Magnolia Tribune

Magnolia Mornings: December 13, 2023

Published

11 months ago

December 13, 2023

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. Favre Sits for Deposition

FILE – In this Oct. 16, 2016, file photo, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre is shown during a halftime ceremony of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke, File)

On Monday, NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre sat for a deposition in Hattiesburg in the civil matter related to the state’s lawsuit seeking to recoup misspent TANF welfare dollars. Favre is one of 47 named defendants in the case brought by the Mississippi Department of Human Services.

Favre, a former Southern Miss standout and NFL Hall of Famer, is alleged to have improperly sought TANF dollars that were obtained for the construction of a volleyball facility at USM. The facility’s construction was vetted by the Attorney General’s office and approved by Institutions of Higher Learning.

Favre is also alleged to have improperly received payment, funded indirectly through a MDHS grant of TANF money, to cut radio ads for anti-poverty programs and to make public appearances. He has since repaid over $1 million sought by the State Auditor’s office.

2. Dixie Mafia Kingpin Seeks Compassionate Release

Kirksey McCord Nix, the reputed boss of the “Dixie Mafia,” has asked a federal judge in Hattiesburg for compassionate release.

Now 80 and in reported poor physical condition, Nix orchestrated the murders of Biloxi judge Vincent Sherry and his wife, Margaret, who was serving on the Biloxi City Council in 1987. At the time of the murders, Nix was already serving a life sentence at Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana that resulted from a botched home invasion.

The motion for release was first reported on at Jackson Jambalaya.

3. Mississippi Coast Chamber Hosts Pre-Legislative Briefing

The Mississippi Coast Chamber of Commerce hosted its Pre-Legislative Briefing Tuesday morning in Biloxi. Lawmakers in attendance were State Senators Jeremy England (R), Brice Wiggins (R), Scott DeLano (R) and Mike Thompson (R) as well as State Rep. Kevin Felsher (R).

Questions posed to the Coast lawmakers came from chamber members and focused on topics such as Medicaid expansion, income tax elimination, education funding and school choice, restoration of the ballot initiative, among other topics.

While participants were largely in lockstep and demonstrated collegiality in sharing their views on hot button issues, some disagreements were expressed between participants over the House’s more aggressive stance in pursuing income tax elimination versus a slower approach to tax reform in the Senate, the appetite for school choice in the Legislature, and whether Medicaid expansion would be on the table this session.

The 2024 legislative session is set to begin January 2nd.

National News & Foreign Policy

1. Ukranian President Zelensky back in D.C. seeking more U.S. funding

Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky was on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, meeting with lawmakers as Congress debates whether to send the war-torn country more financial aid. Zelensky met with Senate leaders Chuck Schumer (D) and Mitch McConnell (R), as well as new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R).

Congress has sent Ukraine more than $100 billion in aid since Russia invaded the sovereign nation. However, efforts by the Biden Administration to continue the funding pipeline to Ukraine have been met with angst from a segment of the Republican Party.

“I have asked the White House since the day that I was handed the gavel as Speaker for clarity. We need clear articulation of the strategy to allow Ukraine to win. Thus far, their responses have been insufficient,” said Speaker Johnson after meeting with Zelensky, adding that he reiterated that the U.S. stands with him in their fight for freedom. “I have also made very clear from day one that our first condition on any national security supplemental spending package is about our own national security first. The border is an absolute catastrophe and this is because of the policies of this White House and this administration.”

In a speech at the National Defense University in Washington on Monday, Zelensky said delays in funding from the U.S. are a dream for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

“Let me be frank with you, friends: If there’s anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill, it’s just Putin and his sick clique. They see their dreams come true when they see the delays or some scandals, and they see freedom to fall when the support of freedom fighters go down,” Zelensky told those in attendance.

2. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu Endorses Nikki Haley for President

In the race for the White House, the caucuses of Iowa are followed closely by the New Hampshire Primary. Because both come early, they are often afforded additional importance, as underperformance in either can spell doom for a campaign and overperformance can create the impression of momentum. For this reason, campaigns put a lot of energy and time into both states.

On Tuesday, New Hampshire’s Republican Governor Chris Sununu, endorsed former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for President. Sununu is a popular governor and an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump. Haley has in recent weeks gained steam as a potential Republican alternative to Trump, though she and other contenders still lag dramatically behind him in the polls. The New Hampshire Primary is scheduled for January 23rd.

3. Harvard President to Remain at the Helm of the University

Following a congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses, Harvard President Claudine Gay came under fire for her remarks on the university’s position. In the hearing, New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R) asked the Harvard President if “calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment, yes or no?”

“It can be, depending on the context,” Gay said in response.

Also at the hearing were the Presidents of MIT and the University of Pennsylvania. Following the hearing, 74 members of Congress called on the three to resign. Penn President Liz Magill resigned over the weekend after significant donors threatened to pull support from the university if she was not removed.

But both Harvard and MIT have expressed support for the their leaders. Gay saw robust support from the school’s faculty in the wake of the hearing, and the governing board announced on Tuesday that Gay would be retained.

“We today reaffirm our support for President Gay’s continued leadership of Harvard University,” the Harvard governing board said in a statement, adding that Gay apologized for how she handled the hearing and was committed to fight against antisemitism. “Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing.”

Sports & Entertainment

1. Clay Bignell Named Defensive Coordinator at Southern Miss

Southern Miss football Head Coach Will Hall announced on Tuesday that Clay Bignell was joining the Golden Eagle staff as its new Defensive Coordinator.

Bignell comes to Southern Miss after serving as an assistant coach for the last two seasons, including this past year as defensive coordinator, at Eastern Illinois. His first year in 2022 saw him coach the safeties and serve as pass game coordinator. In his only year as defensive coordinator at EIU, the Panther defense currently rank No. 1 nationally in turnover margin (1.36), as well as No 6 turnovers gained (25), No. 10 in fumbles recovered (11), No. 12 in pass interceptions (14), No. 18 in scoring defense (19.7), No. 19 in fourth-down defense (.409), No. 26 in team pass defense efficiency (117.59) and No. 30 in rushing defense (124.6) in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Prior to his time at EIU, Bignell worked as a senior defensive analyst at Vanderbilt in 2021, a senior defensive analyst at East Carolina in 2020, four years at Notre Dame working as a defensive graduate before being elevated to a senior defensive analyst for the 2018 and 2019 campaigns, and as a graduate assistant at Northwestern in 2014 and 2015. He also served as a defensive graduate assistant at Montana State from 2013-14, helping with the linebackers. His first season in collegiate coaching came as the linebackers coach at Montana Western in 2012.

2. Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Break into Top 25 for First Time Since 2019

First year Ole Miss Head Men’s Basketball Coach Chris Beard has the Rebels ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 2019, when Ole Miss was listed at No. 20 in both national polls on January 21.

Ole Miss currently sits at 9-0 on the season. The team was ranked No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 Poll announced on Monday. However, the Rebels did not make it into the AP Top 25, coming in at No. 27. Ole Miss is the only undefeated team in college basketball not in the AP Top 25.

Among his nine years as an NCAA Division I head coach, Coach Beard has led his teams to a Top 25 ranking in each of the last seven seasons. He was hired by Ole Miss in March of this year.

Markets & Business

1. Markets Continue Climb

The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all rose again yesterday, with the S&P closing at 4,644, the Dow at 36,578 and the NASDAQ 14,533. All three have been on a six-week tear as interest rates have begun falling.

The markets are awaiting an announcement of the Federal Reserve’s policy Wednesday. It is widely anticipated that the Fed will maintain the benchmark interest rate in the range of 5.25% to 5.5%, after a prolonged series of rate hikes implemented to combat generationally high inflation. However, investors will be looking for clues into when the Fed might begin cutting rates and the market is already anticipating multiple rate cuts in 2024.

2. Apple Reports 2.6 Billion Records Have Been Compromised in Past Two Years

A new report commissioned by Apple, the maker of the iPhone, says threats to user data continue to grow more frequent and sophisticated. The company reports that the number of data breaches nearly tripled between 2013 and 2022, compromising 2.6 billion records over the course of two years, are only getting worse in 2023.

“In the U.S. alone, there were nearly 20 percent more breaches in just the first nine months of 2023 than in any prior year,” the Apple report stated. “The target for cybercriminals was very clear, with a 2023 survey finding that over 80 percent of breaches involved data stored in the cloud. This is after attacks targeting cloud infrastructure nearly doubled from 2021 to 2022.”

Apple says its Lockdown Mode and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud were developed to protect users against growing threats to their data.

Read more from Apple on the report here.

3. Gas Prices Falling as Holiday Travel Gears Up

The national average for a regular gallon of gas sat at $3.13 on Tuesday, according to AAA, down 24 cents in the last month. In Mississippi, the state average came in at $2.67, down 18 cents since last month.

The cheapest average gas prices in Mississippi can be found in Leflore, Jones and Warren counties, coming in at $2.32, $2.44 and $2.47 per gallon, respectively. The highest average gas price was in Wilkinson County at $2.98.

Nationally, Mississippi has the second lowest average gas prices, with Texas coming in first at $2.60. California, as is the norm, is where the highest average gas prices can be found at $4.70.

Declining gas prices have been a key part of the slowing inflation that has crippled many families’ pocketbooks over the last two years. The reduced gas prices are largely a result of falling oil prices. As of Tuesday afternoon, the price of crude had dropped to $69 per barrel, down from nearly $100 in September.

Demand has also dropped in the U.S. as the summer travel season has given way to the winter in much of the country. But with holiday travel about to gear up, the lower prices at the pump are surely a welcome by drivers trying to visit family and friends this Christmas season.

The post Magnolia Mornings: December 13, 2023 appeared first on Magnolia Tribune.

…

By: Magnolia Tribune
Title: Magnolia Mornings: December 13, 2023
Sourced From: magnoliatribune.com/2023/12/13/magnolia-mornings-december-13-2023/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=magnolia-mornings-december-13-2023
Published Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2023 13:19:29 +0000

Up Next

Biden to face formal impeachment inquiry in U.S. House

Don't Miss

First component in Governor’s Medicaid reimbursement plan gains CMS approval

Magnolia Tribune

Staring mortality in the face at Christmas

Published

11 months ago

December 16, 2023

Staff Editor

My friend Jarrod is dying after an eight year battle with cancer. He’s lived a life worth celebrating, one that has drawn people to Christ.

I was going about my business this week when I received a text that stopped me in my tracks. A college friend was being moved to hospice care.

Jarrod Egley was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in early 2017. In the fall of 2018, tests revealed the cancer had spread to his lungs and Jarrod’s cancer was classified as Stage IV.

For almost eight years from the date of the original diagnosis, he’s fought. Through surgeries, radiation, endless rounds and cycles of chemotherapy, and experimental immunotherapies, he’s fought.

Last year, I flew out to California and spent some time with Jarrod and his wife, Emily. We sat outside one night. He acknowledged to me that it was not a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’ the cancer would claim his life. I told him I was sorry, because what else is there to say?

We talked about our faith, about the trials of Job, about Jacob wrestling with God, about Paul’s affliction. But mostly we reflected on our time together in school, on the good things, and the mundane things, that happened since.

Jarrod and I met at Tulane University. One Sunday morning in the Spring of my freshman year, I rose from my dorm room bed, dressed, and began walking down Saint Charles Avenue in New Orleans with no particular agenda. I walked until I came across First Baptist Church and the thought flickered in the vacuous recesses of my brain to enter.

Some would say it was a lark. The Calvinist in me says providence. The walk that morning changed the trajectory of my time at Tulane and my life on the whole. Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and the Baptist Collegiate Ministry became central to my life and put me in regular league with Jarrod. I met him first at the BCM and we ultimately ended up attending church together.

Jarrod was a faithful servant on and off campus. He helped organize a group of us that would weekly make our way down to the Esplanade seawall on the backside of the French Quarter to feed the homeless. On Friday nights, he could be found at chapel with a small cadre of students foregoing Bourbon Street for early 2000s worship music.

Jarrod was a loyal friend in those years. Never rude or biting. Not prone to an insult for an easy laugh. Persistently encouraging. An engineering student, his mind worked linearly and was oriented to problem solving. There were never a lot of wasted words — always a lot of deliberative questions when he disagreed or did not understand a point. He exhibited intelligence, empathy, and the kind of moral conviction that sets someone apart.

He also had a wry and dry sense of humor and a penchant for beating people at Madden football. He was fair-to-midland on the ultimate frisbee pitch. Along the way, there were crawfish boils, Mardi Gras outtings, poorly attended Tulane football games, and more than a decent amount of wing eating.

After college, I lost touch with Jarrod. He moved back to his home state of California. He got married to his college sweetheart, who could not have anticipated her husband’s journey, but has been a steady and constant helpmate throughout. Jarrod became a very successful engineer and a bourbon connoisseur. One of his bucket list trips took him to Kentucky, where he got to meet and became friends with bourbon “Hall of Famer” Freddie Johnson of Buffalo Trace acclaim.

Jarrod at Buffalo Trace Distillery (Spring 2022).

Sitting in his backyard nearly 20 years after graduating from Tulane, I saw many of the same qualities I had grown to admire when we were students together. I saw a husband who doted on and supported Emily’s passions. But I also saw someone whose body had been beaten to hell and back, who was tired, and who, like Jacob, had been wrestling with God. We quickly fell back into friendship, which perhaps is the mark of good friendship.

We all have aspirations in our youth — for the kind of spouse or parent we might be, for what we might accomplish, for what we might experience. Along the way, dreams are satisfied, modified, or they die on the vine. The clock inevitably works against all of us. That night in Oceanside, California, Jarrod, a numbers guy, saw that time was not on his side. He believed, as we all would, that he still had more to give, more impact to be made, and more things to see and experience.

After that trip, Jarrod and I stayed in touch, most frequently triggered by news of his cancer. It has been mostly the bad variety in recent months. Now spread throughout his body, down to his bones, he has lived in constant pain for months. Not even a steady diet of morphine and an implanted pain pump solve for it. Jarrod’s been hospitalized twelve times just in 2023.

But his matter of fact sense of humor and way of seeing the world remains in tact. So too does his faith that despite these trials, he has always been safe in the hands of Christ.

There are people in the world who believe that life is random, disordered, and without reason. I am not among them. I think my friend is staring mortality in the face at Christmas for a reason.

For thousands of years before Christ came, there was darkness and despair. Sin and shame gripped the hearts of men. Until one holy night, God, in His infinite love, mercy and wisdom, sent His son to save. Jesus is the light of the world and the hope of man. He has won victory over death and Jarrod’s will not be the exception. Jesus came for Jarrod, and for you.

For thousands of years since Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection, His disciples have been used as divine instruments to point the way to God. Jarrod is among them. If life expectancies were the measure, Jarrod would be at the midway point for most people. He’s made a lifetime of impact for the Kingdom and on other people.

So, to my friend Jarrod, you were placed here with a purpose. You have run your race. You are loved. And when this chapter closes, you will hear “well done, my good and faithful servant.” There is no greater evidence of a life well lived.

While Jarrod and Emily have been fortunate to have health insurance, their portion of the medical bills so far in 2023 have eclipsed $30,000, and Emily is facing additional uncovered expenses during Jarrod’s hospice care, including a night nurse that costs over $400 a night. If you would like to help defray the cost, a contribution can be made at their Go Fund Me page.

The post Staring mortality in the face at Christmas appeared first on Magnolia Tribune.

…

By: Russ Latino
Title: Staring mortality in the face at Christmas
Sourced From: magnoliatribune.com/2023/12/16/staring-mortality-in-the-face-at-christmas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=staring-mortality-in-the-face-at-christmas
Published Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2023 15:05:22 +0000

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.biloxinewsevents.com/magnolia-mornings-december-15-2023/

Magnolia Tribune

Magnolia Mornings: December 15, 2023

Published

11 months ago

December 15, 2023

Staff Editor

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. Laurin St. Pe’ named CEO of Singing River Health System

The Board of Trustees of Singing River Health System announced the immediate appointment of Laurin St. Pe’ as the Chief Executive Officer on Thursday.

“We are thrilled to announce Laurin St. Pe as the new CEO of Singing River,” said Steve Ates, Board President in a statement. “His wealth of healthcare experience and proven track record make him the ideal leader to steer our health system toward its next phase of growth and success.”

St. Pe’, who has been serving as Interim CEO since July 2023, said he is honored to assume the role of CEO at Singing River. He has worked at Singing River as Administrator of Singing River Health System’s Pascagoula Hospital and Gulfport Hospital, in addition to overseeing program service lines throughout the entire system to his subsequent appointment as Chief Operating Officer of Singing River.

The health system says St. Pe played a crucial role in the financial revitalization of Singing River Health System while steering the organization toward financial stability.

2. Gulfport-Biloxi airport, Stennis evacuated after threats

The Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport was evacuated on Thursday morning “out of an abundance of caution,” airport officials said, after receiving an emailed threat to certain transportation entities across the state.

The airport was thoroughly security swept, cleared and reopened in just over two hours. Gulfport-Biloxi is now operating regularly.

The threat was also sent to Stennis International Airport. Their staff and personnel were also evacuated until the facilities could be swept and cleared.

Any passenger whose travel was affected by the evacuation is encouraged to contact their respective air carrier.

3. Cassidy arrested in Iowa for beheading Satanic Temple statue

Former Mississippi congressional and legislative candidate Michael Cassidy was arrested this week in Iowa for beheading a statue at the state’s Capitol erected by The Satanic Temple.

Cassidy reportedly decapitated the statue and turned himself to police on Thursday. He was charged with fourth degree criminal mischief. He then started an online legal defense fund where he’s raised upwards of $20,000 as of Thursday night, according to his X account.

4. “Serial fraudster” ordered to cease offering investments into companies

According to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office, on October 26, 2023, Secretary Michael Watson and the Securities Division issued an order against Stephone N. Patton. The SOS says Patton is a serial fraudster with multiple criminal convictions in Mississippi and Florida.

Through business filings with the SEC and Mississippi, Patton has held himself to be the CEO of various companies, including Star Oil and Gas Company, Inc., North Gulf Energy Corporation, Inc., Patton Oilfield Services, Inc., and Patton Farms, LLC.

The SOS says using these business filings and company websites, Patton claimed to have raised hundreds of billions of dollars through investment opportunities. Through investigative efforts and collaboration with the SEC, the SOS discovered none of Patton’s companies are operational, have any assets, or generate any revenues. Account records show Patton spent investors’ funds almost as soon as he received them on personal expenses. The total amount of known investments made to Patton’s fraudulent companies is over $80,000. Further, none of Patton’s investment offerings have been registered or notice filed with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office.

The SOS order requires Patton to cease and desist from offering investments with his companies, requiring Patton to permanently deactivate his companies’ websites to prevent any further dissemination of his false or misleading information. Patton is also ordered to pay an administrative penalty of $25,000 to the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office for these violations, in addition to restitution owed to all his Mississippi investors.

National News & Foreign Policy

1. Congressional retirements mounting as 2024 election cycle nears

Retirement and departure announcements are piling up ahead of the start to the 2024 election cycle. The New York Times has developed a Retirement Tracker that currently shows 22 Democrats and 11 Republicans who are in Congress now will not be seeking re-election next year.

“Dozens of members of Congress have announced plans to leave their seats in the House of Representatives, setting a rapid pace for congressional departures, with more expected as the 2024 election draws closer,” the NY Times reports. “Given Republicans’ razor-thin House majority, the wave of exits has the potential to lead to a significant shake-up next year.”

You can find the tracker here.

2. Texas, Daily Wire, The Federalist sue U.S. State Department over media censorship

The U.S. State Department’s Global Engagement Center has come under fire as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton along with The Daily Wire and The Federalist have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the department funded technology that could “render disfavored press outlets unprofitable.” They claim that the department has helped social media – Facebook, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) – to censor free speech while funding technologies used to censor right-leaning news outlets such as theirs.

New Civil Liberties Alliance is representing The Daily Wire and The Federalist. Paxton and the outlets claim the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), a British think tank, received a $100,000 grant from the State Department in 2021, and NewsGuard, which rates the “misinformation” levels of news outlets, received $25,000 from the State Department in 2020, according to the lawsuit.

According to the State Department’s website, the Global Engagement Center’s mission is to direct, lead, synchronize, integrate, and coordinate U.S. Federal Government efforts to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influencing the policies, security, or stability of the United States, its allies, and partner nations.

As reported by Reuters, the lawsuit cited a GDI-produced list from December 2022 that ranked The Daily Wire and The Federalist as among the 10 “riskiest sites” for news while the least-risky included The New York Times, Associated Press and NPR. Reuters notes that the lawsuit alleges such “blacklists” are reducing revenues to The Daily Wire and The Federalist along with their visibility on social media and ranking results from browser searches.

Sports & Entertainment

1. SEC releases 2024 schedules

Wednesday evening, the Southeastern Conference released the 2024 football schedules for its member schools, including of interest in the Magnolia State the schedules for Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

It is the first schedule that includes new conference members University of Oklahoma and University of Texas, bringing the conference to 16 schools. Each SEC team will play eight conference football games plus at least one required opponent from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12 or major independent, each team will have two open dates.

The 2024 season will be the first year the SEC will play a schedule without divisional competition since 1991. The top two teams in the league standings based on winning percentage will play in the 33rd SEC Football Championship Game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, December 7.

2. White, Jesiolowski, Jones honored by MAIS

The Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) in Mississippi, comprised of non-public schools, announced this week that Madison-Ridgeland Academy’s senior quarterback John White was named the 6A Player of the Year while Hartfield’s Reed Jesiolowski and Hartfield Chris Jones were named the MAIS 6A Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively.

All three have committed to play college football at the University of Mississippi.

White is Mississippi’s all-time leader in career passing yards with 15,259 yards, a record he broke during the 2023 season.

MAIS, like the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) for public schools, is broken down into classifications, from 1A to 6A. However, MHSAA added a 7A this season.

Markets & Business

1. Consumer retail sales up as energy, gas prices move down

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this week that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.1% in November after being unchanged in October. Retail sales rose 0.3% in November after rising 0.2% in October, meaning consumers continue to spend at the start of the holiday season.

The CPI or inflation rate is 3.1%, higher than the Federal Reserve target of 2% but below the 9% peak in 2022 which reached a 40-year high.

As for the energy index, BLS reported that it fell 2.3% in November after decreasing 2.5% in October. The gasoline index decreased 6% in November, following a 5% decrease in the previous month.

The index for fuel oil fell in November, decreasing 2.7%. However, the natural gas index rose 2.8% over the month after rising 1.2% the previous month. The index for electricity also rose 1.4% in November, after increasing 0.3% in October.

The energy index fell 5.4% over the past 12 months. The gasoline index decreased 8.9%, the natural gas index declined 10.4%, and the fuel oil index fell 24.8% over this 12-month span.

2. Week’s market rally continues into Friday

At close of trading on Thursday, the U.S. markets continued the week’s rally, pushing the Dow up 158 points to 37,248 while the Nasdaq and S&P also made gains, 27 points and 12 points, respectively, to close at 14,761 and 4,719.

The record high for the Dow on Thursday moved futures up 102 points.

According to CNBC, the major averages are headed for their seventh straight positive week. As of Thursday, the Dow is higher on the week by 2.8%. The S&P 500 is up by 2.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.5% this week.

Stocks rallied after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged this week while members look towards cuts in the new year and beyond.

The post Magnolia Mornings: December 15, 2023 appeared first on Magnolia Tribune.

…

By: Magnolia Tribune
Title: Magnolia Mornings: December 15, 2023
Sourced From: magnoliatribune.com/2023/12/15/magnolia-mornings-december-15-2023/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=magnolia-mornings-december-15-2023
Published Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2023 13:00:00 +0000

Magnolia Tribune

New water rates expected in Jackson come 2024; those who don’t pay face shut off

Published

11 months ago

December 15, 2023

Staff Editor

Interim Third-Party Director Ted Henifin said this week that only about 59% of the City of Jackson’s water customers are paying their bills.

JXN Water has announced new rates and fees coming in 2024. Those who are not paying will be at risk of shut offs.

The company, which was established by federal appointed interim Third-Party Director Ted Henifin, has been overseeing the city’s water system for the better part of a year.

Officials estimated that the average cost for water in the city was $76 per month for residents. Henifin clarified that JXN water will not attempt to recoup any charges prior to November 29, 2022, and will work with those who have failed to pay since that time.

He said only about 59 percent of the city’s water customers are paying their bills.

“You can’t forgive bills, so we have to be creative in how we part that,” said Henifin in reference to Mississippi’s laws that prevent giving away water.

According to a release by JXN Water announcing the rate changes, residents in single family households with small meters that use up to 748 gallons daily would see a bill increase of roughly .30 cents per day. Research indicates that the average U.S. family uses 300 gallons per day.

SNAP customers will have a new rate tier that could lower their bill by up to .69 cents per day, on average.

“Those who need to save the most benefit from saving money by drinking tap water. This new rate structure makes water affordability possible for 12,500 JXN Water customers who receive SNAP benefits,” said Henifin in the release.