- 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. Belhaven receives over half-million in research grant funding
Belhaven University announced that the college had recently received confirmation that Dr. Ariel Kelley, associate professor of chemistry, and Dr. John Neiswinger, professor of biology, have both been awarded funding for their independent research projects. In addition, Dr. Rachel Roller, assistant professor of chemistry, collaborated with a faculty member at Millsaps College on a grant that will bring new scientific instrumentation to campus, expanding research access for Belhaven students.
The new awards join two previously announced grants – a $389,600 Mississippi AI and Technology Advancement Program (MAI-TAP) grant and a $75,000 INBRE startup grant awarded to Dr. Mariana Sá, associate professor of biology.
Kelley was awarded $75,000 over 18 months from the Mississippi Research Alliance (MRA), funded through the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR). Her project, “Supramolecular Engineering of Nitrosamine Cocrystals for Risk Reduction,” explores innovative ways to reduce the risks associated with certain nitrogen-containing compounds.
Neiswinger received $20,000 from the Mississippi IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (MS INBRE) for his project, “Clinically Based and Novel Mutagenesis on the Human Kinome.” His research will involve students beginning next semester, providing hands-on experience in molecular biology and genetic analysis.
Collectively, the recent awards bring approximately $572,600 in new funding to Belhaven University, marking a historic moment for the advancement of faculty-led research and undergraduate scholarship.
2. AG announces sentencing in child exploitation case
On Monday, Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced the recent sentencing of Jakalyn Moore of Southaven, Mississippi, for one count of Sexual Battery by a Person in Position of Trust and Authority and one count of Child Exploitation. This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The AG said on October 27, 2025, Moore, a former West Tallahatchie School District substitute teacher, was sentenced by Tallahatchie County Circuit Court Judge Smith Murphey to twenty-five years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC), with fifteen years to serve and ten years of post-release supervision. Moore was also ordered to pay a $2,000 assessment to the Victims of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Fund. She will also be required to register as a sex offender.
Moore was also sentenced to serve fifteen years on a federal charge of production of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). Her federal charge and state sexual battery charge will run concurrently and will be served in federal prison. Following her release, she will still serve 10 years of state post-release supervision.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Former VP Cheney dies at 84
Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney has died due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.
“Richard B. Cheney, the 46th Vice President of the United States, died last night, November 3, 2025. He was 84 years old,” Cheney’s family said in a statement.
As The Hill reports, “Cheney served as vice president during former President George W. Bush’s administration from 2001 to 2009. He is considered one of the most influential vice presidents in modern U.S. history, having helped lead the U.S. ‘war on terror’ following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. He and other Bush administration officials faced fierce criticism following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 over false claims the country possessed weapons of mass destruction.”
The Hill added, “Cheney also served as Defense secretary in former President George H.W. Bush’s administration from 1989 to 1993. In 1978, Cheney was elected to represent Wyoming in the House of Representatives, going on to serve as House Republican Conference chair and House minority whip. Prior to his tenure in the House, Cheney was former President Gerald Ford’s chief of staff.”
2. Parties looking for clues to midterms in today’s elections in a handful of states
The Washington Post reports that voters “are casting ballots Tuesday in several off-year elections, including bruising governor’s contests in Virginia and New Jersey, a competition full of plot twists to be mayor of New York, and a referendum in California on whether to redraw congressional lines to help Democrats in a broader fight over redistricting.”
“The races will offer a snapshot of voter attitudes one year after President Donald Trump won a second term and Democrats were shut out of power in Washington. While only a handful of mostly Democratic-leaning states are voting, strategists in both parties will be looking for clues about how people feel about Trump’s agenda and Democrats’ rebuilding efforts before the country votes in the 2026 midterms,” WP reported.
In the New York mayor’s race, Trump made a last-minute endorsement on Monday as Democrat nominee State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani appears to lead former New York governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
“If he wins, party establishment figures who were slow to endorse Mamdani’s candidacy are likely to face more questions about his governance. And his dynamic with Trump, who has suggested Mamdani would face ‘problems with Washington like no Mayor in the history of our once-great city,’ while Mamdani has called himself ‘Donald Trump’s worst nightmare,’ will also be under the spotlight,” WP reported. “Trump endorsed Cuomo on Monday.”
Sports
1. Bilderback gets first win as USM women’s basketball head coach
First-year head Southern Miss women’s basketball coach Missy Bilderback got her first win leading her alma mater on Monday.
Twelve three-pointers and three double-figure scorers led Southern Miss to a 77-56 season opening victory over NIU Monday night at Reed Green Coliseum in the MAC-SBC Challenge.
Southern Miss hosts William Carey on Friday, Nov. 7, for the Lady Eagles’ annual Education Day game.
2. JSU’s Miller named SWAC Offensive Player of the Week
Jackson State’s Ahmad Miller was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against Florida A&M.
The school said Miller finished the night with 165 yards on 19 carries, just 15 yards shy of his career-high set in the season opener against Hampton. He finished with a long run of 64 yards before finishing the drive off with a one-yard run at the end of the first half. Miller helped Jackson State post a season-high 392 yards rushing on the night in the win to keep the Tigers atop the SWAC East Division.
Markets & Business
1. Alleged corporate fraud shakes up credit markets
According to the Wall Street Journal, “A string of alleged frauds by corporate borrowers is spurring a reckoning across Wall Street, sending bankers and investors scrambling to prevent future blowups.”
“Lenders are increasing due diligence and demanding a longer history of financial data from companies. Some are inserting conditions that permit them to do more frequent checkups before agreeing to make loans. A group of the biggest names in banking, investment management and accounting have formed a task force that will take a deeper look at the nature of the problem and how to protect investors,” WSJ reported. “The frauds that have emerged so far, which involve small to midsize companies in sectors such as autos and telecommunications, haven’t sparked widespread trouble in the market or economy. But they have generated fallout for both regional banks and Wall Street giants such as JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock, and the string of revelations has made it harder to dismiss any one case as an isolated event.”
“This is sending real ripples in the credit markets,” said Colin Adams, partner at Uzzi & Lall, a restructuring adviser that works with both borrowers and financing providers, per WSJ. “People are really starting to ask: ‘How does this happen?’”
2. Kansas City Fed chief explains vote against latest rate cut
FoxBusiness reports that while the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the second time in 2025 last week, “one member of the central bank’s monetary policy committee voted against cutting rates, citing concerns over inflation.”
“Policymakers on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which guides the Fed’s monetary policy, voted 10-2 in favor of lowering the benchmark federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a target range of 3.75% to 4%. One dissenter, Fed Governor Stephen Miran, called for a larger 50-basis-point cut,” FoxBusiness reported. “The other dissenter was Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid, who said in a dissent statement that his ‘preference would have been to leave the target range unchanged’ because the labor market is ‘largely in balance, the economy shows continued momentum, and inflation remains too high.'”
FoxBusiness added, “Schmid said that in his conversations with contacts in the Kansas City Fed’s district he has heard ‘widespread concern over continued cost increases and inflation.'”
