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In Mississippi
1. Coast watches as Invest 93L moves across northern Gulf
Coast residents continue to watch as Invest 93L, a broad area of low pressure, continues to move westward across the Florida Panhandle and is producing disorganized shower and thunderstorm activity mainly south of its center.
The National Hurricane Center said Wednesday that the system is forecast to continue moving westward, and could emerge or redevelop over the far northeastern to north-central portion of the Gulf, skimming the Alabama and Mississippi coasts before reaching the coast of Louisiana by Thursday.
“If this system moves far enough offshore, environmental conditions over the Gulf appear generally favorable for additional development, and a tropical depression could still form over the next couple of days before the system moves fully inland by the end of the week,” NHC stated.
If it does develop into a tropical system, it would be named Dexter.
2. Jackson PD Chief wants crack down on ski masks
WLBT reports that Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade spoke at Tuesday night’s Jackson City Council meeting about potentially banning ski masks in public.
“The Chief says he has spoken with Mayor John Horhn and his team about young men walking around with ski masks, sometimes referred to as ‘shiesty masks,'” WLBT reported. “Wade says he is looking for some type of city ordinance so individuals are not just walking around with ski masks on.”
WLBT added, “Wade believes individuals are wearing ski masks for multiple reasons. The main being so they are not recognized by JPD’s facial recognition technology. The chief is looking for the council’s support as they build out what the ordinance would look like.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Senate advances $9 billion in spending cuts
As reported by the Washington Post, “The Senate voted Tuesday to advance President Donald Trump’s request to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and federal funding for public broadcasting despite the misgivings of some Republicans.”
“The vote was 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie after Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) broke with their party and voted with Democrats,” WP reported. “Senators must now consider a series of other procedural hurdles and up to 10 hours of debate before a final floor vote; if that succeeds, the legislation would have to return to the House to be considered before Friday’s deadline.”
WP went on to report, “Senate Republicans said they would remove $400 million in cuts to the HIV/AIDS relief program known as PEPFAR from the $9.4 billion package. Russell Vought, the White House budget director, said Republicans had the votes to pass the bill after lunching Tuesday with Republican senators.”
2. Democrats attempt to sink Trump judicial nominee
The Hill reports that Senate Judiciary Democrats “are scrambling to make their case as the panel weighs the controversial judicial nomination of a Trump official accused of proposing the Justice Department defy court orders.”
“Emil Bove, the principal deputy attorney general, has been nominated for a lifetime appointment to a bench of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals,” The Hill reported. “Democrats made a last-ditch effort Tuesday to call a hearing with the whistleblower who said he heard Bove suggest the Trump administration should consider ignoring potential court rulings on their plans to send migrants to foreign prisons, with Bove saying they may tell the courts ‘f— you.'”
The Hill continued, “Bove, previously a member of Trump’s personal criminal defense team, currently serves in the No. 3 spot in the Justice Department. Should his nomination advance Thursday, he would be launched to a sphere of the judiciary often tapped for Supreme Court justices.”
Sports
1. Shuckers celebrate 5 former players in MLB All-Star game
The Biloxi Shuckers, the Double-A Affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, are celebrating five of their former players who were selected for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.
Those players are:
- Freddy Peralta
- Shane Smith
- Jacob Misiorowski
- Drew Rasmussen
- Josh Hader
Perlata and Misiorowski are pitchers with the Brewers. Smith pitches for the Chicago White Sox, Rasmussen pitches for the Tampa Bay Rays, and Hader pitches for the Houston Astros.
The 95th All-Star game was played Tuesday in Atlanta with the National League winning 7-6 in an unprecedented ending that saw the team tied 6-6 before a homerun derby style swing-off settled the score.
2. Southern Miss nominates Braxton for 2025 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team
Southern Miss transfer quarterback Braylon Braxton, new Head Coach Charles Huff’s starter when at Marshall, has been nominated by the team for the 2025 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. He is one of 197 players nominated across college football.
The final roster of 23 award recipients will be announced in September and will include 11 players from the NCAA FBS, 11 players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Divisions II, III and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and 1 honorary head coach.
Markets & Business
1. Mortgage demand down as rates move higher
CNBC reports that concerns over tariffs and the broader economy “drove treasury yields higher last week, and mortgage rates followed.”
“As a result, total mortgage application volume dropped 10% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index,” CNBC reported. “The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $806,500 or less, increased to 6.82% from 6.77%, with points remaining unchanged at 0.62, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.”
CNBC noted, “Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home dropped 12% for the week and were 13% higher than the same week one year ago. That was the slowest pace since May.”
2. Executive order expected from Trump on 401(k) plans
The Wall Street Journal reports that President Trump is expected to sign an executive order in the coming days “designed to help make private-market investments more available to U.S. retirement plans, according to people familiar with the matter.”
“The order would instruct the Labor Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide guidance to employers and plan administrators on including investments like private assets in 401(k) plans, the people said,” WSJ reported.
WSJ added, “The details of the order aren’t yet final and are still subject to review, the people said… Investment and retirement industry executives expect it will take further developments, such as congressional action, to get companies more comfortable including private-asset funds in employees’ retirement plans.”
Magnolia Tribune
