- 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. Hyde-Smith says Transportation, HUD appropriations bill will benefit MS
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith said Thursday that she gained Senate Appropriations Committee approval of an appropriations bill that will make significant investments in air traffic safety transportation and infrastructure, and federal programs to address housing affordability and homelessness.
Hyde-Smith chairs the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee that wrote the FY2026 THUD Appropriations Bill that was approved on a bipartisan 27-1 vote. It will now be consideration by the full Senate.
The Senator noted that Mississippi communities should benefit from continued funding for priority programs, including BUILD, the competitive Rural Bridge repair and rehabilitation program under which Mississippi is eligible to receive up to $55 million, the Port Infrastructure Development Program, Small Shipyards grants, Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement Grants, and the National Scenic Byways Program.
2. MDAC announces agricultural theft recoveries totaling more than $288,000
The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce said Thursday that the Mississippi Agriculture and Livestock Theft Bureau (MALTB) recently assisted in several agricultural theft recoveries, totaling more than $288,000 in recovered property.
“On April 30, 2025, a tractor was stolen with a fraudulent cashier’s check in Rankin County. On this same date, MALTB was contacted by the fraud victim. MALTB, along with numerous law enforcement agencies, assisted in this ongoing investigation,” the agency stated.
MDAC went on to say that the investigation into the stolen tractor led to the recovery of additional pieces of stolen property.
“The suspects purchased trucks, cars, tractors and ATV/UTV vehicles from Facebook Marketplace with fraudulent cashier checks in at least three states. Over $288,000 worth of property has been recovered as a result of this check fraud and theft ring. Arrests have been made in this ongoing investigation with additional arrests forthcoming,” the statement outlined.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Biden sells his memoir for nearly $10 million
The Wall Street Journal reports that former President Joe Biden “has sold his presidential memoir to the Hachette Book Group for an advance in the range of $10 million, according to people familiar with the matter.”
“Biden, who is 82, said at an event earlier this month that he was ‘working my tail off’ to write a memoir, and indicated that he would focus on the four years he served as president,” WSJ reported. “Presidents and their spouses routinely shop memoirs after their time at the White House. Such books can provide a major source of income, and help the public figures frame their legacies.”
WSJ notes that Biden’s advance is less than what was reported for former Presidents Barack Obama (in the range of $60 million) and Bill Clinton ($15 million).
2. SCOTUS halts ruling on Voting Rights Act enforcement
As The Hill reports, “The Supreme Court on Thursday halted an appeals ruling that prevents private groups from challenging election maps under the Voting Rights Act in seven states.”
“The case arose from a lawsuit brought by two Native American tribes, who argue that North Dakota’s state legislative map denied them an equal opportunity to elect their candidates of choice,” The Hill reported. “The case entered the national spotlight after an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 that the tribes and other private parties have no legal right to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It mimicked an earlier 8th Circuit ruling concerning a redistricting case in Arkansas.”
The Hill went on to report, “The tribes, backed by the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, argued the 8th Circuit’s recent decision is at odds with decades of history and takes away a key pathway to challenge discrimination in the seven states the 8th Circuit covers.”
3. Columbia University, Trump Administration reach settlement over antisemitism concerns
The New York Times reports that Columbia and the Trump administration have reached a settlement “that allows hundreds of millions of dollars of federal research funding to begin flowing again to Columbia.”
“The deal ends civil rights investigations into antisemitism at the university. In exchange, Columbia will pay a fine of $200 million to the government, and an additional $21 million to settle employment discrimination claims. An independent monitor will report to the government about the university’s compliance with the deal,” NYT reported.
NYT noted, “According to a recent survey commissioned by Columbia, 62 percent of Jewish students last year said that they did not feel accepted for their religious identity at the university. There was also a broader problem of intolerance, some felt, with too many people choosing to shut out, rather than engage with, other points of view.”
Sports
1. Trump signs order prohibiting “third party, pay-for-play” in college athletics
CNBC reports that President Donald Trump on Thursday “signed an executive order prohibiting ‘third party, pay-for-play’ payments to college athletes, a move the White House is taking to curb ‘bidding wars’ that have roiled college sports in recent years.”
“The order would not apply to fair-market compensation for athletes who make brand endorsements, according to the White House,” CNBC reported. “The order also looks to protect women’s and nonrevenue sports by mandating that revenue sharing between universities and college athletes be implemented in a manner that protects those programs.”
CNBC added, “It was not immediately clear how the proposed order would be enforced, or what mechanisms were in place to ensure revenue is shared more equitably between men’s and women’s and nonrevenue-generating sports.”
2. Watts to be new Southern Miss Asst. AD for Compliance
Southern Miss Athletics announced Wednesday that Brittany Watts has been hired as Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance.
According to USM, Watts joins Southern Miss after working at the University of Missouri since July of 2022. Her initial role at Mizzou was as an Assistant Director of Compliance before being promoted to Director a year later. Prior to her stint at Missouri, Watts worked as a Compliance Coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh in 2021-22, as well as a Compliance Assistant at Georgia Tech from 2020-21.
She currently serves as The Chair of the National Association of Athletics Compliance Convention Committee.
Markets & Business
1. Bessent says U.S., China trade relations stabilizing
In an interview on Fox Business Network‘s “Kudlow,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday “that trade relations between the U.S. and China are stabilizing such that the Trump administration can turn some of its focus to broader economic issues with Beijing.”
“Right after April 2, we got into a tit-for-tat – we were at 145% tariffs, they were at 125%, which is really an embargo,” Bessent told host Larry Kudlow.
Fox Business reports that Bessent noted that following negotiations in Geneva, “U.S. tariffs are down to 30% on China, with 20% tariffs left over from Trump’s first term, while China has a 10% tariff on U.S. exports. Bessent also said ‘trade is in a good place’ between the two countries.”
2. Mississippi Bar honors Campbell
Roy D. Campbell III, a retired partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, has been named the 2024-25 recipient of the Mississippi Bar’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Campbell was presented with the award at the Mississippi Bar’s annual meeting on July 11.
According to the announcement, the Mississippi Bar’s Lifetime Achievement Award is given to an individual who has demonstrated service to the public, profession, and administration of justice over the span of a professional career.
Campbell retired at the end of 2024 after a 50-year career representing clients in civil suits at both the trial and appellate level and serving as lead counsel in over 100 jury trials. He also served as trial counsel for Fortune 100 companies in mass-tort litigation and handled the defense of suits throughout the Southeast and Midwest.
