- 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. USM receives $3M grant to continue AQUAVIEW development
The University of Southern Mississippi’s Institute for Advanced Analytics and Society (IAAS) has received a $3 million grant extension from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to continue development of AQUAVIEW, a cloud-based platform that improves access to NOAA ocean science and environmental data. The extension will support the project through September 2029.
USM said Wednesday that the funding will support expanded platform capabilities and continued collaboration between Southern Miss and NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
AQUAVIEW is designed to make NOAA data easier to discover, access and use across a variety of applications, including scientific research, education and emerging artificial intelligence technologies.
2. Burn bans in place across Mississippi
A burn ban is currently in place for 24 counties in Mississippi.
Burn bans are restrictions on outdoor burning during drought or wildfire conditions. The County Board of Supervisors normally requests burn bans, and the Mississippi Forestry Commission approves the requests.
To see when the burn bans expire in each county, visit here.
The local sheriff’s department enforces burn bans. Anyone who knowingly and willfully violates a burning ban is guilty of a misdemeanor. These persons may receive a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $500.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Oil, gas, and mineral exploration beginning in Greenland after Trump deal
The Hill reports that “President Trump announced early Wednesday that ‘massive’ oil, gas and mineral exploration is ‘getting ready to begin’ in Greenland.
“The president’s brief post on Truth Social pointed to the Danish territory’s plentiful oil supplies and natural resources but offered few details about the new initiative,” The Hill reported.
“There are Experts that are saying that the amount of easily available Oil is far greater than that of almost any land, anywhere in the World and, even more importantly, from a Security Purpose in the Defense and Offense of both the United States of America, and Europe, is second to none,” Trump wrote overnight.
“Any future attack on the United States will have to come across Greenland, where our Defense will routinely knock down drones, missiles, or any other form of weapon not yet even conceived,” he continued. “It gives us time, location, and sightline, like nowhere else in the World!”
The Hill noted that “the announcement follows his administration’s decision to enter into a security agreement last month with Denmark and Greenland, which sought to calm tensions between the two sides after Trump repeatedly threatened to seize the Arctic island.”
2. SCOTUS weighs online privacy, data collection
A 1988 law passed by Congress that prohibited video stores from disclosing what tapes their customers rented “is now the focus of a Supreme Court case involving one of the world’s largest media conglomerates — and a man named Michael Salazar, who says the company violated the VPPA [Video Privacy Protection Act] when it gave his video-watching history to Facebook,” reports the Washington Post.
“For those reasons, Salazar, a California resident, argues that Paramount Global should pay him — and others like him — $2,500 in damages for the alleged invasion of his privacy. But experts say the case is about more than that relatively small sum, pointing to privacy concerns raised by the internet and widespread data collection by tech companies,” WP reported. “During oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the justices appeared skeptical that the video law covered Salazar’s claims. Multiple justices noted that Salazar’s claims might not be the most ‘natural’ interpretation, and some also worried about ‘repurposing’ the statute to cover a problem beyond its intended purpose.”
WP continued, “But some justices seemed wary of totally preventing the law from covering data collection on certain websites. They noted that it should be easy for a company like Paramount to quickly get consent from users before sharing their data, as the VPPA requires.”
Sports
1. Miss. State, Oklahoma State announce home-and-home series
Mississippi State and Oklahoma State have scheduled a future home-and-home football series for the 2030 and 2031 seasons, the two programs announced Wednesday.
The Bulldogs and Cowboys will meet at Boone Pickens Stadium on Oklahoma State’s campus on Sept. 7, 2030. Boone Pickens Stadium, built in 1919, is the oldest FBS stadium west of the Mississippi River and currently lists its seating capacity at 52,202.
MSU will host game two of the series on Sept. 6, 2031 at Davis Wade Stadium.
2. Southern Miss Athletics recognized for graduation rates
Southern Miss was one of eight Sun Belt Conference schools recognized for its graduation rates at the league’s Honors Banquet Tuesday night as part of its annual Fall Meetings in Atlanta.
Southern Miss was recognized with the Student-Athlete Graduation Success Rate Award, bestowed upon any member institution that has a single-year graduation success rate at or above 90 percent for student-athletes as published in the NCAA Division I Graduation Rate Award report.
The award winners were all recognized for the 2025-26 season.
Markets & Business
1. C Spire The One Plan now available to 500,000 more Mississippi households
C Spire announced Wednesday that its “The One Plan” is now available to 500,000 more Mississippi households as 5G Home Internet joins the converged plan for the first time, giving new and existing customers a wireless and home internet solution that is unmatched compared to competitor offers.
The One Plan is C Spire’s converged wireless and internet offering, and it starts at $99 per month with a five-year price guarantee for both new and current customers.
Until now, households outside of C Spire’s fiber footprint weren’t eligible. Customers in areas where C Spire fiber is available will continue to be served by fiber.
“The One Plan with 5G Home Internet is an offer no other carrier can match,” said C Spire Executive Vice President, Consumer, Craig Jackson. “You don’t sign a long-term agreement, and you don’t wait for an appointment. You can be up and running right away, with one bill, one support number, and a five-year price guarantee. It’s a truly differentiated experience.”
2. Futures fall as investors await another round of economic data
CNBC reports that “Nasdaq-100 futures fell sharply Thursday as concerns around tech companies overspending on artificial intelligence grew, while traders awaited earnings reports and economic data after a losing session.”
“AI-linked stocks, particularly memory chipmakers, were also lower on Thursday after another sell-off in the Korean stock market. Micron shares slid 3.7%, and Sandisk fell 4%. U.S.-listed shares of Sk Hynix dropped 7%. Overnight, South Korea’s Kospi index fell more than 7%,” CNBC reported. “Concerns that the Federal Reserve could tighten monetary policy more aggressively before year-end are also weighing on equities, after new data showed consumer prices in September rose faster than expected on a year-over-year basis.”
CNBC added, “Investors will get more inflation data on Thursday, with the September reading on producer prices due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. New retail sales figures and weekly jobless claims are also slated for release at that time.”
