Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion
In Mississippi
1. Ole Miss to launch Center on Collegiate Gambling
The University of Mississippi announced its new Center on Collegiate Gambling on Monday.
The school said in a release that the first of its kind in the nation, the UM Center on Collegiate Gambling was recently approved by the Institutions of Higher Learning trustees.
“The center will advance understanding of college student gambling behaviors ranging from card games to proposition betting and prediction markets through academic research, said Hannah Allen-King, executive director of the university’s William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing and assistant professor of public health,” Ole Miss stated. “It also will promote evidence-based policies and programs to prevent harm, support student well-being and protect the integrity of collegiate athletics, she said. The work will also include training counselors to help students who are engaging in problem gambling behavior or experiencing gambling-related consequences.”
2. Grant awarded to protect Chickasaw Bayou Battlefield
The American Battlefield Trust said Monday that the National Park Service has awarded Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants of more than $91,000 to protect 90 acres along the banks of the Yazoo River, where Union troops disembarked their transport ships the day after Christmas 1862 to begin pushing toward Vicksburg from the north.
A $91,955 American Battlefield Protection Program grant was awarded via the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, plus an additional matching grant from the state-level Mississippi Historic Sites Preservation Fund and donations made by members of the American Battlefield Trust.
The land will be protected permanently, adding to significant preservation activities that have been undertaken at Chickasaw Bayou in recent years.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Deal to fund DHS in the works
According to The Hill, “Senate Republicans believe that President Trump is willing to accept a potential deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security following a White House meeting on Monday night.”
“It would be a significant shift for Trump, who over the weekend repeatedly he would not make a deal with Democrats unless they moved separate voting legislation known as the SAVE America Act,” The Hill reported. “But Trump signaled he is open to a deal to reopen the Homeland Security Department even if it doesn’t fully fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a two-hour meeting at the White House Monday evening, according to GOP senators briefed on the meeting.”
The Hill continued, “A Senate Republican source familiar with the discussion said Trump is willing to separate funding for the Enforcement and Removal Operation from the Homeland Security appropriations bill in order to get enough Democratic support it.”
2. Mullin confirmed as next Secretary of Homeland Security
The Washington Post report that the U.S. Senate “voted to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security late Monday, installing the Oklahoma Republican at the embattled national security agency amid global instability and frustration over immigration enforcement.”
“Mullin, who voted for himself in the narrowly divided Senate, was seen chatting, smiling and embracing colleagues on the Senate floor during the vote. The chamber filled with applause when the result was announced,” WP reported. “The vote was mostly along party lines. Two Democrats, Sens. John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) and Martin Heinrich (New Mexico), voted with Republicans to confirm him. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the committee’s top Democrat, both opposed his nomination.”
The final vote was 54 to 45 to confirm Mullin. He will replace outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem later this month.
Sports
1. Miss. State hosts Southern Miss in rematch
No. 6 Mississippi State is hosting No. 11 Southern Miss Tuesday in a Top 15 college baseball rematch weeks in the making.
Mississippi State (20-4) lost to Southern Miss (19-5) 7-6 earlier this month when the Bulldogs visited Hattiesburg.
Tuesday’s first pitch is set for 6 p.m before what is expected to be a packed house in Starkville. The game will air on SECNetwork+.
2. Ole Miss jumps back into Top 25
Ole Miss has returned to the D1 Baseball Top 25, coming in at No. 18 this week with a record of 19-6. The Rebels fell out of the Top 25 weeks ago when ranked No. 25.
Mississippi State and Southern Miss both rose one spot in this week’s rankings, with the Bulldogs moving to No. 6 and the Golden Eagles up to No. 11.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State will play each other in this week’s weekend series while Southern Miss will host Appalachian State.
Markets & Business
1. Interior Dept. scraps Biden-era wind projects in favor of oil, natural gas
As reported by FoxBusiness, “The Trump Department of the Interior secured a landmark agreement with energy giant TotalEnergies to redirect nearly $1 billion away from ‘unreliable’ and ‘ideological’ wind farm projects approved under the Biden administration and instead invest in U.S. oil and natural gas as part of the president’s ‘energy dominance agenda.'”
“Secretary Doug Burgum announced the agreement with TotalEnergies on Monday at the CERAWeek conference, an annual gathering of global oil and energy leaders in Houston,” FoxBusiness reported. “TotalEnergies is renouncing its U.S. offshore wind leases and instead investing a total of $928 million in oil, natural gas and liquefied natural gas production in the U.S., according to the department.”
FoxBusiness went on to report, “Additionally, after the department paused all leases for large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the U.S. due to ‘national security risks,’ TotalEnergies has pledged not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the country.”
2. Markets rise Monday but oil jumps back up to open Tuesday
CNBC reported that “U.S. stock futures were little changed on Tuesday morning after the major averages staged a comeback in the previous session, amid renewed hopes that a resolution may be in sight for the U.S.-Iran conflict.”
“The major averages all rose more than 1% after President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that the U.S. and Iran have held ‘very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” CNBC reported. “Oil prices also cooled, lending the market rally further support.”
CNBC added, “On Tuesday morning, oil prices resumed their rally, with global benchmark Brent crude futures adding 1.6% to trade at $101.55 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped 2.7% to $90.52 a barrel.”
-- Article credit to the staff for the Magnolia Tribune --
