Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion
In Mississippi
Medical helicopter crashes in Madison County
The crash of an AirCare helicopter in northern Madison County Monday claimed the lives of two University of Mississippi Medical Center care team members and a Med-Trans pilot, UMMC said late Monday.
“You never know what a day is going to bring, but today brought a terrible tragedy and loss to the Medical Center family,” said Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs, in a statement.
According to UMMC, AirCare 3, based in Columbus, had flown to the Medical Center to transport a patient and was returning to Columbus when the accident occurred about 12:30 p.m. No patient was on board the helicopter.
The names of those on board have not been released.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Market sell-off comes as investors are rattled by Trump
As reported by the New York Times, “Fears over the future health of the economy continued to rattle markets around the world, as investors tried to puzzle through President Trump’s commitment to tariffs in spite of the potential fallout his policies could have for inflation, consumer spending and overall growth.”
“After the S&P 500 suffered its worst day of the year on Monday, stocks were mixed on Tuesday. European markets found their feet and an initial sell-off in Asia moderated,” NYT reported, adding, “Futures for the S&P 500 index were slightly higher in the hours before official trading begins in New York. The big technology companies that dragged down the index on Monday were mixed in premarket trading.”
NYT added, “Growing unease about the inflationary effects of the tariffs, coupled with a darkening mood about the economy, provided the catalyst for a sell-off in a market that investors have long worried was overvalued.”
2. Ukraine hits Moscow with drone attack ahead of peace talks
The Wall Street Journal reports that “Ukraine launched its biggest drone attack on Moscow, targeting the Russian capital and other regions, hours before a Tuesday meeting between senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials to discuss ways to bring an end to the war after more than three years of fighting.”
“The Russian Ministry of Defense said it had downed more than 300 Ukrainian drones, 91 of which had targeted Moscow. Another 126 were shot down over the Kursk region, the ministry said, where the Ukrainian army has carved out a small toehold in Russian territory. Senior Ukrainian officials were silent on the attack, which Moscow regional authorities said led to the deaths of at least three people and injured 18 others,” WSJ reported.
WSJ went on to report, “The attack came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other U.S. officials prepared to meet their Ukrainian counterparts in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in the first high-level talks between Washington and Kyiv since a tense Oval Office meeting between President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.”
Sports
1. McMillan named SWAC Freshman of the Year
Pascagoula-native and Jackson State freshman guard Dorian McMillian was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Freshman of the Year.
McMillian scored in double figures 16 times, including three 20-point performances with a career-high 23 against Alabama State this season. He recorded five or more rebounds 12 times and entered the week of the regular season ranked 17th in the conference in scoring at 10.72 points per game and 10th in defensive rebounds from his guard position.
McMillian was 12th in the conference in three-point field goals made (1.62), and hit seven three-pointers against Alabama State which is tied for the second-highest total in a single game this season in the SWAC.
He was named SWAC Newcomer of the Week two times.
2. Miss. State, Ole Miss to play in SEC Tournament this week
The SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament will be played this week, with both Mississippi State and Ole Miss set to make a run ahead of likely NCAA Tournament bids.
Mississippi State is the 10th seed and will play LSU on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Ole Miss is the 8th seed and will play the winner of Arkansas and South Carolina on Thursday at noon.
All games are being played in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena.
Markets & Business
1. Southwest Airlines to now charge for checked bags
CNBC reports that Southwest Airlines will start charging passengers to check bags for the first time.
“It’s a stunning reversal that shows the low-cost pioneer is willing to part with a customer perk executives have said set it apart from rivals in more than half a century of flying in hopes of increasing revenue,” CNBC reported. “Southwest’s changes come after months of pressure from activist Elliott Investment Management. The firm took a stake in the airline last year and won five board seats as it pushed for quick changes at the company, which held on for decades — until now — to perks like free checked bags, changeable tickets and open seating.”
CNBC went on to add, “‘Two bags fly free’ is a registered trademark on Southwest’s website. But its decision to about-face on what executives long cast as a sacrosanct passenger perk brings the largest U.S. domestic carrier in line with its rivals, which together generated $5.5 billion from bag fees last year, according to federal data.”
2. U.S. facing a recession?
FoxBusiness reports that President Donald Trump “declined to explicitly rule out a full-blown recession for the U.S. economy this year, telling Maria Bartiromo in a recent ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ exclusive that the country will see a ‘period of transition’ as his policies take effect.
“I hate to predict things like that,” he said of a recession, per FoxBusiness. “There is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing… it takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us.”
FoxBusiness notes that the president’s comments come “amid some business leaders’ instability concerns over tariffs imposed on China, Canada and Mexico, as well as growing concerns of a potential economic slowdown.”
— Article credit to the staff of the Magnolia Tribune —
