Josh Baca from Los Texmaniacs.
The festival will begin its three-year stay in Jackson in November of 2025.
The National Folk Festival, produced by the non-profit the National Council for the Traditional Arts, is the nation’s longest-running traditional arts event, a free, three-day, outdoor multicultural celebration of music, dance, and traditional arts. During its three-year residency, the National Folk Festival is expected to draw over 330,000 visitors to downtown Jackson, generate over $60 million in long-term economic impacts for the city and the region, and lay the groundwork for a locally produced festival to continue after the National moves on to its next site.
2. Mississippi federal GOP delegation opposes Biden’s next student loan forgiveness
U.S. Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith along with Congressmen Trent Kelly, Michael Guest and Mike Ezell have signed onto a letter opposing the Biden administration’s latest attempt to transfer student loan debt onto American taxpayers.
The Mississippi Republicans are among 39 Senators and 90 House Members seeking the withdrawal of the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed student loan transfer rule providing an additional $147 billion in debt cancellation.
“The Biden administration describes this regulation as “targeted relief,” yet the Department’s own estimates show the opposite. This is even broader than the Department’s first attempt: at an estimated price tag of $147 billion, taxpayers are being forced to take on the debt of nearly 28 million borrowers,” the letter states in part. “Moreover, while the Department likely does not wish to highlight how much their proposal would help the wealthy, outside estimates show that borrowers eligible for “relief” under certain provisions in this proposal will have a typical income of over $300,000. Unfortunately, the Department did not include its own analysis of the distributional effect of these regulations.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Bipartisan bill to compel tax disclosures by President, VP being filed
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a bipartisan bill being dropped Wednesday could force tax filings by presidents and vice presidents to be reported disclosed.
“House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) and Rep. Katie Porter, a California Democrat on the committee, plan to introduce a bill on Wednesday that would force presidents and vice presidents to disclose their tax filings for the two years before entering the White House, for the years while in office, and for two years afterward,” WSJ reported, adding that the Biden White House has objected to the measure.
WSJ also reports that the legislation would “compel them, along with close family members such as children, siblings and in-laws, to disclose payments from foreign entities as well as large gifts and loans from family members.”
2. Norway, Ireland and Spain back Palestinian state; Israel orders return of ambassadors
The Washington Post reports that Norway, Ireland and Spain plan to recognize a Palestinian state, a move Hamas and the Palestinian Authority welcomes.
“While the move is symbolic, the countries expressed hope that it will press Israelis, Palestinians and the international community toward a two-state solution. In response, Israel — whose government rejects a two-state solution — ordered the return of its ambassadors from the three countries,” WP reported.
Sports & Entertainment
1. Miss. State walk-off homerun downs Ole Miss, ending Rebels’ season
A stellar pitching performance by Ole Miss’ Riley Maddox had the Rebels up with a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth against Mississippi State on Tuesday night’s SEC Tournament matchup in Hoover, Alabama. The Rebels brought in Liam Doyle in relief.
With one on and two outs, Mississippi State’s Connor Hujsak hit the first pitch he saw over the fence in left field for a walk-off, two-RBI home run, moving the Bulldogs on to the double elimination round of the SEC Tournament and effectively ending the Rebels’ 2024 season.
Ole Miss finished at 27-29 overall while Mississippi State moved to 37-19 on the year. The Bulldogs will now play Texas A&M next.
2. Southern Miss to open Sun Belt Tournament against Coastal Carolina
Southern Miss opens play in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Wednesday, facing off against Coastal Carolina in Montgomery, Alabama at 12:30pm.
The Golden Eagles are 37-18 overall this season and now ranked No. 25 in the nation. USM is the No. 2 seed while Coastal Carolina is the No. 7 seed. Coastal defeated No. 10 seed Georgia State 5-1 in Tuesday’s single game elimination to advance to the main bracket.
This will be the second Sun Belt tournament for the Golden Eagles, who captured the title last year in their inaugural season in the league, beating Louisiana 6-2 in the championship game.
Markets & Business
1. Mortgage refinances up but home purchases down
CNBC reports that mortgage interest rates fell for the third straight week last week, sparking increased demand for refinances.
“Applications to refinance a home loan rose 7% for the week and were 21% higher than the same week one year ago. Rates last week were just 32 basis points higher than they were a year ago, and that gap has been shrinking. The vast majority of today’s borrowers still have rates significantly lower than what is offered today, so even with the weekly gain, demand is still at a very low level,” CNBC reported.
However, CNBC also notes that applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 1% for the week and were 11% lower than the same week one year ago.
2. New sensory-safe kids’ gym opening in Tupelo
We Rock the Spectrum Kid’s Gym, an international children’s gym franchise, has announced a
Grand Opening for its location in Tupelo. The opening will be accompanied by a celebration on Saturday, May 25th at the new gym.
Families with children from all walks of life will get to experience a breadth of sensory and physically beneficial activities within a safe, clean, and controlled environment.
The new gym provides sensory-safe play for kids with autism, special needs, and neurotypical development. Each gym features twelve pieces of therapeutic equipment designed to work with many of the sensory processing issues that children on the spectrum face, while providing all children with the sensory-diet necessary for improved learning and neurological development.
