Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion
In Mississippi
Starkville bans kratom
WCBI reports that kratom was banned in Starkville this week.
“That ordinance prohibits the use, sale, and purchase of the drug. The Board of Alderman voted to ban the herb and any of its synthetic forms Tuesday night,” WCBI reported. “The ban comes weeks after hearing from the public on the issue.”
“It is unsafe, dangerous and harmful, and it has side effects … Our board is conservative… and wants to keep our community safe at all times,” said Starkville vice mayor Roy A. Perkins.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. VP Vance takes center stage in Iranian negotiations
The Hill reports that “Vice President Vance has quickly become a central figure in trying to maintain a shaky ceasefire in a war that he has reportedly been skeptical about from the start.”
“Vance is set to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday along with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the trio attempt to cement a two-week ceasefire and bring an end to hostilities with Iran that have persisted for nearly six weeks,” The Hill reported. “The truce, announced by Trump on Tuesday night, is off to a troubled start, with Iran continuing to fire on Gulf states on Wednesday and Israel launching waves of deadly strikes on Lebanon.”
The Hill noted, “Vance’s deep reservations about foreign entanglements, as a veteran of the Iraq war, seems to have given him credibility with Iranian officials who have lost trust in Witkoff and Kushner after failed talks before the war. No one in the president’s inner circle was more concerned about the prospect of war with Iran, or did more to advise against it, than the vice president, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.”
2. U.S. fertility rates fall to another record low
The New York Times reports that “U.S. fertility rate fell slightly in 2025, to another record low, extending two decades of declines, according to federal data released on Thursday.”
“The fertility rate — the number of births per 1,000 women of childbearing age — dropped to 53.1, from 53.8 in 2024, according to the National Center for Health Statistics,” NYT reported. “The number of births dropped too, falling by 1 percent from the previous year, to 3,606,400.”
NYT continued, “The fertility rate has been falling since 2007, a trend that has become something of a demographic mystery. The drop began during the Great Recession, and experts first attributed it to the sharp economic downturn, following a common historical pattern. But the rate has continued to drop, and demographers have been trying to understand why.”
Sports
The Southeastern Conference announced Wednesday the appearance schedule for its annual SEC Football Kickoff Media Days presented by Regions, set to take place at the Tampa Marriott Water Street and JW Marriott, July 20-23, in Tampa, Fla.
This will be the first time the city of Tampa and the state of Florida have hosted the SEC’s preseason media extravaganza. Dallas, Nashville and Atlanta have served as hosts the previous three years.
Ole Miss Head Coach Pete Golding will take the stage on July 21 while Mississippi State Head Coach Jeff Lebby will step up to the plate on Thursday.
SEC Network will once again bring the four-day event to a national audience.
2. Southern Miss long jumper named Sun Belt Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
Southern Miss’ Tyler Nichols was awarded the Sun Belt Men’s Field Athlete of the Week, announced by the conference office Wednesday morning.
The school said Nichols set the standard in the long jump event with a mark of 8.06 meters, ranking first in the NCAA DI rankings.
In addition, his performance at the Southern Miss Invitational shattered the program record.
Markets & Business
1. 11-state “Boom Belt” emerging in Southeast
According to FoxBusiness, “A new economic iron curtain is falling across America as the “Boom Belt” — an 11-state powerhouse in the U.S. Southeast — shatters records and challenges the traditional financial dominance of New York and Chicago.”
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott joined forces in Miami on Tuesday to celebrate a $9 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) region that is now outpacing every other quadrant of the country in population, jobs and capital investment,” FoxBusiness reported. “The governors spotlighted how Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas now generate $9 trillion in annual GDP, trailing only the U.S. and China globally, while absorbing 70% of all U.S. population growth in the last five years.”
FoxBusiness added, “The migration has been fueled by more than just sunshine; it is a tactical retreat from a wave of tax-the-rich proposals sweeping through blue-state legislatures including California, New York and now Washington.”
2. Futures slide, oil rises as traders monitor Iran ceasefire
CNBC reports that “U.S. stock futures dipped Thursday, giving back some of the sharp gains from the previous session, as traders continue to monitor the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.”
“During Wednesday’s session, the S&P 500 climbed 2.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite popped 2.8%. The Dow surged more than 1,300 points, or 2.9%, for its best day since April 2025 — back when Trump softened his stance on some of his lofty initial tariffs,” CNBC reported. “Crude prices rose again on Thursday, putting pressure on equities. West Texas Intermediate futures popped 5% to above $99 per barrel. International Brent crude futures traded 4% higher at above $98 a barrel.”
CNBC noted, “A couple of catalysts await traders on Thursday morning. First, there’s the 8:30 a.m. reading of the personal consumption expenditure price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measurement of inflation. Weekly jobless claims are also due.”
-- Article credit to the staff for the Magnolia Tribune --
