- 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. MHC adds 4 hospitals to member network
The Mississippi Healthcare Collaborative announced Monday that four new hospitals have been added to its network, expanding its reach and impact across the state.
The new members are Progressive Health of Batesville, Progressive Health of Marks, Progressive Health of Houston, and Wayne General Hospital.
As part of the Collaborative’s mission to improve healthcare access, quality, and outcomes, the Collaborative said these hospitals will join a growing network committed to addressing the unique challenges faced by rural communities.
“Our mission has always been to foster collaboration that addresses the unique healthcare challenges of our State, and that includes our many rural communities,” said Kent Nicaud, Chair of the Collaborative’s Board and President & CEO of Memorial Hospital, in a statement. “By welcoming Progressive Health of Batesville, Progressive Health of Marks, Progressive Health of Houston, and Wayne General Hospital, we are strengthening our ability to provide critical support to rural hospitals across the state. These hospitals are vital lifelines for their communities, and we are proud to have them as part of our network.”
2. Gulf Coast Rail awarded $21 million grant for Amtrak return
On Monday, the Federal Railroad Administration announced a $21,117,115 grant for Gulf Coast Rail. According to Senator Roger Wicker’s office, the grant will support the operating cost of Amtrak services returning to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“This is great news for Mississippi,” Senator Wicker said in a statement. “Gulf Coast Rail is an investment in the future of our state. This grant will help with operational costs, ultimately reconnecting communities and ensuring that Mississippians have access to reliable transportation.”
Senator Wicker has long advocated for restoring passenger rail service to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. His office said Wicker has worked to unite federal, state, and local officials in support of investments along the southern rail corridor and to address regulatory concerns related to the restoration of passenger service.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump’s lawyers don’t want the Special Counsel report released
The Washington Post reports that President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers “have read special counsel Jack Smith’s draft report detailing the findings of his two investigations of the incoming president and are urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to fire Smith and block the report’s public release.”
“Justice Department regulations say special counsels must submit reports explaining their legal decisions at the conclusion of an investigation. Garland has indicated he would make public any special counsel report — with the necessary redactions — that reaches his desk,” WP reports. “But Trump’s lawyers say releasing the two-volume report days before their client is again sworn in as president would be disruptive for his transition, according to a letter to Garland included in a motion filed in Florida federal court Monday evening.”
2. Biden Administration transfer 11 Guantanamo detainees to Oman
Politico reports that the Pentagon said Monday “it had transferred 11 Yemeni men to Oman this week after holding them for more than two decades without charge at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”
“The transfer was the latest and biggest push by the Biden administration in its final weeks to clear Guantanamo of the last remaining detainees there who were never charged with a crime,” Politico reported.
Politico went on to report, “The transfer announced Monday leaves six never-charged men still being held at Guantanamo, two convicted and sentenced inmates, and seven others charged with the 2001 attacks, the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole and 2002 bombings in Bali.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. Saints interviewing for new Head Coach
According to a report from WVUE/WLOX, the New Orleans Saints are actively interviewing for the team’s next head coach as the NFL regular season has now ended.
The outlets report that the Saints have requested an interview with Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, and Eagles OC Kellen Moore.
Other names mentioned are Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi and Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
2. USM adds special teams, defensive backs coaches
Southern Miss Athletics announced on Monday that head coach Charles Huff has hired Dominique Bowman and Johnathan Galante for the 2025 season.
Bowman is slated to coach the defensive backs, while Galante will oversee special teams.
Bowman joins Southern Miss after being a pair of the Temple Football staff since January 2023, as the cornerbacks coach. In 2024 he added the responsibilities of safeties and became defensive backs coach.
Galante comes to Southern Miss after spending the last three seasons as Marshall’s Special Teams Coordinator, having joined that coaching staff in March 2022.
Markets & Business
1. Biden’s oil and gas order condemned by business, energy groups
FoxBusiness reports that President Biden’s last-minute move to restrict oil and gas production on his way out of the White House before President-elect Trump takes office “was met with swift condemnation from business and energy groups.”
“Biden invoked the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, meaning Trump could be limited in his ability to revoke the action, and Congress might need to intervene to grant Trump authority to place federal waters back into development,” FoxBusiness reported, adding, “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce was also quick to call on Congress and the incoming administration to ‘use all available tools to reverse’ Biden’s move.”
2. Biden Administration acts to remove medical debt from credit reports
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moved on Tuesday to ban medical debt from appearing on credit reports, reports the New York Times. It is a move NYT said would potentially lift “the credit scores of about 15 million Americans and making it easier for them to obtain loans.”
“The finalized new rule would effectively prohibit loan providers from using medical information while making lending decisions. It is set to take effect 60 days after publication in the federal register, but with President-elect Donald J. Trump returning to office this month, its future remains in question,” NYT reported, also noting, “Biden administration officials said that the change could result in the approval of thousands of additional affordable mortgages each year, and that Americans with medical debt on their credit reports could see their credit scores increase by an average of 20 points.”
Magnolia Tribune
