- 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. New Crossroads District planned at Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University announced Tuesday that a comprehensive master plan has been recently completed for a new 15-acre district featuring a boutique hotel, restaurants and retail stores on the land between the MSU campus and the Cotton District. It is to be named the Crossroads District.
MSU said the Crossroads District will feature and be anchored by a 122-room Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel. Construction of the hotel is set to begin in October, and plans call for it to open in the summer of 2027. The school noted that restaurants, retail and residential developments along University Drive have long made the area attractive. Increasing the number of businesses in those economic sectors and doing so along a street that joins the campus to the city is an ideal fit.
MSU is collaborating with West Side Funds Inc., a for-profit affiliate of the Mississippi State University Foundation. The area has been granted qualified resort status by the Mississippi Legislature, clearing the way for thoughtful development and strategic growth.
2. AccelerateMS relaunches Mississippi Reconnect Program
On Tuesday, AccelerateMS announced the relaunch of the Mississippi Reconnect Program 2.0, an initiative designed to re-engage unemployed and significantly underemployed Mississippians through accelerated training and career-connected learning in high-demand industries.
The program will begin accepting applications in October for early January program start dates. It offers funding for short-term training opportunities lasting from 40 to 320 hours (up to eight weeks) and, in some cases, degree programs tied to critical-need occupations. All training aligns with specific priority occupations identified by AccelerateMS, ensuring that participants gain skills directly relevant to Mississippi’s most pressing workforce needs.
AccelerateMS says participants may include unemployed or underemployed individuals, secondary students aged 16 and older, and those facing barriers to employment. Training may be delivered by secondary schools offering pathways aligned with priority occupations, institutions of higher education, community colleges, private training providers, or career and technical education centers. Collaboration with local workforce development areas is strongly encouraged to broaden access, strengthen program delivery, and maximize impact.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Data says Democrats losing voters as more feel like the party left them
Democrats are sounding the alarm on new data showing they are losing voters to Republicans across the country, reports The Hill.
“A devastating New York Times report Wednesday showed that of the 30 states that maintain voter registration records by political party, Democrats fell behind Republicans in all of them between the 2020 and 2024 elections,” The Hill reported. “In total, Republicans added up to 4.5 million voters compared to Democrats, creating a huge hold that could set Democrats back for years.”
The Hill continued by reporting that Democratic Party strategist Eddie Vale “said his worry is that all of these different kinds of voters feel like the Democratic Party left them.” They “all shared the broader fact that they are working class and not feeling like we were talking to them or actually going to help them, so that needs to be fixed,” he said.
2. Trump administration deportations reaching pace not seen since Obama
According to the New York Times, “Until June, deportations had lagged behind immigration arrests and detentions. By the first week of August, deportations reached nearly 1,500 people per day, according to the latest data, a pace not seen since the Obama administration.”
“At least 180,000 people have been deported by ICE under Mr. Trump so far,” NYT reported. “At the current higher pace, the agency is on track to deport more than 400,000 people in his first year in office, well more than the 271,000 people ICE removed in the year ending last September but still short of the administration’s stated goal of one million deportations a year.”
NYT went on to note, “The Department of Homeland Security says the total number of deportations so far under Mr. Trump is much higher — at 332,000. That figure includes people who are turned around or quickly deported at U.S. borders by Customs and Border Protection.”
Sports
1. With sold out season tickets, Ole Miss announces some game day changes
Ole Miss Athletics says their 2025 football season tickets are sold out for the second consecutive season. The department also notes some changes for fans coming to home games this season, which include:
- All mobile tickets will use NFC-enabled technology. NFC tickets use “Tap and Go” for entry into athletic venues. Screenshots and ticket forwards will no longer be valid.
- Stronger measures are being put in place to ensure field rushes no longer occur at Vaught-Hemingway. Entering the playing field is strictly prohibited, and those found to be violators are subject to arrest.
- Wi-Fi has been upgraded within the stadium and is available for free for all fans.
- Three concession stands have been converted into full Grab & Go locations.
Ole Miss Athletics did say there are no changes to the traditional gameday experience in The Grove nor the choices for setting up. Fans can choose to put up their own tent or purchase a setup for their preferred vendor.
2. MSU WR Thompson named to Earl Campbell watchlist
Mississippi State Athletics has announced that wide receiver Brenen Thompson was named to the 2025 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list by the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and SPORTyler.
The school said Thompson enters his senior season in 2025 after spending the last two seasons at Oklahoma and his freshman season at Texas. In his career, he has played in 27 games with 10 starts. Thompson has caught 27 passes for 503 yards and four touchdowns.
The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award is given annually to the top offensive player in Division I football who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community and tenacity; specifically, tenacity to persist and determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals. In addition, the nominee must meet one or more of the following criteria: Played football at and graduated from a Texas High School and/or is currently playing at a Texas D1 four-year college.
Markets & Business
1. Investors, policymakers await Powell’s remarks Friday
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks Friday at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming “will be closely watched by investors and Washington policymakers. Everyone with skin in the game, which is just about everyone who carries a wallet, has reason to listen for clues about when rates might fall.”
“On Wednesday, Trump called for the immediate resignation of Fed governor Lisa Cook, who has consistently voted with Powell, over allegations of mortgage fraud before her Fed appointment,” WSJ reported. “The president told aides he is considering firing Cook, according to people familiar with the matter, which would leave a vacancy for him to fill.”
WSJ noted, “A majority of Fed officials supported holding rates steady last month, though two Fed governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, dissented in favor of a rate cut. Waller and Bowman are Trump appointees who are under consideration to become Fed chair when Powell’s term ends in May.”
2. Trump takes on solar, wind projects
CNBC reports that President Donald Trump on Wednesday “said his administration will not approve solar or wind power projects, even as electricity demand is outpacing the supply in some parts of the U.S.”
“We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar,” Trump, who has complained in the past that solar takes up too much land, posted on Truth Social, as reported by CNBC. “The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!”
CNBC added, “The president’s comment comes after the administration tightened federal permitting for renewables last month. The permitting process is now centralized in Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s office.”
Magnolia Tribune
