- 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. Citizen scholars celebrated by USM
The University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Community Engagement is celebrating two graduating seniors – Anders Estorge and Lora Rester – who are the recipients of the USM Citizen Scholar distinction via the Citizen Scholars program, a recognition for students demonstrating significant involvement in community engagement.
USM says the Citizen Scholars program incorporates service and community engagement into their academic experience. Students who earn 100-plus service hours, participate in a community-engaged learning experience, and complete a reflective exit interview are eligible to be recognized as Citizen Scholars.
Students in the program may volunteer with a variety of community-based organizations to earn service hours. They may also choose from several options to satisfy the community-engaged learning requirement, such as interning with a nonprofit organization, enrolling in two service-learning classes, or implementing a leadership project benefiting the community.
2. Sen. Hyde-Smith, Congressmen Guest and Ezell target federal funding for abortion providers
Senate Pro-Life Caucus Chair Cindy Hyde-Smith and Congressmen Michael Guest and Mike Ezell recently signed a bicameral letter requesting an updated Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation and report on the level of federal funding awarded to abortion providers over the past three years.
According to a statement from Hyde-Smith’s office, the Mississippi lawmakers are among 31 Senators and 81 Representatives who made the request to the GAO seeking updated data on federal taxpayer dollars from fiscal years 2022-2024 for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Federally Qualified Health Centers, MSI Reproductive Choices, and four domestic abortion providers.
According to its most recent report, the GAO found that abortion industry siphoned off nearly $2 billion in federal taxpayer dollars between fiscal years 2019-2021—despite long-standing congressional restrictions that prohibit the use of federal funding to provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump heads to Notre Dame reopening as foreign leaders seek influence
The Hill reports that President-elect Trump is holding court with foreign leaders as they seek to gain influence and insight into his mindset before he takes office.
“On Saturday, he will be taking a trip abroad to attend the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, a visit that is seen as a way for French President Emmanuel Macron to bolster his standing with the president-elect,” The Hill reported. “Trump is set to join other prominent officials, including first lady Jill Biden, at a ceremony to mark the reopening of the cathedral, which went up in flames in 2019, putting the historic building in jeopardy.”
As The Hill notes, Trump has received calls and visits from world leaders since his win, with Macron being the first. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Trump in Florida.
2. Biden staff debating swath of preemptive blanket pardons
According to the New York Times, President Biden’s staff is debating whether he should issue blanket pardons for a swath of President-elect Donald Trump’s “perceived enemies to protect them from the ‘retribution.'”
“The idea would be to pre-emptively extend executive clemency to a list of current and former government officials for any possible crimes over a period of years, effectively short-circuiting the next president’s promised campaign of reprisals,” NYT reported. “White House officials do not believe the potential recipients have actually committed crimes, but they have grown increasingly worried that Mr. Trump’s selections for top Justice Department positions indicate that he will follow through on his repeated vows to seek revenge.”
NYT added that among those whose names have been floated are former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Anthony Fauci, special counsel Jack Smith, and Congressman Adam Schiff.
Sports & Entertainment
1. Dart named a Manning Award finalist
Ole Miss football senior quarterback Jaxson Dart has been named a finalist for the 2024 Manning Award, as announced on Thursday.
Dart is one of 10 finalists for the Manning Award, which was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. In college, Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning combined for over 25,000 passing yards and 201 touchdowns while playing in 10 bowl games and earning four bowl MVP awards. Archie was the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, while both Peyton and Eli were selected No. 1 overall.
The winner will be announced after the College Football Playoff National Championships in January, and will again be selected by a voting panel – which includes national media and each of the Mannings – after the postseason. It is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates’ postseason performances in its balloting.
2. USM’s Lofton earns first-team Sun Belt honors
Southern Miss graduate punter Bryce Lofton earned first-team honors by the Sun Belt Conference in an announcement by the league office Thursday morning.
Lofton, who completed his second year holding the punting duties for the Golden Eagles, showed his consistency among league leaders by finishing first in 50-plus yard punts with 17 of 61 boots this fall and second in the league in punting average 44.49 (just 0.16 yards behind the league leader).
His number of 50-plus punts was five more than the second most among the Top 10 punters in the league. Lofton currently ranks No. 23 nationally in punting average and his season average finished fifth highest in school history.
Markets & Business
1. Investors await latest jobs report
The spotlight is on this morning’s monthly jobs report, writes the Wall Street Journal.
“The reading, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, will be the last before the Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting, in two weeks. Signs the economy remains strong could reduce traders’ bets on a coming rate cut. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said the economy is looking better, which means policymakers can take more time over cutting,” WSJ reported. “Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal forecast the U.S. added 214,000 jobs last month, up from just 12,000 in October. The reading may be distorted by hurricanes and strikes prior to November.”
2. NFIB report shows rise in labor cost, need for skilled workers
NFIB’s November jobs report found that 36% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in November, up one point from October.
Labor costs reported as the single most important problem for business owners rose three points to 11%, only two points below the highest reading of 13% reached in December 2021.
Thirty percent have openings for skilled workers (down one point) and 13% have openings for unskilled labor (down one point).
Job openings were the highest in the transportation, construction, and professional services sectors, and the lowest in the agriculture and finance sectors. Job openings in construction were up five points from last month and over half (54%) have an open position they can’t fill.
Click here to view the entire NFIB Jobs Report.
