South Carolina

WALTERBORO, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and son in a case that chronicled the unraveling of a powerful Southern family with tales of privilege, greed and addiction.

The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder at the end of a six-week trial that pulled back the curtain on the once-prominent lawyer’s fall from grace.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — The downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon just off South Carolina’s coast created a spectacle over one of the state’s tourism hubs and drew crowds reacting with a mixture of bewildered gazing, distress and cheering.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump kicked off his 2024 White House bid with stops Saturday in New Hampshire and South Carolina, events in early-voting states marking the first campaign appearances since announcing his latest run more than two months ago.

“Together we will complete the unfinished business of making America great again,” Trump said at an evening event in Columbia to introduce his South Carolina leadership team.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is set to kick off his 2024 White House bid on Saturday with visits to a pair of early-voting states, his first campaign events since announcing his latest run more than two months ago.

Trump will be the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire GOP’s annual meeting before traveling to Columbia, South Carolina, where he is set to introduce his state leadership team. New Hampshire and South Carolina hold two of the party’s first three nominating contests, giving them enormous power in selecting the nominee.

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Twitter-owner Elon Musk said on Friday that he did not have a hand in reinstating rapper Kanye West's account, which was suspended by the micro-blogging site earlier this month for posting anti-Semitic remarks.

The billionaire said Twitter had restored the account of the rapper, now known as Ye, before the completion of the social media platform's $44 billion takeover late on Thursday. "They did not consult with or inform me," Musk said in a tweet.

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Rapper Kanye West's Twitter profile, which was suspended for posting anti-Semitic remarks, appeared to be back up on the platform, a day after billionaire Elon Musk took ownership of the social media company following his $44 billion deal.

The rapper, now known as Ye, was suspended from Twitter and Meta Platforms' (META.O) Instagram last month and the platforms removed some of his online posts that users condemned as anti-Semitic. 

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

SPARTANBURG, South Carolina Oct 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday said he will hold a hearing on electric vehicle batteries and sourcing issues if his party takes control after the November midterm elections.

Graham, who would be Budget Committee chair under GOP control, said the hearing would look at the impact of the shift to EVs on automakers and the oil industry.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Rescuers searched for survivors among the ruins of Florida’s flooded homes from Hurricane Ian while authorities in South Carolina waited for daylight to assess damage from its strike there as the remnants of one of the strongest and costliest hurricanes to ever hit the U.S. continued to push north.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A revived Hurricane Ian set its sights on South Carolina’s coast Friday and the historic city of Charleston, with forecasters predicting a storm surge and floods after the megastorm caused catastrophic damage in Florida and left people trapped in their homes.

With all of South Carolina’s coast under a hurricane warning, a steady stream of vehicles left Charleston on Thursday, many likely heeding officials’ warnings to seek higher ground. Storefronts were sandbagged to ward off high water levels in an area prone to inundation.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ruled that constitutional protections don’t shield U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham from testifying before a special grand jury investigating possible illegal efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia.