- 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. Isaias nearing a Category 3 hurricane as it approached Coast
Hurricane Isaias is now a Category 2 storm with 110 mph maximum sustained winds. One more mph increase will raise it to a Category 3, which is expected later Friday.
Landfall is projected along on the Alabama-Florida line late Friday night and into Saturday morning.
The storm is currently moving NNE at 15 mph.
Jackson County remains under a Hurricane Warnings, with other areas on the Mississippi Coast and inland under a Tropical Storm Warning and a Tropical Storm Watch.
East Mississippi along the Mississippi-Alabama line should expect Tropical Storm conditions throughout the day on Saturday.
2. Miss. State among Southeast Regional AI Computing Consortium founding partners
A new Southeast Regional AI Computing Consortium includes Mississippi State University among founding partners.
Announced by the White House at Thursday’s Science: A New Golden Age Summit in Washington, D.C., the consortium will strengthen and grow super intelligence-powered discovery and innovation across the Southeast region through shared investments in and support for state-of-the-art, leadership-class AI compute infrastructure. In addition to Mississippi State, founding partners include Auburn, Louisiana State and Vanderbilt universities, and the universities of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee Knoxville.
Scott Willard, MSU interim vice president for research and economic development, said consortium initiatives will advance the scientific frontier and fuel innovation clusters that create a more secure, prosperous and innovation-focused future for the Southeast region.
Mississippi State is home to two of the world’s top-ranked supercomputers. The university also is a strategic partner of the Mississippi Cyber and Technology Center, which will house the MSU-led Mississippi Cyber Initiative.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Democrats expected to make gains in Senate, House
The New York Times reports that “election forecasting is a dangerous business — Republican fortunes could still turn around — but history is often a useful guide.
“That is why officials in both parties wonder if these midterms will look like 2006, when Democrats flipped both chambers, or 2018, when Republicans were wiped out in House races but picked up two seats in the Senate,” NYT reported.
“All these races that are showing we’ve got a two- or three-point lead or it’s a tossup, we could end up losing all of them by two points,” former President Barack Obama said on Wednesday at a fund-raiser for Senate Democrats. “It’s within the margin of error.”
NYT continued, “Democrats currently face challenges that did not exist in those earlier midterms. Republican redistricting gains have narrowed the House battleground. The party also has a significant cash advantage. Most of this year’s battleground Senate races are in states Mr. Trump won easily in 2024. The country has only grown more polarized. And the Democratic Party’s brand remains diminished, with liberal voters mistrustful of its leaders.”
2. Three GOP Senators push for kratom crack down
Politico reports that “three Republican senators want the Trump administration to tighten federal limits on kratom, a plant with opioid-like effects that’s become a popular ingredient in pain-relief and mood booster products sold in gas stations nationwide.”
“Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mike Lee of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine urged Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terrance Cole and acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Kyle Diamantas to pursue permanent controls on kratom and its derivatives in a letter sent Wednesday,” Politico reported.
“We encourage DEA, in consultation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to consider scheduling the entire kratom plant,” they wrote.
Politico noted, “The FDA and the DEA didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment… There’s been renewed attention to kratom after federal prosecutors announced criminal charges earlier this month against smoke shop employees following the suspected overdose deaths of two University of Mississippi students. Investigators reported finding pills that were either kratom or synthetic kratom at both crime scenes.”
Sports
1. Ole Miss back in action Saturday against Vandy
No. 9 Ole Miss (3-1) travels to Nashville Saturday after a bye week, with Head Coach Pete Golding and the Rebels taking on the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-2) in FirstBank Stadium.
The Commodores are coming off of a 38-14 defeat on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs last Saturday. This is the 99th meeting all-time between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt dating back to 1894. Ole Miss leads the series 56-40-2, 54-40-2 after vacated wins.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. The game will air on ESPN.
2. Week 7 JUCO football score roundup
Mississippi community college football wrapped up Week 7 games on Thursday. Here is a recap of the JUCO scores from around the state:
- No. 11 East MS 48 – Coahoma 21
- MS Delta 17 – Northeast 35
- Jones 21 – No. 8 Itawamba 28
- No. 15 Hinds 56 – Pearl River 20
- East Central 15 – No. 7 Co-Lin 26
- No. 6 Northwest 41 – Holmes 26
- Southwest 16 – No. 2 MGCCC 28
Markets & Business
1. Futures rise as tech stocks rebound
CNBC reports that “U.S. stock futures edged higher Friday, led by tech, following a losing session in which an underwhelming revenue report from OpenAI took some steam out of the high-flying artificial intelligence trade.”
“The State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) traded 1% higher. Tech shares broadly were led by a 4% gain in SpaceX. The Elon Musk-led space and satellite company rose on a deal to buy a nationwide spectrum portfolio. Shares of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile slid as investors wondered worried the agreement could drive up competition,” CNBC reported. “Other tech names that advanced on Friday include Lumentum and KLA, which gained 5% and 2%, respectively.”
CNBC added, “AI stocks dropped on Thursday after CNBC confirmed that OpenAI told investors that it saw $50 billion in annualized revenue at the end of September. Last month, a $68 billion figure was widely reported, though a person familiar with the matter said it also included gross revenue from partners.”
2. PepsiCo raising chip, soda prices
FoxBusiness reports that “PepsiCo is raising prices on some of its popular chips and sodas, including Doritos, Ruffles and SunChips, just months after cutting prices in an effort to win back inflation-weary shoppers.”
“The company said prices on certain snacks and drinks will rise by single-digit percentages as it deals with higher costs for fuel, aluminum and agricultural supplies, according to the New York Post,” FoxBusiness reported. “However, the company said the new prices will still be lower than they were at the beginning of the year.”
FoxBusiness also noted, “The price hikes come after PepsiCo announced in February that it was cutting prices by up to 15% on certain products, including Lay’s and Doritos, according to Reuters.”
