- Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
MEC to host annual meeting
The Mississippi Economic Council is hosting its annual meeting on Thursday this week in Jackson.
Workfuture is MEC’s signature theme to set the agenda: a catalyst inviting all voices to the table to not just anticipate, but to create the future.
To learn more about the agenda or to register to attend, click here.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. U.K. Supreme Court rules trans women can’t be defined as women
The Wall Street Journal reports that Britain’s top court ruled only those born female can be considered women, “a landmark judgment that excludes transgender women from the legal definition and paves the way for tighter limits on female-only spaces and services.”
“The decision Wednesday by the U.K.’s Supreme Court came after a yearslong legal fight over the definition of a woman in a 2010 equality law, and could have far-reaching implications for the protections and freedoms given to transgender women in the U.K.,” WSJ reported.
WSJ went on to report, “The dispute stems from a 2018 bill passed in the Scottish Parliament aimed at ensuring gender balance on public-sector boards. For Women Scotland said the bill had wrongly included transgender people as part of quotas and fought it under the U.K. equality act.”
2. Pentagon’s Defense Digital Service staff exiting
The Hill reports that the entire staff of the Defense Digital Service (DDS), the Pentagon’s decade-old technology development office, “is leaving by the start of May, with nearly all individuals resigning.”
“The mass exodus, first reported by Politico, means the service will effectively shutter in less than a month,” The Hill reported. “Of the 14 members of the office, a dozen including Director Jennifer Hay have requested the Trump administration’s deferred resignation option and plan to leave by May 1. Two other staffers are also leaving in that time frame.”
The Hill noted, “Created in 2015, the Defense Digital Service was meant to help the Pentagon quickly solve technology challenges. The small team of engineers and data experts who made up the office were meant to bring Silicon Valley-style solutions to the Defense Department, a mammoth federal agency that historically struggles with quick innovation.”
Sports
Big 3 mid-week baseball roundup
Tuesday handed Mississippi’s Big 3 a mixed bag on the college baseball scene. Here’s the scores:
- No. 11 Ole Miss baseball dropped their second straight game Tuesday afternoon, falling to Little Rock 7-3. The Rebels now travel to South Carolina for their weekend series which starts Thursday.
- No. 23 Southern Miss needed a 9th inning grand slam to take an 8-7 come-from-behind victory over Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles now face Georgia State starting Thursday for their weekend series.
- Mississippi State run-ruled Southern 16-2 on Tuesday. The Bulldogs host the Florida Gators for an Easter weekend series starting Friday.
Markets & Business
1. China’s GDP grows
The New York Times reports that “President Trump’s tariffs have been good for China’s economic growth.”
“At least they were over the first three months of the year, as the country’s factories raced to ship exports ahead of the trade restrictions,” NYT reported. “China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday that the country’s gross domestic product grew 1.2 percent from the last three months of 2024. If that pace continues, the Chinese economy will expand at an annual rate of 4.9 percent.”
NYT added, “But whether China can maintain that growth is shrouded in uncertainty.”
2. Mortgage rates jump
CNBC reports that mortgage rates jumped to the highest level since February last week, “dampening overall demand and sending homebuyers in search of riskier loans with lower rates.”
“Total mortgage application volume fell 8.5% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index,” CNBC reported. “The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $806,500 or less, increased to 6.81% from 6.61%, with points decreasing to 0.62 from 0.63, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.”
CNBC noted, “Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home dropped 5% for the week and were 13% higher than the same week one year ago.”
Magnolia Tribune
