- 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. USM among Best MBA Programs in the U.S., Fortune says
For the first time, the College of Business and Economic Development at The University of Southern Mississippi has earned national recognition in Fortune’s rankings of the Best MBA Programs for 2025, placing No. 61 in the Best MBA Programs category.
According to USM, this is one of many rankings the Southern Miss MBA Program has earned from Fortune recently. For 2024, the college was featured at No. 12 Best Online MBA Programs in the South, No. 19 Most Affordable Online MBAs, and No. 31 Best Online MBA Programs, moving up 17 spots compared to the Best Online MBA Program 2023 rankings. The Southern Miss MBA program is one of 554 AACSB-accredited business master’s programs in the Americas.
The Fortune Best MBA Programs rankings analyzed data from nearly 100 MBA programs and considered 11 key ranking factors, including base salaries of recent graduates, cost of tuition, graduation rates, and the number of MBA alumni now serving in Fortune 1000 C-suite positions.
2. Weddle appointed to MS Court of Appeals
Governor Tate Reeves announced the appointment of John Weddle of Saltillo as Judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals, District 1, Position 1 on Wednesday.
The appointment fills a vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Jim M. Greenlee. Weddle’s term will begin on October 14, 2024. Governor Reeves will call a special election to be held on November 3, 2026. The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of the eight-year term.
Weddle has been a practicing attorney since 1995. He has served as the District Attorney for the First Circuit Court Judicial District since 2015 and is on the Mississippi Corrections and Criminal Justice Task Force.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Presidential race too close to call, poll says
A new Quinnipac poll released this week says the presidential race remains too close to call as former President Donald Trump receives 48 percent support among likely voters and Vice President Kamala Harris receives 47 percent support.
“In Quinnipiac University’s August 29 poll, following the Democratic National Convention, the presidential race was too close to call. Harris received 49 percent support, Trump received 47 percent support, and Stein and Oliver each received 1 percent support,” Quinnipac polling reported. “In today’s poll, Republicans 93 – 6 percent back Trump, while Democrats 94 – 5 percent back Harris. Among independents, 47 percent back Trump, 44 percent back Harris, 3 percent back Stein, and 2 percent back Oliver. In a hypothetical two-way race between Harris and Trump, Trump receives 48 percent support and Harris receives 48 percent support.”
The poll was released September 24.
2. Biden directs billions more to Ukraine
According to the Wall Street Journal, President Joe Biden has directed that Ukraine receive the remaining $5.5 billion worth of American weapons and equipment previously authorized by Congress ahead of his meeting Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
“The administration’s announcement also includes separate funding of about $2.4 billion through what’s known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which will provide Ukraine with air defenses, drones and other weapons that over the long term will help to sustain its military needs,” WSJ reported. “The president also approved the transfer of the Joint Standoff Weapon, a long-range munition that will help Ukraine strike faraway Russian positions in its own territory and within Ukraine, as well as one Patriot missile-defense system to protect Ukrainian cities facing consistent Russian bombardment. The announcement included the expansion of the F-16 pilot-training program for 18 additional Ukrainian pilots.”
3. Mayor of New York City indicted
The Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams – a retired police captain – has been indicted in a federal corruption investigation, according to the New York Times.
“The indictment remained sealed on Wednesday night, and it was unclear what charge or charges Mr. Adams will face. But the federal investigation has focused at least in part on whether Mr. Adams and his campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations,” NYT reported.
NYT followed that report up, saying early Thursday morning that federal agents had searched the official residence of Mayor Eric Adams that morning, “hours before prosecutors were expected to announce the details of a federal indictment against him.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. Five MS JUCOs ranked in Top 15
Five Mississippi JUCO football teams are ranked in the Top 15 of the NJCAA DI rankings this week. All are back in action Thursday night, with one matchup between teams in the Top 15.
Here’s a rundown of who’s playing who tonight:
- No. 4 MGCCC hosts Pearl River
- No. 7 Jones travels to No. 11 Holmes
- No. 10 Northwest MS hosts Northeast MS
- No. 15 Co-Lin hosts Southwest MS
- East Central travels to Hinds
- Itawamba hosts Mississippi Delta
2. Petal resident to compete at arm-wrestling World Championship
Petal resident Sean “Boom” Hancock is the first Mississippian to ever win the arm-wrestling World Championship. He’ll compete again this year, aiming to bring the gold back from the World Championship tournament in Loutraki, Greece.
According to Hancock, the International Federation of Armwrestling is a non-profit sport organization registered in Zurich, Switzerland. The organization holds its World Championship tournament each year at one of its 82 host countries. The event comes to the United States once every 15 – 20 years.
Markets & Business
1. Consumer confidence falls by largest level in more than 3 years
CNBC reports that consumers’ view on the economy tumbled in September, “falling by the largest level in more than three years as fears grew about jobs and business conditions, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.”
“The board’s consumer confidence index slid to 98.7, down from 105.6 in August, the biggest one-month decline since August 2021. The Dow Jones consensus forecast was for a reading of 104. By contrast, the index had a reading of 132.6 in February 2020, a month before the Covid pandemic hit,” CNBC reported. “Each of the five components the organization samples fared worse on the month, with the biggest fall coming among those aged 35-54 and earning less than $50,000.”
CNBC added, “The last time the confidence index dropped more came as inflation was just beginning a climb to what ultimately was the highest level in more than 40 years.”
2. Harris to “go after” companies she views as price gouging
Forbes reports that Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris “said Wednesday night in her first major one-on-one interview as Democratic nominee that she is ‘going to go after’ companies that price gouge, doubling down on the controversial economic plan that she has previously marketed as a way to rein in rising food prices.”
“Harris’ plan to ban price gouging has raised eyebrows among experts, who have likened it to failed price controls implemented in the 1970s and warned it could slow down an already competitive food and grocery market, though Harris has not proposed enacting hard caps on grocery prices,” Forbes reported.”
