- 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. Columbus hosting Unity Day to address crime
WTVA reports that Columbus Mayor Stephen Jones “is organizing a Unity Day celebration this weekend as the city works to address recent violent crimes.”
“Jones said the city of 24,000 has seen its share of violence lately and acknowledged it does not give the city a great image,” WTVA reported. “The Unity Day celebration is an effort to bring everyone together following the recent violence in the city. The idea was started by former Mayor Robert Smith with a Unity Day picnic.”
However, WTVA stated that “the city’s violent crime numbers are actually down, and there has not been a murder in Columbus for 18 months.”
2. McLendon to file School Predator Accountability Act
State Senator Michael McLendon said this week that he plans to file the School Predator Accountability Act when lawmakers return to Jackson in January. He said the comprehensive legislative package is being drafted in light of the growing number of arrests involving teachers, school employees, and other individuals entrusted with the care of children.
“Predators belong in prison, not in our classrooms,” said McLendon. “The School Predator Accountability Act closes loopholes, exposes bad actors, protects whistleblowers, empowers parents, and ensures those who target children face consequences that follow them for life.”
Among the provisions McLendon plans to include in the measure is authorizing courts to order chemical castration for offenders who commit sexual crimes against minors while serving as teachers, principals, coaches, school counselors, or school contractors.
McLendon said the proposal reflects the seriousness of abusing a position of trust to exploit children.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. SCOTUS greenlights Alabama’s congressional redistricting
As reported by Politico, “The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Alabama to eliminate one of its two majority-Black districts as part of a plan to give Republicans an additional House seat in the state.”
“The ruling will be in effect for this year’s elections — the latest win for Republicans in the redistricting arms race that has consumed the battle for the House over the last year in states across the country,” Politico reported. “The justices divided 6-3 along ideological lines as they lifted a lower-court order that blocked the map, devised by Alabama’s GOP-led legislature in 2023, on the grounds that it violated the Constitution by diluting the votes of Black voters. The plan is likely to give Republicans a 6-1 advantage over Democrats in Alabama’s House delegation, compared to the current 5-2 split, by dramatically altering the district held by Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.).”
Politico continued, “With the court greenlighting the 6-1 map, primaries in four of the seven districts will take place on Aug. 11, after GOP Gov. Kay Ivey delayed them in order to account for a new map. The three districts that did not change under the 2023 map have already voted.”
2. Rubio outlines U.S. demands for peace deal with Iran
The Washington Post reports that “Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday outlined the Trump administration’s demands for a peace deal with Iran, saying the regime in Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz and commit to future talks on curtailing its nuclear program before Washington will lift its blockade of Iranian ports or ease financial sanctions strangling the country’s economy.”
“His comments before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were to date the most specific to be offered publicly on the U.S. negotiating position as recent tit-for-tat attacks between the two sides and Israel’s aggressive military action in Lebanon threaten to collapse the talks,” WP reported. “Rubio said that a peace deal would require Iran to pledge to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — a vital waterway for the oil and fertilizer trade that has been closed to virtually all commercial traffic since soon after the administration launched the military campaign in late February.”
WP further reported, “Trump is also demanding that Iran enter into ‘negotiating severe and long-term limitations’ on its nuclear program, including disposing its highly enriched uranium, Rubio said. The secretary of state noted that those talks, if Iran commits to them, could last for months. The administration is not willing to ease sanctions on Tehran solely in exchange for reopening the strait, Rubio said.”
Sports
1. Lacy makes over of EA Sports College Football 27
Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy was named one of three athletes to grace the cover of the upcoming EA SPORTS™ College Football 27 Standard Edition video game.
Lacy is joined on the cover by Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney.
Ole Miss Athletics said Lacy was a force during his first season with the Rebels. The sophomore ran for more than 1,500 yards and scored a single-season program record 24 rushing touchdowns, which ranked second in the country. Lacy scored at least one touchdown in 14 of his 15 games, which included multiple scores in seven of them. He had a hat trick of touchdowns three times.
2. Renfroe named MSU Director of Women’s Basketball Operations
Mississippi State women’s basketball has added Brooke Renfroe as Director of Women’s Basketball Operations, head coach Sam Purcell announced on Tuesday.
The school said Renfroe will coordinate and oversee all operational aspects within the program, including travel logistics, schedule management, in addition to supporting the staff in a multitude of other capacities.
MSU Athletics noted that Renfroe is no stranger to the women’s basketball program, as she served the last two seasons as a student manager. Last season, she earned the spot of head manager, leading the efforts of the manager group.
Markets & Business
1. Data center build out behind schedule?
The Wall Street Journal reports that “Tech companies are earmarking unprecedented sums of money to finance the build-out of massive data centers, with a planned $80 billion equity-raise by Google parent Alphabet being the latest example.”
“But even as the piles of capital secured have grown ever larger, the ability to deploy it in the artificial intelligence race has become less certain. Supply-chain backlogs, permitting fights and availability of power supplies are among the issues that have caused the construction of data centers to fall behind targeted timelines, with the gap growing wider in recent months: A JPMorgan analysis last month found that more than 60% of data-center capacity planned for completion in 2027 isn’t yet under construction, and another 7% is delayed,” WSJ reported. “It’s a seeming paradox: If hyperscalers can’t break ground on many of the projects they have already announced, what difference can hundreds of billions of dollars more make—however eager Wall Street may be to supply it?”
WSJ added that Google “has taken a novel approach to getting around some of the major bottlenecks facing data-center builders—in particular, the ability to secure the massive amounts of electric power they require. Analysts and power-industry experts say the company’s strategy of securing its own sources of generation and investing in the ability to shift computing loads to follow power supply could allow it to get its data centers connected to the grid faster than competitors and provide new avenues for deploying its swelling war chest.”
2. Wall Street hits new records again
CNBC reports that “U.S. stock futures were little changed Wednesday after all three major indexes closed at fresh records during the regular session.”
“The major averages notched new record closes on Tuesday. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.13% to end above 7,600 for the first time ever, while the Dow added 228.91 points, or 0.45%. The Nasdaq Composite eked out a gain of 0.03%,” CNBC reported. “Meghan Shue, head of investment strategy at Wilmington Trust, noted that if the S&P 500 ends this week higher, it would mark the 10th straight positive week in a row, the longest positive streak since 1985. She believes that as summer begins, stocks could be due for a bit of a breather ahead.”
However, as CNBC also noted, “Oil prices rose Wednesday as investors weighed uncertainty over U.S.-Iran talks with the two countries launching fresh strikes Tuesday, even as President Donald Trump said negotiations with Tehran were ongoing.
West Texas Intermediate futures for July delivery gained over 2.1% to $95.76, while international benchmark Brent crude for August delivery advanced almost 2% to $97.86 per barrel, per CNBC.
