- 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. Governor calls special session on youth courts; Democrats critical of timing
Governor Tate Reeves called a special session for today – Wednesday – to address the lingering need to reauthorize the state’s youth courts.
According to the governor, the agreed upon solution lawmakers will be considering today was proposed and agreed to by House and Senate leadership, which is Republican controlled in both chambers.
However, the Mississippi Democratic Party criticized the governor with less than 24 hours’ notice, claiming it gave lawmakers “almost no time to review the legislation before tomorrow’s vote.”
“Democracy depends on the ability to review, question, and debate policy before it becomes law. When a governor waits until the last possible moment to call a session, he isn’t creating urgency. He’s avoiding scrutiny,” said Mikel Bolden, Executive Director of the Mississippi Democratic Party. “Good ideas do not need to be rushed through with little to no oversight. If this legislation is as sound as the Governor claims, it can withstand a real review process. The fact that it can’t be given one says a lot about how it was written and who it was written for.”
2. Columbus police chief heads to Yazoo City
WTVA reports that Columbus Police Chief Joseph Daughtry, who has been out on medical leave, has accepted an offer to become Chief of Police for the Yazoo City Police Department.
WTVA shared a statement from the City of Columbus that further said, “Mayor Jones expresses his appreciation for Chief Daughtry’s service and leadership during his tenure with the Columbus Police Department. Assistant Chief Garland Ward has been in charge while the Chief has been out and to ensure continuity of leadership, Mayor Jones will ask the Council to appoint Assistant Chief Ward as the interim police chief at the next meeting.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Senate Democrats defeat motion to proceed on defense authorization bill
The Hill reports that “Senate Democrats on Tuesday defeated a motion to proceed to the $1.15 trillion annual defense authorization bill, legislation that usually enjoys strong bipartisan support but this year has become snarled in a partisan fight over defense spending levels.”
“The motion to advance the annual defense bill failed by a vote of 50 to 46. It needed 60 votes to succeed. Senators voted strictly along party lines except for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) who changed his vote from ‘yes’ to ‘no’ to allow him to bring the motion back to the floor at a later time,” The Hill reported. “Four senators missed the vote: Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).”
The Hill continued, “The legislation advanced out of the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 11 with a bipartisan 18-9 vote, but the partisan battle lines have hardened since then as Republican and Democratic negotiators have failed to reach agreement on top-line defense and non-defense spending levels.”
2. House passes bill to end bi-annual clock changing
According to the Washington Post, “The House voted Tuesday to end Americans’ practice of switching their clocks twice per year, delivering a win for President Donald Trump, who has called for permanent daylight saving time over the objections of medical groups and lawmakers who represent Midwestern states.”
“The bill passed by a lopsided 308-117 vote but still needs to clear the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain, to take effect,” WP reported. “In the House, the bill was supported by 193 Republicans, 114 Democrats and one independent.”
WP added, “The Sunshine Protection Act would stop the annual practice of ‘springing forward’ and ‘falling back’ by placing most of the country permanently on daylight saving time, with an exemption for the few places that are on year-round standard time and already don’t change their clocks.”
Sports
1. JSU OT Davis named a Preseason FCS Third-Team All-American
Jackson State senior offensive tackle Quaveon Davis has been named a Preseason FCS Third-Team All-American by Stats Perform on Monday morning, less than a week after being named Preseason All-SWAC. The senior was named First Team Preseason All-SWAC last Wednesday.
JSU Athletics said Davis, an all-conference selection last season, played on an offensive line that helped pave the way for three running backs to go over 500 yards rushing, including a 1,000-yard rusher. He helped lead an offense that finished the regular season ranked second in rushing offense, second in fourth-down conversion percentage, fourth in total offense, fifth in third-down conversion percentage, 11th in first-down offense, 13th in sacks allowed, and 18th in scoring offense nationally.
The senior averaged a grade of 88 percent, while recording 27 pancakes/knockdowns and allowing just 1.5 sacks.
2. Ole Miss adds Hazouri as associate head cross country, assistant track and field coach
Head Ole Miss track & field coach Connie Price-Smith announced this week the hiring of Brandon Hazouri as the new associate head cross country and assistant track & field coach on Tuesday. He has coached numerous All-Americans and spearheaded nationally ranked recruiting classes during his career thus far.
Ole Miss Athletics said in five seasons at Wake Forest, Hazouri helped coach 16 all-conference honorees in track & field, including the program’s first outdoor track & field All-American since 2018. He helped coach two-time All-American Rynard Swanepoel, who would break the school record in the 800-meter with a time of 1:45.28. Hazouri also helped lead Emma Douglass in setting the Wake Forest indoor 800-meter record (2:03.95) and Natlalia Issler in setting the outdoor 800-meter record (2:02.28).
The school noted that his guidance led to a pair of school records in the distance medley relay while at Wake Forest, highlighted by the men’s squad which posted a 9:17.17, the fourth-fastest collegiate mark in NCAA history at the time.
Markets & Business
1. Mortgage rates hit highest level since August 2025
CNBC reports that “mortgage rates rose last week to the highest level since August 2025, and that caused homebuyer demand for loans to pull back. Refinance demand, however, moved higher.”
“Total mortgage application volume dropped 2.7% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index,” CNBC reported. “The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $832,750 or less, increased to 6.65% from 6.58% last week, with points increasing to 0.67 from 0.64, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment.”
CNBC further reported, “Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 7% from the previous week and were 2% lower than the same week one year ago. Buyers are still contending with high home prices as well as lean supply of affordable homes for sale. Applications to refinance a home loan increased 4% for the week and were 7% higher than the same week one year ago. Last year, rates were just 17 basis points higher, so there is not a lot of incentive for most borrowers to refinance.”
2. China’s economy slows to weakest pace since 2022
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, “China’s growth slowed in the second quarter of the year to the weakest pace in more than three years, as surging exports buoyed by the artificial-intelligence boom failed to compensate for a struggling domestic economy and sluggish consumer spending.”
“China’s gross domestic product expanded 4.3% in April to June from a year ago, according to official data released Wednesday, down from 5.0% in the first quarter of the year,” WSJ reported. “This marks the slowest growth since the end of 2022, when the country was grappling with the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“China’s weakening headline growth is an indicator of enormous underlying economic fragilities, which have stifled domestic demand and kept the economy heavily reliant on exports to sustain growth,” said Eswar Prasad, an expert on China’s economy at Cornell University and former head of the China division at the International Monetary Fund, per WSJ.
