- 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. Reeves to deliver State of the State address today
Governor Tate Reeves will deliver the annual State of the State address today – Wednesday, Jan. 29 – at 5pm on the south steps of the state Capitol.
Reeves is expected to continue to push lawmakers to eliminate the income tax while celebrating recent corporate investments throughout the state.
Starting at 5 p.m., a live stream of the address will be available here and archived for on-demand viewing.
2. William Carey expanding
William Carey University President Dr. Ben Burnett announced Tuesday that the university is buying 107 acres to expand their Hattiesburg campus.
The school plans to add a new campus entrance and expand housing options for students.
According to a release from the university, their 10-year average statewide impacts analysis shows William Carey generates $136 million annually. The school’s annual employment is also up 68 percent since 2015.
3. SBA approves MS request for assistance following December storms
The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved Governor Tate Reeves’ request for assistance for homeowners and businesses affected by severe storms and tornadoes in Oktibbeha and Wayne Counties on December 28-29, 2024.
“These low-interest loans will help support Oktibbeha and Wayne County homeowners and businesses recover from damage sustained from the severe storms and tornadoes that Mississippi experienced in late December,” said Governor Reeves in a statement. “The state of Mississippi will continue to use every available resource to help those impacted rebuild and recover.”
The Governor’s office said this applies to home and business owners in Oktibbeha and Wayne County and the contiguous Mississippi counties of: Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Greene, Jasper, Jones, Lowndes, Noxubee, Perry, Webster, and Winston; and the contiguous Alabama counties of: Choctaw and Washington.
The loans are intended to help homeowners, as well as small businesses and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes, meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster.
The application filing deadline for Physical Loan Applications is March 28, 2025. The application deadline for filing Economic Injury (EIDL) is October 27, 2025.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Judge temporarily blocks federal spending pause
President Trump’s order to pause federal loans and grants was temporarily blocked by a federal judge on Tuesday. “It caused widespread confusion among agency officials and organizations that rely on federal support, including states, schools, hospitals and other nonprofits,” reported the New York Times.
NYT reported that while the “Trump administration has insisted that direct payments to Americans are not at risk,” the directive targeted “about 2,600 programs now under review, spanning virtually every federal initiative that distributes money.”
NYT aggregated a listing of the federal programs up for review here.
2. Trump Admin. offers federal employee buyouts over return-to-work directive
The Trump administration is offering all 2 million federal employees what amounts to a buyout if they do not intend to return to work in person later this year, sources confirmed to The Hill.
“Four sources confirmed to The Hill that the emails are set to go out beginning Tuesday evening to the federal employees informing workers that they can retain benefits and be paid through September if they hand in their resignation by Feb. 6,” The Hill reported. “The buyouts are available to all full-time federal employees, excluding military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers and positions related to immigration enforcement and national security.”
The Hill noted, “The Association of Federal Government Employees said the move seeks to shrink a federal workforce that has essentially remained flat over the last 50 years.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. USM basketball returns to Hattiesburg tonight
After playing six of its last eight games on the road, Southern Miss Athletics is welcoming its Golden Eagles (9-12, 4-5 Sun Belt) men’s basketball team back to Reed Green Coliseum Wednesday night to host Arkansas State (16-5, 7-2 Sun Belt).
The Golden Eagles will host the league leaders at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
2. Ole Miss catcher ranked in Top 50
D1Baseball has ranked Ole Miss catcher Campbell Smithwick as No. 22 on its Preseason Top 50 Catchers listing.
Ole Miss Athletics said Smithwick is the third-highest ranked sophomore and the seventh-highest ranked catcher from the SEC on the list that looks at every backstop in the country.
He was also recently ranked No. 60 on Perfect Game’s Top 100 Collegiate Sophomores List.
Ole Miss Baseball opens its 2025 season on February 14 against Arizona as part of the 2025 Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas.
Markets & Business
1. Mortgage demand weakens
CNBC reports that mortgage rates didn’t move last week, but demand for new home loans continued to weaken.
“Both homebuyers and current homeowners are hampered by today’s higher interest rates,” CNBC reported. “Total mortgage application volume decreased 2% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.”
CNBC went on to add that, “The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) remained unchanged at 7.02%, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.62 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment.”
2. Microsoft to acquire TikTok?
As reported by FoxBusiness, President Donald Trump on Monday said Microsoft was in talks to acquire TikTok, shortly after the social media app went dark last week.
“He further suggested that he would like to see a bidding war over the popular platform,” FoxBusiness reported. “Trump previously said that he was in discussions with several parties about a potential acquisition of TikTok, which has about 170 million American users, and expects to make a decision on the app’s future within the next 30 days, Reuters reported.”
