- 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. NWS, MEMA report 27 tornadoes touched down in MS on Dec. 28
As reported by WTVA, at least 27 tornadoes touched down in Mississippi on Saturday, December 28, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Mississippi Emergency Management’s (MEMA).
The following counties reported damage to MEMA, as of Thursday, Jan. 2:
- Adams – 20 homes, 1 death
- Amite – 4 homes, 1 business, 1 farm
- Claiborne – 18 homes
- Clarke – 10 homes, 1 business
- Clay – 65 homes, 2 farms
- Franklin – 21 homes, 2 businesses, 1 farm
- Harrison – 6 homes
- Jackson – 10 homes, 1 business
- Jasper – 6 homes, 8 farms
- Jefferson – 4 homes
- Leake – 2 homes
- Lincoln – 25 homes, 3 farms
- Lowndes – 1 home, 1 death
- Oktibbeha – 6 homes, 120 apartments, 5 businesses
- Perry – 1 home, 1 farm
- Simpson – 19 homes, 2 businesses, 5 farms
- Scott – 5 homes, 5 farms
- Smith – 9 homes, 3 farms
- Rankin – 17 homes, 3 apartments, 1 business
- Warren – 1 home
- Wayne – 33 homes, 1 business, 1 farm
- Wilkinson – 2 homes, 3 apartments
- Yazoo – 10 homes, 2 farms
2. Mississippi Rose Bowl float wins award
Mississippi’s Rose Bowl Parade float was awarded the Past Presidents Award for most outstanding innovation and use of floral and non-floral materials.
The float, sponsored by Visit Mississippi, was ridden by the trio Chapel Hart and Elvis impersonator Brandon Bennett. It was a tribute to the state being the “birthplace of America;s music” featuring Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Jimmy Rogers, Bobby Rush and more.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. It’s time to elect a Speaker in Congress
The U.S. House of Representatives is set to elect its Speaker on Friday as the new 119th Congress gets underway. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is looking to retain the gavel with the backing of President-elect Donald Trump.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, “Republicans’ 219-215 margin means Johnson can afford no more than one GOP defection, if all members vote for a candidate. One House Republican—Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky—already has said he would vote for someone else for speaker, though he hasn’t named the person. Other lawmakers have said they are undecided.”
“Johnson said he hopes to win on the first ballot and avoid a replay of Republicans’ January 2023 vote, when it took more than a dozen ballots to pick a speaker,” WSJ noted.
The House will convene at 11 a.m. CT to begin the process.
2. Appeal court overturns Biden net neutrality rules
As The Hill reports, a federal appeals court ruled this week that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) led by Biden Administration Democrats lacked the authority to restore certain net neutrality rules last year.
“The Thursday ruling by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals overturns last year’s FCC vote, which reinstated the net neutrality rules barring broadband providers from blocking or throttling internet traffic to some websites and speeding up access to others that pay extra fees,” The Hill reported. “The three-judge panel pointed to a Supreme Court decision last June that scaled back executive agencies’ power by overturning Chevron deference, the legal doctrine that previously instructed judges to defer to agencies in cases where the law is ambiguous. In upending the decision, judges are now expected to substitute their own best interpretation of the law instead of deferring to the agencies.”
The Hill also noted, “The net neutrality rules were first approved in 2015 under former President Obama but repealed under President-elect Trump’s first term in 2017.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. Ole Miss dominates Duke in Gator Bowl win
The No. 14 Ole Miss Rebels dominated Duke 52-20 in the Gator Bowl on Thursday night, capping their 2024 season at 10-3. It was the largest bowl win margin in Ole Miss history.
Ole Miss notched back-to-back 10-win seasons for just the second time in school history and have won 10 games in three of the last four seasons under head coach Lane Kiffin.
Senior QB Jaxson Dart, who was named the game’s MVP, put on a show in his last outing as a Rebel, leading a team that featured the vast majority of its starters in the bowl win in an era when opting out has become the norm.
2. Then there were 4
Four teams now remain in the hunt for the College Football National Championship after two rounds of play.
The Cotton Bowl will feature Ohio State and Texas on January 10. The Orange Bowl will see Penn State and Notre Dame on January 9. The winners will matchup in the National Championship game on January 20.
Markets & Business
1. Biden to block U.S. Steel sale
President Joe Biden has decided to officially block Nippon Steel’s proposed purchase of U.S. Steel, reports The Washington Post.
“Barring an unforeseen change of heart, which the officials do not expect, a White House announcement of the presidential finding is planned as soon as Friday,” The WP reported. “Biden opted to kill the deal despite intense efforts by some of his senior advisers to sway him in recent days, who warned that rejecting a sizable investment from a top Japanese corporation could damage U.S. relations with Japan.”
The WP went on to add, “Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel have vowed to pursue legal action against the government, claiming it failed to follow proper procedures during its consideration of the acquisition.”
2. Volatile start to New Year on Wall Street
CNBC reports that stock futures rose slightly Friday after a volatile start to the new year.
“Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 94 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively,” CNBC reported, adding, “The Dow ended the day lower by more than 150 points, or about 0.4%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite slid about 0.2%, each. All three benchmarks were higher earlier in the day, with the Dow having gained more than 300 points at one point, but fell back as the session progressed.”
CNBC added that “traders on Friday will watch for the latest reading of the ISM Manufacturing Index.”
