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In Mississippi
USM Alumni to induct 7 into Hall of Fame
The University of Southern Mississippi Alumni Association said Monday that they will induct seven of its most dedicated and distinguished alumni into its Hall of Fame.
The 2025 inductees include:
- Richard G. Cowart ’75 of Nashville, Tenn.
- Krandall Paige Howell ’87 of Summit, Miss.
- David Hurt ’90 of Madison, Miss.
- Mickey Lee Marshall ’83 of Mobile, Ala.
- Hal McMahon ’85 of Hattiesburg, Miss.
- Jennifer Duke Payne ’04 of Hattiesburg, Miss.
- Ellen Hunter Ruffin ’77, ’98 of Hattiesburg, Miss.
The association said the honor was established to recognize those whose contributions of time and financial means have helped move Southern Miss forward. The inductees will be honored at the Alumni Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday, October 24, and will also be recognized during the Homecoming game Saturday, October 25.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Russian drones shot down in Poland
Politico reports that Russia tested NATO with a drone assault in Poland.
“Poland said it scrambled fighter jets and shot down Russian drones in the early hours of Wednesday in what looks like an escalatory move by Russian President Vladimir Putin to test NATO’s defenses,” Politico reported. “Poland said the incursion, which forced the closure of Warsaw airport, involved a “dozen or so” drones, some of which it deemed could have posed ‘a threat.’ Dutch F-35 jets joined the Poles in confronting the overnight airspace violation.”
Politico went on to report, “There were no casualties, but the wreckage of one crashing drone ripped the top off a house in Wyryki-Wola, in eastern Poland, near both the Ukrainian and Belarusian borders. The Rzeczpospolita daily reported as many as 23 drones crossed into Poland.”
2. Israeli strike inside Qatar draws vows of retaliation from PM
The Hill reports that Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani “vowed on Tuesday to retaliate against Israel for its strike against Hamas’s political leadership based in Doha.”
“The State of Qatar is committed to act in a decisive way with anything that would target its territories and will reserve the right to retaliate and will take all the needed measures to retaliate,” al-Thani said at a news conference on Tuesday, through a translator, per The Hill.
The Hill continued, “Israel escalated its war against Hamas on Tuesday by launching an assassination strike on Hamas’s political leadership based in Qatar. The move appeared to end any efforts to release hostages through negotiation, which have been taking place in Qatar and with the help of its leaders. Even as Qatar vowed to retaliate, the country maintained that it would not abandon its role as a mediator in many regional negotiations.”
Sports
1. Week 3 of MS JUCO football opens conference play
Mississippi’s JUCOs open conference play Thursday evening for week 3 in the 2025 football season. Here’s a rundown of this week’s games:
- No. 7 Co-Lin at Hinds
- Itawamba at East Central
- MS Delta at Northeast
- Holmes at Coahoma
- Pearl River at Southwest
- No. 3 Northwest at East MS
- No. 6 MGCCC at Jones
2. Millsaps adding women’s flag football
Women’s flag football is coming to Millsaps College as a club sport in spring 2026. It will then become a varsity-sponsored sport in 2027.
The program will be the first college women’s flag football team in the state of Mississippi.
Over 60 colleges now have the sport as either a club or varsity program. It has grown since being added to the list of sports in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Markets & Business
1. Mortgage demand jumps as rates drop
CNBC reports that a sharp drop in mortgage interest rates “finally got some homebuyers off the fence. It also helped more current homeowners save on their monthly payments.”
“Total mortgage application volume jumped 9.2% last week compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. The week’s results include an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday,” CNBC reported.
CNBC noted, “The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $806,500 or less, decreased to 6.49% from 6.64%, with points decreasing to 0.56 from 0.59, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.”
2. Markets reach new highs as hopes high for Fed rate cut
The Wall Street Journal reports that stocks “crawled to a new record on Tuesday after the latest government report on the weakening labor market raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates more aggressively.”
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday that the U.S. added 911,000 fewer jobs than previously thought over the 12 months ended in March,” WSJ reported. “For investors, the report strengthened the case for the Fed to take a more aggressive approach to cutting rates. Interest-rate futures traders have fully priced in a quarter-point rate cut next week and left the door open for the possibility of a half-point reduction.”
WSJ added, “For the first time this year, all three major benchmarks closed at all-time highs during the same session. The S&P 500 index gained 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite advanced 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%, or 196 points. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note inched higher to 4.073%. Gold prices surged to a new record, fueled by growing expectations for interest-rate cuts.”
Magnolia Tribune
