- Mayor wants to keep Jackson ‘Black city,’ Trumped up Republican Party platform, Lane Kiffin makes watch list, and Mr. Powell goes to Washington
In Mississippi
1. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba reiterates desire to keep city Black
Last month, audio of Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba featured heavily in a lawsuit brought by a disgruntled former Jackson employee against the City. In the recording, Lumumba lamented to former Water Operations Manager Mary Carter that the takeover of Jackson’s flailing water system “is going to be the first step of trying to make the city no longer Black.”
In a press conference Monday, Lumumba doubled down on the racial rhetoric.
“I am proud that I live in a majority Black city. And I don’t apologize for that,” he said. “Now does that mean that I have any ill intent or ill will or any designs against anybody else? Absolutely not.”
“But we’re like anybody else. There is some comfort in being able to be in a space that looks like you, that relates to you culturally.”
Lumumba is currently in a feud with the Jackson City Council over who has the authority to decide whether the roles of Chief of Police and Chief of the Fire Department. There are parallels between this spat and one that spanned two years over who would be responsible for Jackson garbage pickup.
2. Hearing on Republican Party lawsuit against Mississippi to occur in federal court Tuesday
On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Louis Guirola will hear from attorneys in a dispute between the Republican Party and Republican elected officials in Mississippi.
The Republican National Convention and Mississippi Republican Party sued the state of Mississippi to prevent the counting of mail-in ballots received after the election. The dispute relates to a 2020 Mississippi law that allows mailed ballots to be counted for up to 5 days after the election so long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
Party officials have argued that Congress, and not the states, have authority to prescribe the timing of the election and that the 2020 law violates this principle.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Traditional Republican Party platform gets ‘Trumped’
On Monday, Republicans meeting ahead of their national convention in Milwaukee, approved a drastically reduced party platform. At roughly one-fourth the size of the 2016 platform, the new platform reflects the control excreted by former President Donald Trump over the party.
The new platform loosens on social issues, removing language about marriage being a sacrament between one man and one woman, along with calls for a national abortion ban or a constitutional amendment recognizing the Due Process rights of the unborn.
The new platform also represents a shift on core fiscal policy. There are no mentions of curbing the national debt and there is a jettisoning of free market/free trade language in favor of tariffs.
The platform’s architects said the streamlined document would give opponents fewer detailed proposals to attack.
2. Hurricane Beryl leaves millions without power, kills 3 in Texas
Hurricane Beryl made landfall 100 miles southwest of Houston early Monday. Dumping a foot of rain, it left in its path an estimated 2.7 million homes and businesses without power in Texas. As of Tuesday morning, 2.3 million remained without power. Emergency officials said it could take days to restore power in the area affected.
There have been 3 reported deaths in the region resulting from the storm.
Sports & Entertainment
1. Are you a Swiftie?
What started as bubble gum country and became angsty breakup poetry has reached full-fledged mania. At 34, pop sensation Taylor Swift shows no signs of slowing down in her quest for world domination.
Swift’s latest album Tortured Poets Department has spent 11 straight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 100, tying the performance of her two previous biggest albums, 1989 and Fearless. If Poets remains atop for a 12th straight week it will mark a personal best for the icon and the best run for a female artist since Adele’s 21 scored 24 weeks at No. 1 in 2011-2012.
2. Lane Kiffin on Dodd Trophy Watchlist
Ole Miss’ head ball coach has been added to the 2024 Dodd Trophy preseason watch list. The award focuses not only on prowess on the field, but in the classroom and the community. Kiffin is one of 21 coaches on the list. His team is expected compete for a place in the newly expanded college football playoff picture this year.
Markets & Business
1. Markets watching Federal Reserve congressional testimony, anticipating rate cuts
Mr. Powell is headed to Washington. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify Tuesday before Congress in his semi-annual b report on the economy. The testimony in the Senate Banking Committee will kick off at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT.
In recent weeks, both inflation and the U.S. economy have shown signs of cooling, including a jobs report that came in under expectations for June. Market watchers are anticipating interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, and will be monitoring both Powell’s comments and Thursday’s inflation report for signs of when the first cut might occur. As inflation began boiling up in 2021, the Fed embarked on an aggressive series of interest rate hikes in an attempt to tamp down price growth.
2. Office buildings sit vacant
Like many large, expensive cities, San Francisco is experiencing a troubling real estate trend. The City is laden with unused office space. The vacancy rate in San Francisco reached a new record of 34.5 percent in the quarter ending June 30th and prices for space are falling. Bad news for commercial real estate companies.
Magnolia Tribune
