Free Republic

COLUMBIA, S.C. Busy in Nevada before Saturday’s caucus vote, former Vice President Joe Biden is sending one of his top surrogates down to South Carolina less than two weeks ahead of the state’s Democratic presidential primary. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who in 2004 ran for president as the Democratic nominee, will join Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and Biden’s senior campaign advisor Symone Sanders on Biden’s “Soul of the Nation” bus tour through the state.

CHARLESTON, S.C. - His message is uninspiring. His ground game is flawed. After Iowa and New Hampshire, they’re no longer convinced he can beat Donald Trump. Interviews with two dozen South Carolina lawmakers, consultants and voters here suggests there are deep cracks in Joe Biden’s firewall state, where his campaign expects to turn his misfortunes around with a robust victory that highlights his broad-based support - particularly among African Americans. **SNIP** But his advantage has gradually eroded. In a state where African Americans cast 61 percent of the primary vote in 2016, a February Quinnipiac poll showed Biden's support among...

Former Vice President Joe Biden's lead shrank in his firewall state of South Carolina, though he still holds an 8-point edge, according to an East Carolina University (ECU) poll released Friday. Biden gets the support of 28 percent of likely South Carolina primary voters, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) with 20 percent and businessman Tom Steyer with 14 percent. No other candidate breaks double digits in the poll ahead of the Feb. 29 primary in the Palmetto State. The poll comes as Biden leans on South Carolina to reverse his fortunes after fourth- and fifth-place showings in Iowa and...

The Supreme Court will allow a lawsuit to move forward against Flint, Mich., officials over their role in the city's public health crisis following its decision to switch water sources in 2014. The court said on Tuesday it would not hear an appeal from city officials after lower courts denied their efforts to have the case dismissed. After the city's decision to change water sources from Lake Huron to the Flint River, which had been widely considered to be contaminated, Flint residents reported widespread cases of hair loss, skin rashes, Legionnaire's disease and lead poisoning. Twelve people died from Legionnaire's...

Preparing an epic cheesecake with flavors to spare, Brenda Watts of Gaffney, S.C. took home top honors (snip) For the ingenuity behind her submission — Crumble Carrot Cake Caramel Cheesecake — Brenda will take home the top prize, a KitchenAid® Metallic Series 5-Qt. Stand Mixer in Satin Copper, with an estimated retail value of $629.95. (snip) Attesting to the growing popularity of authentic animal fats, this year’s #LardLovers contest attracted a record number of entries. In November, Coast issued a call for any unique, unpublished recipe that uses lard. All submissions were posted on the Coast Packing website, accompanied by...

Joe Biden is counting on his firewall of support in South Carolina to help him win the 2020 presidential nomination. But Democrats are warning that if the former vice president doesn't perform well in Iowa and New Hampshire, his lead in South Carolina could be in jeopardy. [cut] "Savvy black voters will reassess their options," said Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist who served as a campaign aide to 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. "Every candidate will have to remake their case to, and reaffirm their policy prescriptions for, the African American community — Biden included." Another strategist was more direct:...

Elizabeth Warren may be surging in the polls, but you wouldn’t know it by the size of the crowd that heard her speak on Friday. The senator from Massachusetts spoke at a sparsely attended environmental forum in Orangeburg, South Carolina, on Friday. The auditorium where the event was held appeared as if it could hold hundreds of spectators, but there were no more than a few dozen who could be seen watching the event. **SNIP** Most of the Democratic candidates in the race skipped the event. When asked if it was wrong for the Democratic Party not to stage an...

President Donald Trump will join South Carolina’s U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris when he receives the Bipartisan Justice Award on Friday ahead of his remarks at Benedict College, an historic black college in Columbia. A White House official said Friday that Trump will receive the Bipartisan Justice Award, “the highest honor given yearly to a public servant who demonstrated the ability to work across the aisle to achieve meaningful progress reforming” the federal criminal justice system. The award - presented to Trump by the 20/20 Bipartisan Justice Center, the organization in charge of this week’s...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WYFF) – A pastor who pleaded guilty to child sex charges will spend the next decade in prison. The victim says she became pregnant twice by 32-year-old Phillip Buckson and had abortions to terminate the pregnancies. According to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office, Buckson, pleaded guilty to this week to two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor 11 to 14 years old in Spartanburg County. He was sentenced to 20 years, suspended to 10 years and 5 years of probation, must register as a sex offender, and can have no contact with the victim....

South Carolina hospitals are using a loophole in state law to scoop millions of dollars a year from the pockets of the poorest of patients. It mostly takes place outside the courts and the public eye. A law originally written to help state and local governments collect debts is being used to seize tax refunds from people with past-due medical bills. The S.C. Department of Revenue does the legwork, and the cash flows straight into the coffers of some of the region’s largest health care companies. The payoff is huge. Together, health organizations took at least $92.9 million in more...

Joe Biden increases his lead in the Palmetto State, as a growing number of South Carolina Democratic primary voters want a candidate who can defeat President Trump. The former vice president is ahead by 29 points, according to a Fox News Poll. That’s up from a 21-point lead in July. Biden captures 41 percent support among Democratic primary voters (+6 points since July), Elizabeth Warren trails with 12 percent (+7), and Bernie Sanders gets 10 percent (-4).

COLUMBIA — He died with no family claiming him, but Petty Officer 3rd Class James Miske was surrounded by hundreds of people Friday at Fort Jackson National Cemetery where he would be buried. Miske, 75, was a Vietnam War veteran who served in the Navy from 1965 to 1967. He received a National Defense Service Medal and a Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Star, according to Caughman-Harman Funeral Home in Lexington, which handled the arrangements. Along with John Steubinger, George Shaw, Danny Ballentyn, Joseph Williams and now Miske — this is the fifth funeral of an unclaimed veteran that Pastor...

WSPA) - It's one of the most powerful jobs in the state, but before anyone becomes a South Carolina judge they're judged by a group of private citizens you've likely never heard of. Right now, there are official citizens committes with the power to make or break any judge's career. They use confidential surveys and private interviews to decide whether someone is the right fit for a black robe. Sometimes that means even a sitting judge can be found "unqualified" for the job, not because they're unfair, inexperienced or unfamiliar with the law, but because someone the judge can never...

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- With one week left before North Carolina teachers march in downtown Raleigh, the state teachers union has laid out its five demands for state lawmakers. - More support staff - Medicaid expansion - $15 minimum wage - Reinstate retirement health benefits - Restore advanced degree compensation **SNIP** "Even though we are young, we are certainly aware of our need to plan for retirement," Wing said. "And if these benefits are cut, the future teachers will either change careers or look to teach in other states." **SNIP** "The far-left NCAE has changed the goalposts year after year,"...

Missing University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson has died, the school confirmed Saturday morning. USC President Harris Pastides released a statement about Josephson’s death, saying, “Times like these leave me searching for words of wisdom and comfort.” “Our prayers are with the family and friends of Samantha Josephson following the devastating news of her death,” Pastides wrote. “It has been a difficult week for our extended Carolina family. The loss of a student is never easy but this has been a particularly painful few days as we have experienced loss on several of our campuses. As a family, let’s...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday for scratching a vote to condemn anti-Semitism, saying it was embarrassing that such a move had proved too controversial for Democrats. “Apparently even non-binding symbolism is too controversial within their own caucus,” Mr. McConnell said as he opened the Senate floor. He specifically called out “the speaker’s new far-left Democratic majority” as the hurdle to condemning anti-Semitism. Mrs. Pelosi and her top lieutenants had been poised to hold a vote Wednesday on a resolution written in the wake of controversial comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar, who suggested lawmakers...

Hate groups at all time high in the Carolinas The new "hate map" created by the Southern Poverty Law Center tracks various organizations like the KKK and Neo-Nazis all currently operating in our area.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - S.C. senators have revived a proposal to bring back the electric chair for the state’s death row executions, as well as add firing squads as an execution option. The proposal passed the state Senate by a 26-13 vote Wednesday, split mostly along party lines. It now heads to the S.C. House, where a similar proposal died last year. Backed by Senate Republicans, the bill is an attempt to address the S.C. Corrections Department’s inability to carry out executions because it does not have the chemicals needed for lethal injections. Drug companies won’t sell the state the chemicals,...

Netflix has canceled plans to produce an upcoming series titled “OBX” in North Carolina after lingering concerns about the state’s trans bathroom law, a person familiar with the matter told TheWrap Friday. The network instead plans to host production in neighboring South Carolina, in a decision that was described as “final.” The series has not been officially announced by Netflix and the company declined to comment on the matter. TheWrap has confirmed that 10 episodes of the show have already been picked up by the network and shooting is expected to begin in the spring. The show is a creation...

The curious case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn gets even more curious as Robert Mueller doesn’t deliver the FBI notes (FD-302) from the January 2017 interview of Flynn, as requested by Judge Emmet Sullivan, and instead submits notes from an internal July 19th, 2017, interview with FBI agent Peter Strzok. The filing by the special counsel team (full pdf below) is a must read. The special counsel begins their filing by criticizing the approach taken by the Flynn defense in the defense sentencing memo; and attempts to validate/justify their charges against the accused. The details in their response...