- Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
Mississippi sets new mark for employment
Governor Tate Reeves announced Friday that Mississippi’s total nonfarm employment reached a new record high in August with 1,199,800 jobs.
Additionally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, the lowest since September 2024.
“This has been another historic week for Mississippi,” said Governor Reeves. “On Tuesday, we announced that Hitachi Energy is investing $528 million and creating over 650 jobs in our state – the single largest investment worldwide in company history. Today, we’re announcing the number of jobs in our state has reached another all-time high. It goes to show how much momentum our state has right now. This is Mississippi’s time.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump creating ‘AI Force’
As reported by The Hill, “President Trump is responding to the rising demands to impose guardrails on AI with the creation of an ‘AI Force,’ even as he argues the broader concerns about the technology running rampant are a ‘hoax.'”
“The president announced Saturday that he would launch the body, which he compared to the U.S. Space Force created during his first term, but provided few details about its makeup or responsibilities. He said he would also appoint an AI ‘czar’ to oversee the administration’s handling of the developing technology,” The Hill reported. “This would be the second person to hold that role in the administration, as venture capitalist David Sacks previously served in the position. He stepped down in March.”
The Hill noted, “A Politico poll released Wednesday showed almost two-thirds of Americans believe AI poses at least a ‘moderate’ risk of destroying humanity, including a majority of respondents who voted for Trump and a majority who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.”
2. CNN, MSNOW, Politico to sue over loss of White House access
The New York Times reports that “CNN, MS NOW and Politico said on Monday that they would sue the Trump administration for barring them from the White House grounds, saying it was a violation of their First Amendment rights to cover the president.”
“President Trump on Friday declared a ban on the three news outlets, saying he was fed up with what he described as negative coverage. On Saturday, reporters from each outlet were denied access to the White House. CNN was removed from its duties as the White House pool representative for television networks on Monday,” NYT reported. “The news organizations said in a joint statement that they had informed the U.S. government they would be filing a lawsuit on Monday.”
“Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” they said. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”
Sports
1. Ole Miss, Miss. State get big wins; Southern Miss falls
Mississippi’s two SEC football teams rolled to big wins on Saturday while the state’s Sun Belt team failed to launch. Here’s a recap of this past weekend’s games:
- Ole Miss hosted LSU in what may be college football’s biggest game this regular season. The No. 8 Rebels defeated the visiting No. 7 Tigers 32-24 in Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford after a tumultuous offseason. The win moved Ole Miss up to No. 4 in this week’s AP Top 25. NEXT UP: at No. 21 Florida
- Mississippi State was down 16 on the road when they came from behind to defeat South Carolina 41-34. The win elevated the Bulldogs into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2022, coming in at No. 24. NEXT UP: host No. 19 Missouri
- Southern Miss couldn’t get off the ground as the Golden Eagles fell 48-20 to UConn in the first meeting between the two schools. USM now heads to Tulane where they will take on former Head Coach Will Hall’s Green Wave. NEXT UP: at Tulane
2. JSU rolls over Tuskegee
Jared Lockhart threw for 376 yards and four touchdowns and Nate Blount IV produced 149 yards from scrimmage as Jackson State’s defense smothered Tuskegee in a 41-7 victory Saturday night at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The win pushed Jackson State to 3-0 on the season, while Tuskegee fell to 1-2. The Tigers outscored Tuskegee 31-7 after halftime and finished with 492 total yards.
Jackson State returns home next weekend to face Southern at Veterans Memorial Stadium on ESPN+
Markets & Business
1. Futures rally to open week
CNBC reports that “U.S. stock futures rallied on Monday as oil prices slid, with Wall Street looking to recover from a mostly losing week.”
“Dow Jones Industrial Average futures popped 450 points, or 0.9%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 0.7% and 1%, respectively,” CNBC reported. “Last week, the Dow slid 1.7% for its worst performance since March. The S&P 500 was off about 0.1%. Only the tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a gain, up 0.7%.”
CNBC added, “Monday’s advance was aided by a 3% drop in U.S. crude to $97.09 per barrel. International benchmark Brent slid more than 3% as well to $100.50.”
2. Disney sees attendance bump
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Disney is defying the theme-park industry’s summer slump by rolling out more promotions and package deals.”
“In the most recent quarter, attendance was up 3% compared with the prior year, the largest boost to its traffic since 2023, when the parks’ initial post-Covid boom subsided,” WSJ reported. “Disney’s attendance surge stands in contrast to its competitors, including Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld, which have reported weaker foot traffic compared with last year.”
WSJ continued, “Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said the company pivoted to focus on drawing more U.S. visitors to American theme parks by lowering prices and creating more deals. Even with price discounts, Disney’s per capita guest spending rose 4% in the second quarter when compared with last year. Based on the number of forward bookings Disney already has, the company is projecting the higher traffic trend to continue, setting it up for a bumper year in 2027 when it starts to roll out a series of new attractions as part of a multibillion-dollar investment in its Experiences division, including new rides based on the ‘Monsters, Inc.,’ ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Cars’ films, among others.”
