- Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
Jackson Councilman denies accepting cash from informant
WLBT reports that Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes has been accused of accepting cash payments from a criminal informant.
“Now, he is fighting back, claiming the allegations are lies,” WLBT reported, adding, “Federal documents reveal the alleged incidents happened from 2020 to 2021. The FBI informant alleges he paid Stokes $2,000. The informant also told the FBI that Stokes requested payments ranging from $300 to $500. According to the informant, Stokes would help if he ever needed anything from City Council in exchange for the cash payments. However, the informant told the FBI that Stokes didn’t perform any specific favors in exchange for cash.”
“If it was true, somebody would come with a picture, or they would come with some audio. It’s got to be audio or visual if it happened. If it didn’t happen, then they can’t come with a damn thing, and that’s what it is, and that’s why ain’t nothing come forward, because it did not happen,” Stokes said, per WLBT.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Ambassador Waltz tells U.N. Trump “stands by the brave people of Iran”
According to the New York Times, “After a week of threatening to strike Iran in retaliation for the government killing protesters, the United States brought its case against the country to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.”
“But the United States offered little clarity on what action, if any, it intended to take against Iran,” NYT reported. “Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told the council that President Trump ‘stands by the brave people of Iran. Period,’ adding that the level of violence and repression that Iran has unleashed against its own citizens had repercussions for international peace and stability.”
NYT went on to report, “A nationwide uprising has erupted across Iran since late December. Initially fueled by a tanking economy and currency, the unrest has grown to demanding an end to nearly five decades of Islamic theocracy. After initial economic gestures to contain the unrest, Iran’s leaders cracked down violently, shutting down the internet and firing, at times seemingly indiscriminately, on unarmed protesters. An Iranian health ministry official said more than 3,000 people have been killed, including more than 100 security forces. Rights groups like the Norway-based Iran Human Rights said that more than 3,400 had been killed and thousands of others injured.”
2. Wicker, GOP Senators don’t view Insurrection Act use as appropriate in Minnesota
The Hill reports that Republican senators “are trying to put the brakes on talk of invoking the Insurrection Act to quell angry protests against immigration officers in Minneapolis after one fatally shot a 37-year-old mother of three, Renee Good.”
“Invoking the law, which was last updated in 1874, would allow President Trump to mobilize active-duty troops or federalized National Guard troops to the streets of Minneapolis amid growing civil unrest over actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers,” The Hill reported. “GOP lawmakers are leery of the prospect of sending a wave of troops to Minneapolis when images of masked ICE officers, wearing helmets and ballistic-resistant vests, engaged in heated exchanges with protesters have dominated television and online news in recent days.”
The Hill continued, “Asked if invoking the Insurrection Act to deploy troops to Minneapolis to quell the protests would be appropriate, Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) responded, ‘Probably not.’”
Sports
1. Egg Bowl again moved to Friday after Thanksgiving
The Egg Bowl presented by Facebook will return to Friday for a third straight season, the schools announced Thursday.
The annual Battle for the Golden Egg between Ole Miss and Mississippi State has officially moved to Friday, November 27 for the 2026 season. Kickoff time and television network will be determined at a later date.
The schools have played on Friday six other times in the game’s history – 1916, 1921, 2007, 2008, 2024 and 2025.
The 2026 season will mark the 123rd meeting between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Rebels hold a 67-49-6 advantage all-time on the field (67-47-6 after vacated and forfeited wins), and the 2026 edition will also be the 99th Battle for the Golden Egg, which Ole Miss also leads 61-30-5 on the field since the trophy’s introduction in 1927.
2. JSU’s Jimmy Smith selected for Black College Football Hall of Fame
The Black College Football Hall of Fame (BCFHOF) announced Thursday its Class of 2026.
The six-member class was selected from a list of 28 finalists previously determined by the BCFHOF Selection Committee.
The Black College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 includes Jimmy Smith (Jackson State), Eddie Robinson, Jr. (Alabama State), Nick Collins (Bethune-Cookman), Tyrone Poole (Fort Valley State), coach Rudy Hubbard (Florida A&M), and Steve Wyche (Howard).
Votes were tallied from the nine-member Selection Committee.
Markets & Business
1. Futures up to open Friday morning
Stock futures rose Friday, reports CNBC, “as Wall Street tried to end the week on a high note.”
“The major averages are coming off a winning session thanks to gains in chip stocks,” CNBC reported. “Taiwan Semiconductor led the advance after a blowout fourth-quarter report. Further, the U.S. and Taiwan reached a trade agreement in which Taiwanese chip and tech companies will invest at least $250 billion in production capacity in America.”
CNBC added, “Bank stocks also got a boost after Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley posted solid fourth-quarter results. Goldman shares gained more than 4%, while Morgan Stanley added nearly 6%.”
2. Trump proposing plan for tech companies to bid on new power plants
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, “The Trump administration is planning to propose that the nation’s largest power grid operator hold an emergency auction in which tech companies would bid to have new power plants built, according to people familiar with the matter.”
“The directive, expected Friday, would be an unprecedented attempt by the federal government to check rising electricity prices within PJM Interconnection, a 13-state power market spanning from New Jersey to Kentucky,” WSJ reported. “The build-out of data centers there in response to the artificial-intelligence boom is straining the grid’s capacity and has resulted in substantially higher costs in several of the grid operator’s recent power auctions.”
WSJ noted, “The emergency auction would allow tech companies to bid on 15-year contracts for new power plants in deals that would be worth billions of dollars, some of the people said.”
