- 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. MDE: Eligible facilities can apply for the Child and Adult Care Food Program
The Mississippi Department of Education Office of Child Nutrition (OCN) has announced the availability of federal reimbursement funds to organizations serving healthy meals and snacks through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).
The OCN is seeking applications from eligible facilities that want to participate in the CACFP.
The program is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture and administered by the OCN and provides monthly federal reimbursements to eligible institutions for serving healthy, affordable meals to children and adults older than age 60 who are enrolled for care. The funding is provided for eligible organizations to help cover expenses for meals and snacks.
2. Forecasters keeping eye on southwest Gulf
Forecasters are watching an area in the southwestern Gulf of America that has a strong change for tropical cyclone development over the next 7 days.
Some models show the area forming into a tropical storm, perhaps even a hurricane.
At this time, models show the disturbance moving into the northern Gulf and making landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast this weekend.
Residents are urged to stay weather aware and monitor developments throughout the week.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump creates ‘Super Intelligence Force’
The Washington Post reports that “President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he would name four top administration officials to a ‘Super Intelligence Force’ that will coordinate the federal government’s response to artificial intelligence.”
“Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor and Emil Michael, undersecretary of war for research and engineering, will lead the task force, Trump said,” WP reported. “The task force is expected to coordinate the government’s engagement with various stakeholders in a growing debate over the risks of AI, including consumers, public interest groups, tech companies and infrastructure providers.”
“The Super Intelligence Force is tasked with coordinating the effort of the Federal Government to ensure that America continues to lead the World in Super Intelligence, which many say is bigger than the Industrial Revolution, and the Internet, and will protect the interests, and improve the lives, of all Americans,” Trump wrote Sunday morning on Truth Social.
WP continued, “The task force is one of the most significant steps the administration has taken to respond to Americans’ anxiety about the rapid development of AI. Trump has largely brushed aside fears about the technology and portrayed it as an engine of financial prosperity, even as some industry leaders warn that AI is advancing too quickly and call for a slowdown in development.”
2. SCOTUS to hear case over local governments suing oil companies for climate damages
The Hill reports that the U.S. Supreme Court “will hear a major climate case on Monday that could determine the future of state and local efforts to recover damages from fossil fuel companies over their role in global warming.”
“The case in question, Suncor v. Boulder, is an appeal of a Colorado Supreme Court decision that allowed claims of climate damages brought by Boulder city and county against oil companies to proceed,” The Hill reported. “Ultimately, the justices’ decision could lead to similar cases around the country being tossed.”
“What’s at stake is the future of litigation seeking money damages from fossil fuel companies over climate change,” said Michael Gerrard, faculty director of Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
The Hill added, “He estimated that there are currently about two dozen such lawsuits underway. Meanwhile, Gerrard said that if these climate lawsuits are ultimately successful in the underlying cases, that would mean ‘massive damages that would be very difficult for the companies to pay.'”
Sports
1. Ole Miss, Miss. State remain in Top 25
The Ole Miss Rebels stayed at No. 9 in the latest AP Top 25 college football rankings released Sunday despite being on a bye week.
Mississippi State, however, dropped just one spot to No. 17 after a lopsided loss to now No. 6 Alabama.
Ole Miss is on the road on Saturday, heading back to Nashville for the second time this season, this time to take on Vanderbilt.
Mississippi State has a bye week.
2. Southern Miss to open Sun Belt Tuesday night
Southern Miss is on the road this week for a Tuesday night matchup against Troy.
The Golden Eagles open Sun Belt Conference play after a non-conference schedule where they went 1-3 to open the season.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on EPSN 2.
3. JSU comes back late to remain undefeated
Jackson State trailed by 11 with 8:22 remaining in the Gulf Coast Challenge before scoring 14 unanswered points over the next two-plus minutes to stay undefeated in Southwestern Athletic Conference play with a 31-28 victory over Alabama A&M at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday night.
The Tigers are now 5-0 on the season.
Jackson State stays on the road, traveling to the state of Louisiana to face Grambling State next weekend.
4. Valley erases 24-point deficit to defeat PVAM
Mississippi Valley State football completed the comeback Saturday afternoon at Rice-Totten Stadium, erasing a 24-point deficit to defeat Prairie View A&M 28-27 and secure its first SWAC victory of the season.
The Delta Devils improved to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in SWAC play after scoring 28 of the game’s final 31 points. Prairie View A&M built a 24-0 advantage midway through the second quarter before MVSU began its charge.
Mississippi Valley State returns to the road on Saturday, Oct. 10, when the Delta Devils travel to face Texas Southern in SWAC action.
Markets & Business
1. Futures fall on elevated Treasury yields
CNBC reports that “stock futures fell early Monday as elevated Treasury yields dented investor sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes release, due later in the week.”
“Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 108 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures were down 0.2%, and Nasdaq-100 futures shed 0.3%,” CNBC reported. “The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield ticked higher by 1 basis point, along with the 30-year bond rate. Both yields surged to multiyear highs in recent weeks, as traders fretted that inflation would lead the Fed to keep rates higher for longer.”
CNBC noted, “Stocks are coming off a week defined by surging Treasury yields and a surprisingly lackluster jobs report that helped ease concerns about another Fed rate hike this month. The data provided some relief after a week of pressure from rising bond yields.”
2. Consumer spending driving growth
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, “Americans are spending more on food, travel, couches, Halloween decor and most anything else they want or need—pushing through inflation and their own gloomy feelings about the economy.”
“The dollar amount spent by U.S. households rose by 6.1% in the 12 months through August, up from annual growth of 4.3% at the end of last year, the Commerce Department reported. Economic growth for the second quarter of 2026, the most recent data available, was revised upward this past week, fueled by consumer spending and business investment,” WSJ reported.
“For all the talk about AI data centers, the main engine of growth for GDP in the United States has been broad-based consumer spending growth, which I think is tied to a broad-based, stable labor market,” Austan Goolsbee, head of the Chicago Fed, told journalists after an economic forum this past week.
WSJ went on to report, “Spending is rising because prices are climbing and Americans are buying more stuff. Just over half the spending increase in the year through August owes to the persistent inflation that has frustrated many shoppers: Consumer prices were up by about 3.4% over that period. But inflation-adjusted spending climbed by 2.6%, too, extending a streak of steady growth over the past five years. Supporting all that consumption is an economy that might frustrate Americans but is nonetheless keeping spending habits afloat.”
