- 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. Businesses report child care access as a workforce challenge
A recent report from the Mississippi Business Alliance (MSBA) Foundation and Children’s Foundation of Mississippi shows access to affordable, reliable child care is a major factor affecting workforce participation, employee retention, and economic growth across the state.
The report, Increasing Employer Support for Child Care: Employer Engagement and Child Care – Addressing a Barrier to Workforce Development and Participation, examines how employers view child care as a workforce issue and identifies opportunities to strengthen child care access. The research included a statewide survey of 300 Mississippi business leaders, as well as input from child care experts and providers. Of those surveyed, 81% were business owners or executive-level decision makers.
Key survey findings include:
- 56% of respondents who offered child care support reported increased employee loyalty, retention, and productivity, while another 23% reported decreased absenteeism.
- 53% indicated they would be more likely to offer or expand assistance through direct child care tax incentives.
- Only 8% of businesses surveyed currently offer child care support to employees.
- 23% said they would be more willing to provide assistance if the current $6,000 threshold for the business child care tax credit was lowered and the process simplified.
Read the full report here.
2. Hinds adding 480 student seats in Health Sciences programs
AccelerateMS is supporting an expansion of Health Sciences training capacity at Hinds Community College that will add hundreds of new seats across high-demand healthcare programs and strengthen Mississippi’s healthcare workforce pipeline.
The initiative will allow Hinds to add 480 student seats in Health Sciences programs over the next three years, including 232 seats in traditional degree programs and 248 seats in short-term workforce training programs, creating additional pathways for Mississippians to enter critical healthcare careers.
To support this growth, AccelerateMS is investing nearly $3 million as part of a broader $53 million project at the college’s Rankin Campus. The new 160,000-square-foot, four-story Health Sciences facility, scheduled to open in fall 2026, will modernize training environments and provide the space needed to scale healthcare workforce programs.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Gulf countries seek end to Iran operation
The Hill reports that “Gulf countries are pushing for an end to the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran, a rare moment of unity in a fight they tried to avoid.”
“Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, who rarely see first-hand conflict in the region, have all come under varying degrees of attack from Iran,” The Hill reported. “Once thought to serve as a deterrent, American military bases and diplomatic outposts in these countries are a bullseye for Iranian missiles and have come under heavy fire as the war stretches into its 13th day. Cheaply produced one-way Iranian attack drones have successfully evaded billion-dollar air defense systems.”
“The mood in the Gulf is three layers, first is rage against Iran, second is dismay with Washington, and third is profound suspicion about Israel’s regional agenda and profile,” said Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
2. Islamic State sympathizer opens fire on Old Dominion University
According to the Washington Post, “A man who once tried to assist the Islamic State opened fire Thursday in a classroom at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, killing one person and injuring two others before students subdued him, according to the FBI, which said the shooting was being investigated as an act of terrorism.”
“The university’s police chief said officers found the suspect dead when they arrived minutes after reports that people were being shot inside Constant Hall, where business classes are held. Officials did not describe how the man, identified as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, died,” WP reported.
“He was not shot,” FBI Special Agent Dominique Evans, head of the bureau’s Norfolk field office, said at a news conference.
WP reported, “Evans said Jalloh, a former Army National Guard member and naturalized U.S. citizen who is in his mid-30s, shouted ‘Allahu akbar,’ or ‘God is great,’ before shooting.”
Sports
1. Big 3 open conference play
No. 3 Mississippi State, No. 7 Southern Miss and Ole Miss all open conference play on the diamond this weekend. Here’s a rundown of their weekend series:
- Mississippi State (15-2) opens SEC play at No. 5 Arkansas. Things get underway on Friday at 6 p.m. streaming on SEC Network+ with the final two contests airing on SEC Network on Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. respectively.
- Southern Miss (15-2) heads up to Arkansas State to open Sun Belt play. The series opens Friday at 6 p.m., followed by games Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games can be seen via ESPN+.
- For the first time since 1912, Ole Miss (15-3) travels to No. 2 Texas in a matchup that opens SEC play. First pitch on Friday is set for 6:30 p.m. while Saturday is set for 2:30 p.m. and Sunday is set for 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed live on SEC Network+
Markets & Business
1. Futures up as investors await inflation data
CNBC reports that stock futures “rose Friday as investors await key U.S. inflation data. The report comes as surging oil prices in the wake of the Iran war continues to weigh on stocks.”
“Stocks are coming off a losing session as oil spiked Thursday after Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said that the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route, should remain shut as a ‘tool to pressure the enemy,'” CNBC reported. “Rising crude prices and growing inflation fears have also dampened investors’ expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this year.”
CNBC added, “Traders are now awaiting the release of January’s personal consumption expenditures price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — due Friday morning.”
2. U.S. trade deficit declines 25% since December
As the Wall Street Journal reports, “The U.S. trade deficit declined in January, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, continuing a volatile run for America’s trade balance that has seen imports and exports buffeted by rapid changes to the Trump administration’s trade policy.”
“In the first month of 2026, U.S. imports declined by 0.7% from the previous month, while exports expanded by 5.5%. That yielded a deficit of $54.5 billion, down 25% from a large monthly deficit in December,” WSJ reported. “Analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal were expecting a $67 billion deficit.”
WSJ noted, “The jump in exports was led by a significant increase in sales of gold to overseas buyers. Big swings in international flows of the precious metal have added to volatility in trade data for months.”
