Friday morning news - November 11, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

Hurricane Nicole »

SOUND (Hurricane NATS)

The storm that was Hurricane Nicole is pushing into Georgia this morning.

Nicole has weakened considerably, but it’s still packing heavy rain and winds of nearly 40 miles per hour.

Meantime, Florida is once again cleaning up and assessing damage after the storm slammed the state’s east coast Thursday morning. Governor Ron DeSantis:

DESANTIS: We are ready, and we have resources to respond to whatever post-storm needs may arise.

Hurricane Nicole sent some Florida homes toppling into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. It also threatened a row of high-rise condominiums in places where Hurricane Ian washed away the beach and destroyed seawalls only weeks ago.

The storm is blamed for at least two deaths.

Nicole is expected to drop heavy rain in the Carolinas starting tonight.

Kherson / Aid to Ukraine » The United States is sending another $400 million dollars in military aid to Ukraine. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said that includes Avenger air defense systems.

SINGH: These are mobile short-range air defense systems that can protect against cruise missiles, helicopters, unmanned aerial systems.

Also on Thursday, Russia said it began withdrawing troops from the city of Kherson, creating a potential turning point in the war.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan...

SULLIVAN: This is a significant military milestone for the Ukrainians, if in fact it happens that Russia follows through and withdraws to the far side of the Dnipro River.

But he said nobody’s simply taking Moscow’s word for it. And a Ukrainian official voiced concerns that it could be a trap and Russian land mines could turn Kherson in a “city of death.”

A forced pullout from Kherson would mark one of Russia’s worst setbacks in the war.

Elections » In Nevada, election workers have counted 84% of the ballots. So far, incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is lagging nearly 2 points behind Republican Adam Laxalt.

LAXALT: We are going to win this race!

Laxalt heard there on election night. But the result is still very much up in the air. Some analysts believe outstanding ballots could favor Masto.

They’re still counting and signature verifying ballots in Arizona as well. There the incumbent, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is leading his GOP challenger Blake Masters. The margin there is 5 points with 76% of the votes in.

Inflation » Has the wave of inflation crested in the United States? WORLD’s Mary Muncy has more.

MARY MUNCY, REPORTER: New inflation numbers have made some economists cautiously optimistic about rising costs, even as the economy slows.

Consumer inflation reached 7.7% in October compared to a year earlier. That number was down from 8.2% in September.

Stripping out volatile food and energy prices so-called "core'' inflation rose 6.3% over the past 12 months.

The data released Thursday raises the possibility that the Fed could at least slow its interest rate hikes — a prospect that sent U.S. markets soaring.

For WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

Sotomayor rejects bid to prevent NYC enforcement of vax mandate » Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor turned away an emergency appeal from city workers in New York City who are challenging a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The workers were asking the court to block the policy while appeals proceed in lower courts.

The city fired teachers, firefighters, police officers, and others for not complying with the mandate … after rejecting their requests for religious exemptions.

Sotomayor was not required to consult with her colleagues on the matter, and she did not. The justice also did not explain the decision.

UN agency: Iran increases highly enriched uranium stockpile » Iran continues to build the stockpile of the highly enriched uranium it needs to build a nuclear weapon. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has that story.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that as of October 22nd, Iran had 137 pounds of uranium enriched to up to 60% fissile purity. That’s a 5% increase from the month before.

But the IAEA can’t provide an exact amount because Tehran continues to block officials from monitoring nuclear sites.

Enrichment to 60% purity is just one short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Experts warn that Iran now has enough enriched uranium to reprocess into fuel for at least one nuclear bomb.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Biden to meet with Xi » President Biden will meet Monday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next week’s Group of 20 Summit in Indonesia.

Biden on Thursday described the purpose of that meeting.

BIDEN: Understand what he believes to be in the critical national interests of Chinas, and what I know to be in the critical interests of the United States and figure out if they conflict with one another, and if they do, how we work it.

The face-to-face meeting comes amid increasingly strained U.S.-China relations.

It will be the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies since Biden moved into the Oval Office.

Report: No election fraud in Brazil »

A report from the Brazilian military highlighted flaws in the country’s electoral systems and proposed improvements. Id did not, however, substantiate claims of fraud from some of President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters, who continue to protest against his Oct. 30th defeat.

Bolsonaro lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by less than two-points. That was the narrowest margin since Brazil’s 1985 return to democracy.

I'm Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.

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