DeSoto County recorded the largest shift toward Democrats of any Mississippi county in the U.S. Senate race, the state’s permit board rejected an appeal of air permits for SpaceXAI’s Southaven data center, and three Black University of Mississippi students spoke out after a racist incident outside their front door. This Thursday, November 12 evening edition of the Mississippi News Report rounds up the newest headlines from across the Mississippi News Group network.
DeSoto County’s Senate vote shifted about 23 points from 2020 to 2026, the largest swing toward Democrats among Mississippi’s 82 counties. The shift helped deliver the longtime Republican stronghold for Democrat Scott Colom in the U.S. Senate race.
After hearing hours of testimony over two days, Mississippi’s permit board rejected an appeal of an air permit awarded earlier this year to SpaceXAI’s data center hub in Southaven. The board had approved air permits in March for 41 permanent gas turbines that will power the company’s data center operations, which cross the state line into Memphis. The appeal was brought by the Safe and Sound Coalition of Southaven residents, the NAACP and Young, Gifted & Green.
Three Black University of Mississippi students who shared a now-viral Ring camera video of two white students making monkeylike sounds and gestures outside their front door say they received an apology from one of the women — but the other only amplified her behavior, they said. Victoria Johnson, Jakiyra Metcalf and Kaiyden Caldwell discussed the encounter in a “CBS Mornings” interview that aired Wednesday. The incident has ignited a firestorm on the Ole Miss campus and across social media.
State archaeologists visited the Booneville cannonball site, where more than 200 Civil War-era cannonballs were found, and may pursue landmark status for the land.
Jackson State scored three straight goals to rally past Prairie View A&M and reach the SWAC tournament semifinals. Taylor Osborn made seven saves for the Tigers.
The Mississippi News Report is published twice daily by Mississippi News Group, rounding up the newest headlines from across the network’s Mississippi news sites.
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
