- Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
Hyde-Smith, Ezell sign on to amicus brief in NY 2nd Amendment case
Mississippi’s U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and 4th District Congressman Mike Ezell are among 77 lawmakers who have signed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Second Circuit ruling and uphold the Second Amendment by preventing New York from bypassing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
Signed by 22 U.S. Senators and 55 U.S. Representatives, the brief argues that a New York state public nuisance law improperly undermines protections established by Congress in the PLCAA, which generally shields gun manufacturers and sellers from lawsuits when criminals misuse firearms that were legally sold. The New York law allows lawsuits against gun industry members based on broad claims that they contributed to conditions endangering public safety.
Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and South Carolina Congressman Russell Fry led the amicus brief, which supports the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s petition seeking certiorari before the Supreme Court. Read the full brief here.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump making more Cabinet changes?
According to Politico, “President Donald Trump has expressed frustration and disappointment with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer — and is pondering making additional changes to his Cabinet.”
“He’s very angry and he’s going to be moving people,” an administration official familiar with the dynamics told POLITICO, noting that the “official and three other people with knowledge of Trump’s thinking around his Cabinet were granted anonymity to discuss the unresolved personnel issues.”
“The additional potential moves follow the ouster of Attorney General Pam Bondi Thursday and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last month,” Politico reported. “No final decisions have been made on Chavez-DeRemer and Lutnick — and Trump has contemplated firing people and then backed off before.”
2. How politics is being funded today
As reported by the New York Times, “Across America, there has been a remarkable shift in the type of people who fund politics. The biggest thing is that they often aren’t people at all.”
“The 10 largest individual donations so far in the midterm elections? They total almost $300 million — and none of them came from a human being. Some of the origins can be deduced, but other checks came from a series of little-known nonprofits whose original donors will most likely never be known,” NYT reported. “This is the new normal in American elections. Increasingly, individuals do not cut the big checks to political campaigns, donations in which their names would have to be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission or state regulators. They come more and more from an alphabet soup of patriotic-sounding philanthropic organizations that send hundreds of millions of dollars to political action committees but do not have to disclose where the money came from.”
NYT continued, “About 17 percent of the money donated to super PACs in the 2024 election cycle — about $1.5 billion — came from organizations that did not disclose their donors, the review showed… The two main nonprofits behind the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns alone raised nearly $900 million.”
Sports
1. USM, Ole Miss get road wins; Miss. State falls at home
Mississippi’s Big 3 opened their weekend series on Thursday instead of Friday this week due to the Easter holiday. Here’s a look at how their Thursday games turned out:
- No. 4 Mississippi State suffered a 10-9 loss Thursday night in Starkville in their game with visiting No. 5 Georgia. First pitch for Friday’s game two is set for 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.
- No. 8 Southern Miss picked up a 10-4 win Thursday over Old Dominion in Virginia. The Golden Eagles return to action Friday for game two at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
- Ole Miss went down to No. 21 Florida and took the Thursday game 6-4 on the road. The two meet again Friday in game two at 5:30 p.m. on SEC Network+.
2. MSU Athletics launches STATE 1878
Mississippi State Athletics launched STATE 1878, an independent membership community built for Mississippi State fans and supporters, on Thursday. The focus is on deepening engagement and strengthening the connection between Bulldog fans and Mississippi State’s athletic programs.
“I believe Mississippi State Athletics is capable of competing with anyone and winning at the highest level, and I believe the Bulldog Family is one of the most powerful forces in college athletics when it is fully aligned around its programs and its people,” Director of Athletics Zac Selmon said. “STATE 1878 channels that force. It connects our fans directly to the student-athletes who compete relentlessly in Maroon and White, creates meaningful NIL opportunities that invest directly in those athletes, and unites our entire community around a shared belief in taking Mississippi State Athletics to new heights. This platform was built for our fans and for this moment. We are fully behind it.”
Named for the year Mississippi State was founded, MSU Athletics said STATE 1878 offers fans direct access to Mississippi State student-athletes and coaches through breaking news, in-depth interviews, recruiting coverage, behind-the-scenes storytelling, and program updates that go beyond the box score. The platform also delivers VIP experiences, exclusive merchandise, and a community built around a shared belief in taking Mississippi State Athletics to new heights.
Markets & Business
1. Trump reshaping metal tariffs
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration said Thursday “it would reshape its tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper products, altering duties on finished products to help simplify compliance. The net effect of the changes could effectively raise costs for many imports.”
“Under a presidential proclamation issued Thursday, finished products made with imported steel, aluminum and copper will be tariffed at 25%,” WSJ reported. “The 25% tariff will apply to the entire value of a finished product—known as a derivative product—containing steel, aluminum or copper. That will replace the current 50% duty, which only applies to the value of the metal used in a product.”
WSJ noted, “The 50% tariff will remain in place for commodity-grade steel, aluminum and copper products—goods that are mostly made of the respective metals. Some goods could be reclassified as commodity products if they are made almost entirely of the metals.”
2. March jobs report coming Friday
CNBC reports that nonfarm payrolls “are expected to bounce back — barely — in March as the bar keeps getting lower for what constitutes a healthy labor market.”
“The U.S. economy is projected to show job gains of 59,000 for the month, an anemic rate by the standards of previous years this decade but enough to keep the unemployment rate at 4.4%,” CNBC reported. “If the estimate is reasonably accurate, it actually would represent above-trend job growth for a labor market that has created virtually no jobs over the past year.”
CNBC added, “Immigration restrictions, shifting demographics and geopolitical uncertainty have left companies eager neither to hire nor fire workers en masse, resulting in a static labor market and a series of ho-hum monthly counts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS will release the number Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, though the stock market will be closed in observance of the Good Friday holiday.”
Magnolia Tribune
