- 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. Long Beach mayor won’t seek reelection
Long Beach Mayor George Bass will not seek a third term in office in next year’s municipal elections. He made the announcement this week at a Breakfast with the Mayor event.
After a 40-year career in public service, Bass said he believed God had other things for him to do.
“God gave me the answer and I decided at that very moment,” Bass said, according to WXXV. “I had 20 to 25 pages of projects we had accomplished since I took office in 2017. And we have a few more to finish.”
2. Golden Triangle expects 500 new jobs, $700 million in investments next year
According to WTVA, Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins told local leaders this week that at least 500 news jobs will be created next year, with a capital investment of $700 million.
“We’re seeing a whole lot of expansion…I mean like two handfuls of expansions that are taking place right now. So majority of the jobs that will be created in the next calendar year will be from expansions.”
WTVA reported that Higgins said the Golden Triangle is in the top 20% of the 543 micropolitans in the country.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Harris sits for FoxNews interview
Vice President Kamala Harris sat for an interview Wednesday with FoxNews’ Bret Baier.
Baier asked the Democratic presidential nominee about immigration, the economy, transgender surgeries for inmates, and more. Harris distanced herself from behind while attempting to bring back each question to her case against Republican nominee former President Donald Trump.
You can watch the interview above.
2. Biden-Harris announce $4.5 billion in student loan forgiveness
Early Thursday morning, the White House released a statement from President Joe Biden announcing an additional $4.5 billion in student debt cancellation for over 60,000 borrowers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The statement said that brings the number of public service workers who have had their student loans cancelled to over 1 million people during the Biden-Harris Administration.
“In 2007, Congress enacted bipartisan legislation creating PSLF to recognize the critical role public servants play in our communities and support them in their service. Under PSLF, people who dedicate at least 10 years of their careers to giving back to their communities – like teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officials, nurses, and servicemembers – can get relief on their student loans. However, the program was poorly implemented,” the White House statement said. “Many public servants found out that they had spent years in the wrong student loan repayment plan or did not take out the right type of loan and were therefore ineligible for PSLF and denied forgiveness.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. MGCCC, Co-Lin to play on ESPN+
No. 7 Mississippi Gulf Coast suffered its first loss last week but the Bulldogs are back in action, traveling to Copiah-Lincoln on Thursday in a matchup that will be aired on ESPN+.
The Bulldogs have won five of the last seven meetings between the teams, but the Wolves won last year. The last three games have been decided by one possession, including Co-Lin’s 28-23 win last season.
2. JUCO football on tap for Thursday
Here’s a rundown of the JUCO games being played on Thursday, October 17 across the Magnolia State:
- No. 7 MGCCC at Co-Lin
- No. 8 Northwest at MS Delta
- No. 6 Holmes at No. 14 Itawamba
- East MS at Pearl River
Markets & Business
1. Investors await new jobless claims, retail sales data
CNBC reports that initial weekly jobless claims data and September retail sales numbers are due out Thursday morning, noting that investors will “parse through the reports for clues on the health of the labor market and U.S. consumer.”
“The data come after a winning day on Wall Street, as the Dow outperformed to close at an all-time high following the release of strong quarterly results,” CNBC reported.
CNBC also noted, “U.S. stock futures rose slightly Thursday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record for the second time this week, and traders awaited the release of fresh economic data.”
2. Gold at record high
Bloomberg reports that gold “climbed to a record ahead of US data prints due later Thursday, with traders also monitoring an increasingly tight presidential race that’s driven demand for haven assets.”
“The precious metal — up 30% this year — is one of the strongest performing commodities. Rate-cut optimism fueled the most recent gains as the Fed kicked off its easing cycle last month, though traders have in recent weeks pared expectations on the size and scope of this year’s rate cuts following mixed reports on the US economy,” Bloomberg reported. “Strong central bank purchases and heightened geopolitical tensions have also supported gold.”
