- 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. Southern Miss, Ole Miss partner on accelerated law school pathway
A Memorandum of Understanding between Southern Miss and Ole Miss Law, signed March 20 following the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning board meeting in Jackson, creates a cooperative accelerated law school pathway where students can earn both their bachelor’s degree and juris doctor (JD) in six years of study–reducing the combined duration of undergraduate and law school studies by an entire year.
This is the second accelerated law degree program for Southern Miss. An agreement was signed earlier this year with Mississippi College School of Law.
“This program represents an extraordinary opportunity for our students to achieve their academic and professional goals more efficiently,” said Southern Miss President Dr. Joe Paul. “By creating a clear and accelerated route to earning both a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctor in just six years, we are preparing our students to begin their legal careers earlier while maintaining the highest standards of academic excellence.”
2. Tornado near Rolling Fork two years after deadly EF4
The Washington Post reports that two years after the EF4 tornado struck Rolling Fork, another tornado hit the area this week.
“A tornado skirted along the north side of town, causing damage as winds reached at least 95 to 110 mph. Snaking through the skies over the weekend, it hit almost two years to the date since the last time Rolling Fork was hit,” WP reported.
WP went on to report, “In the end, downtown Rolling Fork dodged a bullet. Mississippi has been deemed the most tornado-prone place in the world, and every spring is yet another roll of the dice.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Speaker Johnson comments on group chat breach
It was reported Monday that national security adviser Mike Waltz apparently added The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to the group chat on Signal that included Trump administration officials discussing plans for an attack against Houthi rebels in Yemen. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance and others were reportedly on the text chain.
Asked by The Hill if Waltz and Hegseth should be disciplined, Johnson responded “no, no of course not.”
“The administration, as I understand, I just was with the president in the Oval Office, just now, the administration is addressing what happened,” Johnson said when asked if he was concerned about the report, as reported by The Hill. “Apparently an inadvertent phone number made it onto that thread. They’re gonna track that down and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
2. Sugary drinks and SNAP
The Washington Examiner reports that “Large soda companies are worried about their futures as Republicans eye legislation to exclude sugary drinks from SNAP, also known as food stamps.”
“Republicans’ latest efforts to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ have led to a growing fear among soda companies that one of their largest sources of income may soon go away,” WE reported, adding, “The matter came into particular focus this week when several MAGA-aligned influencers with large followings posted similar messages on X arguing that SNAP recipients should not be banned from using food stamps to purchase soda.”
WE added, “Nick Sortor, who has a large following on X, posted what appeared to be screenshots that showed a script from a public relations firm about messaging on the topic, which he said was sent to some of these major influencers.”
Sports
1. Bilderback named USM women’s basketball coach
Southern Miss Director of Athletics Jeremy McClain announced the hiring of Missy Bilderback as the Lady Eagles’ fifth head coach on Sunday.
Bilderback, a 2001 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, returns to her alma mater after two years at ULM.
In Monroe, Bilderback took a program that had won just 17 games in the prior four seasons to 21-win debut in 2023-24. Her program turnaround marked the best season by a Warhawk squad since 2004-05.
Before joining the Warhawks for the 2023-24 season, she led Jones County Junior College to a 198-33 overall record in eight seasons in Ellisville. Her teams posted seven-straight 20-win seasons as well as seven consecutive trips to the NJCAA Tournament. The Bobcats appeared in the Sweet 16 thrice, advanced to the Elite Eight twice and stormed to a Final Four finish in 2022.
2. Southern Miss, Ole Miss rise in Top 25 baseball rankings
Southern Miss’ baseball team rose to No. 13 in this week’s D1 Baseball Rankings while Ole Miss saw their stock increase as well, up to No. 15.
Southern Miss is coming off a 4-0 week, having beat the Rebels in Pearl before sweeping Sun Belt opponent ULM.
The Rebels went on to sweep SEC opponent Missouri after their loss to the Golden Eagles.
USM plays Nicholls Tuesday in Biloxi while Ole Miss is hosting Memphis.
Markets & Business
1. Market awaits housing report
The Wall Street Journal reports that the market mood is subdued as Tuesday gets under way.
“U.S. stock futures wavered in early trading. Indexes had rallied Monday, on relief that the next round of tariffs could be tamer than previously believed,” WSJ reported. “Investors will have more data to parse. The health of the housing market will be in focus, with updates due this morning on house prices and sales of new homes.”
WSJ noted, “A readout on consumer confidence is also scheduled—and is expected to demonstrate further deterioration, after last month’s readout showed households growing warier about job prospects and inflation.”
2. China courts U.S. business execs
CNBC reports that “China courted the executives of major U.S. businesses at an annual conference this week in a sign of how Beijing seeks to offset trade pressures, rather than retaliate forcefully.”
“Conversation on the sidelines of the state-organized China Development Forum this week in Beijing reinforced a more conciliatory stance than official rhetoric this month about how China is prepared to fight ‘any type of war’ with the United States,” CNBC reported.
