- 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. Mississippi Lottery announces a $10 million winner
The Mississippi Lottery says one lucky Mississippi player will lay claim to $10 million and a bit of history after a ticket purchased in Petal matched all five Double Play white balls plus the Double Play Powerball in Monday night’s drawing.
It will be the largest win in Mississippi Lottery history, and nationally, it’s the fifth Double Play jackpot winner of the game ever.
The ticket was purchased at Petal Food Mart in Petal.
Since 2021, only four other players nationwide have claimed the $10 million Powerball Double Play top prize:
- Maryland: One win in 2021
- Florida: Two wins in 2022
- Kentucky: One win in 2024
“This is a milestone for the Mississippi Lottery,” said Mississippi Lottery President Jeff Hewitt. “Not only do we have our first Powerball Double Play top-prize winner, but this is also the largest lottery win in our state lottery’s history. It’s an exciting day for players and retailers.”
2. Calderone named Director of the Office of Mississippi Physician Workforce
The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) announced Tuesday that Dr. Richard Calderone has been appointed as Director of the Office of Mississippi Physician Workforce (OMPW).
According to MDHS, OMPW is housed in the Mississippi Center for Rural Health and Population Studies, which develops strategies to attract, educate, and sustain a well-trained and appropriately distributed physician workforce throughout the state.
Calderone, a native of Slidell, Louisiana, is a graduate of the inaugural class of the William Carey University (WCU) College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed residency training in the combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), followed by a Preventive Medicine residency through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Southeastern Louisiana University and two master’s degrees: biomedical sciences from WCU, and public health from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Calderone was most recently a core faculty member for the Forrest General Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program, while also serving as Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Chair of Internal Medicine at WCU. He is president of the Mississippi Osteopathic Medical Association and immediate past president of the South Mississippi Medical Society.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump empowers DOGE to go further
Elon Musk, the billionaire tech giant tasked with overseeing the Trump Administration’s effort to root out waste and fraud, appeared with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday to talk about the effort.
According to the Washington Post, Trump “signed an executive order Tuesday that requires federal agencies to work with the U.S. DOGE Service to cut their existing workforce and limit future hiring — the most explicit statement yet by the president that he supports ‘large-scale’ cuts to the federal workforce.”
WP went on to note that the order installs a “DOGE Team Lead” at each agency and gives that person oversight over hiring decisions.
“The directive instructs agency heads, after the hiring freeze expires, to recruit no more than one employee for every four who depart from the federal government, with exemptions for personnel and functions ‘related to public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement.’ And it orders agency heads to ‘promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force, consistent with applicable law,'” reported WSJ.
2. Fogel returned to U.S. from Russian prison
The Wall Street Journal reports that American teacher Marc Fogel arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday after being freed from a Russian prison.
“The Trump administration hailed the release of Fogel, who was arrested in 2021 on marijuana charges, as a harbinger of improving relations with Russia and possible progress on talks to end the war in Ukraine. The private plane of the envoy, Steve Witkoff, had been spotted by online flight trackers in Moscow earlier Tuesday. The Kremlin had denied knowledge of his presence there,” WSJ reported. “Fogel was personally greeted by Trump at the White House later Tuesday, arriving on the South Lawn, with an American flag draped around his neck. He thanked the president, his staff and the Fogel family as he walked under an awning and into the White House.”
The name of the Russian prisoner being swapped for Fogel has not been released.
Sports
1. Ole Miss women’s basketball celebrates Scott for most games played
Ole Miss Athletics is celebrating women’s basketball standout Madison Scott who will end her career having played in more games than anyone who has ever worn the Rebels’ uniform in the 50 years of the program’s existence.
Scott will surpass Peggie Gillom-Granderson, an Ole Miss women’s basketball legend, who played in 144 games as a Rebel.
2. Miss. State baseball to open 2025 season at home
Mississippi State opens up its 2025 baseball season this weekend in a three-game home series against Manhattan that starts on Friday at 4 p.m.
Junior Pico Kohn, senior Karson Ligon and graduate Stone Simmons are all set to take the ball to start State’s first three games on the mound.
The Saturday game is slated for 2 p.m. while Sunday’s is at 1 p.m.
Markets & Business
1. Investors await inflation report
CNBC reports that stock futures fell slightly on Wednesday as investors awaited January’s consumer inflation report.
“Futures tied to the S&P 500 edged down 0.1%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 73 points, or nearly 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.1% higher,” CNBC reported. “The consumer price index report is set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Headline inflation is expected to have grown 0.3% from the prior month and 2.9% from 12 months earlier, according to Dow Jones.”
CNBC also noted, “In addition to Wednesday’s CPI report, investors will watch testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s before the House Committee on Financial Services. Powell testified Tuesday to the Senate Banking Committee that policymakers were in no hurry to make further interest rate cuts.”
2. NFIB urges MS House to pass Retailer Tax Fairness Act
The NFIB is urging the Mississippi House to pass HB 879, the Retailer Tax Fairness Act, a bill they say will provide much-needed relief to small businesses struggling with rising credit and debit card processing fees. If passed, the measure would create a tax credit to help offset these fees.
“Mississippi’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy, but they’re being squeezed by ever-increasing costs,” State Director Leah Long said in a statement on Tuesday. “Interchange fees—the charges businesses pay to process credit and debit card transactions—are unavoidable for businesses that accept card payments.
“The Retailer Tax Fairness Act would help these businesses stay competitive, grow, and create jobs.”
While large retailers can negotiate lower fees, Long says small businesses have little choice but to absorb these costs or pass the additional cost on to their customers.
The measure has yet to be taken up by the House Ways and Means Committee.
