Wednesday morning news: October 26, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Sunak appoints new ministers » Rishi Sunak on Tuesday became Britain’s third prime minister in the span of just two months. And he’s vowing to bring stability to the office.

SUNAK: This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.

That as the now former prime minister, Liz Truss, officially stepped aside.

TRUSS: I wish Rishi Sunak every success for the good of our country.

The Conservative Party picked him on Monday as a steady leader in hopes he will tame a growing economic crisis.

In one of his first acts, he announced he would keep Jeremy Hunt as Treasury chief, a job Sunak himself once held under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

And he immediately got to work filling other posts in his government. He removed about a dozen members of Truss’ Cabinet, but kept several senior figures in place besides Hunt.

Putin weapons » Vladimir Putin is scrambling to get his hands on more weapons for the war in Ukraine. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: With Russia facing military production delays and mounting losses, Putin urged his government Tuesday to cut through bureaucracy to crank out weapons and supplies.

He is chairing a new committee designed to speed up production to cover military shortfalls in Russia’s eight-month war with Ukraine.

Many of Russia’s new conscripts haven’t received basic supplies and some have been handed rusted-out rifles.

A British Defense report said Tuesday Russia’s “artillery ammunition is running low.”

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Griner loses appeal » WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner remains behind bars in Russia with hopes of an early release fading by the day.

A Russian court on Tuesday rejected an appeal of her nine-year prison sentence for possessing a cannabis vape cartridge at a Moscow airport.

President Biden said his administration has been in constant contact with Russian authorities …

BIDEN: To get Brittney and others out. And so far we’ve not been meeting with much positive response. But we’re not stopping.

His administration has proposed prisoner swaps to Russian officials, but they’ve yet to respond.

The U.S. State Department says her detainment is unjust.

Consumer confidence » Consumer confidence slipping in the United States. That’s a blinking warning light for the future of the U.S. economy.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 102.5 in October. That’s a 5% dip from the month before.

A separate metric that takes the temperature of business and labor market conditions slipped by seven-and-a-half percent in a month’s time.

Wisconsin election rules rulings » With Election Day now less than two weeks away, early voting is underway in many states, including Wisconsin amid ongoing lawsuits over election rules there. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Certain voting rules in the swing state have changed over the past couple of years.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court in July banned absentee ballot drop boxes located anywhere other than in a local election clerk’s office. The court also said that only the voter can return the absentee ballot unless the voter is disabled.

And each absentee ballot must include the signature and address of a witness.

A judge sided with Republicans in another lawsuit ruling that election clerks are not permitted to fill in missing witness address information.

There are two pending lawsuits over how much of the witness’s address must be present in order for the clerk to accept the ballot.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Early voting in GA » Early voters are going gangbusters at polls in Georgia, fueling a new round of jousting over Republicans’ overhaul of election rules.

GOP Gov. Brian Kemp took a jab at his Democratic challenger, Stacey Abrams.

KEMP: She said this new law would be suppressive and Jim Crow 2.0. And President Biden said that. The vice president said that.

He said it’s evident that voting is very easy in Georgia.

Through Sunday, early voting was up about 60% from the same point in 2018, the last midterm election.

More than 10% of Georgia's registered voters have already cast votes, a share that trails only Massachusetts and Vermont.

Wisconsin parade shooter trial » The trial continues in Wisconsin for Darrel Brooks. He’s the man accused of plowing his SUV into the Waukesha Christmas parade last year, killing six people and injuring dozens.

Brooks is defending himself, and the judge in the case says he’s trying to slow down the trial.

BROOKS: Am I acting in dishonor?
JUDGE: Yes, you are acting in dishonor.
BROOKS: How? How?
JUDGE: You are disobeying the direct order of this court to respect the decorum and dignity of these proceedings. You are merely attempting to delay.
BROOKS: I don’t care what you think, that’s not accurate.
JUDGE: Mr. Brooks!

Judge Jennifer Dorow has had Brooks removed from the courtroom multiple times.

During the trial, Dorow ruled that Brooks forfeited his right to testify or call any other witnesses. She said Brooks was pretending not to hear her.

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

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