- 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. MSDH reports infant whooping cough death
The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) on Monday confirmed an infant in the state recently died from pertussis. The infant was less than 2 months old and was not age-eligible to be vaccinated against pertussis.
MSDH does not provide details of the gender or location of these deaths out of respect and privacy for the family.
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease that causes uncontrollable, violent coughs that make it hard to breathe. It most commonly affects infants and young children and can be fatal, especially in babies under 1 year old.
To date, 115 pertussis cases have been reported to MSDH since January 1, 2025. This is a sharp increase from the 49 pertussis cases reported during 2024. Including this death, there have been three pediatric pertussis deaths reported in Mississippi since 2008.
2. Sanderson Farms Championship underway in Jackson
The 2025 Sanderson Farms Championship is underway this week at The Country Club of Jackson, happening from September 29 to October 5.
The Sanderson Farms Championship is the only PGA TOUR event in Mississippi and has become a tradition that draws fans from across the state and beyond.
You can secure your mobile tickets now via the ticket link at the Sanderson Farms Championship website to enjoy all the tournament has to offer.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Government shutdown to start at midnight barring last-minute agreement
Barring a last-minute agreement, there will be a government shutdown starting at midnight tonight.
The Hill reports that a meeting President Trump held at the White House with congressional leaders on Monday “failed to net any major breakthrough, with both sides remaining far apart on the path forward.”
“Republicans have advocated for a ‘clean’ stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded at current levels through mid-November,” The Hill reported. “But Democrats indicated Monday they would not drop their demand that a funding bill include an extension of health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that are set to expire at the end of the year.”
2. Trump lays out Israel, Gaza peace plan
On Monday, President Donald Trump laid out a plan for peace between Israel and those in Gaza with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his side at the White House.
As the BBC reported, “If the peace plan followed the boundaries shown on the White House map, the military’s initial withdrawal would leave Gaza about 55% occupied by Israeli forces. The second withdrawal would leave it about 40% occupied. And the final phase of the withdrawal, which would create a ‘security buffer zone’, leaving about 15% of Gaza occupied by the Israeli military. The peace plan specifies that the ‘security perimeter presence’ would remain until Gaza is ‘properly secure from any resurgent terror threat’. But it’s unclear when and who decides that this is the case.”
The BBC reported that Hamas is reviewing the plan, adding, “Trump – who announced the plan alongside Netanyahu – says if Hamas doesn’t accept, he gives Israel ‘full backing to do what you would have to do.'”
Sports
1. JSU named HBCU FCS Team of the Week
Jackson State earned HBCU FCS Team of the Week honors this week after its 38-13 road win over Southern on Saturday.
Jackson State scored 31 unanswered points over the final 35 minutes for a seventh straight victory over rival Southern.
Quarterback JaCobian Morgan passed for 337 yards and two touchdowns, which went for 51 and 82 yards. Running back Donerio Davenport scored on a pair of short runs, and Kam Sallis thwarted the Jaguars with an interception in the JSU end zone while the Tigers trailed 13-10.
Morgan was also named honorable mention for the HBCU FCS National Player of the Week.
2. Ole Miss hires Associate AD for Sport Psychology
Ole Miss athletics has announced the addition of an experienced psychologist as the new Associate Athletics Director for Sport Psychology, hiring Dr. Marlon L. Bailey.
The school said Dr. Bailey arrives in Oxford after three years with Vanderbilt athletics. Additionally, Dr. Bailey has spent the last two years with Expansive Insight, a private practice focused on a broad range of mental health counseling, intervention and psychotherapy measures.
“Oxford has already shown its kindness to my family,” Bailey said. “I’m excited about serving in the ‘Sip and being a part of the athletics family here at Ole Miss. I think being a sport psychologist is the coolest job in the world. It’s truly a calling to work in mental health and sport performance, and I’m glad to serve the athletes here at Ole Miss.”
Markets & Business
1. Stocks fall on government shutdown fears
CNBC reports that stock futures fell Tuesday “as a potential U.S. government shutdown loomed. Despite the latest declines, Wall Street was headed for an unusually strong September.”
“Although shutdowns aren’t usually market-moving events, this time could be different as investors are already wary about a slowing labor market, the risk of stagflation and elevated stock valuations. A shutdown could also prompt rating agencies to rethink the condition of U.S. credit, which was downgraded in May by Moody’s,” CNBC reported.
CNBC added, “The Labor Department also announced Monday that the September nonfarm payrolls report scheduled to release Friday will not come out if the U.S. government suspends operations.”
2. YouTube settles with Trump over suspension for $24.5 million
The New York Times reports that YouTube “agreed to pay a $24.5 million settlement to President Trump and others who were suspended by the video streaming platform in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to a legal document filed on Monday.”
“YouTube froze Mr. Trump’s account after the riot, blocking him from uploading new videos and arguing that the content could lead to more violence. Mr. Trump sued YouTube in October 2021, claiming that it and other social media firms that removed his accounts had wrongfully censored him,” NYT reported. “The vast majority of YouTube’s settlement payment — $22 million — will go to Mr. Trump, according to the filing in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He has directed that the money be contributed to the Trust for the National Mall and to the construction of a ballroom at the White House.”
NYT noted, “The remaining $2.5 million will be distributed among other plaintiffs in the case, including the writer Naomi Wolf and the American Conservative Union.”
Magnolia Tribune
