- 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. Replica Vietnam Wall, Freedom Tribute coming to Meridian
The American Veterans Traveling Tribute’s Traveling Vietnam Wall and Cost of Freedom Tribute will be on display for the public at in Mississippi this October.
The group said Wednesday that the display will be featured at 5559 M Street in Meridian from October 9-11.
The display is an 80% replica of the Vietnam Wall, honoring 58,300 fallen service members.
Visitors will also experience the Cost of Freedom Tribute, which recognizes the sacrifices made in WWI,
WWII, Korea, Desert Storm, Somalia, 9/11, Iraq, and Afghanistan and the attacks of 9/11.
The Complete Tributes stands 6 feet tall and stretches 360 feet.
2. Fitch joins 49 AGs calling for stronger federal rules on robocalls
Attorney General Fitch joined a bipartisan coalition with 49 other attorneys general this week to urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strengthen its “Know Your Customer” (KYC) rules to help prevent scammers from using the U.S. communications network to make illegal robocalls.
The AG’s office said that last year, Americans received more than 29.6 billion scam robocalls and texts and lost nearly $2 billion to these scams.
Fitch also wrote the FCC earlier in July, urging it to strengthen rules that would cut off scammers’ access to legitimate phone numbers. These two letters are part of Operation Robocall Roundup, an effort by AG Fitch and the Anti Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force to crack down on robocalls across the country.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Biden-era Medicare Part D subsidies ending
The Hill reports that the “Trump administration on Tuesday said it would move to end a Biden-era Medicare premium subsidy program, alleging it benefited insurance companies more than enrollees.”
“As a result, Medicare Part D subsidies will expire at the end of the year and no longer be offered in 2027,” The Hill reported. “Medicare Part D is optional prescription drug coverage offered by private insurance companies to help people with Medicare pay for brand-name and generic medications.”
The Hill added, “It is available as a stand-alone plan to add to Original Medicare or as part of a bundled Medicare Advantage plan.”
2. Thune cautions White House over SAVE Act
According to the Washington Examiner, “Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) used a Wednesday lunch with White House officials to warn about the difficulty of getting elements of the SAVE America Act passed through a party-line budget process.”
“Thune brought up the election integrity measure as GOP senators huddled with White House budget chief Russ Vought and deputy chief of staff James Blair to discuss a $95 billion bill that would also include farm aid and tens of billions in funding for the Pentagon,” WE reported. “According to three sources familiar with the meeting, Thune cautioned that the SAVE America Act, a voter ID and proof-of-citizenship bill, could open a can of worms as the White House pushes for a ‘flexible’ approach that allows Republicans to get as many of its provisions into law as possible.”
WE continued, “Doing so would involve more committees and likely give Democrats more chances to force votes at a lower, simple-majority threshold.”
Sports
MSU’s Mangelson makes SEC’s 2026 Volleyball Preseason All-SEC Team
Lindsey Mangelson earned a spot on the SEC’s 2026 Volleyball Preseason All-SEC Team, the Southeastern Conference announced on Wednesday morning.
Mangelson is one of 16 players and one of three underclassmen to be named among the conference’s best before the 2026 season.
Mangelson, an outside hitter from Fishers, Indiana, had a record-setting rookie campaign in the Maroon and White last season that led to SEC All-Freshman honors. She completed the season ranking second national among all freshmen and sixth in the SEC with 4.35 kills per set.
Markets & Business
1. American oil companies hit wall in Venezuela
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, “Seven months after the U.S. deposed strongman Nicolás Maduro, Big Oil has yet to make any big moves in Venezuela.
ExxonMobil, Chevron and other major oil companies are fighting for a small number of the country’s most attractive drilling spots, but some of the talks with Venezuelan leaders recently hit an impasse, according to people familiar with the negotiations,” WSJ reported. “President Trump and his lieutenants had high hopes that big U.S. oil companies would quickly sign investment deals to kick-start production in Venezuela, home to some of the world’s largest reserves. They see the country’s rising oil exports as a boon to U.S. supplies while Iran hobbles shipping lanes in the Middle East that typically carry 20% of the world’s oil and gas.”
WSJ continued, “The administration is also putting pressure on interim President Delcy Rodriguez to boost Venezuela’s production quickly—before the end of Trump’s second term. Among the issues that have handicapped any big deals: Major U.S. oil producers are interested in many of the same prized assets, including fields in eastern Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt and the northeastern state of Monagas—and they want to secure the most favorable fiscal and regulatory terms possible. The devastating earthquake that shook the country last month also slowed the progress.”
2. Dow plunged 1,100 points on Wednesday
CNBC reports that “Wall Street is coming off a dismal session. On Wednesday, the Dow plunged more than 1,100 points, marking the blue chip index’s worst decline since April 2025.”
“U.S. equity futures rose Thursday, as a jump in Microsoft and semiconductors helped futures rebound from the prior day’s selloff when the Federal Reserve decided to hold rates steady,” CNBC reported. “Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 225 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.6%, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.4%.”
CNBC further reported, “On Thursday, traders will be watching for weekly jobless claims and the personal consumption expenditures price index reading for June.”
