- 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. Ezell, Hyde-Smith comment on Hancock students detained by ICE
WLOX reports that “Lawmakers from Mississippi are releasing statements this week after two brothers, who are students and basketball players at Hancock High, were picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday, April 21.”
“On Tuesday, District 4 Congressman Mike Ezell said his office is aware of the situation, and he knows it has raised serious concerns for the community. According to Ezell, his ‘office is closely monitoring the situation and remains in contact with the appropriate agencies to better understand the circumstances,'” WLOX reported. “U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith said her office is doing what it can to work with the guardians of the brothers as they deal with an ‘ongoing and complex immigration case.'”
WLOX reported that “Israel Makoka, 18, and Max Makoka, 15, were waiting for their school bus in Diamondhead the morning of April 21, when their host father Cliff Baptiste noticed an unfamiliar car loitering nearby… Just as the school bus arrived, 10 unmarked cars surrounded the scene, and ICE agents detained and zip-tied both boys… The host family had official documentation and believed the boys were in the country legally, but were told by ICE agents that they were ‘out of status.'”
2. Auditor arrests two Tallahatchie County road department employees
Special Agents from the State Auditor’s office have arrested Willie Garner and Willie Williams, Tallahatchie County Road Department employees, for allegedly defrauding Tallahatchie County by using county equipment, materials, and labor to deliver dirt to the home of Willie Garner.
The Auditor said Garner and Williams both allegedly utilized county dump trucks and labor to deliver dirt to Garner’s home for his own personal benefit.
Garner and Williams both face up to $10,000 in fines and 15 years in prison if convicted.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. SCOTUS unanimously sides with crisis pregnancy centers in NJ subpoena case
As reported by Politico, “The Supreme Court handed a win to anti-abortion advocates Friday, ruling that crisis pregnancy centers can go to federal court to try to block a state subpoena tied to a probe of the centers’ fundraising practices.”
“The unanimous ruling doesn’t immediately shut down the investigation by the New Jersey attorney general’s office, but it means the centers will soon get a chance to argue to a federal judge that the state’s demand for fundraising-related records going back a decade intrudes on the centers’ First Amendment rights,” Politico reported.
“An official demand for private donor information is enough to discourage reasonable individuals from associating with a group. It is enough to discourage groups from expressing dissident views,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court in upholding the centers’ right to take the dispute to federal court now.
Politico noted, “New Jersey officials say they are investigating discrepancies between what the centers promoting alternatives to abortion tell donors and what patients are told.”
2. House passes budget blueprint to end DHS shutdown
According to The Hill, “Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday quashed a rebellion over the farm bill to allow the House to adopt a budget blueprint for a second reconciliation bill that would fund immigration enforcement.”
“The 215-211-1 party-line vote, with Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.) voting present, brings Congress one step closer to ending the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, which has stretched to a record 10 weeks. The reconciliation bill is part of a two-step plan to reopen DHS, with the White House and Senate amping up pressure on the House to adopt a Senate-passed bipartisan bill to fund the rest of the department,” The Hill reported. “But adoption of the resolution didn’t come easily.”
The Hill went on to report, “For the second time on Wednesday, leaders held open a vote for hours as they sought to win over holdouts who were furious about GOP leadership’s perceived reversal on the farm bill, and how to handle a measure that would tack on a bill to allow year-round sales of E15 ethanol fuel.”
Sports
1. JSU’s Davis named SWACC Pitcher of the Week
Jackson State University sophomore pitcher Talmadge Davis was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Pitcher of the Week this week by the conference office following his outing on the road against Alabama A&M.
JSU Athletics said Davis (1-2) picked up his first collegiate win with a complete game effort in a run-rule 18-1 victory over the Bulldogs on Friday.
The sophomore allowed just one run on three hits, while recording seven strikeouts and walking just two. The effort gave him 18 strikeouts in his last two outings after striking out 11 against Alabama State the previous week.
2. Pearl River stays atop NJCAA baseball rankings
Pearl River Community College stayed atop the NJCAA Division II baseball rankings this week, coming in at No. 1.
PRCC is now 43-9 on the season.
Other Mississippi JUCOs ranked in this week’s Top 25 are:
- East Central at No. 2
- Jones at No. 11
- Northwest at No. 23
- Co-Lin at No. 24
Markets & Business
1. No Fed rate cut yet
CNBC reports “U.S. Treasury yields were broadly flat on Thursday as investors digested the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates on hold, while oil hit a 4-year high overnight.” Brent crude hit $126 before easing to near $121.
“The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note — the key benchmark for U.S. government borrowing — was traded at 4.410%,” CNBC reported. “The 2-year Treasury note yield, which more closely tracks short-term Federal Reserve interest rate policy, was over 1 basis point lower at 3.916%. The longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield was seen trading flat.”
CNBC added, “The Fed on Wednesday voted to keep the benchmark federal funds rate on hold between 3.50% to 3.75%, which investors had expected heading into the meeting.But the meeting also saw the highest level of dissent since 1992 — with three officials voting against “the inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time.” This phrasing indicates the likelihood that the next move from the U.S. central bank will be to lower interest rates.”
2. Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft bet big on AI, data centers
The Wall Street Journal reports that “Big tech companies are starting to strike gold with artificial intelligence, but investors are still wringing their hands over the multibillion-dollar bets on data centers and chips.”
“Four of the biggest names in technology—Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Amazon.com—on Wednesday reported earnings showing that sales are growing thanks to the proliferation of AI tools,” WSJ reported. “That progress, however, comes at a steep cost. Capital expenditures on the infrastructure needed to satisfy demand are climbing steadily higher.”
WSJ reported, “Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon last year combined for $410 billion in capital expenditures and are expected to spend more than $670 billion on capex in 2026, according to a Wall Street Journal tally. Morgan Stanley estimates that tech companies will spend $2.9 trillion on chips, servers and other pieces of data-center infrastructure between 2025 and 2028.”
