Friday morning news: July 5, 2024

SOUND: [Big Ben chimes]

UK election » As Big Ben struck 10 o’clock last night in London the results of exit polls from Thursday's election were projected onto the side of the BBC's London headquarters.

SOUND: [Election cheers]

Labour Party supporters celebrated as the words, “Labour landslide” flashed in bright colors.

SOUND: [Election cheers]

The exit polling, commissioned by UK media outlets predicted that the Labour Party would enjoy a majority of roughly 170 seats ousting the Conservative Party from power.

That would make the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, the next prime minister. And he’s promising big changes, starting with the economy.

STARMER: The way we create wealth in this country is broken. It leaves far too many people feeling insecure. So we will reform it.

Outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak surprised his own party when he called an election for July 4th which could have taken place as late as January of next year.

Hurricane » Hurricane Beryl is now lashing Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula after unleashing its wrath on Jamaica on Thursday.

One resident of Kingston, Jamaica said the then-Category-4 hurricane leveled homes and ripped apart infrastructure.

 RESIDENT: Everything is gone. Everything you can think about is gone. People are homeless. They need food, they need water.

The storm is blamed for at least nine deaths across the Caribbean.

Beryl has weakened over the Yucatan Peninsula. But Michael Brennan with the National Hurricane Center says from there it will turn over warm Gulf waters.

BRENNAN: We are forecasting some re-strengthening over the Gulf of Mexico as Beryl turns more northwestward and approaches the coast of northeastern Mexico and south Texas.

He said the storm could make landfall there by Monday morning.

Hezbollah rocket attack » The Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah says it's launched over 200 rockets at several military bases in Israel as payback for a strike that killed one of its senior commanders.

The attack was one of the largest in the monthslong conflict along Israel’s border with Lebanon, where Hezbollah is based.

NETANYAHU: [Speaking Hebrew]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday, “In the tough campaign against Lebanon we have set a principle - whoever harms us is a dead man.”

He added that the Israeli government is determined to restore security to the country’s northern border region to allow thousands of residents who have fled the fighting to return home.

Biden governor’s meeting » Democratic governors are presenting a united front after meetings with President Biden this week in the wake of his troubling debate performance.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul:

HOCHUL: I am here to tell you today that President Joe Biden is in it to win it.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said, “the president has always had our backs. We're going to have his back as well.” But he said it was a candid conversation with the president.

MOORE: We always believe that when you, when you love someone, you tell them the truth. And I think we came in and we were honest about the feedback that we were getting. We were honest about the concerns that we were hearing from people.

Many Democrats are worried that President Biden won’t just lose the White House … but could drag down every Democrat on the November ballots.

Biden addresses campaign concerns » The president also spoke with his campaign staff this week. He reportedly told them  … he is running for re-election and nobody is pushing him out.

Biden is doing damage control, not just behind closed doors, but also on the airwaves. He called into “The Source” radio show on WURD in Philadelphia.

BIDEN:  I had a bad debate, but 90 minutes on stage is does not erase what I've done for three and a half years.

But Political Science professor Chris Galdieri with Anselm College said containing the fallout from last week’s debate won’t be easy.

GALDIERE:  I think the problem he's facing is that none of these radio call ins or anything is going to get anywhere near the wall to wall coverage that the debate has.

Reporters this week grilled the White House about the president’s health and mental state. Officials insisted he is healthy and does not suffer from dementia or any cognitive impairment.

North California wildfires » Roaring flames continue to fill the Northern California skies with smoke. The blaze broke out over the weekend about 60 miles north of Sacramento … and has forced thousands to evacuate their homes.

Firefighters have made steady progress against the so-called Thompson Fire despite hot and windy weather. As of last night, the fire was about 7 percent contained.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. Plus, Ask the Editor for July.

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