- 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. Nurse anesthetist program at UMMC welcomes first students
UMMC announced Monday that the first nurse anesthetist program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center brought 16 registered nurses back to the classroom this semester.
For the inaugural group, it felt like quite an honor to have a seat in class following a months-long application and accreditation process.
“It’s always been a goal of mine to train here at UMMC,” said Joya Johnson, 34, a Meridian native who earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing at Mississippi College. “You get the best, most rigorous training to prepare you for the real world. It feels like it’s a real privilege to be part of this first class here.”
The Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, or CRNA, program is Mississippi’s second such academic program of study for the specialization and was accredited in July by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. The degree itself is the post-baccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice, nurse anesthesia track, a 36-month program based on COA standards and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice. The state’s only other program is at the University of Southern Mississippi.
2. Miss. State fraternities, sororities receive Emergency Overdose Boxes
Attorney General Lynn Fitch said Monday that her officer delivered 44 Emergency Overdose Boxes to Mississippi State University (MSU) Greek Life students as part of her One Pill Can Kill public awareness campaign to educate, support, and empower Mississippians with information on the dangers of fentanyl, how to identify it, and what to do if a student or friend is overdosing.
Each MSU fraternity and sorority received two Emergency Overdose Boxes, which can be mounted in public places and include naloxone and other tools needed to prevent a deadly overdose.
The boxes were developed in coordination with Harbor Path, a nonprofit dedicated to putting naloxone within arm’s reach of anyone who needs it.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. DOJ plans to send 1,000 monitors to polls this fall
The Washington Post reports that “the Justice Department plans to dispatch about 1,000 monitors to the polls this fall — probably the largest number under a Republican president, according to a top assistant attorney general.”
“The Justice Department routinely sends monitors to polling places to ensure election laws are followed and voters’ rights are protected,” WP reported. “In the past — including during primaries this month — they have limited their involvement to observation but Democrats have raised concerns about what they could do this fall because President Donald Trump this year said Republicans should ‘nationalize the voting’ and ‘take over the voting.’”
WP continued, “Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general who leads the Civil Rights Division, told Bloomberg News that the deployment of about 1,000 poll monitors is ‘probably going to be a historic number for a Republican administration.’ She did not say where they would go in an interview that was published Monday.”
2. Three Democratic Socialist looking for Florida wins
As the New York Times reports, “Florida does not jump off the electoral map as fertile territory for democratic socialists. President Trump won the state, which has shifted right in recent years, by 13 percentage points in 2024. And in many Latin American communities in South Florida, socialism is a dirty word.”
“Yet three underdog democratic socialist candidates are trying to prove that the way for the Democratic Party to regain relevance in a state that not long ago was the nation’s premier political battleground is by embracing the left, not recoiling from it,” NYT reported. “They are running in primaries for the House and the Senate on Tuesday on a message of change, championing ‘Medicare for All,’ rent stabilization and abolishing ICE. Their campaigns, which have stoked tensions inside the Democratic Party, offer a fresh test of the bounds of a left-wing movement that has built some momentum in a primary season where they have had mixed results.”
NYT added, “A win by any of the three candidates would be considered a major upset.”
Sports
1. Chambliss, Lacy make Player of the Year watchlist
The Walter Camp Football Foundation unveiled their selections to the preseason watch list for the 2026 Player of the Year award on Monday, choosing Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy to the 50-man list.
The Rebels are one of nine programs with multiple selections to the watch list, given annually to college football’s top player.
Semifinalists for the 2026 Walter Camp Award will be announced in early November, with the three finalists unveiled in early December. The winner of the award will be announced during the second week of December.
2. HARDY to perform ahead of Miss. State-Alabam matchup
Country-rock star HARDY is returning to Mississippi State for an exclusive performance inside the Humphrey Coliseum on Friday, October 2, STATE 1878 announced Monday.
The event kicks off an exciting weekend in Starkville, happening just one night before the Bulldogs take on Alabama at Davis Wade Stadium. Additionally, HARDY’s show provides a unique opportunity for fans to connect directly with MSU student-athletes through NIL engagements. Tickets for the concert will go on sale to the public on Friday, August 21.
Markets & Business
1. Investors anticipate year-end Brent crude average
The Wall Street Journal reports that Brent crude rose above $90 a barrel “as prospects for a near-term peace deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz fade.”
“In early European trading, the global oil benchmark is up 0.1% to $91.04 a barrel, while WTI futures gain 0.5% to $84.95 a barrel,” WSJ reported.
Even still, WSJ noted that “Investors expect the Brent crude oil price to average at a higher level by year-end than in July, Bank of America’s August global fund manager survey shows. Investors in the survey expect Brent oil to trade at $76 per barrel in a weighted average forecast by year-end, up from July’s forecast of $71 per barrel, it says.”
2. Bond yields soar
CNBC reports that “a global sell-off of government bonds gripped markets Tuesday morning, sending borrowing costs to multi-decade highs, as hopes for an end to hostilities it the Middle East rapidly faded.”
“It comes after a window for a new deal to be reached between the U.S. and Iran closed without a breakthrough, reigniting concerns about inflationary pressure,” CNBC reported. “At 7:38 a.m. ET, yields on U.S. 30-year Treasurys were up almost 3 basis points to 5.335%, the highest level since 2002. The yield on 20-year Treasury notes hit a post-2006 high, while the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was last seen at 4.748%, its highest since 2007.”
CNBC further reported, “Downward pressure was also seen on the bonds issued by governments beyond the U.S., with yields hitting or nearing multi-decade highs in various markets.”
Magnolia Tribune
