- 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. Reeves deploys National Guard to aid in storm recovery
Governor Tate Reeves announced Monday that he has activated the Mississippi National Guard to assist in the state’s response and recovery efforts from the winter storm that has left north Mississippi iced over with many without power.
“The Mississippi National Guard will play a critical role in logistical support and delivering resources around the state,” Reeves wrote on social media. “To start, 500 Guardsmen will be deployed. This number could increase as the response and recovery efforts progress. Thank you to all of our Guardsmen for once again stepping up to serve their fellow Mississippians.”
In terms of damage, Reeves shared that the state of Mississippi has received reports of:
14 – Residential – Major Damage
3 – Residential – Minor Damage
1 – Business – Major Damage
20 – Public Roads – Major Damage
The governor said 33 counties have submitted requests for assistance. The total number of requests currently stands at 136. Mississippi is deploying oxygen cylinders, generators, bottled water, MREs, cots, blankets, and tarps to counties.
2. SCOTUS denies petition of review from MS death row inmate
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition of review from Stephen Elliot Powers.
Powers was convicted of killing Elizabeth Lafferty in her home in 1998 during an attempted rape. He has been on death row in Mississippi ever since.
WLBT reports, “In his latest petition filed in October, Powers claims that the government ‘actively concealed’ evidence in his case until 2023. And that even when he suspected that was the case, the state ‘instructed a locality and the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory not to provide Powers with any evidence.’”
“He filed a motion to compel, which was granted in part. He then filed a motion for relief with the Mississippi Supreme Court, which was denied,” WLBT noted.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Funding for Homeland Security, ICE could lead to shutdown
The Hill reports that “Senate Republicans are scrambling to save a funding package that needs to pass by Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown, but they are meeting strong resistance from Democrats who are furious over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tactics in Minneapolis.”
“Republican lawmakers are suggesting that President Trump might agree to executive actions to ease the tensions in Minneapolis after a Border Patrol agent shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday,” The Hill reported. “But Trump and Democratic leaders would need to reach an understanding quickly to avoid a partial shutdown Saturday, when funding for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and an array of other federal departments and agencies is due to expire.”
The Hill noted, “The House-passed bill would allocate another $10 billion for ICE on top of the $76 billion the agency is slated to receive over four years from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law last year.”
2. Death toll in Iran “one of the largest mass killings of protesters of our time”
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, “Iran shut off the internet and blocked communications, trying to keep the world in the dark about the deadly wave of violence it used to crush antigovernment protests. Now as rights groups investigate, they say they are uncovering evidence that the death toll is far higher than they originally thought, with some projecting it will top 10,000.”
“Initial estimates of the toll from the crackdown had put the number of deaths at a few thousand, a tally that made it the regime’s deadliest assault on dissenters in decades. As human-rights activists have reviewed witness accounts, field investigations, hospital records, videos and photos, they say the reality appears to be far worse,” WSJ reported. “Even at the lower end of estimates the crackdown would rank as one of the most violent deployments of state power against protesters, say rights groups, exceeding the toll of China’s 1989 move to clear Tiananmen Square of demonstrators.”
“There is no doubt that the Islamic Republic has committed one of the largest mass killings of protesters of our time,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the head of the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights, per WSJ.
Sports
Shuckers holding job fair ahead of season opener
The Biloxi Shuckers are holding their annual Job Fair from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 3, at Keesler Federal Park.
The Shuckers are looking for energetic, enthusiastic, friendly and dependable employees to join their gameday staff for the 2026 season, with the home slate beginning on Tuesday, April 7, against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.
As part of the job fair, the Shuckers’ organizations said interested applicants can interview for various gameday positions, including ushers, ticket takers, ticket sellers, access control, camera operators, press box production, official scorer, game day stringer, mascot, retail, grounds crew, bat boys/girls, entertainment team and on-field emcee.
Markets & Business
1. Fed likely to pause rate cuts
According to the New York Times, “The Federal Reserve is widely expected to pause interest rate cuts this week after three reductions in the final months of 2025. Less clear, however, is just how long that pause will last.”
“Fed officials, once worried about a weakening labor market, no longer appear to be in as much of a rush after bringing rates down to a range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent,” NYT reported. “A steadily growing economy and low layoffs have given them some comfort that they can afford to take their time with further cuts, especially as they stare down the prospects of another year of inflation well above their 2 percent target.”
“What lies ahead for the Fed is a tenuous balancing act,” NYT continued. “Policymakers do not want to jeopardize the labor market by keeping rates too high for too long, but they also want to ensure they are restraining the economy enough to stamp out any lingering price pressures.”
2. India, EU reach trade agreement touted as “mother of all deals”
CNBC reports that India and the European Union on Monday “closed a ‘landmark’ free trade agreement, touted as the ‘mother of all deals,’ Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during a speech at the India Energy Week on Tuesday.”
“The FTA with the EU, which represents about 25% of global GDP and about a third of global trade, will also complement India’s deals with Britain and the European Free Trade Association, Modi said,” CNBC reported. “The agreement will forge a market of 2 billion people at a time when trade ties are being tested amid rising geopolitical tensions.”
CNBC added, “This is India’s fourth major trade deal since the U.S., India’s biggest export market and a major trading partner, imposed steep tariffs in August. It has entered into a trade pact with the U.K., Oman and New Zealand.”
Magnolia Tribune
