- 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. Arrests made in Lawrence County murder, body burning
Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, who also serves as State Fire Marshal, said Monday that Deputy Eric Reilly in the Mississippi State Fire Marshal Office, in coordination with the McComb Police Department and Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, has arrested two people on first-degree murder charges.
Ryan Tobias and Timothy Hathorn are accused of setting fire to the body of 29-year-old Reginald Bridges to cover up his murder. Bridges’ body was found burned, on the side of Stephens Cemetery Road in Lawrence County on August 5, 2025. Chaney said further charges are pending.
Bond has been set for Tobias and Hathorn at $1 million each.
2. Five MS tickets pull in $350,000 in Powerball drawing
Five tickets won big prizes, including two worth $100,000 each, in the Saturday Powerball drawing.
While the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot of all time, $1.787 billion, was finally hit, with winning tickets sold in Missouri and Texas, in Mississippi five tickets pulled in $350,000, the Mississippi Lottery said Monday.
Mississippi’s Powerball Winners from Saturday, September 6 Drawing:
- $100,000 Winner – Double Quick #209 in Brandon
- $100,000 Winner – Brando’s Tobacco Store in Byram
- $50,000 Winner – Walmart Superstore #699 in Oxford
- $50,000 Winner – Midway Food Mart in Moss Point
- $50,000 Winner – Circle K #2707956 in Ocean Springs
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Senate GOP look to speed Trump nominees past Democrat opposition
As reported by the New York Times, “Republicans took the first step on Monday toward changing the Senate’s rules to speed the confirmations of Trump administration nominees being slowed by Democratic opposition, touching off the latest in a yearslong tit for tat between the two parties that has weakened the filibuster.”
“The move is a response to Democrats’ refusal to allow President Trump’s nominees to be considered, which has slowed their confirmations and frustrated the president. But its consequences will reach beyond Mr. Trump’s tenure, effectively whittling down the ability of the minority to register any opposition to executive branch nominees below the cabinet level,” NYT reported.
NYT continued, “Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the majority leader, made the first move on Monday by introducing a resolution that would group 48 of Mr. Trump’s nominees together to allow them to be considered and voted on as a group. That will queue up a complex series of floor votes this week and next that, if successful, would create new Senate precedents meant to help Republicans clear a growing backlog of nominees.”
2. Will GOP extend Obamacare tax credits?
The Hill reports that GOP pressure is mounting on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) “to extend expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits, as a number of rank-and-file Republicans push leaders to prevent the popular subsidies from expiring at the end of the year.”
“Eleven GOP lawmakers have endorsed legislation extending the benefits for an additional year, punting the issue beyond the midterm elections,” The Hill reported. “Most of them are vulnerable front-liners facing tough reelection contests — and wary of the spike in health costs expected to hit patients if Congress doesn’t act.”
The Hill went on to report, “The issue is a tricky one for Republicans, who had opposed the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, unanimously in 2010, and united again against the two Biden-era laws that first created, and then extended, the enhanced tax credits for patients during the pandemic. But with those credits scheduled to expire at the year’s end — and millions of patients facing skyrocketing health care premiums as a result — even Republican ObamaCare critics are racing to shore up the benefits before then, forcing GOP leaders to confront the topic.”
Sports
1. Ole Miss’ Carneiro named Co-SEC Special Teams Player of the Week
Ole Miss Athletics announced Monday that football junior kicker Lucas Carneiro has been named a co-winner of the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week award, as announced by the conference office.
The school said Carneiro, a preseason Lou Groza Award watch list member, went 3-of-4 on field goals and 3-of-3 on PATs to help lift Ole Miss to a 30-23 victory at Kentucky last week. Carneiro was good from 28, 36 and 43 yards, pushing him to 32 career field goals, with his lone miss striking high up the left goalpost from 51 yards – his first career miss from 50 yards out.
On the season, Carneiro is 5-of-6 on field goals and a perfect 10-of-10 on PATs.
2. Miss. State’s Mitchell, Reese earn SEC weekly honors
Mississippi State Athletics announced Monday that football linebacker Nic Mitchell was named the Co-SEC Defensive Player of the Week. At the same time, Albert Reese IV earned Co-SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors after the Bulldogs upset No. 12 Arizona State on Saturday.
The school said Mitchell made his presence felt, earning a share of the team lead in tackles with nine. His most crucial tackle, though, came late in the fourth quarter with less than two minutes remaining, when he kept Arizona State running back Kanye Udoh out of the end zone on 3rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line to force a field goal. That play set up State’s final drive, capped by a 58-yard touchdown to take the lead with 30 seconds left.
MSU Athletics said Reese earned his weekly honors after earning the start at right tackle and playing 66 snaps. Against Arizona State, Reese earned PFF grades of 80.4 on offense and 82.3 in pass blocking. He did not allow a sack or commit a penalty. His protection gave quarterback Blake Shapen time to throw for 279 yards and three touchdowns of 45-plus yards each. His efforts also landed him on the Pro Football Focus National Offensive Team of the Week for week 2, as well as the SEC Offensive Team of the Week.
Markets & Business
1. Musk expanding reach in mobile-phone business
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Elon Musk’s SpaceX is writing its biggest check ever to expand its foothold in the mobile-phone business.”
“SpaceX said Monday it would pay $17 billion for the rights to use some of EchoStar’s valuable spectrum for cellphone service,” WSJ reported. “The deal with EchoStar includes $8.5 billion in cash and up to $8.5 billion of SpaceX stock for two chunks of valuable U.S. wireless licenses and related domestic and international rights to beam signals from space. The rocket and satellite-internet company also agreed to pay about $2 billion of cash toward interest payments on EchoStar debt through November 2027.”
WSJ continued, “SpaceX is already a growing home broadband provider through its Starlink business and has dipped into the mobile-phone sector through a U.S. partnership with T-Mobile. However, the new spectrum rights would significantly improve Starlink’s ability to connect with cellphones in remote areas beyond the reach of cellphone towers.”
2. Nasdaq hits new record
CNBC reports that stock futures “rose slightly Tuesday after the Nasdaq Composite hit a new record.”
“Wall Street is coming off a winning session. The Nasdaq rose 0.5%, as key chipmakers such as Broadcom and Nvidia helped carry the tech-heavy index to all-time highs. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%. The 30-stock Dow gained more than 100 points,” CNBC reported. “But investors are now awaiting two key inflation reports that could determine what Federal Reserve policymakers will do at their meeting next week. Last week, a surprisingly weak jobs report added to hopes the path for interest rates is lower.”
CNBC added, “However, any surprising strength in the inflation readings could throw a wrench in that outlook. The August producer price index report is due out Wednesday morning, while the consumer price index is set to release on Thursday.”
Magnolia Tribune
