- Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
MHP announces Independence Day enforcement
The Mississippi Highway Patrol’s Independence Day travel period will begin at midnight on July 3 and run through midnight on July 6. Drivers can expect high-visibility patrols and checkpoints.
“As we celebrate Independence Day and the freedoms, we are so fortunate to enjoy, let’s remember the men and women in law enforcement and all first responders who are working to keep us safe,” said Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell.
Tindell said the Mississippi Highway Patrol will be out enforcing traffic laws, and agencies across the state will be on duty. Thank you to all who serve this holiday.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump works the phones ahead of House vote
The Hill reports that President Donald Trump “spoke on the phone with a handful of Republican lawmakers blocking his ‘big, beautiful bill’ in the early hours of Thursday morning, The Hill has learned, as GOP leaders race to coalesce the conference around the sprawling package.”
“The phone call — which took place around 1 a.m. as holdouts huddled in a room off the House floor — came as a key procedural vote for the megabill remained open for almost four hours, with hardline conservatives and one moderate Republican hampering the legislation from moving forward,” The Hill reported, adding, “The president had also fired off a series of late-night Truth Social posts, urging the GOP holdouts to drop their opposition to a procedural rule needed to advance the core of his domestic agenda, including tax cuts, tougher immigration rules and a boost in energy production.”
The Hill noted, “Rather than gaveling the vote closed, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has opted to leave it open as he and his leadership team race to convince the holdouts to support the rule.”
2. Wisconsin Supreme Court allows abortions to continue
The Washington Post reports that a divided Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday “allowed abortions to continue in the state, blocking a 19th-century law that for a time effectively banned the procedure in nearly all instances.”
“The ruling is a victory for abortion rights advocates — who helped flip the elected court’s ideological makeup in 2023 — and puts protections for the procedure on firmer footing,” WP reported. “It represents a setback for abortion opponents in the swing state, who had hoped Wisconsin would join the states that limited or banned the procedure after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022.”
WP continued, “The ruling means health care providers can continue to offer abortions until 20 weeks post-fertilization, with the only exception after that point in pregnancies being cases in which the patient’s health is at risk. Wisconsin mandates an ultrasound and a 24-hour waiting period before most abortions.”
Sports
1. Shuckers hosting Fireworks Extravaganza July 4th
The Biloxi Shuckers will host the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on July 4th, with a planned Independence Day Fireworks Extravaganza to conclude the evening game.
The Shuckers are also inviting fans to watch them light up the skies with the best fireworks show on the Coast for Fireworks Fridays, which are happening after every Friday home game during this their 10th anniversary season.
2. Huff to spread the word on Southern Miss football
New Southern Miss head football coach Charles Huff is hitting the road to visit with fans ahead of the 2025 season kickoff.
The Southern Miss football summer tour features three stops: July 17 in Madison, July 21 in Gulfport, and July 22 in New Orleans.
The school said these events offer a valuable opportunity to hear directly from Coach Huff as he outlines his vision for the program and builds excitement for the upcoming season.
Markets & Business
1. Traders await latest jobs report
As CNBC reports, “U.S. stock futures were little changed Thursday as traders braced for June’s big jobs report.”
“Economists polled by Dow Jones expect that the economy added 110,000 jobs last month. That compares to May’s gain of 139,000. Economists also see the unemployment rate inching higher to 4.3%, up from 4.2% in May,” CNBC reported. “If June’s jobs report disappoints, the market could rotate away from more speculative technology stocks into value names, according to Jay Hatfield, founder and CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors.”
″[Thursday] could be a little dicey,” he told CNBC. “The tradeoff between tech stocks being down and value going up — a lot of times the overall market will go down because tech stocks are 40% of the market.”
2. U.S. job market has remained “surprisingly strong”
The New York Times reports that the “U.S. job market has remained surprisingly solid for months despite rising concerns about how President Trump’s policies, including tariffs and sweeping government layoffs, may affect the economy. In May, employers added jobs at a healthy clip.”
“But there have also been signs that the labor market is softening. Hiring has been primarily powered by two industries — health care along with leisure and hospitality — rather than being more broad-based,” NYT reported. “The unemployment rate has been slowly trending up and stands at 4.2 percent. Workers are taking longer to find new jobs.”
NYT added that the unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 4.3 percent with the latest jobs report coming Thursday.
Magnolia Tribune
