- 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. Operation Magnolia arrests 25 illegal immigrants in the Pearl area
The United States Border Patrol New Orleans Sector announced last week that their Operation Magnolia, a highway interdiction enforcement action in the Pearl area, had resulted in the arrest of 25 illegal aliens from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Of those, 22 of the 25 were processed for removal from the United States, while three will be prosecuted under the re-entry after deportation federal statute.
The operation spanned March 17-21. Homeland Security said Border Patrol agents from the New Orleans Border Patrol Sector conducted highway enforcement operations along I-20, with the assistance of the Rankin and Hinds County Sheriff’s Offices, as well as the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector.
“These operations strengthen and enhance our nation’s border security,” said New Orleans Border Patrol Acting Chief Adam Calderon. “We will continue to focus our enforcement efforts on these dangerous criminal networks and their smuggling operations to prevent human trafficking and other organized crime. These Border Patrol enforcement initiatives make our community safer and deter illegal aliens from attempting to break our nation’s immigration laws.”
2. Severe weather threat continues into Monday in Mississippi
There is an enhanced risk of severe weather for most of Mississippi continuing from Sunday and lasting into Monday morning.
Tornado and severe weather warnings have been issued in various locations throughout the state as of 6:30 a.m.
Stay weather aware and remember to seek shelter in the most interior room of your home on the lowest floor, away from windows and exterior doors, as needed.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump angered by Putin’s Zelensky remarks
The Hill reports that President Donald Trump has said he is “very angry” and “pissed off” at remarks Russian President Vladimir Putin made Friday about Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, suggesting he is not a legitimate leader.
According to The Hill, the president “threatened to slap a new tariff on Russia if it is at fault for stalling an end ‘to bloodshed.'”
“If I feel, if we’re in the midst of a negotiation, you could say that I was very angry, pissed off, when Putin said yesterday that — you know, when Putin started getting into Zelensky’s credibility, because that’s not going in the right location, you understand?” Trump told NBC News’s Kristen Welker during a phone interview on Sunday.
The Hill went on to report, “The Russian president said Friday that his Ukrainian counterpart does not have the legitimacy required for a peace deal signature and suggested an interim government is needed, The Associated Press reported. Ukraine’s 2024 presidential elections were postponed due to martial law amid the war with Russia.”
2. Aid to farmers caught in tariff battles?
The New York Times reports that the Trump administration “is weighing a new round of emergency aid to farmers, who are likely to be caught in the middle if America’s trading partners retaliate.”
“The early discussions offer a tacit acknowledgment that Mr. Trump’s expansive tariffs could unleash financial devastation throughout the U.S. agricultural industry, a crucial voting base that the president similarly tried to safeguard during his 2018 trade war with China,” NYT reported. “While the president has not announced any details of an aid package, his advisers have signaled in recent days that he could follow a playbook similar to the one he used in his first term, when he directed billions in payments to farmers who saw their exports to China plummet amid a trade war with Beijing.”
NYT noted, “Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, said last week that the administration may look to offer emergency aid to farmers telling reporters that Mr. Trump had asked her to ‘have some programs in place that would potentially mitigate any economic catastrophes that could happen’ in a global trade standoff.”
Sports
1. Big 3 weekend baseball roundup
Here’s a look at how Mississippi’s Big 3 college baseball program fared this weekend on the diamond.
- Southern Miss took 2 out of 3 over South Alabama in Hattiesburg. It took the Golden Eagles 12 innings Sunday to cap the series win. Southern Miss is now 20-8 overall and 7-2 in Sun Belt play. They host Tulane at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
- Ole Miss won 2 out of 3 over Florida in Oxford. Ole Miss is now 21-6 on the season and 6-3 in the Southeastern Conference. The Rebels host Jackson State Tuesday at 4 p.m.
- Mississippi State was swept by LSU in Baton Rouge, dropping the Bulldogs to 16-12 overall and 1-8 in SEC play. State now heads to Memphis for a Tuesday game set for 6 p.m.
2. Mangum gets to the call to the Bigs
The Mayor is headed to the Major Leagues. That was the opening to the announcement that former Mississippi State Bulldog standout Jake Mangum had been called up by the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday from the MSU Athletics Department.
Mangum becomes the 71st Mississippi State to reach the Big Leagues. He joined the team for the third game of opening weekend series against the Colorado Rockies in Tampa.
Markets & Business
1. Trump tariff remarks send stock futures down
The Wall Street Journal reports, “Global stock markets fell after President Trump threatened tariffs on all of America’s trading partners, stoking fears among investors of a shock to the world economy.”
“Trump has set a deadline of Wednesday to announce sweeping tariffs. He has already imposed a range of import levies and is poised to introduce auto tariffs this week. The president said over the weekend he ‘couldn’t care less’ if prices for foreign cars went up,” WSJ reported.
WSJ noted, “Futures pointed to opening losses for U.S. stock indexes. Stocks fell in Europe and tumbled in Asia on Monday, while investors sought havens including U.S. government bonds and gold.”
2. Stagflation coming?
CNBC reports that “Policy uncertainty and new sweeping tariffs from the Trump administration are combining to create a stagflationary outlook for the U.S. economy in the latest CNBC Rapid Update.”
“The Rapid Update, averaging forecasts from 14 economists for GDP and inflation, sees first quarter growth registering an anemic 0.3% compared with the 2.3% reported in the fourth quarter of 2024. It would be the weakest growth since 2022 as the economy emerged from the pandemic,” CNBC reported. “Core PCE inflation, meanwhile, the Fed’s preferred inflation indicator, will remain stuck at around 2.9% for most of the year before resuming its decline in the fourth quarter.”
CNBC added, “The good news is the import effect should abate and only two of the 12 economists surveyed see negative growth in Q1.”
