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In Mississippi
NWS confirms 4 tornadoes hit Lee, Itawamba counties
As reported by WTVA, the National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed four tornadoes touched down on Saturday, Feb. 15 in Lee and Itawamba counties.
“The survey team found one tornado touched down in Lee County and three in Itawamba County. The NWS rated the tornado that touched down near Shannon as an EF-1 with an estimated peak winds of 110 mph,” WTVA reported. “The three tornadoes that hit Itawamba County touched down near Bounds Crossroads, south of Fairview, and near Evergreen.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. SCOTUS to weigh President’s ability to fire officials
The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump on Sunday asked the U.S. Supreme Court “to vacate a federal trial judge’s order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel.”
“This court should not allow lower courts to seize executive power by dictating to the president how long he must continue employing an agency head against his will,” the administration’s filing said, WSJ reported.
WSJ went on to add that, “The filing amounts to a challenge to a foundational precedent that said Congress can limit the president’s power to fire leaders of independent agencies, a critical issue as Mr. Trump seeks to reshape the federal government through summary terminations.”
2. Trump’s FBI Director pick heads to full Senate
The Hill reports that the U.S. Senate “may move ahead with its budget resolution to enact part of President Trump’s legislative agenda, an effort that would include an hours-long vote-a-rama — which Democrats could use to protest the measure and stall its passage.”
“Also this week, the Senate will consider more of Trump’s Cabinet nominees, including his pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, who has emerged as one of his more controversial selections,” The Hill reported. “The House is out of session this week.”
“On Tuesday, the chamber will hold its first procedural vote to begin the process of consideration [on Patel],” The Hill noted.
Sports
1. Southern Miss, Miss. State sweep; Ole Miss takes down 2 Top 25 opponents
College baseball is back. The Big 3 in Mississippi had good outings to open the 2025 season over the weekend. Here’s a look at how Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss did on the diamond:
- Ole Miss went 2-3 in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas, beating No. 21 Arizona on Friday, losing to No. Texas on Saturday, and then winning on Sunday versus No. 15 Clemson. The Rebels return home on Tuesday vs. Arkansas State.
- Mississippi State demolished Manhattan in their three-game series in Starkville. The Bulldogs won by 14 in the first game and 12 in the second. Then on Sunday, State won by 5. The Bulldogs head to Hattiesburg on Tuesday to play USM.
- Southern Miss takes a four-game sweep again Lafayette into this week’s matchup with Mississippi State. It was the Golden Eagles’ first four-game sweep of an opponent since beating Middle Tennessee in 2021. USM hosts Miss. State on Tuesday.
2. No. 22 Miss. State takes down No. 19 Ole Miss
No. 22 Mississippi State has been slumping but the Bulldogs were firing in Oxford this weekend, taking down rival No. 19 Ole Miss for the second time this men’s basketball season.
As MSU Athletics noted, State ended the first half on a 13-2 run that turned a four-point deficit into a seven-point lead and from there, the rout was on.
Miss. State now returns to Starkville to take on Texas A&M on Tuesday while Ole Miss is off until they travel to Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Markets & Business
1. Markets ended up last week
CNBC reports that the S&P 500 was little changed on Friday “in a pause from a strong performance this week, as investors weighed the latest on the global trade and inflation fronts.”
“The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 165.35 points, or 0.37%, closing at 44,546.08. The S&P 500 ticked down 0.01% to 6,114.63, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.41% to close at 20,026.77,” CNBC reported.
CNBC also noted, “The three major averages ended the week in the green, as sentiment improved after investors got more certainty around President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, while new inflation data wound up being more constructive than first thought. Traders also shrugged off data released Friday that reflected a 0.9% slump in retail sales for January, worse than the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.2% decline.”
2. Nissan moving production out of Mexico over tariffs?
FoxBusiness reports that Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida suggested President Trump’s tariffs could force the car manufacturer to shift its production outside of Mexico.
“From Mexico to the U.S., we are exporting a significant number of cars this fiscal year[…] 320,000 units are exported from Mexico to the U.S., and if the high tariffs are imposed, we need to be ready for this, and maybe we can transfer the production of these models elsewhere if this were the decision, we will think how we can make it a reality while monitoring the situation,” Uchida said, according to a translation on Reuters as reported by FoxBusiness.
FoxBusiness went on to add, “The move could be a major blow to Mexico’s auto production sector, as nearly 670,000 vehicles were made by Nissan in the country last year, with over 456,000 of those being exported, according to the Spanish-language UnoTV.”
Magnolia Tribune
