- Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
Heidelberg woman shoots escaped monkey
WJTV/AP reports that one of the monkeys that escaped last week after a truck overturned on a Mississippi highway “was shot and killed early Sunday by a woman who says she feared for the safety of her children.”
“Jessica Bond Ferguson said she was alerted early Sunday by her 16-year-old son who said he thought he had seen a monkey running in the yard outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She got out of bed, grabbed her firearm and her cellphone and stepped outside where she saw the monkey about 60 feet (18 meters) away,” WJTV/AP reported. “Bond Ferguson said she and other residents had been warned that the escaped monkeys carried diseases so she fired her gun.”
WJTV/AP continued, “The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took possession of the monkey, the sheriff’s office said.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Court orders use of USDA reserve funds, tariff revenue be used to fund SNAP
ABC News reports that a federal judge in Rhode Island “has laid out a path for the administration to fund SNAP benefits, which ran out on Saturday, saying the administration could tap more than $5 billion in emergency funds, as well as a much larger pot of tariff revenue collected by the Agriculture Department to fund the program.”
“The Senate on Thursday adjourned until Monday afternoon, which will mark the 34th day of the government shutdown,” ABC News reported, adding, “In court filings, the Trump administration stated that it was “expeditiously attempting to comply” with the judge’s order but requested further clarification on how to implement it. The president said on Friday that he has instructed government lawyers to find a legal path to restore SNAP funding, but acknowledged that benefits will still be delayed.
“I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible,” Trump posted on social media, per ABC News. “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.”
ABC News noted, “McConnell thanked the president for his ‘definitive response’ to the order.” Payouts could be begin by Wednesday.
2. Trump says Venezuelan President’s days are numbered
According to The Hill, “President Trump said in a new interview he did not think the United States was going to war against Venezuela amid rising tensions between the two countries, though he suggested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s days were numbered.”
“Trump was asked in an interview with ’60 Minutes’ broadcast Sunday about the administration’s recent actions striking alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and repositioning an aircraft carrier into the area,” The Hill reported, adding, “The Pentagon last week said it was sending the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and its carrier air wing to the Caribbean. At the same time, the Trump administration has conducted strikes against boats it says are smuggling illegal drugs in the region, killing dozens of people in the process.”
“Are we going to war against Venezuela?” anchor Norah O’Donnell asked, per The Hill. “I doubt it. I don’t think so. But they’ve been treating us very badly, not only on drugs — they’ve dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country that we didn’t want, people from prisons — they emptied their prisons into our country,” Trump said.
Sports
1. Ole Miss stays at No. 7 after South Carolina win
The Ole Miss Rebels took a 30-14 win over South Carolina at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Saturday night, improving their chances of being in the College Football Playoffs hunt with three weeks remaining in the regular season.
The Rebels’ remaining games include matchups with The Citadel and Florida at home, following by a trip to Starkville to take on Mississippi State.
Ole Miss, now 8-1 on the season, remained at No. 7 in the AP Top 25 with the 6 teams above them all staying in their slots as well.
Ohio State is No. 1, following by Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia and Oregon.
2. Miss. State picks up first SEC win in 2 years but bowl prospects remain shaky
Mississippi State’s two-year SEC losing streak came to end Saturday with a 38-35 comeback win over Arkansas.
The Bulldogs have been in three prior SEC games, all with chances to secure the win over Tennessee, Florida and Texas but just could not get over the hump and close out the game. A play here or there could have Mississippi State at 8-1, yet the teams sits at 5-4 on the season.
Now, the Bulldogs need one more win to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2022. However, in front of them is a gauntlet with games against No. 5 Georgia, No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 19 Missouri.
Markets & Business
1. Futures up to open November trading
CNBC reports that stock futures “rose on Monday, led by tech, as a new month of trading began.”
“Wall Street is coming off a winning session that added to the benchmark’s October gains. The S&P 500 and Dow industrials climbed 2.3% and 2.5%, respectively, for the month. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, gaining 4.7%,” CNBC reported. “Those gains were driven in part by continued momentum in the artificial intelligence trade as well as signs of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China.”
CNBC noted, “Wall Street may get a seasonality boost this month. Data from the Stock Trader’s Almanac shows the S&P 500 averages a 1.8% gain in November, making it the strongest month historically for the benchmark.”
2. $40 billion deal made to buy Tylenol maker
The Wall Street Journal reports that Kimberly-Clark has agreed to buy Kenvue “for more than $40 billion, combining the maker of Huggies diapers with the owner of Tylenol and other consumer-healthcare products.”
“In the cash-and-stock deal, Kimberly-Clark will be paying $21.01 a share. Kenvue shares closed Friday at $14.37 and soared 18.7% in premarket trading Monday, while Kimberly-Clark shares dropped nearly 15%. Including debt, Kimberly-Clark said the deal has a total value of $48.7 billion,” WSJ reported. “The deal will create a global health and wellness company with annual revenues of approximately $32 billion and 10 billion-dollar brands, including Kimberly-Clark’s household staples such as Kleenex tissues and Cottonelle toilet paper with Kenvue’s products such as Tylenol and Listerine mouthwash.”
WSJ went on to add, “The recent noise around Tylenol complicated the deal talks but the two were still able to come to an agreement, two people familiar with the matter said.”
Magnolia Tribune
