Sen. F. Gary Simpson (R-Milford)

Senator F. Gary Simpson (R-Milford) was re-elected Senate Minority Leader and Senator Liane Sorenson (R-Hockessin) was re-elected as Senate Minority Whip.

Republicans are outnumbered by Democrats in the Senate 14-7.

Simpson says he looks forward to working with Democrats to address the issues facing Delaware.

"I fully realize that if Delaware is to move forward with meaningful public policy, both sides must put aside petty politics and reach across the aisle to build strong consensus," he said. "I am committed to doing just that."

Simpson, who has served as Minority Leader since 2008, was first elected to the Senate in 1998. Sorenson was first elected in 1994 and has served in the Senate as Minority Whip since 2000.

Sen. Liane Sorenson (R-Hockessin)

More than a quarter of those surveyed admitted they drove despite being so sleepy that they had difficulty keeping their eyes open in the previous month.

Jim Lardear, Director of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic called it "disturbing data."

"Being sleepy is very dangerous when you are behind the wheel of a car," he said. "Sleepiness decreases awareness, slows reaction time and impairs judgment, just like drugs or alcohol, contributing to the possibility of a crash."

A new analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash data estimates that approximately one in six deadly crashes (16.5%) involve a driver who is drowsy.

"We need to change drivers' attitudes so that not only will they recognize the dangers of driving while drowsy but will stop doing it," Lardear said.

To remain alert and avoid drowsiness, AAA Mid-Atlantic suggests:

* Getting plenty of sleep (at least six hours) the night before a long trip.

* Scheduling a break every two hours or every 100 miles.

* Traveling at times when you are normally awake, and staying overnight rather than "driving straight through."

* Stop driving if you become sleepy. Someone who is tired could fall asleep at any time.

Make that 100 percent chance of pumpkins.

It will be raining orange and white gourds all weekend as the beloved World Championship Punkin Chunkin returns to Delaware. This year's event, the 25th anniversary, will take place off Route 404 near Bridgeville, Friday through Sunday.

What began a quarter-century ago with a group of four men and three machines has grown into a "monster," according to Frank Shade, director of media and promotions and former president.

"It's an event where people build various and assorted contraptions with the sole purpose of throwing an 8- to 10-pound pumpkin as far as they can," he said.

The longest throw 25 years ago was 114 feet. The record is now more than 4,400 feet.

"We have machines right now, their barrels alone are 130 feet," Shade said.

According to Shade, 115 teams from around the world will compete each day in a variety of categories, including air cannons, catapults and human-powered devices.

In addition to flying orbs, a wide range of entertainment is planned for each day. There will be live bands, a beauty pageant, fireworks Saturday and Sunday, and more than 150 vendors.

Take a look at last year's event:

Coons won the seat with 57 percent of the vote to O'Donnell's 40 percent.

In the interview, O'Donnell talks about the bitter race, her phone call to Coons and her legacy.

"It's good to be home, it's good to be back in Wilmington," Biden told a crowd of about 300 people in downtown Wilmington. "I'm Joe Biden, I'm Beau Biden's father."

But the elder Biden was in town to stump for all of Delaware's Democrats, most notably U.S. Senate candidate Chris Coons and congressional candidate John Carney.

Coons is running against Christine O'Donnell while Carney is being challenged by Glen Urquhart.

Biden expressed confidence that Democrats can hold on to the Senate seat he held for more than 30 years before being elected vice president, and grab Delaware's lone U.S. House seat from the Republicans.

Watch the video clip to see parts of speeches from Biden, Coons and Carney.

The survey released Thursday morning by Fairleigh Dickinson University-PublicMind shows Coons with a 21-point advantage over Republican Christine O'Donnell. According to the poll, 57 percent of likely voters say they will vote for Coons compared to just 36 percent for O'Donnell.

O'Donnell trailed by 17 points in a similar Fairleigh Dickinson poll released earlier this month.

Democrat John Carney and Republican Glen Urquhart are vying for Delaware's lone seat in Congress. The interviews will air as part of an hour-long special edition of First, Friday night at 5 and 10.

Last week, WHYY presented a debate between the Democratic and Republican Senatorial candidates. We offered the same opportunity to the congressional candidates. John Carney decided he didn't want to debate so, instead, we interviewed the candidates separately.

Carney and Urquhart presented opposing views to topics ranging from the economy to the Constitution.

In the following video clips, the candidates react to some of the ads that have been appearing recently on television.

Two very different issues, but two issues Delaware's candidates for U.S. Senate tackled on Monday.

Democrat Chris Coons was talking about faith in Wilmington where he received an endorsement from several members of local churches. In our accompanying video clip, Coons talks about the relationship between faith and politics.

In Newark, Republican candidate Christine O'Donnell listened to concerns from small business owners. In our clip she outlines her four-part plan for job creation.

For the third consecutive month, the jobless rate has remained unchanged at 8.4 percent.  That compares to the national rate of 9.6 percent. The labor force statistics are through the month of September.

George Sharpley, senior economist at the Delaware Department of Labor, says while the unemployment rate has stabilized, it also means job growth has stagnated.

"The economic growth that we have been seeing since early this year appears to have slowed, at least for the time being," he said. "I do believe that growth will pick up and the unemployment rate will resume its decline in the near future."

In March the number of unemployed peaked at 9.2 percent. Four months later in July it had fallen all the way to 8.4 percent. But it's been stuck there ever since.

"We would like to see the unemployment rate fall below 5 percent," Sharpley said. "That will probably take several more years to occur."

Sussex County has the lowest jobless rate among the state's three counties at 7.7 percent, followed by Kent (8.3) and New Castle (8.4).

The hour-long debate between Republican Christine O'Donnell and Democrat Chris Coons will air in its entirety Wednesday night at 7. The debate will also air through the weekend. You'll also be able to view the entire exchange at whyy.org/delaware beginning on Thursday.

Coons and O'Donnell offered different views on a number of topics, from how to fix to the economy to bickering in Washington.

Here are a few clips from Wednesday's debate:

Chris Coons and Christine O'Donnell talk about the Constitution.

The candidates debate whether to raise the retirement age for social security.

Coons and O'Donnell discuss plans to reach out across the aisle to end bickering in Washington.

Click here to view the embedded video.