Host Joey Hudson leads Sunrise Carolina on News/Talk 98.9 WORD with coverage of escalating global conflicts and key local developments. The show addresses President Trump’s unexpected early return to the White House from Camp David following U.S. military warnings of rapid escalation between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthis, including missile attacks targeting Riyadh. Meanwhile, Ukraine launched over 1,000 drones into Russia over the weekend amid Russian parliamentary elections. Additional discussions cover the rising financial costs of the war in Iran—surpassing $45 billion according to CENTCOM—and ongoing local debates in Spartanburg County regarding a proposed 300-acre data center project.
In Hour 2 of Sunrise Carolina, host Joey Hudson breaks down newly released figures provided to Congress detailing the immense financial impact of the war in Iran. The Pentagon estimates that the U.S. has incurred at least $45.1 billion in war-related costs, including $28.1 billion for replacing munitions, $11.2 billion for military operations, $4.3 billion for lost or damaged equipment, and $1.5 billion in fuel expenses. Joey notes that this total is likely an underestimate, as it omits significant costs such as repairing damaged U.S. military bases across the Middle East. Furthermore, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections warn that ongoing operations could cost up to $3 billion per month, replenish missile interceptor inventories may take over five years, and widespread energy and shipping disruptions could drive U.S. inflation up by half a percentage point by early 2027.
In Hour 3 of Sunrise Carolina, host Joey Hudson examines the high-stakes Texas U.S. Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, highlighting it as one of the most expensive political battles of the 2026 midterms. President Trump’s MAGA Inc. Super PAC committed an additional $5 million—bringing its total contribution to $15 million—to fund TV and digital ads against Talarico, while the Republican Alliance Senate Leadership Fund added nearly $54 million. With total spending expected to exceed $200 million, the heavy investment underscores both parties' view of Texas as a vital battleground. Hudson also discusses a new NBC News poll showing President Trump at a second-term low approval rating of 41%, with 55% of voters stating his policies have hurt the economy amid persistent inflation and high energy prices driven by the ongoing war in Iran.
In Hour 4 of Sunrise Carolina, host Joey Hudson details an ongoing legal battle in Spartanburg County regarding a $2.8 billion data center and on-site power generation project by developer Valera. The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), representing local residents, filed a lawsuit arguing that the county improperly split the 500,000-square-foot facility and its proposed 457-megawatt gas generator plant into separate administrative permits. The SELC contends that the combined scope constitutes a "major development," which requires public hearings and Planning Commission review. Conversely, Spartanburg County and Valera argue that data centers and power generation units are not explicitly listed as major developments under the county's Unified Land Management Ordinance, thus legally qualifying them as "minor developments" subject only to administrative approval. The county also maintains that residents failed to exhaust administrative appeals when initial permits were issued in August 2025, while plaintiffs counter that the true energy scale was not publicly disclosed until 2026.
