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Donald Trump unexpectedly announced Friday that he would skip a major Republican gathering to be held later in the day in South Carolina due to an unidentified “significant business transaction.” Trump was one of 11 GOP presidential candidates slated to speak at the Heritage Action Presidential Forum at an arena in Greenville. The event is co-sponsored by two of the biggest names in South Carolina GOP politics: Gov. Nikki Haley and former Sen. Jim DeMint. Trump’s campaign said his undisclosed transaction “was expected to close Thursday” but a delay made him unable to attend. “He sends his regrets,” the campaign...

Some of the republican candidates for President are heading to Greenville Friday for the “Take Back America” forum. The event at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena is hosted by Governor Nikki Haley, former South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint and Heritage Action CEO Mike Needham. It starts at 4pm and lasts about 6 hours. The list includes: Donald J. Trump Dr. Ben Carson Gov. Jeb Bush Sen. Ted Cruz Sen. Marco Rubio Carly Fiorina Gov. Scott Walker Gov. Chris Christie Dr. Rand Paul Sen. Rick Santorum Gov. Bobby Jindal This isn’t a debate. The candidates will focus on policy issues and...

During Wednesday’s Republican debate, Lindsey Graham said that in order to deal with ISIS, we need to assemble a coalition, go into Syria, and “kill every one of these bastards that we can find.” GRAHAM: We’re going to need a regional army. The Turks, the Jordanians, the Saudis, the Egyptians. Get their armies up together, and 90-percent of it will be them. They’re going to pay for this war because we payed for the last two, but 10-percent will have to be us. We’ll go in on the ground, and we’re going to pull the caliphate up by its roots,...

Adds four state co-chairs and dozens of members to State Leadership TeamHOUSTON, Texas — Today, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced an expansion of his South Carolina Leadership Team, including four additional state co-chairs, as well as dozens of county leaders, activists, and a growing pastors coalition.Sen. Cruz added South Carolina State Representative Wendy Nanney and her husband Register of Deeds Tim Nanney of Greenville, along with business owners and Christian leaders Joe and Gladys Grimaud of Chapin as state co-chairs.“I am honored to have conservative stalwarts Tim and Wendy Nanney and Joe and Gladys Grimaud join as co-chairs of...

In a court order issued Monday, South Carolina Judge Clifton Newman ruled that former North Charleston police officer Michael Slager will continue to be held without bond while he awaits trial on first degree murder charges in the March shooting of Walter Scott, a killing captured on cellphone video. “After careful consideration of all of the evidence presented and the nature and circumstances of the offense, the Court finds that the release of Defendant would constitute an unreasonable danger to the community,” Newman wrote. Attorneys for Slager and Scott’s family spent two days last week debating whether he should be...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is up by double-digits on former secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to a poll released by CBS News on Sunday.The senator is drawing 43 percent support in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus, besting Clinton by 10 points.Sanders is also drawing 52 percent support in New Hampshire, almost doubling Clinton, who sits at 30 percent support in the Granite State.Clinton, however, doubles-up Sanders in South Carolina, drawing 46 percent compared to the senator’s 23 percent.Vice President Biden, who is considering a run for the Democratic presidential nomination, places third in all three...

With Rick Perry Out, the Culling of the GOP Herd Begins—Here’s Who’s Next By Liz Peek September 13, 2015 5:15 AM /snip Those two are easy to dismiss. Others who should withdraw will likely take more convincing. On the basis of today’s polling, Lindsay Graham is facing ultra-long odds. (A prominent London bookmaker places his chance of winning the nomination at 66 to 1, only slightly worse than John McCain, who isn’t running). A recent survey of GOP primary voters in his home state of South Carolina showed that 78 percent think Graham should drop out of the race –...

COLUMBIA — The state health department suspended the licenses of two of the state’s three abortion clinics Friday, threatening to close them over recordkeeping lapses and improper disposal that Gov. Nikki Haley referred to as “callous treatment of human life.” The Department of Health and Environmental Control suspended Planned Parenthood of South Atlantic in Columbia and Greenville Women’s Clinic in Greenville, for a series of violations of state law. The violations cited at both places include incomplete records, performing an abortion sooner than 60 minutes after an ultrasound and not properly disposing of aborted fetuses. According to manifests, the fetuses...

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin is refocusing his Republican presidential campaign on Iowa and South Carolina, where his early popularity in opinion polls has crumbled with the ascent of Donald J. Trump, and he has taken the unusual step of canceling major speeches in Michigan and California this coming week to spend time in those two crucial states.

Showing no signs of a slowdown heading into the fall, Donald Trump leads the Republican Presidential field in each of the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Trump's lead in New Hampshire is especially large and he's up double-digits in South Carolina. In Iowa, it's become a two-man field for the moment, as Dr. Ben Carson is closer to Trump than anyone in any state, and together the two political newcomers have distanced themselves from the rest of the pack.

On the third anniversary of the Benghazi terrorist attack, emails reviewed by Fox News raise significant questions about US government support for the secret shipment of weapons to the Libyan opposition.During the Spring of 2011, as the Obama administration ramped up efforts to topple the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, a licensed American arms dealer, Marc Turi, his business partner formerly with the CIA, senior US military officials in Europe and Africa as well as a former staffer for republican Senator John McCain considered logistics for arming the rebels, according to the emails exclusively obtained by Fox Business and Fox News....

GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump will never win the White House because he is playing to aging white voters and turning off blacks and Hispanics, U.S. Sen. John McCain said. “I don’t think he could win the White House because we have to attract voters,” McCain said on Herald Radio’s “Morning Meeting” show yesterday. “We have an aging white population in America and a growing Hispanic and African-American population and we have to reach out to them.”

Former Atlanta resident Nancy Mace, the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, is back in her home state and working for presidential candidate Donald Trump. Mace, a mother of two who has been working in real estate since running against US Sen. Lindsey Graham last year, made the announcement via Facebook. “It is clearer today than ever, Americans want a leader who is unafraid to ‘tell it like it is.’ And let’s face it, Mr. Trump says what everyone else is thinking, and has the courage to take a stand when others cave to the establishment’s every whim. And...

<p>South Carolina's public health agency suspended the licenses of two of the state's three abortion clinics Friday and threatened to close them — actions that an official at one of the centers called "extreme."</p> <p>The Department of Health and Environmental Control issued suspension orders for Planned Parenthood's Columbia clinic and the Greenville Women's Clinic, citing violations found during recent inspections. The violations cited at both places include incomplete records, performing an abortion sooner than 60 minutes after an ultrasound and not properly disposing of aborted fetuses. According to manifests, the fetuses were sterilized with steam and taken to a landfill, rather than incinerated or buried as required by law.</p>

Senator Lindsey Graham: we need to bring in our “fair share” of Syrian Muslims Posted by Ann Corcoran on September 11, 2015 If you are looking for answers about how South Carolina has become a target for refugee resettlement where the Governor (Nikki Haley) and even Rep. Trey Gowdy*** are obviously reluctant to stand up and question the choice of the state as fresh territory for third world resettlement (colonization!), look no further than the senior senator of the Palmetto State. Do Haley and Gowdy jump when Lindsey says jump? Editor’s note: There will be hundreds of articles in the...

Ted Cruz says his hard-line strategy to defund Planned Parenthood and risk a government shutdown is about doing the “right thing” and following through on Republicans' vows to conservative voters. But many of his Republican colleagues say it’s really all about Cruz. Even some of his closest allies from past battles— fellow tried and true tea party Republicans like Sen. Mike Lee of Utah — aren’t exactly jumping to join Cruz’s latest crusade. Same goes for Cruz’s onetime allies-turned-presidential rivals, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky. As the Texas Republican prepares for a potentially decisive month...

full title: New South Carolina Poll – Trump Dominates With 37% – While 78% Of Voters Telling Lindsey Graham: “Drop Out”… South Carolina is the home state of candidate Lindsey Graham where 8 in 10 voters are asking him to drop out of the race and only 3% support his presidential bid. Meanwhile the GOPe and the Salem Media network keep pushing Ben Carson in their efforts to fracture the Trump vote and create space for Jeb Bush to bounce back. (Via PPP) The campaign has generally hurt Graham’s image in the state. When we polled South Carolina in February,...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday said he would be open to the United States accepting more refugees from Syria, after a photo of a drowned three-year-old Syrian boy sparked international outrage last week. "Sure. Absolutely," Graham told reporters Tuesday evening when asked whether he would back allowing more Syrian refugees to come to the United States.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said that while it was too bad Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis was put in jail over her refusal to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, people have to abide by the Supreme Court's ruling on the matter. "Well, you know, she was released and that was good, and it was too bad that she had to be put in jail, and I'm a very, very strong believer in Christianity and religion, but I will say that this was not the right job for her," Mr. Trump said on Tuesday evening's "The O'Reilly Factor" on...

The Bridgegate scandal has yet to take down New Jersey governor Chris Christie (though it probably hasn't helped his 2016 chances), but in an unexpected twist, it indirectly sparked the resignation of a handful of top United Airlines executives. Jeff Smisek, chairman and chief executive, Nene Foxhall, executive vice president for communications and government affairs, and Mark R. Anderson, senior vice president for corporate and government affairs, stepped down on Tuesday amid a federal corruption probe into whether the airline launched an unprofitable Newark to Columbia, South Carolina, flight solely for the benefit of the Port Authority of New York...