- 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. Thompson announces Nonprofit Security Grants
Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS 2) announced Monday that 32 nonprofit organizations in Mississippi will receive $3.8 million through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for Fiscal Year 2024 under the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP).
The program provides funding for physical security enhancements and other security-related activities for eligible nonprofit organizations, including houses of worship, that are at high risk of a terrorist attack.
Fifteen of the nonprofit organizations are in Mississippi’s 2nd District:
| Beth Israel Congregation | $123,884 |
| Calvary Missionary Baptist Church | $150,000 |
| Galloway United Methodist Church | $145,000 |
| Greater Fairview Missionary Baptist Church Boling | $150,000 |
| Greater Fairview Newport | $150,000 |
| Greater Pine Hill | $115,660 |
| King Solomon Baptist Church | $150,000 |
| Mississippi Muslim Association Madison | $135,500 |
| MT Zion M.B. Church | $108,262 |
| Mississippi Muslim Association Jackson | $149,550 |
| New Heaven Grove M.B Church | $150,000 |
| Northside Baptist Church | $139,558 |
| Providence Presbyterian Church, Inc. | $8,118 |
| Saint Andrews Episcopal Cathedral | $117,400 |
| URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp | $150,000 |
2. BEAM approves $21.6 million in broadband expansion grants
Governor Tate Reeves announced Monday that the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) recently approved nine broadband expansion projects to be funded by the Capital Projects Fund (CPF). These nine projects will provide $21.6 million in grant funding to expand internet service to approximately 12,300 households in communities across the state.
Approved projects by provider are as follows:
- ACE Fiber – Blue Springs/SE Union County
- ACE Fiber – Blue Mountain to New Albany
- ACE Fiber – Potts Camp to Myrtle
- AT&T – Leake County: Sebastapol/Conway/Bertice areas
- AT&T – Marshall County: Mahon/Waites/Laws Hill areas
- CSpire – Southwest MS: Columbia/Summit/Osyka/Liberty/Gloster
- CSpire – Central MS: Puckett/Magee/Mendenhall/Madison
- Comcast – Statewide Line Extension: Jackson area/Laurel/Hattiesburg areas
- TVEPA – NE Yalobusha County/Water Valley
This announcement is in addition to $70.1 million awarded for 24 other CPF projects approved in June of this year to serve approximately 27,000 households. In total, Mississippi was allocated $162 million through CPF.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump ramps up campaigning in battleground states
The Wall Street Journal reports that Donald Trump “heralded an aggressive new phase of his campaign to combat Kamala Harris’s sustained momentum, with a busier schedule in battleground states and amped-up outreach to younger men and women.”
“Trump has drawn criticism, including from some Republicans, for not keeping a more robust campaign schedule. But with Biden out of the race he is facing a new dynamic in Harris just as the election is moving into a post-Labor Day sprint to Nov. 5,” WSJ reported. “In a shift, more of the events Trump’s campaign is eyeing are smaller in scale, which saves money, but they also are designed to keep Trump more focused on a given topic, a constant struggle. He has long preferred hosting large, adoring crowds for rallies, but his advisers say those do little to move the needle forward and to guarantee him that edge with undecided and independent voters come November.”
2. Former GOP staffers back Harris
According to the Washington Post, “More than 200 Republicans who worked for President George W. Bush, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) or the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, warning in a letter that a second Trump presidency ‘will hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions.'”
“The open letter with the endorsement was first published Monday in USA Today, with 238 signatures,” WP reported. “The group of former Bush, McCain and Romney staffers issued a similar letter supporting Joe Biden when he ran against Trump in 2020. In their new, pro-Harris letter, alumni from those three top Republicans were joined by at least five former staffers to the late President George H.W. Bush.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. MGCCC, Co-Lin matchup to be aired on ESPN+
The NJCAA game between Mississippi Gulf Coast and Copiah-Lincoln Community Colleges on Thursday, October 17th will be aired on ESPN+ at 7:30 PM ET/6:30 PM CT.
The 5-time defending MACCC South Champions and 4-time NJCAA National Champions are on the hunt for their first national title since 2019. Mississippi Gulf Coast is the No.11 team in the 2024 NJCAA DI Football Preseason Rankings. The Bulldogs finished the 2023 season with an 8-2 record and No.8 in the postseason rankings.
Copiah-Lincoln finished 10-2 last season with a win in the C.H.A.M.P.S Heart of Texas Bowl and the No.4 spot in the 2023 Postseason Rankings.
2. Ole Miss launches ‘Give to the Sip’ campaign
The Ole Miss Athletics Foundation and the Grove Collective are teaming up for a season-long giving campaign designed to drive support for the Rebels’ name, image and likeness (NIL efforts) during the upcoming 2024 football season.
Dubbed the “Give to the Sip” campaign, exclusive experiences and memorabilia will be made available for auction each week during the Rebels’ gridiron season. Auction items will range from the chance to participate in the Walk of Champions to signed commemorative footballs, among many other things.
Bids will be accepted beginning Monday of that week through Sunday. Sign up here to receive an email each week when that week’s auction goes live.
Certain auction items will be restricted to participation only by non-prospective student-athlete-aged individuals.
Markets & Business
Zuckerberg alleges that White House pressured Meta to censor COVID content
The Biden Administration “pressured” Facebook-parent Meta to “censor” content related to Covid-19, the social media giant’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg alleged, according to CNBC. He said he regrets some of the decisions taken in relation to the U.S. government’s requests.
“In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree,” Zuckerberg wrote in a letter to the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, as reported by CNBC, which noted that the letter was posted on the Committee’s Facebook page and on its account on the X social media platform on Monday.
CNBC went on to report that in a statement to Politico, the White House said, “Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.”
