- Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
Horhn to give State of City address
Jackson Mayor John Horhn will give his inaugural State of the City Address on Thursday, October 9, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. at the Jackson Convention Complex 3rd Floor Auditorium.
According to his team, Mayor Horhn will outline his administration’s progress and vision for Jackson’s future, including achievements from his first 100 days, initiatives in infrastructure, public safety, economic growth, government accountability, and community development.
The address will highlight the Mayor’s commitment to partnership with local, state, and federal leaders, as well as opportunities for public engagement in the months ahead.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Democrats keep government shutdown going after Monday vote
As The Hill reports, “The government shutdown is turning into ‘Groundhog Day’ for senators as they grow increasingly frustrated with the lack of movement toward a deal and repeated failed votes.”
“The Senate on Monday voted on the GOP’s ‘clean’ stopgap funding bill and on a Democratic alternative, with both again failing to advance. Absent a substantial change in posture on either side, the upper chamber is expected to vote on the same continuing resolutions (CR) on Tuesday and Thursday,” The Hill reported. “Adding to the monotony and deepening the stalemate, the repeated votes are taking place even as no high-level negotiations are taking place and talks among rank-and-file lawmakers appear to have petered out.”
The Hill added that President Donald Trump on Monday “indicated to reporters that he was willing to make a deal with Democrats on the expiring ACA credits, which have been at the heart of the minority party’s argument.”
2. SCOTUS to hear challenge to conversion therapy ban
The New York Times reports that the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday “will hear a challenge to a Colorado law that prohibits licensed mental health professionals from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of clients who are under 18.”
“Kaley Chiles, a therapist and evangelical Christian, says the law violates her free speech rights because it prevents her from working with patients who want to live a life ‘consistent with their faith,'” NYT reported. “State lawmakers passed the restrictions in 2019, in response to the findings of major medical associations that conversion therapy is ineffective and potentially harmful for young people. The outcome of the case has implications for Colorado and more than 20 other states with similar laws.”
NYT continued, “A central question for the justices is whether Colorado’s law is a permissible regulation of professional conduct or an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.”
Sports
1. Belhaven players sweep POTW honors
Belhaven Football opened conference play in dramatic fashion on Saturday, edging Brevard 23-20 in overtime at Belhaven Bowl Stadium.
The win earned the team three USA South Conference weekly honors this week, with wide receiver Wyatt Locastro, defensive back Dee Gray, and kicker Lyndell Boatman all earning Player of the Week honors in offense, defense, and special teams, respectively.
The Blazers continue their conference slate next Saturday vs. North Carolina Wesleyan.
2. Alcorn 0-5 so far in 2025 season
Alcorn State is winless so far this 2025 football season, losing 13-12 on Saturday to Prairie View A&M.
The Braves 0-5 start doesn’t get any easier with their Homecoming game this Saturday against Lincoln University.
Alcorn finished 6-6 last season and second in the SWAC West division.
Markets & Business
1. Record-breaking market continues despite shutdown
CNBC reports that stock futures “were relatively unchanged on Tuesday as Wall Street looked for more developments out of Washington on the current U.S. government shutdown that is now in its second week.”
“Stocks rose to new heights on Monday, fueled by enthusiasm about a potential acceleration in mergers and acquisitions activity and an upcoming Federal Reserve rate cut. The S&P 500 closed at a fresh record for the 32nd time this year, up for 7 straight days, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite notched its 31st all-time high of 2025,” CNBC reported. “The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day lower, however. The Russell 2000 index of small-capitalization stocks, meanwhile, finished the previous session at a record high after crossing 2,500 for the first time.”
CNBC noted, “The record-breaking market comes as investors appear to brush off concerns tied to the current U.S. government shutdown that is now on its second week.”
2. Labor market softening as federal workers depart
The Wall Street Journal reports that some 100,000 federal workers “came off the government’s payroll this week, the latest bit of unwelcome news for the softening U.S. labor market.”
“The departures coincide with the government shutdown, which could bring another round of cuts,” WSJ reported. “The trims stem from the Trump administration’s deferred-resignation plan, launched earlier in the year, which allowed staff to leave the government and keep their paychecks and benefits for months. About 154,000 employees took the deal, according to the Office of Personnel Management, and two-thirds were paid through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.”
WSJ went on to report, “Though the more than 2 million federal-government workers make up a small slice of the total U.S. labor force, the accumulation of losses across government agencies represent another point of pressure weighing on a job market that has struggled throughout much of the year. Sectors from manufacturing to finance are losing jobs.”
