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In Mississippi
1. New area code coming to North Mississippi
The Mississippi Public Service Commission has approved a new area code to be assigned to the same area occupied by the 662 code. The new area code is 471. According to the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), numbering resources for the 662 area code are anticipated to be exhausted by the third quarter of 2026.
Existing 662 customers will keep their current telephone numbers, but new customers, or requests for additional lines, may be assigned the new 471 area code once it’s activated. Customers will continue to use 10-digit dialing — the area code plus the seven-digit phone number — to make local calls.
The 471 area code will serve all of the Public Service Commission Northern District counties: Alcorn, Attala, Benton, Calhoun, Carroll, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Clay, Coahoma, Desoto, Grenada, Itawamba, Lafayette, Lee, Leflore, Lowndes, Marshall, Montgomery, Monroe, Oktibbeha, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union, Webster, Winston and Yalobusha counties.
In addition, the 471 area code will serve a large area of the Public Service Commission Central District including Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, parts of Kemper, Noxubee, Sharkey, Sunflower, Washington and Yazoo counties.
2. Governor to participate in Amplify Cell Technologies groundbreaking
Governor Tate Reeves will be participating in a groundbreaking ceremony for Amplify Cell Technologies, a new joint venture from Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Truck, and PACCAR, on Friday.
The joint venture will localize battery cell production for commercial vehicles, invest $1.9 billion into a Marshall County facility, and create more than 2,000 new jobs with an average annual salary of approximately $66,000.
The economic development project represents the largest payroll commitment of any major project in Mississippi history.
Additionally, according to the Governor’s office, at $1.9 billion, this is the third largest economic development project in state history.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Biden debate performance gives Democrats pause
President Joe Biden’s “halting performance” against former President Donald Trump on Thursday left the Democratic Party in turmoil, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“If Biden were to withdraw before the Democrats’ national nominating convention in August—which remains a remote possibility—it would raise the prospect of an open convention, in which delegates would be free to abandon commitments made to Biden during the primary elections and to back a new nominee,” WSJ reported. “If he were to withdraw after the convention, a special meeting of the Democratic National Committee would decide the party’s presidential ticket, according to the DNC’s rules.”
The WSJ goes on to note the response to the debate performance by the President, adding, “Some large-dollar Biden donors expressed concern about his debate showing. One donor said there were increasing worries that Biden looked and sounded too old. Another said it was so bad they didn’t want to talk about it. A third referred to it as ‘awful.’ A fourth said: ‘He was so bad.'”
You can watch the full debate here:
2. SCOTUS abortion-related rulings resolve little
The New York Times reports that “abortion rights” had a good run at the U.S. Supreme Court this term.
“Two weeks ago, the justices unanimously let an abortion pill remain widely available. On Thursday, the court dismissed a case about Idaho’s strict abortion ban, which had the effect of letting emergency rooms in the state perform the procedure when the patient’s health is at risk,” NYT reported. “But the two rulings were so technical as to be ephemeral. They seemed designed for avoidance and delay, for kicking a volatile subject down the road — or at least past Election Day.”
NYT went on to add that the two rulings resolved almost nothing.
“The first said merely that the particular doctors and groups challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of an abortion pill had not suffered the sort of injury that gave them standing to sue. The court did not rule on whether the agency’s action was lawful,” NYT noted. “The Idaho case was even more of a nonevent. The court, which had taken the unusual step of agreeing to review a trial judge’s ruling before an appeals court had acted, thought better of getting involved at such an early stage. The court dismissed the case as ‘improvidently granted,’ the judicial equivalent of saying ‘never mind.'”
Sports & Entertainment
1. Changes coming to Mississippi Valley Athletics
Monday marked a historic day at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) with the unveiling of a new athletic logo, the groundbreaking for a new turf field project, and a ribbon cutting for a new Jumbotron. This day signified the beginning of a new era for MVSU Athletics while also closing a chapter with Athletic Director Hakim McClellan officially stepping down from his role.
McClellan commissioned the MVSU Office of Communications and Marketing to design a new athletic logo. Donnell Maxie, Director of Communications and Marketing, Senior Graphic Designer John McCall, and MVSU alum D’Artagnan Winford (’02) collaborated to create the new logo shown above.
The school said in light of McClellan’s departure, Dr. Briggs announced that Head Basketball Coach and MVSU alum George Ivory (‘88) will serve as the interim athletic director.
2. Ole Miss softball adds new pitching coach
Ole Miss softball head coach Jamie Trachsel announced the addition of Nancy Evans, a six-time NCAA national champion pitcher and coach, as the newest member of the Rebels’ staff.
One of the most successful and highly decorated pitchers in NCAA history, Evans won three national championships at the University of Arizona (1994-98) and still holds the NCAA record with a .939 career winning percentage (124-8 overall record). She finished her collegiate career with a 0.98 career ERA and was named the 1998 Honda Sports Award recipient as National Player of the Year.
Markets & Business
1. Gulf Coast Business Council hosts K-12 Education, Economy forum
The Gulf Coast Business Council co-hosted a forum on K-12 Education & the Economy with the Mississippi Economic Council (MEC) and the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
The policy forum consisted of panel discussions with all five Harrison County superintendents.
Scott Waller, President & CEO of MEC, also provided an overview of their Amplify 2024 Regional Tour, which brings together leaders in business, economic development, workforce, education, housing, and other community representatives from across the state.
Additionally, participants heard from Waller on MEC’s 2024 Legislative Priorities.
2. Fed inflation reading coming out Friday
CNBC reports that the personal consumption expenditures price index, an inflation measure the Federal Reserve watches closely, “is expected to show little, if any, monthly increase for May, the first time that would be the case since November 2023.”
“But even more importantly, when stripping out volatile food and energy prices, the core PCE price index, which draws even closer scrutiny from Fed policymakers, is set to indicate its lowest annual reading since March 2021,” CNBC reported, adding, “Indeed, while the rate of inflation has receded precipitously from its mid-2022 peak, prices have not. Since that March 2021 benchmark, core PCE is up 14%. That steep climb and its pernicious effect is why Fed officials are not ready to declare victory yet, despite the obvious progress made since the rate hikes began in March 2022.”
Magnolia Tribune
