- Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
MVSU basketball player remains in ICE custody
WJTV reports that “a Mississippi Valley State University basketball player remains in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
“Qingfang Pang, a Chinese national, came to the United States to play basketball on the junior college level in New York. He excelled academically and athletically to the point that MVSU signed him. His student visa then expired, and he was detained by ICE,” WJTV reported. “After Pang was detained, [attorney Marcus Session] said his client was told to sign a voluntary removal order, which is essentially a deportation order. However, Pang said he didn’t know what he was signing and that he wasn’t provided an interpreter at the time.”
WJTV added, “Session said Pang wants to come home, and he has been in touch with Pang’s family about the case.”
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Blue wave coming?
The Hill reports that “the race for control of the Senate is heating up, with forecasters increasingly moving races in the Democrats’ direction less than a month out from the election.”
“Last week, nonpartisan election forecasters Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball from the University of Virginia Center for Politics shifted Senate races in Kansas, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Alaska and South Carolina in Democrats’ favor,” The Hill reported. “The Senate races in Minnesota, South Carolina, Nebraska and Georgia are also being closely watched by both parties as the races take the temperature of electorates in more Democratic- and Republican-leaning states.”
The Hill added, “None of these states are expected to flip in November given their more partisan leanings, though upsets in any of these races would offer a telltale sign of a good night for one of the parties or another sleeper race observers missed.”
2. Musk sends $276 million to GOP campaign efforts
According to the New York Times, “Elon Musk has quietly funneled more than $276 million into Republican groups and his super PAC since the start of July, building a huge turnout operation to help the party battle headwinds in the midterm elections.”
“The staggering amount of money makes Mr. Musk, the richest person in the world, by far the largest known donor in the midterms. Representatives for Mr. Musk supplied the previously unreported figures on his political giving to The New York Times before a federal filing deadline on Thursday,” NYT reported. “In an effort to save Republicans’ Senate majority, gave a total of $158 million this summer to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC backing the party’s candidates for the chamber, according to his team. In sum, that is one of the largest political donations in American history, and more than the group’s Democratic rival raised from all of its donors that quarter.”
NYT continued, “Mr. Musk has also built a major Republican turnout operation through a super PAC he founded in 2024, America PAC. He donated over $76 million this summer to the group, which in turn spent that much on building a sprawling canvassing program to try to turn out hard-to-reach Republican voters. The group is active in seven Senate battlegrounds and nearly three dozen House races.”
Sports
1. Ole Miss stays at No. 9, Miss. State moves to No. 16 in AP Top 25
Following a 52-17 blowout of Vanderbilt on Saturday, Ole Miss remained at No. 9 in the AP Top 25 rankings this week.
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss tallied four total touchdowns and the Rebel defense forced four turnovers as Ole Miss recorded their fourth win of the season.
The Rebels are now 4-1 overall and 2-1 in SEC play. Ole Miss will host No. 13 Missouri this Saturday, October 17 at 2:30 p.m.
As for Mississippi State, despite having a bye week, the Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1 SEC) moved up one spot to No. 16.
Mississippi State travels to No. 22 LSU this Saturday.
2. Jackson State no longer undefeated
Jackson State visited Grambling on Saturday and left Louisiana with their first loss of the season.
The Tigers (5-1, 2-1 SWAC) lost to Grambling 45-38 even with a career game from freshman running back Li’Darius Pryor, who had 166 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries.
Jackson State returns home next weekend to face Florida A&M for homecoming.
Markets & Business
1. Futures little changed as oil ticks higher again
CNBC reports that “stock futures were little changed Monday after the major averages posted a winning week, as investors looked ahead to a busy week of earnings results and inflation data.”
“Oil prices ticked higher in early trading. West Texas Intermediate futures advanced 0.9% to $92.65 per barrel. Brent crude gained 0.8% to trade at $105.62. Crude rose after President Donald Trump announced an ‘energy ceasefire’ between Russia and Ukraine over the weekend, then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow had already violated it,” CNBC reported. “Trump also told reporters he was considering joining Saudi Arabia in its fight against Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen after another deadly attack on Riyadh’s international airport. The remarks raised the prospect of escalating tensions in the region.”
CNBC noted, “Wall Street is coming off a winning week for the major averages, as a rally in tech stocks helped investors shrug off higher oil prices and yields. The Dow and S&P 500 each posted their second positive week in three, while the Nasdaq Composite netted its fourth straight week of gains.”
2. Home sellers offering concessions to close the deal
The Wall Street Journal asks, “Ready to be realistic about the value of your home now that mortgage rates are above 7%? Builders won’t thank you for it.”
“Home builders had one thing working in their favor over the last four years. Regular home sellers weren’t willing to budge on prices, so competition from the existing home market was low. This is starting to change, which will hurt builders’ already diminished profit margins,” WSJ reported. “In the four weeks through Sept. 20, 21% of sellers in the existing-home market dropped their asking price, data from Redfin shows. The most significant activity is happening with concessions, which don’t show up in headline prices.”
WSJ further reported, “In August, 45% of home sellers gave concessions to buyers, such as offering to cover the closing costs or handing the buyer money for repairs. In oversupplied Sunbelt housing markets such as Atlanta and Nashville, Tenn., seven in 10 sellers are now offering concessions. These are the same markets where home builders tend to cluster.”
