- 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. Birx to speak at Ole Miss
Ole Miss announced Monday that Dr. Deborah L. Birx, former White House coronavirus response coordinator, will speak March 7 at the university.
According to the university, in her presentation “Lessons from Pandemics Response Across the Globe: Moving to 21st Century Technology to Prevent, Detect and Respond Successfully,” she will speak about the importance of data in times of uncertainty.
She hopes those in attendance learn “the importance of gathering information – if needed, from around the globe – how to present data in compelling ways, how to listen to the reality on the ground and to understand that data is only worth collecting if you are going to use it to help others.”
The talk is scheduled for noon in the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts and is free and open to the public.
2. UMMC to break ground on new School of Dentistry
UMMC announced Monday that a groundbreaking event is scheduled for March 6 at 8:30 a.m. to celebrate the construction of its new School of Dentistry.
The project, which is supported by a $40 million legislative appropriation, will provide an upgraded, dedicated space for student clinics, University Dentists and the Advanced Education in General Dentistry graduate program.
“It’s exciting,” said Dr. Scott Phillips, associate dean for clinical affairs, in a statement. “The new clinical building gives us the opportunity to have space for all predoctoral students to provide comprehensive patient care in a larger clinical area. Currently, students are assigned to three smaller clinics across two floors. Having a lot of our clinical staff and faculty working in the same location will allow for a better experience for patients and students.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump, Macron meet at White House; Ukraine-Russia agreement teased
As reported by The Hill, French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday became the first European leader to visit the White House during Trump’s second term. The two met with Ukraine prominently in the news, as “the U.S. voted against a United Nations resolution condemning Russia as the aggressor in Ukraine on the third anniversary of Moscow’s invasion.”
“On Monday, Trump indicated that Kyiv and Washington are closing in on an agreement that would grant the U.S. a share of the country’s rare minerals supply — in exchange for an undefined, implicit security guarantee — after an intense pressure campaign from the American president to strike a deal,” The Hill reported. “Trump said he may meet with Zelensky in the coming days at the White House to finalize the agreement.”
The Hill also noted, “A White House official said Monday that the agreement Trump is seeking won’t include guarantees to Ukraine for future aid or a commitment to send U.S. personnel.”
2. U.S. House budget resolution hits the floor
The Washington Post reports that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) “is set to put a budget resolution up for a floor vote Tuesday, but is facing a potential revolt from swing-district Republicans wary of cuts to social safety net benefits and fiscal hawks who say the bill’s $2 trillion in spending cuts don’t reach far enough into federal coffers.”
“The legislation would start the reconciliation process, a legislative mechanism that would allow the GOP to head off a Democratic Senate filibuster, but the competing demands have boxed in the speaker — and could put the brakes on Trump’s legislative plans,” WP reported, adding, “The GOP-controlled Senate is planning a two-step approach to passing Trump’s agenda with a pair of reconciliation bills, an approach Johnson sees as a backup plan.”
WP added, “Major portions of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expire at the end of 2025, meaning most taxpayers will see a rate hike if Congress does not act.”
Sports
1. Big 3 all ranked in D1 Top 25
Mississippi State, Southern Miss and Ole Miss are now ranked in the D1 Baseball Top 25 following impressive starts to their 2025 seasons.
Miss. State (6-1) came in at No. 18 in the poll released on Monday while Southern Miss (7-1) and Ole Miss (6-1) moved to No. 22 and No. 24, respectively.
Southern Miss beat Mississippi State last Tuesday in Hattiesburg. Tonight, the Golden Eagles head to Oxford to take on Ole Miss.
Notably, the top 4 spots in the D1 Top 25 are held by SEC teams Texas A&M, LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas. Troy, who plays Miss. State on Tuesday, is the only other Sun Belt team in the Top 25 with Southern Miss.
2. MHSAA State Basketball Championship Tournament underway in Jackson
The 2025 Mississippi High School Basketball State Championship Tournament is underway in Jackson, with the top 4 boys and girls teams in each of the 7 classifications competing to advance to the state title game later this week.
The semifinals round is happening Monday through Thursday afternoon, with the finals beginning on Thursday evening and running through Saturday night.
All of the games are being played at the Mississippi Coliseum.
For a complete listing of game times and how to watch the action, click here to visit the MHSAA announcement on the tournament.
Markets & Business
1. Apple touts U.S. manufacturing investment in Texas
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Monday “trumpeted plans to spend $500 billion in the U.S. and add 20,000 jobs,” reported the Wall Street Journal. It highlights “a plan to open a server-manufacturing site in Houston and to double its Advanced Manufacturing Fund, which was formed in 2017 to invest in U.S. manufacturing projects, to $10 billion.”
“Apple will work with its longtime manufacturing partner Foxconn for the Houston site,” WSJ reported. “Apple’s new jobs promises are slightly ahead of the company’s recent four-year pace, and the spending pledge is roughly on track with its recent investments, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.”
WSJ went on to report, “The AI server production facility in Houston is new, but the company has yet to spell out how many people it will continuously employ beyond saying it will create thousands of jobs.”
2. Eli Lilly lowers cost of weight loss drug
CNBC reports that Eli Lilly on Tuesday released higher doses of its weight loss drug Zepbound in single-dose vials “at as much as half its usual monthly list price to reach more patients without insurance coverage for the blockbuster injection, such as those with Medicare.”
“It expands the company’s effort to boost the U.S. supply of Zepbound as demand soars, and to ensure eligible patients are safely accessing the real treatment instead of cheaper compounded versions,” CNBC reported. “Eli Lilly is now offering higher doses of Zepbound in single-dose vials through a “self-pay pharmacy” section on its direct-to-consumer website…”
CNBC added, “The company is selling 7.5 milligram and 10 milligram vials of Zepbound for $499 per month when patients fill their first prescription, and any time they refill within 45 days of their previous delivery. Otherwise, those two doses will cost $599 and $699, respectively.”
Magnolia Tribune
