- 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. Ridgeland names City Hall after longtime Mayor
The Ridgeland Board of Aldermen unanimously passed a resolution during Tuesday’s board meeting and surprised Mayor McGee by naming City Hall as the Gene F. McGee City Hall.
The honor is in recognition of his 35 years of service as Mayor. The tribute also marks a significant milestone in the City’s 125th anniversary celebration.
“I am thrilled for Mayor McGee and the honor of having City Hall named in recognition of his legacy. It is a privilege to serve alongside him, and I look forward to the bright future ahead,” said Wesley Hamlin, Mayor Pro Tempore.
The city noted that Mayor McGee is planning to run for another term in 2025.
2. AG delivers emergency overdose boxes
The Attorney General’s office said Wednesday that AG Lynn Fitch delivered Emergency Overdose Boxes to partners across the Jackson Metro area as part of her One Pill Can Kill campaign, a public awareness initiative to educate, support, and empower Mississippians with information on the dangers of fentanyl, how to identify it, and what to do if someone is overdosing.
The partners include Madison County School District, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Stewpot Community Services, Capitol Police Department, City of Pearl and City of Pearl Fire Department, City of Brandon, and Region 8 Mental Health Services.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Biden’s decline resulted in tight controls around the President
The Wall Street Journal released a piece titled “How the White House Functioned With a Diminished Biden in Charge” early Thursday morning outlining how “how Biden’s closest aides and advisers would manage the limitations of the oldest president in U.S. history during his four years in office.”
“Presidents always have gatekeepers. But in Biden’s case, the walls around him were higher and the controls greater, according to Democratic lawmakers, donors and aides who worked for Biden and other administrations. There were limits over who Biden spoke with, limits on what they said to him and limits around the sources of information he consumed,” WSJ reported. “Throughout his presidency, a small group of aides stuck close to Biden to assist him, especially when traveling or speaking to the public. ‘They body him to such a high degree,’ a person who witnessed it said, adding that the ‘hand holding’ is unlike anything other recent presidents have had.”
WSJ noted, “This account of how the White House functioned with an aging leader at the top of its organizational chart is based on interviews with nearly 50 people, including those who participated in or had direct knowledge of the operations.”
2. Shutdown looms as spending bill fight heats up
As The Hill reports, a lot can change in 24 hours in D.C.
“That was Wednesday’s lesson for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who had on Tuesday night unveiled a sprawling, 1,500-page stopgap bill to fund the government ahead of a Friday deadline,” The Hill reported. “Barely 24 hours later, Johnson is pivoting to plan B, axing his original plan in favor of a slimmed-down, ‘clean’ funding patch.”
The Hill went on to add, “Johnson is expected to put forward a draft for a clean spending agreement today, but its future in the House and Senate remains unclear. If lawmakers can’t reach an agreement by Friday at midnight, they will trigger a shutdown.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. JUCO years not count toward NCAA elgibility?
A judicial ruling in the case of Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia could have far-reaching implications on football players who play at junior or community colleges before entering an NCAA institution.
According to FootballScoop, Pavia argued that the NCAA should not be allowed to count Pavia’s New Mexico Military Institute years against him, since NMMI is not an NCAA institution.
“Judge Campbell… wrote Wednesday that the NCAA’s argument for counting junior college years toward an athlete’s eligibility clock ‘falls flat,'” FootballScoop wrote, adding “the Pavia case could end the NCAA’s ability to enforce its eligibility rules.”
2. Ole Miss track, cross country coach inducted into Hall of Fame
Ole Miss Athletics announced that its track & field and cross country head coach Connie Price-Smith was officially inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening.
Price-Smith was one of six newly enshrined members at a dinner last night in their honor as part of the USTFCCCA Convention at the Grande Lakes Resort in Orlando. Joining the Hall of Fame alongside Price-Smith were Dave Cianelli (Cal Poly/SMU/Virginia Tech), Frank Gramarosso (North Central [Ill.]), Ron Helmer (Georgetown/Indiana), Jud Logan (Ashland) and Ford Mastin (Oklahoma Baptist).
Markets & Business
1. Dow tumbles for 10th straight loss
CNBC reports that stock futures bounced Thursday “after the Federal Reserve’s revised rate outlook for next year sent the Dow Jones Industrial average tumbling by 1,100 points to its 10th straight loss.”
“Stocks plunged Wednesday after the Federal Reserve struck a heavy blow to the roaring bull market, signaling that it was likely to only cut interest rates twice next year, down from the four reductions that had been penciled in during their last forecast in September,” CNBC reported. “The central bank also trimmed its benchmark overnight borrowing rate a quarter percentage point Wednesday, to a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%, but the question now is what policymakers will do in 2025.”
According to CNBC, “Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 260 points, or 0.6% higher. S&P futures rose 0.7%, alongside Nasdaq 100 futures.”
Magnolia Tribune
