Wednesday morning news - November 9, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

Election 1 » Election Day has come and gone. And it wasn’t quite the red wave Republicans had hoped for. Both parties had their share of victories. 

But at 2 a.m. this morning, a confident GOP House Leader Kevin McCarthy told Republicans …

MCCARTHY: Now let me tell you, you’re out late. But when you wake up tomorrow, we will be in the majority and Nancy Pelosi will be in the minority.

That’s not a certainty as vote counts continue this morning, but it is very likely. 

Republicans need a total of 218 seats to reclaim the majority, and the party appears on track to surpass that total. 

Election 2  » But it’s still unclear this morning which party will control the Senate. And Democrats are breathing a sigh of relief after its Senate candidates held off GOP challengers in multiple tough races. That includes Pennsylvania, where Lt. Gov. John Fetterman told supporters …

FETTERMAN: You didn’t let us down. And my promise to all of you is I will never let you down!

His defeat of Republican Mehmet Oz flips a formerly red seat blue. 

But in North Carolina, Republicans held onto a key Senate seat with Ted Bud’s victory over Cheri Beasley. 

BUDD: Your hard work and your commitment to our party has kept North Carolina red, and it has fueled the conservative victory that we see tonight.

And in Georgia, echoes of 2020 as a tight Senate race there might be heading to a runoff election. 

Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock …

WARNOCK: Whether it’s later tonight or tomorrow or four weeks from now, we will hear from the people of Georgia!

Election 3  » Meantime in Florida, GOP Sen. Marco Rubio cruised to reelection. He defeated Democrat Val Demmings by nearly 17 points.

In fact, it was a big night for almost every Republican on the ballot in Florida. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis trounced Democrat Charlie Crist by nearly 20 points. 

DESANTIS: After four years, the people have delivered their verdict. Freedom is here to stay!

As DeSantis spoke, the crowd began chanting, “Two more years!” … a reference to DeSantis potentially running for president in 2024.

DESANTIS: Two more years! Two more years! 

The GOP also picked up several house seats in the once solidly purple state.

Tropical Storm Nicole » Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in Florida as the state braces for another hurricane.

It has been almost a century since a hurricane last slammed the east coast of Florida. But that’s where soon-to-be Hurricane Nicole is expected to make landfall tomorrow morning--somewhere between Ft. Lauderdale and Daytona Beach.

But Jack Bevin with the National Hurricane Center cautions …

BEVIN: Because this storm has a larger size, the impact will cover a large area. People should not focus on the exact forecast track.

Forecasters said heavy rain could fall on areas still recovering from Ian's flooding.

U.S., Russia set to resume arms control talks » The United States and Russia will soon hold talks on resuming suspended nuclear arms control inspections.

Arms inspections had been on hold during the pandemic and languished after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington has made clear to Moscow …

PRICE: That measures imposed as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine don’t prevent Russian inspections—inspectors from conducting New START treaty inspections in the United States.

He said he’s hopeful that both sides can resume those inspection soon.

The talks will likely take place in Egypt before the end of the year.

Alabama guitarist dies at 73 »

SOUND: Mountain Music

Guitarist Jeff Cook, who co-founded the iconic country group Alabama has died.

He helped to steer the band up charts with hits like “Song of the South” and “Mountain Music.”

SOUND: Mountain Music

Cook had Parkinson's disease and disclosed his diagnosis in 2017. He died Tuesday at his home in Destin, Florida at the age of 73.

With Cook as its guitarist, fiddle player and vocalist, Alabama hit number one on the Billboard Country charts 33 times.

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

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