Magnolia Mornings: February 27, 2025

• Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.

In Mississippi

Mississippi University for Women seeks to keep, expand MSMS on its campus

The Mississippi University for Women has submitted a Request for Proposal (RFP) to the Mississippi Department of Education officially seeking to continue a more than three-decade-old partnership with The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS).

“Our proposal details The W’s strengths and distinguishing capabilities that benefit MSMS, outlining how we can support MSMS’s growth on our campus through enhanced experience, expanded academic support, increased research, course opportunities and improved facilities,” said President Nora Miller in a statement.

The Mississippi School for Math and Science was established during the 1987 legislative session and signed into law by former Governor Bill Allain.

To read the RFP in its entirety, click here.

National News & Foreign Policy

1. Chief Justice pauses order for Trump Admin. to unfreeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid

The Hill reports that Chief Justice John Roberts “temporarily delayed a midnight deadline for the Trump administration to unfreeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid payments, imposed by a lower judge who found the administration had flouted his ruling.”

“The administration said it could not feasibly resume payments on the rapid timeline set by U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, who on Tuesday directed the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to resume funding for foreign aid contracts and grants by the end of Wednesday,” The Hill reported.

The Hill went on to add, “By default, the request went to Roberts, who handles emergency appeals arising from the nation’s capital. His pause lasts until the court decides whether to wipe Ali’s ruling, which Roberts could decide himself or refer to full court for a vote. Roberts ordered the plaintiffs to respond in court filings by mid-day Friday.”

2. North Korea sending more troops to support Russia?

The New York Times reports that North Korea appears to have sent more troops to Russia as its soldiers re-entered frontline combat in the war with Ukraine. That report came by way of South Korea’s spy agency on Thursday.

“The National Intelligence Service, South Korea’s main spy agency, said it was still trying to assess the size of the new deployment. But its brief statement on Thursday followed a report in a South Korean newspaper, JoongAng, citing anonymous sources, that North Korea has sent up to 3,000 additional troops since January by ship and military cargo planes,” NYT reported. “North Korea sent an estimated 11,000 troops to Russia late last year, and has supplied large shipments of artillery shells, missiles and other conventional weapons. The troops were sent to the Kursk region, where they fought alongside Russian forces to help them regain territory lost to Ukraine.”

Sports

1. Jackson State baseball off to goo start to 2025 season

The 6-2 Jackson State baseball team swept Lane Wednesday in a mid-week doubleheader, winning the first game 7-1 and the nightcap 4-0, at Braddy Field.

The Tiger take on Alcorn State in a three-game series to be played at Smith Wills Stadium in Jackson this weekend. The action begins Friday with a 6 p.m. first pitch.

2. Cook throws no-hitter for William Carey

William Carey’s Cory Cook threw a no-hitter on Tuesday night in the second game of a doubleheader with John Melvin University. Cook struck out a career-high 14 batters.

“I thought I did well,” said Cook. “I was trying a lot more to get on top of the hitters, cause in the Fall I was getting behind and not dominating the strike zone. But today, I was trying to get ahead early in the at bats with first pitch strikes. It was a lot, and I didn’t even notice until the sixth inning and then I was really trying to bear down and get through the final innings. I was just doing whatever I could to help us get the win.”

The Crusaders won both mid-week games. They are now 12-3 on the season and return to action Friday when they head to Pulaski, Tennessee for a conference series against UT-Southern.

Markets & Business

1. Trump reverses Chevron’s Venezuela oil license

CNBC reports that President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was reversing a license given to Chevron “to operate in Venezuela by his predecessor Joe Biden more than two years ago, accusing President Nicolas Maduro of not making progress on electoral reforms and migrant returns.”

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was “reversing the concessions” of the “oil transaction agreement, dated November 26, 2022.”

CNBC went on to note, “Trump did not name Chevron in his comments, but Washington granted Chevron a license to operate in Venezuela’s oil sector on November 26, 2022. It was the only license the administration issued for Venezuela that day.”

2. Trump Admin. scrambling to bring down egg prices

FoxBusiness reports that Trump officials are “scrambling” for a solution to bring down egg prices, noting that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins floated options to “immediately” reduce money spent on the dietary staple.  

“We’re looking at importing some eggs in the short term,” she said from the White House lawn on Wednesday, per FoxBusiness. “We’re talking to several countries around the world that can get us eggs right away. This would not be a long-term fix, but to immediately begin to bring those prices down.”

FoxBusiness added, “The fourth pillar of a five-pronged approach to alleviating some of the cost burden, importing eggs is just a portion of a more all-encompassing plan that entails deregulation, investments in biosecurity, repopulating fowl and investing in vaccines and therapeutic research.”