- 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. MSU announces $1.2 million grant to promote AI competency among high school students
According to the university, a Mississippi State interdisciplinary research team is receiving a $1.2 million National Science Foundation grant to promote AI competency among high school students in the Magnolia State and prepare them for the workforce.
MSU said the three-year grant project will offer innovative, hands-on machine learning experiences to high school computer science teachers and students—focusing on underrepresented populations in STEM and rural areas across the state.
The project, which includes 15 teachers and 60 students, is funded by the NSF Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program.
2. MBI investigating officer-involved shooting in Monticello
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) released Wednesday that it is investigating an officer-involved shooting involving the Monticello Police Department that occurred on November 6th.
MBI stated that officers with the Monticello Police Department encountered a subject near a gas station who presented a weapon at them while getting into a vehicle. The officer then discharged his weapon striking the subject.
The subject then transported themself to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The involved officers did not receive any serious physical injuries. MBI notes that this information is preliminary and subject to change.
MBI said it is currently assessing this critical incident and gathering evidence. Upon completing the investigation, agents will share their findings with the Attorney General’s Office.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Klein: Democratic Party spent years kicking people out of its tent
The New York Times shared Ezra Klein’s audio essay on Thursday where Klein says, “Trump didn’t just win this election. Democrats lost it.” He says Kamala Harris was dealt a bad hand after Democrats spent years kicking folks out of the party.
“President Biden, at 81 years old and hovering beneath 40 percent favorability in most polls, should never have run for re-election. And for months and months and months, the leaders of the Democratic Party, with very few exceptions — shout-out to Dean Phillips — refused to say that,” Klein says. “As poll after poll showed supermajorities of voters thought Biden was too old for this job, the party continued to suppress any serious challenge to him. It suppressed its own doubts. It ignored its own voters, to say nothing of the voters it was going to need to win in 2024.”
Klein goes on to say that Harris “faced a very difficult problem: A popular incumbent can run on her record. A challenger can promise change. Harris could do neither… The Democratic Party had spent years kicking people out of its tent.”
2. Attention turns to who will be in Trump’s Cabinet
The Washington Post reports that President-elect Donald Trump’s team has already zeroed in on some candidates for top appointments.
“Billionaire hedge fund investor John Paulson and economic adviser Scott Bessent are contenders for treasury secretary, according to multiple people familiar with the matter who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), who was a finalist to become Trump’s running-mate, and former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell are under consideration for secretary of state, people familiar with the deliberations said,” WP reported. “Another vice-presidential finalist, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R), is expected to join the Cabinet, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, a primary rival-turned-ally to Trump, said people familiar with the deliberations. And people in Trump’s orbit have floated Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) for defense secretary, according to a Trump adviser.”
As for Attorney General, WP writes, “Many names of potential candidates are circulating among Trump allies, according to a person in Trump’s legal orbit — among them Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri) and John Ratcliffe, Trump’s former director of national intelligence.”
Sports & Entertainment
1. JUCO football enters semifinal round play
The Mississippi JUCO Semifinals are set for Saturday. Four teams made into the playoff round. Here is who’s in and when they will play:
- No. 12 Holmes travels to No. 8 East Central
- No. 5 MGCCC visits No. 4 Northwest
Both games are set for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
2. Miss. State soccer to take on South Carolina in SEC Semifinal
Top-seed Mississippi State will play their SEC Tournament Semifinal matchup with South Carolina on Thursday, November 7 at 3:30 p.m. in Pensacola.
This highly anticipated showdown pits two of the SEC’s top contenders against each other, with Mississippi State looking to advance to its first-ever SEC Tournament final.
The match will be featured live on SEC Network.
Markets & Business
Stocks get Trump bump as investors await Fed rate cut decision
CNBC reports that stock futures gained slightly after a huge market rally following Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the presidential election.
“Traders are also awaiting the Federal Reserve interest rate decision Thursday afternoon,” CNBC noted, adding, “Trump’s triumph in the race for the White House spurred a surge in stocks that sent the blue-chip Dow soaring by more than 1,500 points. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all notched new all-time highs in the session, while the small cap-focused Russell 2000 jumped more than 5%.”
CNBC went on to note, “Fed funds futures are currently pricing in a 100% likelihood that the central bank lowers the borrowing cost at this gathering, according to CME Group’s Fed Watch tool.”
Magnolia Tribune
