- 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. Kemper Co. resident charged with $30,000 in SNAP fraud
The Investigations Division of the Mississippi Department of Human Service (MDHS) announced Wednesday that Michelle Clay of Kemper County received $30,864.00 in SNAP benefits by not reporting household income and composition accurately to MDHS.
Based on the evidence obtained during the investigation, MDHS said the case was referred to the Kemper County District Attorney’s office. The Kemper County District Attorney secured an indictment on March 19, 2025, and Clay later turned herself in to MDHS investigators and Kemper County officials on Thursday, March 25.
“This is a great example of collaboration between our investigations team, County offices, District Attorney’s office, and local law enforcement,” stated MDHS Inspector General Sandra Griffith.
As MDHS noted, an indictment is only an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
2. Mississippi Farmers Market to Host Native Plant Fest on April 26
The Mississippi Farmers Markets will celebrate Native Plant Month by hosting Native Plant Fest this Saturday, April 26, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This family-friendly event will feature interactive booths, educational exhibits and live demonstrations focused on the importance and beauty of native plants.
To kick off the morning, the Mississippi Youth Symphony Orchestra will perform live from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. The Garden Club of Jackson, Twelve 2 Farm and Keep Mississippi Beautiful will host information tables to help visitors learn how native plants benefit pollinators, beautify landscapes and support sustainability. Yazoo Honey Bee Farm will lead a captivating bee demonstration, offering children and families a fun, up-close look at pollinators and learn how honey bees help in agricultural landscapes.
Special guest Felder Rushing, horticulturist and past president of the Mississippi Native Plant Society, will showcase his famous garden truck and share expert tips on growing high-quality native plants and wildflowers in everyday landscapes. Rushing, the host of Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s The Gestalt Gardener and author of over 30 books, was recognized by Southern Living as one of “25 people most likely to change the South.”
3. Greenwood Leflore Hospital selected for Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program
Second District Congressman Bennie Thompson (D) announced Wednesday that Greenwood Leflore Hospital has been selected to participate in the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program, a federal initiative aimed at supporting health care access and sustainability in rural communities.
Thompson’s office said the program, administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is designed to test the feasibility of cost-based reimbursement for small rural hospitals that are too large to be designated as Critical Access Hospitals. Through this program, CMS will assess both the financial impact on hospitals and the effect on health care delivery in the populations they serve.
According to Thompson, participation in the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program will provide Greenwood Leflore Hospital with more stable and equitable reimbursement under Medicare, helping to ensure it can continue serving patients in Leflore County and across the Mississippi Delta.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Musk stepping away from DOGE but its work continues
The Wall Street Journal reports Elon Musk’s role at the White House “is expected to diminish in the coming weeks, a change that risks undercutting his Department of Government Efficiency but isn’t likely to stop its work outright.”
“While Musk is the face of DOGE, most of its work has been done by dozens of computer programmers and lawyers who have fanned out across the federal government. Those staffers, which Musk has said tops 100, are expected to remain,” WSJ reported. “They have largely taken control of the Office of Personnel Management, which helps manage the federal workforce.”
WSJ went on to add, “Musk said on Tesla’s earnings call Tuesday that ‘starting probably next month, May, my time allocation to DOGE will drop significantly.’ He added that he would continue to work for DOGE ‘as long as the president would like me to.’… The department was given a lifespan set to terminate July 4, 2026.”
2. Trump signs education-related executive orders
The Hill reports that President Trump signed multiple executive orders on Wednesday targeting the country’s education system, from discipline in K-12 schools to how universities are accredited to the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into American classrooms.
“President Trump is taking historic and commonsense action to boost school safety standards. Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said, as reported by The Hill.
Will Scharf, White House staff secretary, said the idea behind the AI order “is to ensure that we properly train the workforce of the future by ensuring that school children, young Americans, are adequately trained in AI tools, so that they can be competitive in the economy years from now into the future, as AI becomes a bigger and bigger deal.”
The Hill also noted that Scharf said of the order regarding university accreditation that “many of those third-party accreditors have relied on sort of woke ideology to accredit universities, instead of accrediting based on merit and performance.”
Sports
1. NFL Draft to get underway tonight
The NFL Draft begins tonight, with Round 1 beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Rounds 2 and 3 will get underway on Friday at 6 p.m. and Rounds 4 through 7 will commence Saturday at 11 a.m.
Multiple players in Mississippi college football are hoping to hear their name called over the next three days, none more so than Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, who has been projected to be taken in either Round 1 or Round 2.
You can catch all of the action on ESPN, NFL Network, and other streaming platforms.
Here’s the Round 1 draft order (subject to change with trades):
- Tennessee Titans
- Cleveland Browns
- New York Giants
- New England Patriots
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New York Jets
- Carolina Panthers
- New Orleans Saints
- Chicago Bears
- San Francisco 49ers
- Dallas Cowboys
- Miami Dolphins
- Indianapolis Colts
- Atlanta Falcons
- Arizona Cardinals
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Seattle Seahawks
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Denver Broncos
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Houston Texans
- Los Angeles Rams
- Baltimore Ravens
- Detroit Lions
- Washington Commanders
- Buffalo Bills
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Philadelphia Eagles
2. White to be Mud Monsters broadcaster
The Mississippi Mud Monsters announced Wednesday that longtime Mississippi broadcaster Jay White will be the team’s official play-by-play voice for the 2025 season.
“From Opening Day to the final out, Jay will be behind the mic for all 96 games—home and away—bringing every bat crack, base steal, and bullpen beast mode to life,” the team said.
A Jackson native with nearly 30 years of broadcasting experience, White has hosted the award-winning Season Pass on MPB Think Radio and co-hosted Mississippi Sports This Morning.
“He’s done it all—baseball, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer—across Dixie Youth, high school, JUCO, college, and the pros. If it involves a scoreboard, Jay’s probably described it,” the team’s release stated. “And now, he’s bringing that same legendary voice to Trustmark Park, ready to call a monster mash-up at home plate or a moonshot sailing clean over Old Brandon Road.”
Markets & Business
1. Futures slide as China says trade talks with U.S. haven’t started
CNBC reports that stock futures slipped Thursday “after China said that it had no ongoing trade talks with the U.S., dashing investors’ hopes of an ease in tensions between the two nations.”
“The major averages posted strong gains on Wednesday, rising more than 1% each. That said, they finished the day well off their highs. At one point on Wednesday, the Dow was up more than 1,100 points,” CNBC reported. “Stocks were boosted on hopes that trade tensions between the U.S. and China would ease.”
CNBC added, “But investors waiting for any signs of tariff negotiation were left disappointed. China said overnight that there were no trade talks taking place with the U.S., calling for the cancelation of ‘unilateral’ tariffs.”
2. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries visits Ingalls
HII hosted HD Hyundai Heavy Industries leaders at the company’s Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula on Tuesday, advancing joint goals of the memorandum of understanding signed by the two companies earlier this month.
The company said the visit focused on identifying near-term opportunities and exploring the implementation of new processes that could support the acceleration of ship production.
“This visit is a continuation of the important dialogue taking place between HII and our international partners,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Blanchette said. “Today’s visit allowed us to showcase the great work our Ingalls shipbuilders do every day in support of national security and an opportunity to exchange ideas on best practices, while examining what we can begin working on right away.”
The visit included meetings with Ingalls leadership, a tour of the shipyard and a stop at the company’s new virtual welding lab.
Magnolia Tribune
