- 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. Mississippi Film Office rebrands to Film Mississippi
The Mississippi Film Office unveiled its new brand identity on Thursday as Film Mississippi and relaunched its website, filmmississippi.org, to reflect the new branding.
The website provides a gateway into the many resources Film Mississippi offers filmmakers, from its Reel Scout location database to the Crew and Services Directory and incentive application portal.
Along with the name change, the office said Film Mississippi worked with Jackson-based art and design studio Southern Cult to develop the new visual identity, which includes a logo, pattern schemes and refreshed colorways and typography.
Film Mississippi said the new stylized ‘M’ logo evokes recognizable imagery of the state while offering modern, legible and memorable iconography. It suggests a flowing river, connecting to the Mississippi River, while also evoking ideas of making waves, progress and seizing the moment.
2. Two USM Disability Studies leaders named to state boards
Governor Tate Reeves has appointed Jerry Alliston, interim executive director of the Institute for Disability Studies (IDS) at The University of Southern Mississippi, to serve a three-year term, ending in spring 2028, as a member of the Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities (MSCDD).
The MSCDD is a federally funded, self-governing organization that promotes quality of life issues for people with developmental disabilities, their families and the community. It is one of 56 councils across the U.S. and its territories.
Reeves also appointed Beth Robertson, IDS executive coordinator for transition services, to serve a three-year term, ending in summer 2028, as a member of the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC).
The SRC advises the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services (MDRS) on ways to support Mississippians with disabilities on their path to employment. Councils are located in every state and in select territories.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. SCOTUS allows Trump administration to cancel DEI-related NIH grants
As The Hill reports, “The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling Thursday, enabled the Trump administration to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants linked to diversity initiatives.”
“The decision partially lifts a Boston-based judge’s ruling that declared the cancellations illegal and blocked the administration from moving forward,” The Hill reported. “Five of the court’s six Republican-appointed justices sided with the administration: Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.”
The Hill continued, “They said the judge wasn’t following the high court’s emergency decision this spring allowing the administration to cancel education grants. Gorsuch was the most pointed in his criticism, accusing the judge and several others of defying the high court… Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the court’s three Democratic-appointed justices in dissent, saying the case could be distinguished.”
2. Federal judge orders Florida immigrant detainee facility be dismantled
The New York Times reports that a federal judge on Thursday “ordered that no more immigrant detainees be sent to a center in the Florida Everglades, and that much of the facility be dismantled.”
“The ruling rebuked the state and federal governments for failing to consider potential environmental harms before building the facility, known as Alligator Alcatraz,” NYT reported. “The judge gave both branches of the government 60 days to move out existing detainees and begin to remove fencing, lighting, power generators and other materials. The order also prohibits any new construction at the site.”
NYT went on to report, “Judge Kathleen M. Williams of the Federal District Court in Miami found that the state and federal governments had violated a federal law that requires an environmental review before any major federal construction project. Judge Williams partly granted a preliminary injunction sought by environmentalists and the Miccosukee Tribe, whose members live in the area. The detention center is surrounded by protected lands that form part of the sensitive Everglades ecological system.”
Sports
1. MHSAA updates teams on drone use during high school games
With high school football getting under way this week in many area, the Mississippi High School Activities is reminding teams and the community about drone use around games. Many teams now use drones to stream the video to their sidelines TVs to review plays and make in-game corrections.
MHSAA says to operate a drone on school grounds, a 107 certification is needed and to fly at night, the drone must have strobe lights. Drones are not to be flown over the stands.
If a team is operating in a controlled airspace (near an airport), approval to fly must be obtaind from the FAA. Teams can download the mobile app to determine if they are in a controlled airspace Drones must be flown at or below 400′ in controlled airspace (Class B, C, D, and E) only with prior authorization by using LAANC or DroneZone.
2. USM announces game day parking, travel updates
Southern Miss Athletics has announced updates to game day parking, travel routes, and stadium access at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
Southern Miss has introduced a color-coded parking system to streamline entry into designated lots. Fans will need to display their assigned pass at the checkpoint and follow the highlighted routes on the provided map.
Other parking and travel updates can be found here.
Markets & Business
1. Cracker Barrel rebrand draws criticism, even from Steak ‘n Shake
Cracker Barrel’s logo and store rebrand has drawn many critics this week. One of those critics was from a competitor in the industry – Steak ‘n Shake.
FoxBusiness reported that the Indianapolis-based burger chain “took to X on Thursday to slam Cracker Barrel for allegedly abandoning its roots, implying that CEO Julie Felss Masino is stripping away the identity of the restaurant and gift store chain in pursuit of short-term trends.”
“Sometimes, people want to change things just to put their own personality on things,” Steak ‘n Shake posted on X Thursday, along with an image of part of the old Cracker Barrel logo, per FoxBusiness. “At [Cracker Barrel], their goal is to just delete the personality altogether. Hence, the elimination of the ‘old-timer’ from the signage.”
“Heritage is what got Cracker Barrel this far, and now the CEO wants to just scrape it all away. At Steak ‘n Shake, we take pride in our history, our families, and American values. All are welcome. We will never market ourselves away from our past in a cheap effort to gain the approval of trend seekers.”
2. Fed chair to lay out policy changes
The Wall Street Journal reports that Federal Reserve officials “are preparing to quietly retreat from a signature policy innovation unveiled five years ago.”
“In 2020, officials revamped their approach to setting rates, focusing on the risks brought on by near-zero interest rates and low prices,” WSJ reported. “Today, officials are preparing to scrap that approach, now viewed as no longer relevant when facing the opposite problem of high and more volatile inflation.”
WSJ added, “Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to lay out these changes at the Kansas City Fed’s economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday in what has become the central banking world’s most closely watched annual address.”
Magnolia Tribune
