- 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. USM, MC partner for accelerated law degree program
A Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Southern Mississippi and the Mississippi College School of Law signed this week will allow qualified Southern Miss students to earn both their bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctorate (JD) in six years of study. The university said it will decrease the total length of undergraduate studies plus law school by one full year.
Students who have completed three-fourths of the coursework required for a bachelor’s degree from USM will be eligible for admission to law school. After the student successfully completes the first year of the JD program with a grade of C or higher in each course, USM will assign academic credit based on the transfer equivalencies set forth in the participating USM degree program and award the appropriate bachelor’s degree. Then, after the student completes all law school requirements, MC will award the JD degree.
Southern Miss President Dr. Joe Paul stated that the university is committed to rigorously marketing this opportunity to our current and future students.
2. Jackson Council split on resolution urging Mayor to take leave amid bribery scandal
WLBT reports that the Jackson City Council considered a resolution this week urging Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba to take a leave of absence amid the city’s ongoing bribery scandal failed on a narrow vote.
“On Tuesday, the council voted 3-2-1 on the resolution calling on the mayor to step aside until matters related to the scandal are resolved,” WLBT reported. “Councilmen Kenneth Stokes, Ashby Foote, and Vernon Hartley voted in favor of the non-binding proposal. Opposed were Councilmembers Tina Clay and Brian Grizzell. Council President Virgi Lindsay abstained, while Ward Six Councilman Aaron Banks had left the meeting.”
Banks is also among those accused in the bribery scandal.
As WLBT notes, “because the measure did not receive a majority vote of members present, it died.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Ceasefire deal to pause fighting in Gaza
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal on Wednesday, pausing fighting in Gaza.
“Israel and Hamas agreed to a deal to pause their fighting in the Gaza Strip, Arab mediators and an Israeli official said, opening a pathway to end a 15-month war that has laid waste to the enclave, sparked a broader conflict in the region and roiled politics in the West,” the Wall Street Journal reported, adding, “President Biden said that he had spoken with his counterparts in Qatar and Egypt about reaching Phase 2, a permanent end to the war, adding they all ‘pledged to make sure the negotiations will keep moving forward for as long as it takes.'”
WSJ also noted that both sides “have been galvanized by President-elect Donald Trump’s imminent return to office. The incoming president said a week ago that ‘all hell will break out in the Middle East’ if the hostages aren’t released by the time he is inaugurated on Jan. 20, repeating a threat he had made earlier. He hasn’t explained what he means, but said last week it wouldn’t be good for Hamas or ‘frankly, for anyone.'”
According to WSJ, negotiators included Steve Witkoff, Trump’s designated Middle East envoy, along with officials from the U.S., Israel and Arab countries.
2. Jill Biden has Pelosi on her mind
An exit interview with First Lady Jill Biden by The Washington Post revealed that she has been thinking a lot about relationships, one of those being her decades-long relationship with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The Hill reported that Jill Biden said she was “disappointed” with Pelosi’s role in pushing President Biden out of the presidential race.
“It’s been on my mind a lot lately,” she added. “We were friends for 50 years…It was disappointing.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. No. 15 Miss. State falls to No. 1 Auburn
No. 15 Mississippi State men’s basketball fell to No. 1 Auburn on Tuesday by a score of 88-66.
As noted by Miss. State Athletics, the Tigers scored the game’s first 10 points, and the Dawgs were left playing catch-up for the rest of the evening.
With the loss, State falls to 14-3 overall and 2-2 in Southeastern Conference play this season. The Bulldogs return home to host rival No. 21 Ole Miss on Saturday at 5 p.m.
2. USM’s Clemons to play in Trillion Tropical Bowl
Former Southern Miss defensive standout Jalil Clemons will participate in the 10th annual Trillion Tropical Bowl set to be held Sunday, Jan. 19, at Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla. Game time is set for 10 a.m. CT.
According to Southern Miss Athletics, Clemons played his final three collegiate seasons at Southern Miss where he played 34 games on the Golden Eagle defensive front. He posted 82 career tackles (41 solos) for Southern Miss with 19.5 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
He is the fifth Golden Eagle to participate in the 10-year history of the game. The others include Casey Martin (2016), Allenzae Staggers (2018), and TyKeem Doss and Dominic Quewon (2023).
Markets & Business
Inflation rises for third straight month
USA Today reports that, “Inflation accelerated for a third straight month in December on rising food and energy costs, reaching a five-month high and underscoring that an encouraging slowdown in price increases last spring and summer has stalled.”
“Overall consumer prices increased 2.9% from a year earlier, up from 2.7% in November, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index, a broad measure of goods and services costs,” USA Today reported. “That’s the third increase following six drops and it leaves annual inflation at the highest level since July. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a jump to 2.9%.”
USA Today added, “On a monthly basis, costs rose 0.4% the most since March.”
Magnolia Tribune
