Good morning, Mississippi. The U.S. Senate race remains undecided as lawyers and advocates watch election workers count the final ballots, state regulators say SpaceXAI started building its Southaven data center without water permits, and Ole Miss hosts Georgia in Oxford today. Here is the Saturday morning roundup from across the Mississippi News Group network.
Warring lawyers and advocates swarmed election offices across Mississippi on Friday to continue watching poll workers count outstanding ballots in the state’s U.S. Senate race between Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democratic challenger Scott Colom. With all but one other U.S. Senate race across America already decided, the nation has fixed its attention on the Magnolia State nail-biter. The race remains uncalled.
Mississippi’s environmental regulators released details this week on penalties against SpaceXAI for violating state water pollution laws by starting construction on its Southaven data center facilities without needed permits. The company first told investors two weeks ago that the fines could reach as much as $6.1 million.
In the days before the midterms, a coalition of leading civil rights groups warned Republican Secretary of State Michael Watson to reinstate voters inactivated by his office’s use of unverified credit bureau data by Election Day. He never responded, and an unknown number of eligible voters arrived at the polls Tuesday only to find they had been inactivated.
Lawyers for Mississippi’s foster care system and attorneys representing the children who have lived in it will each have 40 minutes to argue early next year over whether the state’s child welfare system still needs continued federal safety oversight. The hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. Jan. 25 in Jackson in the decades-old Olivia Y. v. Barbour case.
The DeSoto affidavit ballot review — the public step in which the DeSoto County Election Commission decides which affidavit ballots from the Nov. 3 general election will be counted — is set for Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 3 p.m. at the Election Commission Building in Hernando. The date is a day later than earlier guidance.
The Oxford Police Department announced game-day plans for today’s Ole Miss football game against Georgia, including an increased police presence around the downtown Square, free shuttles from the South Oxford Center, Northwest Community College and Oxford High School parking lots, and postgame traffic changes. The Jackson Avenue Center no longer offers free parking.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks says deer season is underway and hunters may encounter black bears in the woods. The agency advises hunters to stay calm, keep their distance, recover harvested deer as quickly as possible, and never approach a bear that is feeding on or guarding a carcass.
Patton Pinkins scored 19 points to lead Ole Miss to a 92-60 victory over Central Arkansas on Friday night in Oxford. The Rebels improved to 2-0, led 47-24 at halftime, and now turn to today’s football showdown with Georgia.
Mississippi News Report is published twice daily on Tippah News, rounding up the biggest stories from the Mississippi News Group network.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
