- Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
Cases for couple accused of installing faulty first suppression systems still ongoing
The Mississippi Insurance Department announced Wednesday that Daniel and Sherri Finnegan are making their way through the court system on charges of selling and installing faulty and used fire suppression systems in commercial kitchens throughout the state.
MID said Sherri Finnegan appeared in Hinds County Court on July 22, 2026, where her bond was set at $200,000. The bond was later reduced to $50,000, and she bonded out. She was then transferred to Jefferson County, where she posted a $20,000 bond. At last check, she is being held in Warren County, pending a bond hearing. At last check, MID said Daniel Finnegan was being held in Hinds County with a $50,000 bond.
Finnegan and her husband, Daniel Finnegan, pleaded guilty and were sentenced in Rankin County and Madison County earlier this year.
Originally, both husband and wife were charged with forty-one (41) counts each of False Pretense, a felony under Mississippi law, along with thirty-seven (37) counts each of violations of the Mississippi Fire Prevention Code, which are misdemeanor offenses. Despite the pleas entered in Rankin and Madison Counties, the defendants still face an additional thirty-one (31) violations of the Mississippi Fire Prevention Code and thirty-seven (37) False Pretense charges that remain pending in 11 other counties.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Heat dome to bake Southeast U.S.
Major heat is heading to the Southeast and Florida as a near-record heat dome grows across the region, reports The Hill.
“The heat is expected to start this weekend and last through most of next week, if not longer. The incoming heat dome looks like it will impact a large swath of the United States with a bullseye in the Southeast,” The Hill reported. “A heat dome is a weather phenomenon created by an area of high pressure. That high pressure acts like a dome, the American Meteorological Society explains, trapping warm air underneath and keeping clouds and rain from coming in.”
The Hill added, “This upper level ridge is likely to break monthly records for the intensity of its high pressure. As a result, dozens of temperature records (highs and lows) are likely to be broken.”
2. Former SPLC director indicted on fraud charges
As reported by the Washington Post, “A former top official at the Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted Wednesday on fraud charges, an escalation of the Justice Department’s ongoing case against the storied civil rights organization.”
“Federal prosecutors accused Heidi Beirich, an expert on political extremism and a former director of the nonprofit’s intelligence project, of overseeing payments to informants working undercover in a variety of hate groups,” WP reported. “Beirich, 59, of Palm Springs, California, was allegedly involved in a romantic relationship with one of those informants and diverted at least $140,000 to a joint bank account they shared and used to pay their personal living expenses, according to a superseding indictment unsealed in federal court in Montgomery, Alabama.”
WP continued, “A lawyer for Beirich denounced the charges — which include counts of wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to provide false statements to banks — as an attempt by the Trump administration to ‘silence political opponents.’ He vowed she would fight the case.”
Sports
1. MSU’s Jones named to Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List
Mississippi State cornerback Kelley Jones has been named to the 2026 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Preseason Watch List, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and Jim Thorpe Association announced Wednesday.
The prestigious honor recognizes the nation’s top defensive backs based on performance on the field, athletic ability, and character. Jones, a senior entering the 2026 campaign, headlines the Bulldogs’ secondary following an All-SEC season in 2025.
In addition to the Thorpe Award preseason list, Jones was also named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List and has earned preseason All-America honors from Pro Football Network (Second Team) and On3 (First Team).
2. Ole Miss softball transfer class ranked No. 16 in nation
The incoming Ole Miss softball transfer class has been ranked as the No. 16 class in the nation, as announced by D1Softball on Wednesday.
Over the offseason, Ole Miss Athletics said the Rebels have signed four new members of the program to the 2027 roster. Pitchers Lexie Hames and Hailey Lucas, as well as outfielder Brie Howard and infielder Jenna Sniffen are set to join the program for the upcoming academic year. The transfer class also joins 11 incoming freshmen who were rated both as the No. 11 class in the nation by D1Softball, as well as No. 7 class by Softball America on signing day.
In total, the nationally ranked incoming transfer class and nationally ranked freshman class join a dynamic returning core of All-American Madi George, two-time All-SEC honoree Persy Llamas and NFCA All-South Region honoree Cassie Reasner on the 2027 roster.
Markets & Business
1. Futures up, oil down to open Thursday trading
CNBC reports that “stock futures edged higher Thursday as oil prices declined and traders awaited more inflation data. Wall Street also weighed a slew of fresh earnings reports”
“Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 102 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, while Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.1%,” CNBC reported. “Brent crude futures shed 2% to trade at $87.17 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures slid 2.2% to $81.41 per barrel. The moves come as traders weighed falling oil demand while the U.S.-Iran war continues.”
CNBC noted, “Wall Street will get another look at U.S. inflation on Thursday with the July reading of the U.S. producer price index — which gauges what wholesalers pay for raw goods and materials — set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect an increase of 0.2% from the prior month.”
2. Tariff refunds boosting earnings
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Tariff refunds have begun rolling in to big U.S. companies—in some cases providing a solid boost to earnings.”
“Contrary to warnings that the refund process could prove slow and messy, many companies appear to have received the money with remarkable speed. So far, over 40 S&P 500 companies have reported some $9.6 billion in refunds in the past quarter or so, including at least $2.1 billion in cash already received,” WSJ reported. “Among the biggest refunds reported so far: Apple, at nearly $2.2 billion; Nike, at $986 million; FedEx, at about $800 million; Amazon.com, at $640 million; and General Motors, at $500 million.”
WSJ further reported, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection had received just over 252,000 refund applications as of July 31 for tariffs declared unlawful by the Supreme Court. The customs agency accepted $128.7 billion in refunds for processing, an agency official told a federal court last week.”
