- 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. MEMA warns of approaching severe weather
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is warning residents to remain weather aware this weekend as severe weather is expected to move across the state.
“The National Weather Service is forecasting multiple rounds of severe weather this week in Mississippi,” MEMA said Wednesday, “There is a marginal risk starting Wednesday (3/12/25) night into the day Thursday (3/13/25). There is a greater potential for severe weather on Friday (3/14/25) and Saturday (3/15/25).”
MEMA encourages residents to monitor the weather and have a plan with a disaster supply kit restocked ready in case of an emergency.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Senate Democrats on the clock to avoid government shutdown
While Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday said Democrats would insist on voting on a month-long continuing resolution instead of what passed the House to avoid a government shutdown, The Hill reports that “Senate Democrats say privately that they will not allow the government to shut down on Saturday, despite growing pressure from activists and liberal lawmakers who want them to kill a GOP-crafted six-month stopgap spending bill.”
“Senate Democratic sources say Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) is giving plenty of room to centrists in his caucus to vote for the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) if doing so is the only way to avoid a government shutdown at week’s end,” The Hill reported. “And one Democratic senator familiar with the internal deliberations said Senate Democrats will ultimately vote to keep the government open, despite the rumblings of liberals within their caucus who are heaping scorn on the House-passed funding bill.”
The clock is running as the Friday deadline nears.
2. U.S. envoy arrives in Russia for cease-fire talks
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has landed in Moscow to discuss the cease-fire proposal negotiated with Ukraine earlier this week.
The Washington Post reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday “sent a defiant military message with a rare appearance in a camouflage uniform to mark advances against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of southern Russia.”
“With the Russian Defense Ministry announcing Thursday the recapture of Sudzha — the largest town once under Ukrainian control — Moscow looks set to strip Kyiv of a territorial bargaining chip that it had hoped to use in peace talks that are being brokered by the Trump administration,” WP reported, adding, “The Kremlin has not indicated its stance on the ceasefire, and the Foreign Ministry said Thursday it is ready to discuss it. Putin, however, has previously ruled this out, and his donning of an army uniform was seen as underscoring an uncompromising approach to the war and conviction that Russia has the upper hand.”
Sports
1. Miss. State gets SEC tourney win, Ole Miss to play today
Mississippi State pulled out a 91-62 victory over LSU in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Wednesday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The Bulldogs will advance to face Missouri on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Ole Miss will play Arkansas today at noon after the Razorbacks beat South Carolina on Wednesday.
2. Trustmark Park to remain Trustmark Park
The Mississippi Mud Monsters and Trustmark Corporation have reached agreement on an exclusive naming rights partnership that brands the home of the Mud Monsters as Trustmark Park.
“We are thrilled that the stadium will continue as Trustmark Park with the commitment from Trustmark for the naming rights!” said Mud Monsters Owner & CEO Joeseph Eng in a statement this week. “Trustmark is a cornerstone of the Mississippi business landscape, and their commitment ensures we can fully develop our vision as the premier entertainment destination in the Southeast.”
The agreement includes official stadium naming rights, other partnership benefits, and a continued commitment to professional baseball in Central Mississippi.
Trustmark has held the naming rights to Trustmark Park since it opened in 2005.
Markets & Business
1. Less consumers going in convenience stores, snack sales down
The Wall Street Journal reports that “Americans are stopping for gas, but they aren’t grabbing their usual snacks or smokes.”
“The change in behavior is hurting U.S. sales of Doritos, Twinkies, Heath bars and Newports,” WSJ reported. “U.S. convenience store sales volume fell by 4.3% as prices rose in the year ended Feb. 23, according to market-research firm Circana. Among snacks purchased in those stores, rice cakes dropped most sharply, followed by items like dips, nuts and jerky. Refrigerated products dropped about 7% by sales volume, and chocolate candy fell by 6%, according to the Circana data.”
WSJ added that there has been some uncertainty with the Trump tariffs, “A growing focus on healthier eating and less indulgent snacking is also contributing to the decline in convenience-store sales, said Max Gumport, an analyst at BNP Paribas Exane.”
2. Investors await another round of inflation data
CNBC reports that stock futures slipped on Thursday as investors awaited another key inflation report.
“Investors Thursday are awaiting more inflation data in the form of last month’s producer price index, CNBC reported. “February’s reading of the consumer price index — a wide-ranging measure of costs across the U.S. economy — came in softer than expected on Wednesday morning. Headline inflation rose 0.2% from the prior month and 2.8% on an annual basis. The report may have eased traders’ concerns about the direction of the economy and the impact tariffs could have on inflation.”
Magnolia Tribune
