- 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. BEAM approves 12 broadband projects
The Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) announced Thursday that it has approved 12 broadband infrastructure projects totaling $32.5 million to be funded by the Capital Projects Fund (CPF).
“Mississippi continues to make incredible progress when it comes to expanding broadband across the state,” said Governor Tate Reeves in a statement. “These twelve projects will go a long way toward ensuring Mississippians have the broadband access they need.”
Approved project locations by county:
- Amite County – Swyft Fiber
- Calhoun County – Bruce Telephone Company
- Covington County – Swyft Fiber
- Hinds County – CSpire
- Jasper County – TEC
- Lamar County – CSpire
- Lawrence County – TEC
- Leake County – TEC
- Panola County – TVI Fiber
- Pontotoc County – We Connect Communications
- Scott County – TEC
- Tate County – CSpire
- Tate County – TVI Fiber
These 12 CPF projects will build internet services to approximately 9,000 households in portions of 12 counties across the state. Last year BEAM approved 37 other CPF projects totaling $100 million to serve approximately 42,000 households across the state.
Additionally, BEAM has made $878,000 in awards in a smaller CPF category for public wi-fi projects. These funds were applied for by and awarded to internet providers to build wi-fi in public places (downtowns, parks, volunteer fire stations, etc.) for individuals to utilize for school, telehealth, or similar uses.
2. Purdie unopposed for Clinton mayor
Clinton will get a new mayor this year. City Attorney Will Purdie is running unopposed in this year’s municipal election, meaning the Republican candidate will walk into the office come July.
He told WJTV that he plans to focus on economic development during his first term.
“I’m running as a Republican. So for the Republican side of things, I was fortunate enough to launch my campaign with the support of some great community leaders and strong Republican leaders here in town,” Purdie said, as reported by WJTV.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump, House GOP meet to discuss budget deal
The Wall Street Journal reports that “House Republicans wrapped up a more than four-hour meeting at the White House on Thursday saying that they had closed gaps in their own internal disagreements over extending expiring tax cuts and cutting spending, and indicated details of a deal could be announced as soon as Friday.”
“At the start of the meeting, Trump outlined his priorities, including making the tax cuts permanent, said Rep. Lisa McClain (R., Mich.), a member of House GOP leadership. She said the meeting ‘was pretty intense’ as lawmakers laid out competing visions of what the bill should look like. ‘The heat was on medium the whole time,'” WSJ reported.
WSJ added, “McClain said leaders would have to run some of the proposed spending reductions past lawmakers, to ‘make sure that these are palatable cuts.'”
2. Trump announces task force to protect Christians from discrimination
As reported by The Hill, President Donald Trump announced plans Thursday to establish a task force and a presidential commission to protect Christians from religious discrimination.
“Trump addressed the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, where he laid out multiple steps he planned to take to address what he described as attacks on religious liberty and on Christians in particular,” The Hill reported, adding, “Trump said he would establish a presidential commission on religious liberty that ‘will work tirelessly to uphold this most fundamental right.'”
“While I’m in the White House, we will protect Christians in our schools, in our military, in our government, in our workplaces, hospitals and in our public squares,” he said. “And we will bring our country back together as one nation under God.”
Sports
1. Super Bowl going down in the Big Easy
New Orleans is hosting Super Bowl LIX this Sunday featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Chiefs are looking to become the only franchise to win three consecutive Super Bowls while the Eagles are relishing the rematch from 2023’s big game looking for a different outcome.
The game kicks off Sunday, February 9, at 5:30 p.m. CT on Fox. Pregame festivities and analysis shows will be on throughout the day on various networks.
The halftime show is being performed by Kendrick Lamar while Jon Batiste will perform the national anthem.
2. Former Golden Eagle to play in Super Bowl
Southern Miss Athletics is celebrating a former Golden Eagle football player who is taking part in the Super Bowl this Sunday.
Swayze Bozeman, a Flora native, becomes the 20th former Southern Miss football player to appear in the Super Bowl this Sunday with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bozeman, who has been a part of the Chiefs’ practice squad for much of the season, appeared in three games during the regular season for the American Football Conference champions and has totaled three tackles (two solo). He also has seen action in both of Kansas City’s playoff tilts, garnering one special teams stop.
Markets & Business
1. Investors await latest jobs report
CNBC reports that investors are awaiting the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report for nonfarm payrolls for January, saying “it is projected to show growth of 169,000, down from 256,000 in December, but nearly in line with the past three-month average.”
“While the takeaway could be that job creation is slowing, the broader view is that the employment picture is holding solid, and it’s not likely to be a problem for the Federal Reserve any time in the near future,” CNBC reported, noting that the unemployment rate of 4.1 percent is expected to remain the same.
2. Avocados flowing into U.S. ahead of Super Bowl
Reuters reports that Mexican avocado exports are steady ahead of the Super Bowl.
“Mexican avocado growers will ship about 110,000 metric tons of the ‘green gold’ fruit to the United States ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl, as threatened U.S. tariffs that could have derailed exports were paused before taking effect,” Reuters reported.
Reuters went on to note, “Mexican avocados, hugely popular in the U.S. as the main ingredient of guacamole, mainly come from Michoacan state, the only place that has four avocado seasons instead of one, allowing for uninterrupted harvesting.”
Magnolia Tribune
