- 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. Governor sets special election in Clarksdale due to voting irregularities
Governor Tate Reeves has set a special election for Ward One Commissioner in the City of Clarksdale.
According to the governor, the special election is due to the Circuit Court of Coahoma County finding “that there was a sufficient number of illegal ballots cast to change the outcome of the election…and that a special election is necessary.”
“Election integrity matters,” said Governor Reeves stated in his announcement. “Voters deserve to have their voices heard, and illegally casted ballots circumvent the will of the people. I’m glad the Circuit Court of Coahoma County ruled that a special election was necessary. There’s no place for cheating in our elections.”
The municipal special election will be held November 18. The only candidates who will appear on the special election ballot are Timothy W. “Bo” Plunk and Ray Sykes, according to the governor’s office.
2. Hyde-Smith opening DeSoto County office
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith is opening a new Senate office in DeSoto County to serve constituents in northwest Mississippi.
The office will be located at 4716 Pepper Chase Drive in Southaven, and will be open by appointment only. Hyde-Smith also has offices in Jackson, Oxford, Gulfport, and Brookhaven.
“I hope this office gives more people in northwest Mississippi an opportunity to interact with me and my staff more easily, particularly in terms of the constituent services offered by my office. I’m thrilled to have a spot in DeSoto County,” said Hyde-Smith in a statement.
She will host a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony later this month.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. ICE to expand detention facilities across country
As reported by the Washington Post, “By January, ICE will have the capacity to hold more than 107,000 people, internal agency documents show.” The agency plans to add over 41,000 detention beds while opening or expanding 125 facilities this year, WP reported.
“The agency has repurposed sections of military bases and revived dormant prisons, partnering with private prison contractors, local sheriffs and Republican governors to house its record number of detainees,” WP reported. “The road map, last updated July 30, shows that ICE intends to expand immigrant detention to new parts of the country, nearly doubling its number of large-scale, mega-detention centers and relying increasingly on makeshift ‘soft-sided’ structures that can be built in a few weeks and taken down just as easily.”
WP went on to report, “The expansion is funded by an unprecedented $45 billion detention budget approved last month by Congress. The money cleared the way for federal officials to award billions of dollars in additional contracts to the private prison contractors that already oversee the vast majority of immigrant detainees.”
2. Trump administration terminating federal employee unions’ collective bargaining agreements
The Hill reports that federal employee unions “are bracing for battle after courts have lifted a series of injunctions that were stalling the Trump administration’s plans to end collective bargaining rights at a number of agencies.”
“Trump in March signed an executive order laying the groundwork for a sweeping rescission of a number of existing union contracts at government agencies. The administration argues 18 different departments have sufficient national security roles to qualify under a law allowing the suspension of union rights at such agencies,” The Hill reported. “Since the most recent lifting of an injunction earlier this month, the Trump administration has canceled previously-signed collective bargaining agreements with at least five agencies, and more are expected.”
The Hill noted that “the Trump administration has quietly terminated collective bargaining agreements at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, USDA Food Safety Inspection Services, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.”
Sports
1. Delta State’s Carter named to D2 preseason elite 100 watchlist
Delta State University Senior Linebacker William Carter has been named to the D2football.com Preseason Elite 100 Watch List.
Carter is a Preseason All-GSC Linebacker. He had 48 tackles (22 solo) with four TFLs and two fumble recoveries in 10 games, earning second team All-GSC honors in the 2024 season.
The Birmingham, Alabama native comes into his Senior season with 131 total tackles, 9 TFLs and two interceptions at the Linebacker position.
2. MSU to celebrate anniversary of 2000 “Snow Bowl”
Mississippi State Athletics says its football program will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the iconic “Snow Bowl” when it hosts Tennessee on September 27 at Davis Wade Stadium.
The school said the Bulldogs will wear their all-white 2025 core uniform paired with a white helmet featuring the interlocking “MSU” logo and maroon facemask. The look is to pay tribute to the 2000 team that claimed a 43-41 overtime victory over Texas A&M in the Independence Bowl – a game forever remembered for the rare snowstorm in Shreveport, Louisiana, on December 31, 2000. Coach Jackie Sherrill and members of that team will be invited back to Starkville and recognized during the game.
MSU’s matchup with Tennessee will also serve as a “White Out,” and fans are encouraged to wear white.
Markets & Business
1. Markets look to end week with solid gains
CNBC reports that stock futures were mixed on Friday, as Wall Street looked to wrap up another week of gains.
“Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 304 points, or 0.7%. Aiding Dow futures was a 12% surge in UnitedHealth after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management revealed they bought stock in the insurance giant during the second quarter,” CNBC reported. “S&P 500 futures were flat, while Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.2%.”
CNBC added, “For the week, the major averages were headed for solid gains. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained more than 1% week to date as of Thursday’s close, thanks to new consumer inflation data that raised hopes for a Federal Reserve rate cut next month.”
2. Why haven’t tariffs caused inflation to surge?
The Wall Street Journal reports that the highest tariffs in almost a century haven’t caused inflation to surge.
“The phenomenon has puzzled economists, some of whom suspect that companies have so far simply been reluctant to pass along the extra costs to their customers. But another argument for the limited impact is gaining traction: that tariffs being paid by importers are lower than advertised,” WSJ reported. “In a new study, Barclays economists went through census data to see what tariffs importers actually paid in May. They found that the weighted-average tariff rate—the average of all tariffs, adjusted for import volume from each country—that month was around 9%. That number is well below the 12% rate that they had previously estimated based on White House announcements, and far less than what some others have estimated.”
WSJ continued, “The reason is that more than half of U.S. imports were duty-free, the Barclays study says, and because many U.S. companies and consumers bought less from countries with higher levies, particularly China.”
Magnolia Tribune
