- 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. MBI investigating officer involved shooting in McComb, looking for suspects
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) is investigating an officer involved shooting involving the McComb Police Department that occurred on November 14.
According to MBI, officers with the McComb Police Department were responding to an area regarding calls of a suspicious vehicle. Upon arrival, officers encountered the vehicle, two subjects exited the vehicle, one subject then presented a weapon at the officers. The officers discharged their weapons, fatally injuring one subject. One individual has been arrested.
The involved officers did not receive any serious physical injuries, yet MBI notes that this information is preliminary and subject to change.
It is believed that three or four additional individuals were inside the vehicle. They were last seen in a gray 2016 Dodge Charger, tag number PJP357.
If you see this vehicle with tag number PJP357, please call 911 immediately, do not approach. They are believed to be armed and dangerous.
2. Hyde-Smith says CMS opening more RCHD slots for rural hospitals
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith announced Thursday that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) were opening more slots for rural hospitals to join the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD) program.
According to the Senator, CMS has indicated it will develop a Request for Application for rural hospitals to make use of 10 available spaces in the RCHD program.
Hyde-Smith and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley have pressed CMS to open RCHD and fill vacancies in the program to offer additional support to rural hospitals in need.
Hyde-Smith’s office noted that the RCHD program supports financial viability for rural hospitals that are too large to be Critical Access Hospitals and too small to benefit from Medicare’s hospital inpatient prospective payment system. Congress created the RCHD in 2003 and has reauthorized it three times, with 30 available slots—only 20 of which are currently filled.
The Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian, Highland Community Hospital in Picayune, Marion General Hospital in Columbia are RCHD facilities where innovation models are being tested.
3. Civil Engineers release Mississippi Infrastructure report card
The Mississippi Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its 2024 Report Card for Mississippi’s Infrastructure on Thursday.
It includes 12 categories of infrastructure that received an overall grade of ‘C-,’ which is a one-step increase from the 2020 Report Card for Mississippi’s Infrastructure and matches the national average on the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. A ‘C-’ grade means Mississippi’s infrastructure is in fair condition and requires attention to ensure it remains reliable in the future.
Four of the 12 infrastructure categories (Bridges, Dams, Rail, and Solid Waste) saw their grades increase compared to the previous Report Card, while two categories (Drinking Water and Wastewater) saw their grades drop one level compared to the 2020 Report Card.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Democrats want Biden to gird against Trump
According to The Hill, Capitol Hill Democrats are pressing President Joe Biden to “pull out all the stops to gird the executive branch against Donald Trump’s promised efforts to tear down federal agencies and restructure them to his liking.”
“The lawmakers want President Biden to get aggressive — and creative — with unilateral actions in the final weeks of his administration. The idea is both to protect the Democrats’ policy victories and to fortify the Justice Department, the intelligence agencies and other offices in Trump’s crosshairs,” The Hill reported, adding that “they see Biden as a kind of preemptive firewall against Trump’s vows to claw back their legislative wins and gut large parts of the federal bureaucracy in a ‘deep state’ purge designed to streamline government and root out his executive branch critics.”
Some the actions Democrats want to see are new executive orders, finalized regulations and opening of funding for federal projects already appropriated by Congress.
2. Nearly three quarters of U.S. overweight or obese, study shows
The New York Times reports that nearly three quarters of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to a sweeping new study.
“The findings have wide-reaching implications for the nation’s health and medical costs as it faces a growing burden of weight-related diseases,” NYT reported. “The study, published on Thursday in The Lancet, reveals the striking rise of obesity rates nationwide since 1990 — when just over half of adults were overweight or obese — and shows how more people are becoming overweight or obese at younger ages than in the past. Both conditions can raise the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, and shorten life expectancy.”
NYT noted, “Without aggressive intervention, they forecast, the number of overweight and obese people will continue to go up — reaching nearly 260 million people in 2050.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. Southern Miss heads to Texas State
Southern Miss football is on the road at Texas State this Saturday in a Sun Belt West Division matchup at San Marcos, Texas.
Game time is set for 6 p.m. and can be seen via ESPN+, as well as heard on an affiliate of the Southern Miss Sports Network and through SouthernMiss.com.
The 1-8 Golden Eagles are looking to snap a 7-game losing streak.
In other Mississippi Big 3 action, Ole Miss and Mississippi State are on bye weeks.
2. JUCO Championship set between Northwest, East Central on Saturday
The MACCC Championship battle between No. 4 Northwest (9-1) and No. 7 East Central (8-2) is set for Saturday at 2 p.m. in Decatur.
The two teams previously met in Week 2 on September 5, with the Rangers escaping Decatur with a narrow 22-17 victory over the Warriors.
3. Mississippi High School football playoffs underway across the state
Mississippi high school football is now fully in the playoff stage for the season, with each classification, from 1A to 7A holding games this week.
For a complete look at what teams are in the playoffs and who’s playing where, click here for the brackets.
Markets & Business
Vaccine maker shares fall after Kennedy nominated to lead HHS
CNBC reports that shares of vaccine makers fell Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
“The stocks fell in the final hour of trading as reports emerged about Trump’s expected pick. Moderna’s stock closed more than 5% lower on Thursday, shares of Novavax fell more than 7% and Pfizer’s stock ended more than 2% lower,” CNBC reported. “Shares of BioNTech, the German drugmaker that helped develop a Covid vaccine with Pfizer, closed more than 6% lower. British drugmaker GSK, which makes flu shots and several other vaccines, closed roughly 2% lower.”
CNBC noted, “Kennedy is the founder of the nonprofit Children’s Health Defense, the most well-funded anti-vaccine organization in the country.”
Magnolia Tribune
