- 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. AccelerateMS, MCC launching new automotive technology program
Meridian Community College is launching a new automotive technology program made possible through support from AccelerateMS.
MCC students will receive hands-on training in core automotive systems and emerging technologies. Instruction will meet Automotive Service Excellence standards and emphasize safety, employability skills, and work-based learning to prepare graduates for successful careers.
The investment supports a new two-year Associate of Applied Science degree in Automotive Technology developed in response to regional employer needs. The program offers flexible one-year and two-year exit points, allowing students to enter the workforce or continue toward advanced credentials. Once fully scaled, the program will add up to 15 new student seats per year, resulting in up to 30 additional seats.
With a combination of state and federal investments, the college is expanding training capacity and equipping students with the tools and technology needed for hands-on, high-quality instruction. MCC was awarded more than $300,000 from AccelerateMS specifically to fully outfit its automotive labs with essential, up-to-date instructional equipment.
2. Guilty plea entered in unemployment scheme
State Auditor Shad White announced Monday that Benjamin Coleman has pleaded guilty to one count of Fraudulent Statements and Representations.
The Auditor said Coleman submitted fraudulent weekly certification sheets to obtain unemployment funds from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
“My office will continue to drop the hammer on criminals who can be identified and recover as much misspent taxpayer dollars as possible,” said White.
Coleman was sentenced by the Forrest County Circuit Court to 3 years of Pre-Trial Diversion Program and ordered to pay a total of $2,824 in restitution and $175 in fines.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. SCOTUS allows Alabama to return to prior congressional map
As reported by Politico, “The Supreme Court has given Alabama the go-ahead to use a congressional map that will likely remove a Democratic incumbent from the state.”
“In a 6-3 ruling issued Monday, the court’s conservative majority granted a request from Alabama’s Republican leaders to lift an injunction that blocked the state from using a map the Legislature adopted in 2023. That map includes only one majority-Black district, while the current House map includes a second majority-minority district in which nearly half the population is Black,” Politico reported. “The current map had been imposed by a federal court after it ruled that the Voting Rights Act required the state to draw that second district.”
Politico continued, “Monday’s ruling removes the injunction that forced Alabama to continue using that map. The high court’s majority did not issue an opinion explaining its reasoning, but simply said the lower court’s decision should be reconsidered in light of the decision last month in Louisiana v. Callais, where the justices sharply narrowed the requirement to draw district lines to create so-called opportunity districts to comply with the Voting Rights Act.”
2. Xi to press Trump over Taiwan
According to the New York Times, “The United States’ stance on Taiwan has rested for decades on a complex latticework of policies designed to support the island democracy while avoiding treating it officially as an independent country, a step that would enrage Beijing.”
“Many in Taiwan are holding their breath for what may happen to that delicate structure when President Trump, with his off-the-cuff, transactional ways, meets China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing for a two-day summit starting Thursday,” NYT reported. “Mr. Xi appears poised to lecture Mr. Trump on U.S. support for Taiwan, especially weapons sales.”
NYT went on to report, “Mr. Trump and his officials have said that his trip to Beijing will be focused on trade and investment. But China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, and other officials have indicated that they also expect the two presidents to discuss Taiwan, the issue that could most likely ignite a war between their countries. China claims Taiwan is its territory, and could use armed force to take it, while the United States says it could intervene to defend Taiwan, a longtime partner.”
Sports
1. Southern Miss now No. 8 in the country
Southern Miss has played their way into a Top 10 ranking with one regular season series remaining.
The Golden Eagles came in at No. 8 in this week’s poll, rising four spots after their sweep of James Madison. They are also one game back from Sun Belt Conference leader Coastal Carolina ranked No. 20.
Mississippi State fell from No. 11 to No. 13 after a series loss to now No. 5 Auburn.
Ole Miss rose five spots to No. 15 after defeating then No. 9 Texas A&M. The Aggies moved down to No. 10 this week.
2. Kiffin talks lack of “diversity” in Oxford
Former Ole Miss Head Football Coach Lane Kiffin told Vanity Fair that Oxford makes recruiting difficult over its lack of “diversity.”
“‘Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi,’” Kiffin said top recruits would tell him about Ole Miss. “That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Parents were sitting here this weekend saying the campus’s diversity feels so great: ‘It feels like there’s no segregation. And we want that for our kid because that’s the real world.’”
Kiffin, who famously left for rival LSU amid Ole Miss’ playoff run last season, went on to say, “I just hope (the comment) comes across respectful to Ole Miss… There are some things that I’m saying that are factual, they’re not shots.”
Kiffin doesn’t think fans and the Oxford community should be too mad with him.
“Did you make the university tons of money? Are out-of-state applications way up?” he said. “Did the city make tons of money —businesses, real estate? I mean, this is not a normal big city. This is Oxford, Mississippi.”
Markets & Business
1. Oil prices rising again as U.S., Iran ceasefire on life support
CNBC reports that “oil prices rose Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump said that the ceasefire with Iran was on life support after rejecting Tehran’s counterproposal to end the war, signaling the conflict in the Middle East could drag on.”
“International benchmark Brent crude futures for July gained 3.1% to $107.31 a barrel as of 6:39 a.m. ET. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for June rose 3.2% to $101.17 per barrel,” CNBC reported.
CNBC noted, “Since the U.S. and Israeli-led war against Iran started on Feb. 28, WTI and Brent are both up more than 40%.”
2. Home sales flat in April
The Wall Street Journal reports that “home sales were flat in April, dealing a substantial blow to a housing industry that was counting on a strong spring season to emerge from an extended slump.”
“Sales of existing homes rose 0.2% in April over the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million, the National Association of Realtors said Monday,” WSJ reported. “That slight gain marked a reversal from March, when home sales dropped a revised 2.9%. But April numbers were far below expectations. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 3% increase.”
WSJ added, “Mortgage rates dropped below 6% in late February, spurring optimism for a robust spring, which is typically the busiest time of year in the housing market. But the war in Iran pushed up inflation expectations and mortgage rates, which rose to 6.37% last week.”
