- 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. School bus crash in Lowndes County leaves 16 students injured
WJTV reports that sixteen students and two adults were injured during a crash involving a school bus in Lowndes County on Tuesday on Highway 45 around 3:15 p.m.
“According to troopers, a 2025 Honda Civic, driven by Michael Kunkle, 27, of Columbus, was traveling east on Artesia Road when it collided with a school bus, driven by Damon Snead, Jr., 44, of Columbus, that was traveling north on the highway,” WJTV reported. “Investigators said the school bus was part of the Lowndes County School District and was occupied by 22 students at the time of the crash. According to MHP, 16 students sustained injuries ranging from minor to severe. The age ranges of the students were from six to 11-years-old.”
The crash remains under investigation by MHP.
2. Mississippi Lottery sends $10.7 million state in August
The Mississippi Lottery Corporation announced last week that it has transferred $10,762,463.61 to the State of Mississippi for the month of August.
That brings the total transferred during the first two months of the fiscal year to $21,158,350.09.
The August transfer means the Mississippi Lottery’s total contributions to the State now exceed $839 million since ticket sales began in November 2019.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Johnson sends House home early
According to Politico, “Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he is canceling planned Thursday votes and sending members home for a seven-week recess a day earlier than expected.”
“The decision lops another day off a preelection legislative schedule that Johnson had already truncated by two weeks. It also allows members to avoid having to take a vote on an impeachment resolution introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) targeting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which would have hit the floor no later than Thursday under House rules,” Politico reported. “Johnson called the idea of impeaching Hegseth ‘ridiculous’ Wednesday.”
“It’s a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention,” he said, per Politico. “It will immediately be tabled, of course, but we probably won’t do that today. We’ll probably do it when we come back. But it’s a stunt. Secretary Hegseth has done an extraordinary job.”
2. Kirk family accuses UVU of security failures
The New York Times reports that “the family of the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk has accused the Utah university where he was killed last year of ‘stunning’ security failures that made him an easy target for a rooftop assassin.”
“In a legal notice filed this month, lawyers for Mr. Kirk’s wife, parents and children said that Utah Valley University did not have a written security plan or hold a security briefing before Mr. Kirk arrived for an open-air debate last September that drew a crowd of thousands,” NYT reported. “They also said the university’s police chief had failed to address concerns raised by Turning Point USA, the conservative activist group founded by Mr. Kirk, about how easily people could climb onto the rooftops that overlook the sunken plaza where he was shot.”
NYT continued, “The accusations came in a ‘notice of claim’ that lawyers for the Kirk family sent to the state of Utah earlier this month and made public on Wednesday. Mr. Kirk’s family has not yet sued, but the notice is a potential precursor to a wrongful death lawsuit against the public university or the state.”
Sports
1. USM’s Fernandez earns individual title at JT Poston Invitational
Benjamin Fernandez earned the individual title as the senior led Southern Miss to a fourth-place finish at the JT Poston Invitational on Tuesday.
The Golden Eagles carded their best 54-hole score since the Hal Williams Collegiate.
Fernandez secured the individual title by carding a collegiate career low of seven-under 64, marking his first collegiate title and lowest career round. The Paraguay native shot the course’s lowest three-round score of 196, edging out the previous record by four strokes. Fernandez, who began the day tied for third, birdied four of his first five holes and added an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole to turn in a 6-under 29 on the front nine, then closed out his round to secure his 17-under 196 and the individual title.
2. Fobb joins Ole Miss as assistant basketball coach
Anthony Fobb has been named an assistant coach for the Ole Miss men’s basketball program, head coach Chris Beard announced Tuesday.
Fobb joins the Rebels after spending the last three seasons on Chris Mudge’s staff at Sam Houston.
Last season, Fobb was named the 2026 TABC Division I Assistant Coach of the Year and recognized as one of the nation’s rising assistant coaches. He helped guide Sam Houston to a 22-12 overall record, a 13-7 mark in Conference USA play and a berth in the 2026 NIT. Picked ninth in the CUSA preseason poll, the Bearkats finished second in the league. Fobb also recruited and coached Kashie Natt, who was named the 2026 CUSA Defensive Player of the Year.
Markets & Business
1. Rate hike to further strain U.S. households
CNBC reports that “the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate at the conclusion of its September meeting after consumer prices rose again in August amid the war with Iran — and despite continued pressure by President Donald Trump to bring rates down.”
“In an effort to tame inflation, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee, led by Chairman Kevin Warsh, raised the federal funds rate by one quarter percentage point to a target range of 3.75% to 4.0%. The move is expected to ripple across the economy, with consequences for everything from credit cards and car loans to savings accounts,” CNBC reported. “In general, short-term consumer borrowing rates are closely tied to the prime rate, which is typically 3 percentage points higher than the federal funds rate. Longer-term interest rates are driven more by inflation expectations and broader economic conditions.”
CNBC added, “This quarter-point hike — the first since July 2023 — will correspond with a rise in the prime rate and immediately send financing costs higher for many forms of consumer borrowing, putting some U.S. households under increased financial strain.”
2. Chevron Pascagoula Refinery has doubled production since January
WLOX reports that the Chevron refinery in Pascagoula has processed Venezuelan crude oil for decades, but 2026 has brought significant growth.
“The coker at the refinery gives the plant the ability to process the heavy crude coming from Venezuela. Since January, the coker’s production has more than doubled, with the Pascagoula refinery processing up to 100,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Officials say that production could increase further as details of the Venezuelan deal become clearer,” WLOX reported.
“We’ve done up to 100,000 barrels a day, which is a lot of crude, but we can do more,” said Marissa Badenhorst, Pascagoula Refinery Director told WLOX. “I think we’re forecasting doubling our production in Venezuela over the next year or two.”
