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Daily Briefing: Georgia to settle Senate

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Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY
·6 min read

Democrats hope Georgia's runoff election will give them an advantage in the Senate. Also in the news: Thousands of North Carolina residents are still without electricity after power infrastructure was hit in a "targeted" attack.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Who's going full "goblin mode" this holiday season?

Here we go with Tuesday's headlines.

Warnock or Walker?

Georgia voters are casting ballots Tuesday in another runoff race that will determine if Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock can stiff-arm Republican challenger Herschel Walker.

One thing to know: This year's special election will determine whether the chamber remains evenly split at 50-50, which proved to be a difficult tightrope for President Joe Biden and the Democrats. A 51-49 majority would give the White House a cushion.

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  • What is a runoff? Georgia has a unique election system in which a runoff election is held with only the top two vote-getters if no candidate earns more than 50% of the vote. The runoff election acts as a political tiebreaker, where a candidate has to earn a majority of the vote.

  • Georgia voters have accepted their swing-state status: If the multiple races Georgians have had to endure since 2020 has tired out voters, they aren't showing it. More than 1.8 million Georgians have already voted in the runoff.

  • The Georgia race is the most expensive in this year's midterms. Political action committees have come to Warnock's aid at higher amounts than Walker in the runoff race. Super PACs have spent more than $40 million supporting Warnock or opposing Walker.

While Democrats have been guaranteed control of the Senate, they have an opportunity to expand their majority after outperforming expectations in the Nov. 8 elections.
While Democrats have been guaranteed control of the Senate, they have an opportunity to expand their majority after outperforming expectations in the Nov. 8 elections.

Outages in North Carolina county could last days

More than 38,000 people were without electricity Monday after two power substations in a North Carolina county were damaged by gunfire in what law enforcement officials called a "targeted" attack that could leave residents without power for days. A person "opened fire" at both substations Saturday, Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said during a news conference. He did not say how the person got past the gates at either substation, but a photo from local newspaper The Pilot shows the gate to one of the substations on the ground. Read more

This photos shows the gate to the Duke Energy West End substation in Moore County, N.C. on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. Tens of thousands were without power in the county after what authorities say was an act of criminal vandalism at multiple substations.
This photos shows the gate to the Duke Energy West End substation in Moore County, N.C. on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. Tens of thousands were without power in the county after what authorities say was an act of criminal vandalism at multiple substations.

More news to know now

🌤 What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Russian air bases struck for first time

The Kremlin claims Ukrainian drones have struck two air bases deep inside Russia. Hours later, Russia unleashed another massive missile barrage across Ukraine, striking homes and buildings and killing civilians. The targeting of the Russian air bases threatened a major escalation of the nine-month war because it hit an airfield that houses bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to use all available means to defend Russian territory, a remark many have interpreted to include nuclear weapons. It was the first time since the conflict’s start that such a base has been attacked. Read more 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, flanked by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin (L), visits the Kerch Strait Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge on December 5, 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, flanked by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin (L), visits the Kerch Strait Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge on December 5, 2022.

Supreme Court signals support for designer who wants to decline same-sex weddings

A majority of the Supreme Court on Monday appeared sympathetic to a web designer who wants to decline to create websites for same-sex weddings, embracing the idea that a state anti-discrimination law cannot compel her to do so. In a case that could have profound implications for when businesses may turn away customers, the Colorado website designer argues the state should not be permitted to use a law designed to ensure businesses take all comers to compel her to communicate messages to which she objects. Read more

Lorie Smith, the owner of 303 Creative, a website design company in Colorado, speaks to reporters outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on December 05, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Lorie Smith, the owner of 303 Creative, a website design company in Colorado, speaks to reporters outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on December 05, 2022 in Washington, DC.

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What's the Deion Sanders drama?

New Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders met his new players for the first time Sunday and delivered a 7-minute sermon in a way that only he can, a speech that referenced Louis Vuitton luggage, his prominence on ESPN and a theme he repeated over and over again: "I’m comin'." And because it was videotaped and tweeted out for all the world to see, it has drawn a spectrum of praise and criticism for how directly he told a room full of young men that many of them would not be there next year. Read more

  • From our Sports desk: Sander's message might have been atypical, but the takeaway isn’t much different than what most new coaches deliver when they take over 1-11 teams.

  • More takeaways: No, Deion Sanders isn't a sellout after leaving Jackson State for Colorado.

Deion Sanders was introduced as the new Colorado football coach on Sunday.
Deion Sanders was introduced as the new Colorado football coach on Sunday.

📷 Photo of the day: World Cup watch parties — an emotional roller coaster 📷

Tensions are high for fans around the world who are gathering to watch their favorite players battle in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. On Tuesday, Morocco and Spain will face off in the Round of 16 as well as Portugal and Switzerland. Click here to see more photos of "football" fanatics.

United States fans watch the match between the United States and Netherlands, at Hook Hall in Washington, DC, on December 3, 2022.
United States fans watch the match between the United States and Netherlands, at Hook Hall in Washington, DC, on December 3, 2022.

One more thing

Quarterback Stetson Bennett is Georgia's first Heisman finalist since 1992.
Quarterback Stetson Bennett is Georgia's first Heisman finalist since 1992.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note, shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia runoff, North Carolina outages, Supreme Court, Deion Sanders: Daily Briefing