Magnolia Mornings: July 22, 2024

• Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.

In Mississippi

MSDH event to aid in getting school entry shot records

The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) will host a one-stop shop for required school entry/registration forms.

The agency says this two-week event will allow parents to get a copy of their child’s Form 121 (shot record) if the child is up to date on immunization requirements, as well as their birth certificate, at the same time and same place.

The event begins Monday, July 29 and runs through Friday, August 9 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the MSDH Office of Vital Records located at 222 Marketridge Drive in Ridgeland.

National News & Foreign Policy

1. With Biden out, Harris inherits $95 million campaign war chest

With Joe Biden dropping out of the presidential race, his Vice President and running mate Kamala Harris is inheriting the tens of millions of dollars that filled Biden’s campaign coffers, as Politico reported.

“Biden’s presidential campaign formally renamed itself ‘Harris for President,’ according to paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission within hours of Biden’s announcement,” Politico reported. “The change heralds the transformation of Biden’s campaign into an operation to support the current vice president’s candidacy, as Harris assumes control over its funds. As of the end of June, the campaign reported having $95 million.”

As Politico noted, Biden’s endorsement of Harris on Sunday paved the way for a relatively uncomplicated transfer of money, as “other Democratic candidates could not use the money as their own.” The monies could have been transferred to the DNC.

2. Panel to provide independent review of Trump assassination attempt

On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced “bipartisan” members of a panel to conduct an independent review into security failures at the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump last weekend, the New York Times reported.

“This independent review will examine what happened and provide actionable recommendations to ensure they carry out their no-fail mission most effectively and to prevent something like this from ever happening again,” Mr. Mayorkas said in a statement.

As NYT reported, “the 45-day review will be made up of Janet Napolitano, a former homeland security secretary; Frances Townsend, a former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush; Mark Filip, a former federal judge and a deputy attorney general under Mr. Bush; and David Mitchell, a former secretary of the Delaware Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security. Mr. Mayorkas said he could invite additional experts to join the panel in the coming days.”

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has faced calls for her resignation over the last week.

Sports & Entertainment

1. Ole Miss picked to finish 4th, Miss. State next to last in SEC Media Poll

As the annual SEC Media Days wound down last week, the preseason Media Poll was released. The poll predicts Ole Miss to finish 4th in the SEC with Mississippi State coming in near the bottom of the now 16-team conference.

Here’s the predicted order of finish per the SEC Media Poll:
1. Georgia – 3,330 points
2. Texas – 3,041 points
3. Alabama – 2,891 points
4. Ole Miss – 2,783 points
5. LSU – 2,322 points
6. Missouri – 2,240 points
7. Tennessee – 2,168 points
8. Oklahoma – 2,022 points
9. Texas A&M – 1,684 points
10. Auburn – 1,382 points
11. Kentucky – 1,371 points
12. Florida – 1,146 points
13. South Carolina – 923 points
14. Arkansas – 749 points
15. Mississippi State – 623 points
16. Vanderbilt – 293 points

2. Miss. State’s Borges wins first ATP 250 Tour Championship

According to Mississippi State Athletics, the Bulldogs’ five-time All-American Nuno Borges claimed his first ATP 250 Tour Championship on Sunday by defeating tennis legend Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2 to win the Nordea Open.

Mississippi State notes that Sunday marked Borges’ first finals appearance and is just the fourth person to defeat Nadal in an ATP clay court final joining Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The victory earned Borges €579,320 ($630,966.38 U.S.).

Borges is one of only two men in program history to hold a No. 1 national ranking in both singles and doubles.

Markets & Business

1. After worse weekly losses since April, stock futures inch up to open week

CNBC reported that S&P 500 futures inched up Monday after the broad market index suffered its worst weekly losses since April last week.

“Futures tied to the broad market index gained 0.5%. Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq-100 futures added 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively,” CNBC reported, noting, “Traders also kept an eye on the U.S. political landscape after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.”

Jay Hatfield, CEO at Infrastructure Capital Advisors, told CNBC, “The fact that Biden endorsed Kamala Harris reduces uncertainty. There may be a small unwinding of the Trump trade on Monday as Vice President Harris is perceived to have a slightly better chance of winning.”

2. Crude oil inventories fall for third consecutive week

The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. crude oil inventories fell for a third consecutive week of declines as stocks of gasoline and distillates increased, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 4.9 million barrels to 440.2 million barrels in the week ended July 12, and were about 5% below the five-year average for the time of year, the EIA said,” as reported by WSJ.