Magnolia Mornings: September 19, 2025

• 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. Mississippi AG speaks on officer-involved shooting reviews

The Mississippi Attorney General’s office issued a statement Thursday saying it has completed the review of seven incidents involving officer-involved shootings in the state.

The AG said the review included a January 25, 2025, incident in Noxapater involving one Winston County Sheriff’s Office Deputy; a July 27, 2024, incident in Gulfport involving two Gulfport Police Department Officers; a July 19, 2024, incident in Biloxi involving one Biloxi Police Department Officer; a June 4, 2024, incident in Flowood involving five Flowood Police Department Officers; a June 3, 2024, incident in Hattiesburg involving one Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics Agent; and a June 1, 2023, incident in Brandon involving multiple officers of the Brandon Police Department, Pearl Police Department, Madison Police Department, and Rankin County Sheriff’s Office.

“In all six incidents, the Attorney General’s Office found the use of force was justified,” the office said.

In the seventh matter, the AG noted that the office completed its review into the May 22, 2024, incident in Gulfport involving an officer-involved shooting involving one Gulfport Police Department detective and presented it to the Harrison County grand jury last week. 

“The Grand Jury reported that it found no criminal conduct on behalf of the officer involved. As such no further criminal action will be taken by the Office in this matter,” the AG said.

2. UMMC flight paramedic receives international award

Charlie Swearingen, a University of Mississippi Medical Center flight paramedic who serves with AirCare 3 in Columbus, has received the Tim Hynes Award from the International College of Advanced Practice Paramedics (ICAPP). 

Each year, ICAPP selects an exceptional paramedic who has shown leadership and paramedic professionalism. The honor also recognizes continued education for personal advancement or the advancement of others and a commitment to promoting the paramedic profession through community service, public safety education, injury and illness prevention programs, enhancements in patient care or safety of the transport environment.  

Swearingen, a Gulfport native who now lives in Brandon, has more than two decades of flight paramedic experience, helping launch AirCare bases in Meridian and Columbus.  Born with bilateral fibular hemimelia, the absence of fibulas and ankle bones, Swearingen has used prostheses since early childhood, and grew up running and playing baseball, eventually playing for the Majors at his alma mater, Millsaps College.  He went on to be a Paralympian, competing in Rio de Janeiro with Team USA in sitting volleyball.

National News & Foreign Policy

1. House to vote on CR Friday, may not return until October 1

According to The Hill, “The first partisan showdown over an end-of-month government funding deadline is set to take place on the House floor on Friday, with a vote on a stopgap to fund the government through Nov. 21.”

“House GOP leaders have told their members that they may not return until after Oct. 1 in a bid to jam the Senate Democrats into accepting their package, according to a House GOP leadership source, canceling previously scheduled votes on Sept. 29 and 30. The House is set to be out next week for the Rosh Hashanah holiday,” The Hill reported. “But to achieve that, Republicans will first have to muscle the stopgap through the House with their razor-thin majority — overcoming internal pushback from a handful of spending hawks.”

The Hill continued, “Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Thursday that he’s confident the package will sail through the lower chamber without a glitch. ‘We’re going to get this government funded,’ he said.”

2. Gallup poll shows a record-low satisfaction with quality of K-12 education

A new Gallup poll shows a record-low 35% of Americans are satisfied with the quality of education that K-12 students receive in the U.S. today, marking an eight-percentage-point decline since last year.

“This is one point below the previous historical low recorded in 2000 and 2023 for this Gallup question that dates back to 1999,” Gallup notes. “Only about one-quarter of Americans think K-12 schools are headed in the right direction, while just one in five rate them as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ at preparing students for today’s jobs and one in three say the same for college.”

Gallup also reported, “Twenty-six percent of U.S. adults believe K-12 schools are headed in the right direction, and 73% say they are going in the wrong direction. These views do not differ by party identification, but there are modest differences by age and education.”

Sports

1. JUCO score roundup

Mississippi’s JUCOs took to the gridiron Thursday night in conference clashes. Here are the scores from last night’s games:

• Jones falls to No. 14 Co-Lin 31-20
• Northeast was upset by Holmes 43-27
• MS Delta’s struggles continue with Hinds shutting them out 48-0
• East Central pulled away from Pearl River 37-27
• No. 12 East MS got clipped by Itawamba 34-24
• Coahoma puts up a goose egg at No. 10 Northwest 45-0

Southwest and MGCCC will matchup Saturday in Perkinston for the Bulldogs’ Homecoming game.

2. Big 3 set for Saturday games as expectations grow for all

No. 13 Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss all have fans wanting more with strong starts to their 2025 seasons. Here are the matchups this Saturday and how to watch:

• Ole Miss hosts Tulane in Oxford for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN
• Northern Illinois comes to Starkville to play Mississippi State on SEC Network at 3:15 p.m.
• Southern Miss visits Louisiana Tech for 6:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN+

Markets & Business

1. Markets reach new highs Thursday

CNBC reports that stock futures “were little changed Friday following a winning session that sent indexes to new records as the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates set in investors’ minds.”

“The three major averages closed at all-time highs and notched fresh intraday records on Thursday,” CNBC reported, adding, “Thursday’s moves come a day after the Fed lowered its benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter percentage point, cutting rates for the first time since December.”

CNBC reported, “With Thursday’s gains, the Dow and S&P 500 are both on track to finish the week 0.7% higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has climbed 1.5%, while the Russell 2000 has jumped nearly 3%.”

2. Solar-powered vehicles could be here soon

The Wall Street Journal reports that a handful of startups “will soon sell technologies that can power a substantial portion of a driver’s daily mileage with nothing but abundant, free sunlight.”

“The key to this innovation isn’t solar panels that are better at turning sunlight into electricity. Existing ones are already pretty good at that. The real unlocks are the innovations that have made today’s EVs more efficient, and new power electronics to get energy from the sun into their batteries,” WSJ reported.

WSJ added, “These companies are still just ramping up to release products. But the math that underpins solar integration doesn’t lie. Today’s EVs are now efficient enough for integrated or roof-mounted panels to offset a meaningful portion of a typical driver’s daily mileage—especially in sunnier climes. In a compact EV, you could drive 10 or 15 miles a day without ever plugging in.”