Magnolia Mornings: April 25, 2025

• 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. MSU grads appointed to key roles at USDA

Two Mississippi State University alumni are new appointees to key roles within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the university announced on Thursday.

Kelsey Barnes, a 2015 agricultural education, leadership and communication graduate, has been appointed senior advisor to the USDA Secretary for Rural Development, Biofuels, and Research, Education and Economics.

Two-time MSU grad Bailey Archey, who earned her bachelor’s degree in animal and dairy sciences and her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine before also serving as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, has been appointed a policy advisor in USDA’s Marketing and Regulatory Programs mission area, focusing on issues within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

2. USM, Gulf Coast Business Council partner to launch Executive Leadership Academy

Southern Miss and the Gulf Coast Business Council announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership to launch the Executive Leadership Academy (ELA) – an education initiative designed to foster transformative leadership across the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The partnership was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding signed April 24 at the GCBC’s monthly membership meeting. The two groups say this collaborative effort marks a significant milestone in strengthening professional development and leadership capacity for the region’s current and emerging business leaders.

The Executive Leadership Academy will be housed at the Southern Miss Gulf Park campus in Long Beach and will feature a comprehensive curriculum delivered over a nine-month period. Designed by the university’s Executive Education program, the ELA will include at least 60 hours of face-to-face instruction led by highly qualified faculty and industry experts.

National News & Foreign Policy

1. Trump’s approval underwater in new FoxNews poll

A Fox News survey finds voters pleased with the job he is doing on border security but displeased on most other issues — including inflation.

“Trump receives his best marks on border security, as a 55% majority approves. That’s the only issue where his ratings are in positive territory,” FoxNews reported. “On immigration, a record high of 47% approve of Trump (48% disapprove), while a new low of 38% approve on the economy (56% disapprove). His worst ratings are on inflation (33% approve, 59% disapprove), followed by tariffs (33%-58%), foreign policy (40%-54%), taxes (38%-53%), and guns (41%-44%).”

FoxNews went on to report, “Overall approval of Trump’s job performance comes in at 44%, down 5 points from 49% approval in March. That’s lower than the approval of Joe Biden (54%), Barack Obama (62%), and George W. Bush (63%) at the 100-day mark in their presidencies. It’s also lower by 1 point compared to Trump’s 45% approval at this point eight years ago.” 

2. Trump Administration asks SCOTUS to reinstate transgender military ban

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday “to reinstate its ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, the latest in a string of emergency appeals that seek to save White House initiatives after losses in the lower courts.”

As WSJ reports, Solicitor General John Sauer said in his filing that the Defense Department “rationally determined that service by individuals with gender dysphoria would undermine military effectiveness and lethality—consistent with similar, longstanding determinations for a wide range of other medical conditions (such as asthma and hypertension).” 

WSJ noted that Sauer said a lower court judge who blocked the ban was “usurping the Executive Branch’s authority to determine who may serve in the Nation’s armed forces.”

Sports

1. Big 3 baseball set for this weekend

Here’s a look at Mississippi’s Big 3 as they head into their weekend conference series.

• No. 22 Southern Miss goes on the road again this weekend when they travel to Boone, North Carolina for the first time in its history for a Sun Belt Conference series against App State. The series opens on Friday at 5 p.m. and continues Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at noon.

• No. 23 Ole Miss hosts No. 9 Vanderbilt this weekend for a three-game series at Swayze Field. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m., Saturday is set for 5 p.m., and Sunday will start at 1:30 p.m.

• Mississippi State heads to The Plains for a weekend series at No. 11 Auburn. Friday and Saturday’s games are both slated for 6 p.m. starts while Sunday’s finale gets underway at 2 p.m. 

2. Results from Round 1 of 2025 NFL Draft

Only two quarterbacks were taken in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday – Cam Ward from Miami at No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans and Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss to the New York Giants.

Notably absent in Round 1 selections was Colorado’s quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who many draft analysts thought would go to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 21. Instead, Coach Mike Tomlin and the Steeler took Derrick Harmon, a Defensive Tackle out of Oregon.

Here’s a rundown of the results of from Round 1:

1. Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward, QB, Miami
2. Jacksonville Jaguars (from Cleveland): Travis Hunter, CB/WR, Colorado
3. New York Giants: Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State
4. New England Patriots: Will Campbell, OT, LSU
5. Cleveland Browns (from Jacksonville): Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
6. Las Vegas Raiders: Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
7. New York Jets: Armand Membou, OT, Missouri
8. Carolina Panthers: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Arizona
9. New Orleans Saints: Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas
10. Chicago Bears: Colston Loveland, TE, Michigan
11. San Francisco 49ers: Mykel Williams, EDGE, Georgia
12. Dallas Cowboys: Tyler Booker, G, Alabama
13. Miami Dolphins: Kenneth Grant, DT, Michigan
14. Indianapolis Colts: Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
15. Atlanta Falcons: Jalon Walker, LB, Georgia
16. Arizona Cardinals: Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss
17. Cincinnati Bengals: Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M
18. Seattle Seahawks: Grey Zabel, G, North Dakota State
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
20. Denver Broncos: Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon
22. Los Angeles Chargers: Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina
23. Green Bay Packers: Matthew Golden, WR, Texas
24. Minnesota Vikings: Donovan Jackson, G, Ohio State
25. New York Giants (from Houston): Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
26. Atlanta Falcons (from L.A. Rams): James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee
27. Baltimore Ravens: Malaki Starks, S, Georgia
28. Detroit Lions: Tyleik Williams, DT, Ohio State
29. Washington Commanders: Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon
30. Buffalo Bills: Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
31. Philadelphia Eagles (from Kansas City): Jihaad Campbell, LB, Alabama
32. Kansas City Chiefs (from Philadelphia): Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State

Markets & Business

1. Futures lower after 3-day winning streak

CNBC reports that stock futures were lower on Friday “following a three-day winning streak on Wall Street as investors weigh earnings from a major tech company and lingering trade fears.”

“Futures linked to the S&P 500 were 0.2% higher, while Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.3. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 171 points, or 0.4%,” reported CNBC.

So far, it has been a solid weekly performance for the market.

“The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up 3.8% and 5.4% this week, respectively. The Dow has climbed 2%,” CNBC noted. “But stocks have been in a wide trading range following the initial shock of President Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs announcement on April 2 as investors await clarity on negotiations with key trading partners such as China.”

2. Central MS Employment Expo set for next Tuesday

The Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) has announced the 2025 Central Mississippi Employment Expo. It is set for Tuesday, April 29, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., at the Mississippi Trade Mart in Jackson, MS.

MDES, through the Governor’s Job Fair Network, partnered with the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District, the City of Jackson, The Greater Jackson Chamber of Commerce, local community colleges, and other local chambers of commerce for this event.    

Attendees are recommended to dress for success and review the list of participating employers before the event. Copiers and scanners will not be available at the job fair, so attendees are encouraged to bring plenty of resumes.  

For more information about the job fair and a complete list of participating employers, please visit here.