Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion
In Mississippi
1. Flowers appointed to Auburn College of Ag Board
Former DeSoto County Senator Merle Flowers has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the College of Agriculture at Auburn Univeresity.
A 1991 graduate of Auburn University, Flowers distinguished himself as a student leader, serving as Vice President of the Student Government Association. He was selected as a member of the prestigious Spade Honor Society, an elite recognition awarded annually to the university’s Top Ten students. Flowers is an Alpha Gamma Rho and a member of The 1856 Society.
Flowers’ connection to Auburn University spans generations. His oldest daughter, Sarah Flowers, graduated from Auburn in 2022, and his youngest daughter, Elizabeth, will enroll as an incoming freshman this fall.
State Auditor Shad White announced Monday that Special Agents from his office have arrested Deborah Harper, former Southeast Greene Water Authority office manager, for allegedly embezzling funds belonging to the water authority for her own personal use.
The Auditor said Harper allegedly received cash payments from new customer water agreement forms and would convert the funds for her own personal use. Additionally, Harper allegedly utilized water user payments from other account holders to satisfy the water debt for both herself and her daughter.
Harper faces up to $25,000 in fines and up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump rejects Iran’s cease-fire proposal as “not good enough”
As reported by the New York Times, “President Trump said on Monday that a cease-fire proposal put forth by mediators between the United States and Iran was a ‘significant step,’ but he warned that it was ‘not good enough’ as his deadline of Tuesday evening for a deal approached.”
“Iran, for its part, rejected any proposal for a cease-fire, mandating that any peace plan include a complete end of hostilities,” NYT reported. “Diplomatic talks coordinated by Pakistan and other regional countries were continuing, officials said, even as there appeared to be little agreement on what any cessation of hostilities would look like.”
NYT continued, “If Iran does not agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern time, Mr. Trump has threatened to launch a massive attack targeting bridges, power plants and other civilian facilities that would, in his words, send Iran ‘back to the Stone Ages.’ But the president has also extended self-imposed deadlines in recent weeks, and diplomats around the world were asking whether Mr. Trump would find an off-ramp again or if he would follow through this time with what could be a gigantic conflagration.”
2. U.S. Dept. of Education rescinds Title IX agreements under past administrations
According to The Hill, “The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights said Monday it would rescind Title IX agreements that six schools made with the federal government under past administrations over gender identity.”
“The department said the previous administrations’ enforcement of Title IX was ‘illegal and burdensome’ over ‘improper use of preferred pronouns’ and ‘asking questions about a student’s preferred ‘gender,'” The Hill reported. “Title IX is based on sex, and the schools did not violate the law, according to the Trump administration.”
“Today, the Trump Administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior Administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda. While previous Administrations launched Title IX investigations based on ‘misgendering,’ the Trump Administration is investigating allegations of girls and women being injured by men on their sports team or feeling violated by men in their intimate spaces,” said Assistant Education Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey.
The Hill noted that the districts released from their previous Title IX agreements include Cape Henlopen School District, Delaware Valley School District, Fife School District, La Mesa-Spring Valley School District and Sacramento City Unified School District. Taft College was also released.
Sports
1. Miss. State, Southern Miss drop, Ole Miss back in Top 25
Mississippi State dropped 5 spots to No. 9 in this week’s D1 Baseball Top 25 Rankings after being swept by then-No. 5 Georgia in Starkville last weekend. Georgia moved to No. 4.
Despite winning their series over Old Dominion in Virginia, Southern Miss fell two spots to No. 10 this week.
Ole Miss returned to the Top 25 after winning the series over then-No. 21 Florida in Gainesville, sending the Gators out of the rankings this week.
2. PRCC, Jones at 1, 2 in NJCAA Top 25
Mississippi JUCOs are well-represented in the NJCAA Top 25 college baseball rankings as the playoff picture starts to take shape.
Here are the latest rankings for Mississippi community colleges:
- Pearl River (32-8) – No. 1
- Jones (28-9) – No. 2
- East Central (32-8) – No. 4
- Northwest (23-12) – No. 20
- Co-Lin (23-14) – No. 23
- MGCCC (23-14) – No. 24
Markets & Business
1. Futures drop as Trump’s Iran deadline nears
CNBC reports that stock futures fell on Tuesday “as President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz approached, with hopes of an agreement fading.”
“Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 205 points, or 0.4%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 were down 0.5%. Nasdaq 100 futures traded 0.6% lower,” CNBC reported. “The Wall Street Journal reported that negotiators aren’t optimistic a deal between the U.S. and Iran can be reached before Trump’s deadline.”
“They have ’til tomorrow,” the president said on Monday. “Now we’ll see what happens. I can tell you, they’re negotiating, we think in good faith, we’re going to find out. We’re getting the help of some incredible countries that want this to be ended, because it affects them also.”
2. Delivery deal reached between Amazon, USPS
The Wall Street Journal reports that “Amazon and the U.S. Postal Service have reached a new package-handling agreement, according to people familiar with the matter, after Amazon threatened to drastically cut back on the number of packages it sends through the struggling agency.”
“Instead of reducing the number of packages Amazon ships through the Postal Service by two-thirds by this fall, as outlined in an earlier proposal, the two sides now have a tentative deal that will result in a 20% reduction, the people said,” WSJ reported. “The Postal Regulatory Commission, the federal agency that oversees the Postal Service, must now review and approve the agreement.”
WSJ added, “The new tentative deal would still have the Postal Service deliver more than 1 billion packages for Amazon a year. The loss of revenue from the 20% cut, however, could hurt the Postal Service. It has grown to rely on the billions of dollars it makes from Amazon’s guaranteed volumes.”
-- Article credit to the staff for the Magnolia Tribune --
