- 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. Cruisin’ the Coast draws record crowd
WLOX reports that this year’s Cruisin’ the Coast, which ended Sunday, drew a record number of visitors to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“The event shattered expectations, drawing 10,334 registered cruisers, with some experiencing the celebration for the first time,” WLOX reported, adding, “For six straight years, the celebration has been voted the best car show in the U.S. After beginning in 1996 with only 374 vehicles, the event continues to grow, drawing in car enthusiasts from all over the country.”
WLOX noted, “As of now, 1,056 cruisers are registered for 2026. Next year’s 30th anniversary event is scheduled for October 4-11.”
2. Hamer Presidential Medal of Freedom donated to MDAH
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History says the family of Fannie Lou Hamer has donated the civil rights leader’s Presidential Medal of Freedom to MDAH.
Then-President Joe Biden awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor posthumously to Hamer in January 2025, describing her as “one of the most powerful voices of the Civil Rights Movement.” Hamer fought tirelessly for voting rights – enduring brutal beatings and arrests – in pursuit of Black people’s constitutional right to vote.
MDAH said the medal will be displayed at the Two Mississippi Museums, which is administered by MDAH. The museums recently commemorated Hamer’s 108th birth date on October 6.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. SCOTUS to consider whether using race to draw voting districts is unconstitutional
The New York Times reports that “a central piece of the Voting Rights Act known as Section 2, which prohibits election or voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race” is now an issue before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“On Wednesday, the court will consider a challenge focused on this remaining pillar of the Voting Rights Act, the key legislation that aimed to unravel Jim Crow laws in the South and that has served to protect the voting power of Black Americans,” NYT reported. “Just how far the court is willing to go may become more clear as the justices hear Louisiana v. Callais, a complex dispute over the state’s congressional map.”
NYT continued, “After punting on a decision in June, the justices announced they would rehear the case this month and this time focus specifically on whether allowing race to be used as a factor in drawing voting maps is unconstitutional. For generations, lawmakers seeking to avoid legal challenges under the Voting Rights Act have drawn districts that aimed to maintain minorities’ voting power. A finding that it is unconstitutional to consider race in drawing districts would upend that process.”
2. Unless Senate Democrats accept House CR, Speaker Johnson expects long shutdown
As The Hill reports, “Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Monday the government shutdown is on its way to being one of the longest in history unless Democrats accept the House-passed, GOP-crafted stopgap bill to reopen the government.”
“We’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history, unless Democrats dropped their partisan demands and passed a clean, no-strings-attached budget to reopen the government and pay our federal workers,” Johnson said in a press conference on the 13th day of the government shutdown, reported by The Hill.
The Hill noted, “The shutdown, 13 days and counting, already marks one of the longest federal government funding lapses in modern history. The longest government shutdown, which was also the last time a federal funding lapse occurred, was from 2018 to 2019 during President Trump’s first term, lasting 35 days.”
Sports
1. Hubbard named Preseason All-SEC
On Monday, Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard captured Preseason All-SEC First-Team accolades by the league’s media leading into this week’s SEC Media Days in Birmingham.
Hubbard finished his sophomore season with 1,240 career points which is the most during the 2000s and the fourth-most among SEC freshmen/sophomores trailing only Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (LSU • 1989-90), Allan Houston (Tennessee • 1990-91) and Bernard King (Tennessee • 1975-76). Hubbard’s 1,240 points is third-most in State history through 69 games and ranks 27th overall on the program’s all-time list.
MSU Athletics said the Bulldogs have had at least one player secure All-SEC Preseason honors from the media during four of the last five seasons and in nine of the last 11 seasons since 2015-16.
In addition, Miss. State was listed among teams receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll and was picked to finish 10th in the SEC Preseason media poll which also was released on Monday.
2. Belhaven QB, Kicker earn conference honors
Belhaven quarterback Brock Morris and kicker Lyndell Boatman have been recognized by the USA South Conference following Saturday’s win at N.C. Wesleyan.
Morris was named Offensive Player of the Week, while Boatman earned Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the second week in a row.
Belhaven (4-2, 2-0 USA South) continues conference play next Saturday, hosting Greensboro.
Markets & Business
1. GM books $1.6 billion as EV demand sinks
According to the Wall Street Journal, “General Motors said it is reducing its electric-vehicle manufacturing capacity and booking a $1.6 billion charge on its EV business as demand sinks.”
“The company said that EV sales, already weaker than expected when GM set out years ago on an ambitious plan to eventually end sales of gas-powered cars, are expected to fall with the end of government-funded subsidies and regulatory mandates that fueled EV growth,” WSJ reported. “The automaker has dramatically scaled back EV plans after spending billions on the technology. In 2021, GM had said it was committing $35 billion on EVs and autonomous vehicles. Money went toward new models, EV battery development and converting traditional auto factories into EV plants.”
WSJ added, “The company Tuesday said the audit committee on its board of directors approved the charges a week ago ‘based on a planned strategic realignment of our EV capacity and manufacturing footprint to consumer demand.'”
2. Futures fall amid U.S.-China trade fears
CNBC reports that stock futures “fell Tuesday, resuming the selling seen late last week, as fears around U.S.-China trade relations continue to percolate.”
“The declines came after China and the U.S. began charging additional port fees on each others’ cargo ships, an escalation in the ongoing trade spat between the world’s largest economies. On top of that, China imposed sanctions on five of South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean’s U.S. subsidiaries,” CNBC reported.
CNBC noted, “The selling was led by the AI shares that have driven the bull market, but also were the biggest losers during Friday’s rout. Nvidia and AMD each lost more than 2%. Tesla and Oracle lost about 3%.”
