South Carolina News

Country singer and songwriter Lee Brice walks a path between traditional honky tonk sounds and contemporary rock & roll; as Brice puts it, his music sounds like what would happen if Hank Williams, Jr. via KWNR-FM Las Vegas

“You don't pick him because you want to win Ohio, you pick him because he brings to the table a breadth of experience few others can match”

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain is considering former Rep. via The Post Chronicle

“We have been going down there for the past seven years”

Havana's harbor is not especially busy but provides a lifeline for the island as much of the food its residents eat is shipped from other countries. via The Post and Courier

“It breeds disrespect and distrust.”

Nonviolent offenders could avoid prison through an alternate court system being pushed by Attorney General Henry McMaster as both a better way to rehabilitate people and save the state money.

Too often, McMaster said, people put in prison for offenses ranging from gambling to drug possession are turned into hardened criminals by their time behind bars. But a combination of counseling, drug treatment, school, work and restitution _ with requirements varying for each offender's problems _ could change their lives, he said. Read more

“They started flying a major number of flights in the wintertime, which is a tough time for any airline to start up a route, but they had the airplanes scheduled in, and they had to do something with them”

Published: Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 2:52 p.m. Last Modified: Sunday, April 6, 2008 at 2:52 p.m. While Skybus Airlines has shut down operations at Piedmont Triad International Airport, officials at PTI see a ... via StarNewsOnline.com

The federal Small Business Administration says some South Carolina residents who had damage from last month's tornadoes can get low-interest loans to help them recover. via The State

“The money from the state is the difference between a healthy, vital organization and our being very severely damaged and potentially going out of business”

In the latest version of the state's upcoming budget, several local projects survived the ax while public colleges and universities continue to walk a tightrope during hard economic times. via Post and Courier

“Whether the human ate the dog or the dog ate the human, it doesn't matter”

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - DNA from ancient human feces found in a cave in Oregon provides biological verification that people were in North America 14,000 years ago, researchers said on Thursday.

The findings, published in the journal Science, add to growing evidence that people were living in the Americas earlier than the once widely accepted date of 13,000 years ago, based on bones from the so-called Clovis culture in the southwestern United States. Read more

South Carolina's request for Federal Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance Loan Programs has been granted. via Morning News

Two former South Carolina women's basketball players are facing additional theft charges.

Authorities told The (Columbia) State they have linked 18-year-old Jasmine Payne and 19-year-old Ashlie Billingslea to two more thefts at a university gym.

Arrest warrants accuse the women of taking money and credit and debit cards from people at the Blatt P.E. Center.

Authorities say they freshmen guards used the stolen cards to buy merchandise.

The women also face charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Read more

State officials said a request to have nine counties, including Berkeley, declared federal disaster areas after the March 15 storms and tornadoes has been denied. via Post and Courier

A state Senate investigation into the Highway Patrol gets underway today. The investigation was prompted by evidence of troopers mistreating motorists. via Post and Courier

Having a defibrillator at home can help a heart attack survivor live through a second crisis, but so can CPR and at a much lower cost. via MassLive.com

Governor Mark Sanford wants a member of his security detail to be reassigned after the emergence of a video showing the former state trooper punching a suspect in the face. via WIS-TV Columbia

All six of South Carolina's congressmen are running for re-election this year, and all six will face challengers.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham also is up for re-election and will face challengers in both the Republican primary and the general election.

Filing for this year's elections ended Sunday.

Graham is seeking his second term. He will face Buddy Witherspoon in the June 10 Republican primary. Democrats Michael Cone and Bob Conley also are running. The general election is Nov. 4 Read more

Five years ago, Gov. Mark Sanford directed me to work with legislators to propose an alternative sentencing bill. via The Post and Courier

“I was through with journalism to be honest. I was really disillusioned with the churn of it”

How did a burnt-out crime reporter from South Carolina turn into the scourge of secretive, high-spending MPs? Heather Brooke explains her mission to Patrick Barkham Freedom of information campaigner Heather ... via Guardian Unlimited

Governor Mark Sanford has scheduled a news conference to announce his decision about a requirement the state issue new driver's licenses that meet federal security demands.

Monday is the deadline for asking for an extension to the Real ID law.

Without the extension, anyone with a South Carolina license would have to go through extra security checks to enter a federal building or board a plane after May 11.

Homeland Security pushed for a new law called Real ID to make driver's licenses more secure following the 9/11 terror attacks. Read more

State Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell says he wants to get to the bottom of recent troubles plaguing South Carolina's Highway Patrol. via WCIV

“We still have a long way to go to transform the economy into one that's generating a lot of high-paying jobs.”

South Carolina's per capita income was among the lowest and slowest-growing states in the nation last year, according to a federal report released Wednesday.

Income from wages, pensions, stock gains and other sources was $31,013 when averaged for South Carolina's 4.4 million men, women and children, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The state's per capita income was the fourth lowest in the nation, behind only Arkansas, West Virginia and Mississippi. In 2006, South Carolina ranked 46th -- or sixth-worst -- among the states and the District of Columbia. Read more