Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion
In Mississippi
1. Biloxi mayor proposes tax increase
WLOX reports that “Biloxi’s mayor is proposing a property tax increase to cover the rising costs of running the city.”
“On Tuesday, Mayor FoFo Gilich will ask the city council to approve a 3-mill increase in the city’s property tax rate. The current millage rate is 30.10. If approved, the rate would be raised to 33.10 mills,” WLOX reported. “City leaders have been discussing cuts needed in all departments, including police, fire, parks and other key city services. Gilich said you can only cut so much.”
“Everything costs more money today. That’s true for you and your family, and that’s true for the city of Biloxi,” Gilich said. “The money coming in has grown some, but our costs, like everyone else’s, has grown so much faster.”
2. MEMA opening 5 Disaster Service Centers in South Mississippi on Tuesday
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency is opening five Disaster Service Centers across four South Mississippi counties at noon on Tuesday, August 18, to serve residents who suffered damage during Tropical Storm Arthur on June 18–20, 2026.
At these centers, homeowners and renters will be able to meet face-to-face with recovery specialists, including:
- FEMA application specialists who can answer questions about application status and assist with new applications.
- MEMA representatives who can answer questions about unmet needs and potential state and local resources and may make referrals to nonprofit organizations.
- Small Business Administration disaster loan specialists who can explain how disaster loans can help homeowners and businesses and provide information about loan terms.
The Disaster Service Centers will operate from noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18. They will be located at the Kiln Community Center, Donal Snyder Community Center, Saucier Lizana Shelter, Pearl River County Annex, and Stone County Fairgrounds.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Trump orders reduced military exercises with South Korea
As reported by the New York Times, “President Trump said on Sunday that he had instructed the Pentagon to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, a longtime U.S. ally and a linchpin of America’s national security strategy in the Asia-Pacific region.”
“The announcement may heighten growing worries among Asian allies over what the United States is now willing to do to deter China, given the enormous distraction and resource drain of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. The United States is running low on critical weapons and has been moving military resources out of Asia to the Middle East,” NYT reported. “Mr. Trump complained that Seoul did not ‘join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran.’ In the same post, he said that North Korea under Kim Jong Un had been ‘unthreatening and respectful’ while he has been president.”
“These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful,” Mr. Trump said in his social media post.
2. Progressive Senate candidates say they won’t support Schumer for Dem leader
The Hill reports that “Questions are growing about Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) future as an increasing number of Democratic candidates say they will not support his bid for another term as Senate Democratic leader.”
“Progressive critics of the Democratic establishment are calling for a leadership shake-up in Washington as their candidates win Senate Democratic primaries in Illinois, Maine, Michigan and Minnesota,” The Hill reported. “These candidates have the backing of progressive Democratic senators in Schumer’s caucus. They say the party has become too aligned with corporate interests and is not fighting hard enough to increase taxes on the wealthy and expand the social safety net.”
The Hill continued, “Progressive candidates Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota and Troy Jackson in Maine, who all won competitive primaries, say they will not vote for Schumer as leader.”
Sports
Ole Miss’ Bird named to Ray Guy Award watch list
The Augusta Sports Council announced its preseason watch list for the 2026 Ray Guy Award on Friday, given to the nation’s top collegiate punter each season. Ole Miss punter Oscar Bird made the elite list.
Seeing action in all 15 games for Ole Miss in 2025, Bird helped the team rank third in the country in net punting with a clip of 43.6 yards per punt, while averaging 46.0 yards individually.
The Sydney, Australia native booted 41 total punts and allowed just a single touchback all season, dropping 14 kicks inside the 20 while sending 15 punts over 50 yards.
Markets & Business
1. Futures up as Fed rate hike unlikely
CNBC reports that “S&P 500 futures were relatively unchanged on Monday, coming off the back of a third consecutive week of gains for the S&P 500.”
“Futures tied to the broad market index rose 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.5% and 0.28%, respectively. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 88 points, or 0.2%,” CNBC reported. “The S&P 500 notched a fresh all-time high last week following a blockbuster earnings season that’s buoyed investor sentiment. The stock market has continued to climb in the face of ongoing hostilities in the Middle East, as well as concerns around the artificial intelligence trade.”
CNBC added, “Disappointing retail sales data and a relatively mild inflation print have reduced market expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in the coming month.”
2. Equipping data centers is big business
The Wall Street Journal reports that “U.S. manufacturing is booming thanks to AI data centers, and industrial companies such as Caterpillar, Eaton and Ford Motor are pivoting their business to seize the moment.”
“Manufacturing last month rose to its highest level since 2022, when the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic fueled a factory-production frenzy. Today, data centers and a handful of AI-related industries are driving the manufacturing sector, and companies in that sector are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to expand their lineups to capitalize on the opportunity,” WSJ reported. “Power-hungry data-center developers have turned Caterpillar’s once-prosaic business of electricity generators into the equipment maker’s leading source of profit. The company is investing $725 million to expand generator production at an Indiana plant.”
WSJ further reported, “Engine maker Cummins is also leaning in to its existing generator business. The company is investing $450 million to increase generator production, following a $200 million investment in expanding production completed last year. Cummins expects its data-center-related sales to rise by 80% to $9 billion in 2030 from 2026.”
-- Article credit to the staff for the Magnolia Tribune --
