- 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. “Black Spring Break” declines in attendance along Coast
WLOX reports that “Black Spring Break,” which once drew thousands of visitors to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, has seen its attendance at the coast-wide event dwindle.
“Large crowds no longer gather on Beach Boulevard. The empty lot to the east of Surf Style once hosted food trucks and vendors, but has remained vacant for the last two years of Black Spring Break,” WLOX reported. “Promoters have moved virtually all events to private clubs in Gulfport.”
WLOX noted, “Biloxi’s Club Elevate shuttered in 2025 after a shooting injured multiple people, leaving fewer venues for spring break promoters to host events.”
2. AG announces sentencing of “Fondren Firebug”
Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced Monday the recent sentencing of Todd Bryan Higgins, 52, known as the “Fondren Firebug”, for one count of trespassing.
The AG said the case was investigated by Capitol Police and prosecuted by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office. CCID Court Judge James Holland sentenced Higgins on April 8 to serve 6 months in the custody of the Hinds County Detention Center, with five months to serve, followed by one month probation.
The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office had nearly 300 convictions in Capitol Complex Improvement District (CCID) Court in 2025, with a 98% success rate. So far in 2026, AG prosecutors have handled more than 300 initial appearances, more than 50 preliminary hearings, nearly 70 misdemeanor trials, and nearly 550 traffic violations before the CCID Court.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Swalwell, Gonzales to resign from Congress
The Hill reports that “Two House members are on their way out of Congress as Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) announced their resignations Monday evening in the face of building efforts to expel them over sexual misconduct allegations.”
“An effort from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to expel Swalwell and Gonzales gained steam as members of both parties called on them to resign or be ousted. Luna said earlier Monday that she thought she had enough support to expel them,” The Hill reported.
The Hill continued, “While their announcements make any push to expel them unnecessary, they leave a question on the implications for two other members of Congress — Florida Reps. Cory Mills (R) and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D). The push to expel Swalwell and Gonzales raised questions about whether the House would also expel the Florida House members.”
2. Trump “Christ-like” AI image sparks outrage
According to the Wall Street Journal, “President Trump’s decision to post an AI-generated image depicting himself as a Christ-like figure sparked outrage on the religious right, triggering the most significant pushback from his Catholic and evangelical Christian supporters since he returned to the White House.”
“We are a little bit beside ourselves,” said John Yep, CEO of Catholics for Catholics, a nonprofit that has hosted faith events at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club and maintains close ties to the administration, per WSJ. “On Sunday night, Yep was eating dinner with friends after church services when his phone lighted up with messages about the now-deleted image in which Trump, wearing robes, touches the forehead of a man lying in a hospital bed.”
WSJ continued, “Trump confirmed that he posted the image, but said he didn’t intend to compare himself to Jesus. ‘It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better,’ he told reporters at the White House on Monday afternoon. The post had earlier been deleted from Truth Social. It wasn’t the first time Trump has blended politics with religious imagery: Last year, Trump posted on Truth Social an AI-generated image of himself dressed as the pope.”
Sports
1. MSU Athletics announces $2 million donation from IHL member
Mississippi State Athletics announced Monday that longtime supporters Charlie and Dana Stephenson have given $2 million to Mississippi State Athletics.
The school said the Stephensons’ generosity serves as the most recent key contribution to help elevate MSU in the current landscape of college athletics.
“Mississippi State is near and dear to our hearts and it’s always our desire to see us competing at the highest level,” Charlie and Dana said. “We want to do all we can to help bring success to our great university. So many wonderful things are happening at MSU, and we’re excited to help that continue.”
He’s a current member of the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, representing the Third Supreme Court District.
2. Two Ole Miss women’s basketball players drafted in WNBA
Ole Miss Athletics announced that for the first time in program history, an Ole Miss women’s basketball duo has been taken in the same WNBA Draft, as Cotie McMahon and Latasha Lattimore were both selected on Monday night.
The Washington Mystics selected McMahon with the 11th overall pick in the first round, while the Chicago Sky took Lattimore with the 21st overall pick in the second round.
The school said the pair becomes the ninth and tenth Rebels drafted in school history, along as the fourth and fifth in the head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin era. McMahon is the fifth Ole Miss player to be drafted in the first round.
Markets & Business
1. Who will run the Fed after May 15?
As reported by the Washington Post, “A new confrontation between the Trump administration and the Federal Reserve may be taking shape over a simple question: Who runs the Federal Reserve after May 15?”
“That’s the date Jerome H. Powell’s term as Fed chair expires,” WP reported. “If Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace him, hasn’t been confirmed by the Senate by then, Powell has said he plans to stay on as the acting chief of the Fed board.”
WP added, “A number of economists and Fed watchers aren’t so sure the White House will accept Powell continuing to serve as the acting Fed chief. They expect the administration to argue that the president, not the Fed, has the legal authority to elevate an acting chairman — a view that clashes directly with the Fed’s reading of the law.”
2. S&P erases losses as investors optimistic end of Iran conflict is near
CNBC reports that stock futures were little changed Tuesday, “following a strong session in which traders shrugged off a breakdown in peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, yet were optimistic that a deal between the two countries was still possible. Traders also navigated a slew of fresh corporate earnings results.”
“Wall Street once again proved resilient in the face of increased geopolitical uncertainty. The major averages posted solid gains to start the week even after U.S.-Iran negotiations over the weekend broke down. President Donald Trump also said Monday that, ‘We’ve been called by the other side.’ He also said: ‘They’d like to make a deal very badly,'” CNBC reported. “Monday’s gains erased the S&P 500 losses suffered since the Iran war began.”
CNBC also reported that “Investors on Monday were also able to shrug off a jump in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled up 2.6% at $99.08 a barrel, while Brent crude advanced more than 4% to $99.36. Energy prices rose as the U.S. began a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. On Tuesday, crude prices fell slightly.”
