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Democrats usher in a new era with their resounding sweep of the House and the Senate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are riding their sweep of Congress into a new era, eager to meet voter demands for change with plans to tackle high costs of living and confront President Donald Trump's final years in the White House. In a nationwide romp, Democrats ousted Republicans from coast to coast, with many…

Crash closes eastbound lane on I-64 toward Charleston

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) - A vehicle crash has closed one eastbound lane of I-64 at the Montrose interchange in South Charleston. According to Metro 911, no injuries are reported and first responders are on their way to the scene. Traffic has backed up along I-64E toward the Dunbar area. A separate accident in…

Dodge Durango vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee L, an Edmunds three-row SUV comparison

There are plenty of three-row SUVs on sale, but few can match the extroverted style of the Dodge Durango. With its prominent chin, bright paint colors and hood scoop, the Durango forgoes sleekness for six-pack muscle. Dodge is even doubling down on the muscle theme by making a V8 engine standard on every 2027 Durango.

Trump-backed Republican redistricting sought a midterm edge. It didn't work

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the urging of President Donald Trump, Republicans in eight states redrew the boundaries of dozens of congressional districts over the past year while angling for an edge that could help them hold onto a slim House majority in a tough midterm election. Ultimately, it didn't work. Republicans lost…

John Malkovich, a world-weary CIA man in 'Wild Horse Nine,' prefers life on the road

NEW YORK (AP) — In Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine,” John Malkovich plays an itinerant CIA officer, Chris, weary from his travels. But Chris has got nothing on Malkovich's miles. Over his 50-year career, Malkovich has performed live in 47 countries, by his count. He’s played a serial killer in Hamburg. He’s…

McDonald's plans new value bundles next year after US traffic falls in third quarter

McDonald's plans to introduce new value-oriented meal bundles early next year after a disappointing third quarter that saw lower traffic at U.S. restaurants. McDonald's Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said Wednesday that the company recently began an eight-week test of mix-and-match and fixed-price bundles at 1,900…

The political map is anyone's guess after a Democratic wave in the midterm elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters took a wrecking ball to the traditional map of political battlegrounds, electing Democrats in states that were long considered reliably Republican. Kansas, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio and Iowa, all states Republican Donald Trump easily won two years ago in the presidential election, backed…

Stranded cruise ship Odyssey leaves Cambodia with no passengers

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A U.S. cruise ship that forced all its passengers to disembark in Cambodia after suspending its operations last week has departed the Southeast Asian nation with only crew aboard, Cambodian officials said Wednesday. The MV Odyssey, owned by Florida-based Villa Vie Residences, had been on an…

How Anthony Ippolito talked his way into playing Sylvester Stallone in 'I Play Rocky'

Anthony Ippolito saw the opportunity of a lifetime when he learned that Oscar-winning director Peter Farrelly was developing a film about Sylvester Stallone’s determination to write and star in the original “Rocky.” There was just one problem: Nobody had asked him to audition for “I Play Rocky.” “So, I kind of just…

Shorter days and dark afternoons can trigger depression. Here's how to fight back

As winter approaches and daylight hours grow shorter, people prone to seasonal depression can feel it in their bodies and brains. The millions of people estimated to have seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, typically have episodes of depression that begin in the fall and ease in the spring or summer. One trigger for…

Cyberattack hits French blood bank site but no blood products were compromised

PARIS (AP) — A cyberattack on several blood banks sought to raise temperatures to extremely high levels but was thwarted before it could do any damage to blood products or samples, French authorities said. The incident comes after supermarkets in a number of European countries reported this week that their fridges and…

It's too early to call the outcome of California's proposal to tax billionaires

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California measure to tax the net worth of billionaires that divided liberal leaders nationally and triggered one of the most expensive ballot fights in state history was too early to call Wednesday morning as the vote tally continued. Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on the…

2 Uyghur men held in Thailand plead not be sent back to China

BANGKOK (AP) — Two Uyghur men held in Thailand for more than a decade are pleading to not be sent back to China, fearing abuse or torture. Human rights activists and some Thai politicians warn the men could be sent to China following their release from prison in late October. Uyghurs are a Turkic, majority

Democrat Hakeem Jeffries poised to make history as the first Black speaker of the House

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is on the cusp of making history as the nation’s first Black speaker of the House, a generational shift in U.S. politics after Democrats trounced Republicans to win majority control of the chamber in the midterm elections. Jeffries faces a vote of his colleagues when…

Alan Wilson wins South Carolina governor's race

(The Hill) -- South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) is projected to defeat Democratic state Rep. Jermaine Johnson in the state's governor's race, according to Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ). Wilson, who has served as the Palmetto State's top prosecutor since 2011, will succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster (R)…

Australia argues in court that social media ban is needed to protect children's brains

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Government lawyers told Australia’s highest court on Wednesday that a world-first ban on children younger than 16 from holding social media accounts was necessary to protect developing brains. The Australian government is fighting in the High Court two constitutional challenges to the ban…

Democrats win Senate majority

Democrats have won the Senate majority, a feat that seemed unreachable last year but that came to fruition with Republican candidates failing in states won just two years ago by President Trump, whose failing approval ratings was a huge drag on the GOP. Victory in the Senate will deliver additional oversight powers to…

Sherrod Brown makes comeback to US Senate in Ohio

OHIO (WOWK) - Sherrod Brown is making a comeback to Washington, defeating incumbent Republican Jon Husted to take back the Senate seat he lost in 2024. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Brown, a Democrat, who has 48.6% of the vote. Having served as Senator from 2007 to 2025, Brown hopes to

What's next in the investigation of the Learjet crash in Florida that killed 9?

Investigators are just beginning the lengthy process of determining why a business jet plummeted from the sky in Florida after encountering a thunderstorm and slammed into the ground with such force that it created a crater and shattered the plane. The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation…

Amy Acton takes Ohio governor's race

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOWK) - The Buckeye State has chosen its next governor. The Associated Press has called the Ohio Gubernatorial Race in favor of Democrat Amy Acton. Dr. Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Libertarian Don Kissick with 50.7 % of the vote. Acton served as Director of the Ohio Department of…

Talarico turns Texas blue in historic win for Democrats

Democrat James Talarico is projected to win a Senate seat in Texas, defeating Republican Ken Paxton and delivering his party its first big Lone Star state win in decades, according to a projection by Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ). It's a huge moment for Democrats, both because it finally notches the party a big victory in

Mason County passes school excess levy

MASON COUNTY, W.Va. (WOWK) - The excess levy for Mason County Schools has passed at the polls, and schools could now see major tax revenue from two high-impact data centers coming to the county. According to the Mason County Clerk's office, the levy passed with 52.8% of the vote, only needing a majority for passage.

Issue to add voter ID requirement to Ohio Constitution approved

OHIO (WOWK) — Ohio voters had one statewide issue to decide on in this election, one that proposed changes to the state’s constitution. On Tuesday, voters approved Issue 3, which looks to amend the Ohio Constitution to require photo identification for voting. Ohio voters already have to show photo ID to vote in…

What motivated voters in the 2026 midterm elections, according to The AP Voter Poll

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in Tuesday’s midterm races were hoping their candidates could hold onto the winning coalition that President Donald Trump assembled in the 2024 presidential election, but The AP Voter Poll suggests the GOP has lost ground with multiple key groups. The poll, an expansive survey of about…

Carol Miller defends seat in U.S. House District 1

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) - Incumbent Republican Carol Miller will be holding her seat in West Virginia's 1st U.S. House of Representatives district. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Miller, who has 56% of the vote. Democrat Vince George received 40% of the vote. Constitution Party member Belinda…

Riley Moore holds position in U.S. House District 2

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) - Republican Incumbent Riley Moore has beaten Democrat Ace Parsi for the U.S. House of Representatives 2nd District. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Moore, who has 58.46% of the vote. Parsi received 41.54% of the vote. With additional experience from serving in the WV House of…

Andy Barr wins Kentucky's U.S. Senate race

KENTUCKY (WOWK) - Republican Andy Barr has beaten Democrat Charles Booker and Kentucky Party member Christopher Campbell to take the seat as Kentucky's U.S. Senator. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Barr, who has 53.71% of the vote. Booker received 44.23% of the vote. Campbell received 2.05% of the…

Amy Goodwin holds position as Charleston mayor

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) - Incumbent Democrat Amy Goodwin will be returning as the mayor of Charleston. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Goodwin, who has 70.91% of the vote. Republican Brian Hunt received 29.09% of the vote. Goodwin was elected as Charleston's first female mayor in 2018, managing to…

David J. Taylor holds Ohio's 2nd Congressional District

OHIO (WOWK) - Republican David J. Taylor has beaten Democrat Jen Mazzuckelli for the seat in Ohio's 2nd Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Taylor, who has 61.18% of the vote. Mazzuckelli received 38.82% of the vote. After occupying many roles, both in legal and government, Taylor…

Capito keeps US Senate seat for six more years

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) - After a close race, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito will represent West Virginia in Washington for six more years. The results are in and Capito has defeated challengers Rachel Fetty Anderson and S. Marshall Wilson with 56% of the vote, according to the Associated Press. She has…

Ed Gallrein wins Kentucky's U.S. Congress 4th District

KENTUCKY (WOWK) - Republican Ed Gallrein will be taking over Kentucky's 4th District of the U.S. Congress. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Gallrein, who has 53.02% of the vote. Democrat Melissa Claire Strange received 42.14% of the vote. Libertarian Jeremy Todd received 4.84% of the vote. A farmer and…

Brazil’s Senate approves Lula’s main bet to tackle criminal gangs

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Senate approved on Tuesday legislation that strengthens the government's power to fight criminal gangs, in another win for reelected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has touted the changes as key to tackle one of his nation's biggest problems. The constitutional amendment, which will…

Indonesia detains 3 police generals suspected of wiretapping President Prabowo

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian police said Tuesday they had detained three senior police generals suspected of illegally wiretapping President Prabowo Subianto and dozens of other prominent figures. Asep Safrudin, head of the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency, said the suspects were being…

Activist charged with setting fire to embattled Mississippi police department

SENATOBIA, Miss. (AP) — An Alabama man was charged Monday with setting fire to a Mississippi police department that has faced protests in the months since an officer fatally shot a 1-year-old boy. Garrick Rawls faces an arson charge — a federal offense — in connection with a Halloween day fire that damaged the…

What happens if Ohio election results trigger recount, challenge?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Election officials throughout Ohio are preparing for what might come after the votes are counted Tuesday, including potential recounts and challenges to the results. There are two things that could launch an election recount under Ohio law, the first being an automatic recount triggered if the…

Incumbent Hal Rogers keeps Kentucky's U.S. Congress 5th District

KENTUCKY (WOWK) - Republican Incumbent Hal Rogers has won the seat for Kentucky's U.S. 5th Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race in favor of Rogers, who has 70% of the vote. Rogers has held the district since 1981, becoming the longest-serving member of Congress from Kentucky. He has defined his…

Extensive search bring missing Kentucky 6-year-old home safe

LOUISA, Ky. (WOWK) - A 6-year-old boy who went missing Sunday in Lawrence County, Kentucky, has been found safe following an extensive search involving emergency responders and hundreds of community volunteers. Kentucky State Police confirmed Tuesday, Nov. 3, that Roman Heilman had been located after he was last seen…

Google will cut off search access for students at schools that reject AI

Students using Google software in the classroom will not be allowed to access the company's search engine unless their school system also opts in to using artificial intelligence, the tech giant said Tuesday. The Mountain View, California, company has been facing pushback from educators, child development experts and…

Sister June Carpenter, one of the few remaining Shakers, dies in Maine. She was 88

Sister June Carpenter, one of the last members of the only remaining community of the Shaker religious movement, died Tuesday. Carpenter had been struggling with health problems and limited mobility, according to an announcement from the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in Maine. She was 88. Carpenter was one of two…

Live 2026 General Election Coverage and Results

(WOWK) - Voters across the Tri-State are out at the polls for the 2026 Midterm Elections. Polls close at 6 p.m. in Kentucky and at 7:30 p.m. in West Virginia and Ohio. WOWK will be bringing you all of the latest, live results throughout the night. Our coverage begins at 4 p.m. on WOWK, WOWK+,

Midterms launch wave of historic firsts for some states — and for the nation

Yes, the 2026 midterms will be remembered for the astonishing number of losses that Democrats handed to President Donald Trump. But in the background, something perhaps equally seismic unfolded: a wave of firsts that elevated into high office members of groups that had, until now, been kept largely at the margins…

NYC Marathon runner dies after collapsing just before finish line

NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) -- A 24-year-old runner died after taking part in the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, according to officials from the New York Road Runners. Pennsylvania resident Rachel Apa died after collapsing at mile marker 24 of the marathon around 1:40 p.m. on Sunday, a spokesperson for NYRR and police

European supermarket fridges got hacked. Again. Here's what to know

LONDON (AP) — Mysterious cyberattacks on European supermarket fridges have sent officials around the continent scrambling to figure out the cold, hard facts. Supermarkets in a number of European countries reported this week that their fridges and freezers warmed up after they were remotely taken over, resulting in…

WVU football adds Purdue to 2027 schedule

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker has announced that Purdue has been added to the 2027 home football schedule at Milan Puskar Stadium. The date with the Boilermakers will be announced in the coming days, along with additional changes to West Virginia’s…

Kenya releases 5 Ebola patients after negative tests as 2 remain hospitalized

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya on Tuesday released five Ebola patients after they tested negative for the virus and showed no symptoms, leaving only two patients undergoing supportive care. Health officials expressed optimism over the country’s progress in containing the outbreak, with no new infections reported. The…

Chick-fil-A to close at Charleston Town Center Mall

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) - The Chick-fil-A at the Charleston Town Center Mall will shut down at the end of the year. Owner/Operater Alan Smith announced Tuesday that the location would permanently close on Dec. 31, 2026. "I carry a heaviness that this book has come to an end but abundant gratefulness for each and every

DOJ sending election monitors to all 50 states

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WOWK) - For the first time in U.S. history, the Department of Justice has election monitors and observers deployed in counties across all 50 states. The only West Virginia county on the DOJ's list is Kanawha County. In Ohio, monitors and observers will be in Cuyahoga, Franklin and Medina…

Jury begins deliberating at Russell Brand's rape and sexual assault trial

LONDON (AP) — Jurors began considering their verdicts on Tuesday in the trial of Russell Brand on charges of rape and sexual assault. After three weeks of argument and evidence, judge Joel Bennathan told the jury at London’s Southwark Crown Court that they must reach a unanimous decision. “I can only accept a verdict…

Flights across Europe searched and diverted after hoax bomb threats

BERLIN (AP) — Several flights across Europe received hoax bomb threats Tuesday that prompted searches, diversions and, in one case, an escort by the Italian Air Force until landing, officials said. The flights included Polish airline LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair. The hoax threats came a day after a…

The Latest: Voters give Democrats control of Congress in rebuke to Trump

Democrats have won control of Congress in Tuesday’s 2026 midterm elections in a widespread repudiation of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, a drubbing that reached deep into reliable GOP territory. Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats in ruby-red states and battlegrounds alike: Kansas, which…

Collins Dictionary chooses 'mogging' as its 2026 word of the year

LONDON (AP) — Collins Dictionary has named "mogging” — a slang word meaning to outshine someone or something — as its word of the year. Dictionary experts said Tuesday that the word, most often used by young people “in a playful and ironic way when someone is upstaged," has entered mainstream language and saw a

Indian navy rescues 20 crew from Iranian fishing boat hijacked off Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Indian naval forces freed an Iranian fishing boat and its crew of 20 hijacked off Somalia after an operation lasting more than 48 hours, India’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday. The rescue of the Azini was completed Monday in the Arabian Sea, more than 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) from…

Election night agenda: When polls close and when to expect results

WASHINGTON (AP) — With voters deciding thousands of races across the country on Tuesday, keeping track of which races to watch throughout the night — and when to expect results — can get tricky. Here's a rundown of the biggest races hour by hour, along with some clues as to how long it will take

Higher oil prices boost Saudi Aramco profits despite disruption from attacks

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Majority state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco on Tuesday reported a 35% increase in third-quarter net profit as earnings were boosted by higher oil prices and the sale of its stake in a Malaysian refining and petrochemical company. Net profit rose to $36.3 billion from $26.9 billion in the…

This time, determining which party will control Congress didn't take days

WASHINGTON (AP) — The stakes in Tuesday's election — which party would control Congress — were clear. And unlike in recent elections, the answer came quickly: With big wins in both the House and the Senate, it's the Democrats' turn to run Capitol Hill. The Associated Press is calling races in all 435 House districts

Voters back abortion rights and reject Trump's redistricting in state ballot measures

WASHINGTON (AP) — Abortion-rights advocates notched victories in several states Tuesday, and voters delivered a double dose of disapproval to President Donald Trump’s redistricting efforts as they decided 145 ballot questions in more than three dozen states. The ballot measures provided a political undercard for a…

Takeaways: Voters punish Trump, and the GOP suffers historic losses

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump repeatedly encouraged voters to pretend he was on the midterm ballot. They did. And it's hard to imagine a worse outcome for the Republican president and his party. Voters absolutely punished Trump’s allies almost everywhere. Democrats won in swing states like Georgia…