- 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. Governor. MDA unveil new branding campaign
Governor Tate Reeves and the Mississippi Development Authority unveiled a new branding initiative on Wednesday.
“Let’s Break New Ground” was created in partnership with Ridgeland-based The Ramey Agency. The new campaign conveys the state’s commitment to bringing new investments and good-paying job opportunities to Mississippians through its pro-business policies and favorable business environment.
“When it comes to economic development, Mississippi is breaking new ground for business and its people. This brand campaign highlights our state’s pioneering spirit, the strength of our partnerships and our willingness to think creatively to help businesses succeed,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “We’ve experienced record-breaking economic development successes over the last few years. As the economic landscape evolves across sectors, we are excited to ‘break new ground’ and further expand both our diverse portfolio of industries and opportunities for Mississippians.”
2. Hyde-Smith, Senate Ag Committee begin work on new Farm Bill
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday launched the process for writing a new Farm Bill by getting insights on the challenges facing farmers and ranchers who are still operating under outdated 2018 Farm Bill policies.
“Input costs are through the roof while crop prices are lower than they were 15 years ago. The federal farm safety net is not providing adequate support to keep our farmers and ranchers afloat. I have certainly been pulling the alarm on this because I know the seriousness of this. Because of this, producers across the country are going out of business. In short, U.S. agriculture is just in trouble,” Hyde-Smith said.
Hyde-Smith said that Title I “deserves significant improvement and investment” in a new Farm Bill, which should be done “as soon as possible to prevent today’s problems from getting worse.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. White House goes after federal spending on media subscriptions
The White House announced Wednesday that the U.S. government, including USAID, will no longer be spending “more than $8 million… essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico.”
Administration officials revealed that media organizations like Politico, the Associated Press, and the New York Times have received millions from the federal government, including but not exclusively through USAID, related to paid subscriptions.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the press corps that the administration is going line by line reviewing the federal government’s books.
2. Bondi confirmed as U.S. Attorney General
Pam Bondi has been confirmed as the new U.S. Attorney General.
As the New York Times reported Bondi was confirmed by a vote of 54 to 46, with one Democrat, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, joining the Republican majority.
“In 2010, Ms. Bondi emerged from a crowded Republican primary to win the Florida attorney general’s race. Over her eight years in the job, Ms. Bondi became a national figure in the battle against opioid addiction. Since her nomination, she has focused on that part of her résumé and her prosecutions of violent criminals as her chief credentials for the job,” NYT reported.
Sports
1. NCAA issues statement after Trump signs order protecting women’s sports
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s latest executive order protecting women’s sports, NCAA President Charlie Baker issued the following statement regarding President Donald Trump’s executive order:
“The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes. We strongly believe that clear, consistent, and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today’s student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump’s order provides a clear, national standard.
“The NCAA Board of Governors is reviewing the executive order and will take necessary steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject to further guidance from the administration. The Association will continue to help foster welcoming environments on campuses for all student-athletes. We stand ready to assist schools as they look for ways to support any student-athletes affected by changes in the policy.”
2. Southern Miss falls at App State
Southern Miss Athletics says App State (14-9, 8-4 Sun Belt) scored on a buzzer-beating dunk on Wednesday night to pick up a 60-58 win over Southern Miss (10-14, 5-7 Sun Belt) in Boone, N.C.
The Golden Eagles and Mountaineers traded leads seven times throughout the game and two times in the second half.
The Golden Eagles travel to Ball State on Saturday afternoon as they take on the Cardinals in the MAC-SBC Challenge.
Markets & Business
Investors shaking off tariff worries?
CNBC reports that stock futures climbed Thursday “after the major averages posted back-to-back winning sessions, as investors weighed the latest batch of corporate earnings.”
“Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, along with S&P 500 futures, hovered around the flatline. Nasdaq 100 futures were also flat,” CNBC reported.
CNBC added, “Investors seemed to shake off worries around tariffs, which began on Monday after President Donald Trump announced a 10% levy on Chinese imports over the weekend. Sentiment improved after the president paused duties on Mexican and Canadian goods.”
