INSIDER
At DNC, Gabrielle Giffords joins survivors of gun violence and families of those killed in shootings
Read full article: At DNC, Gabrielle Giffords joins survivors of gun violence and families of those killed in shootingsSurvivors and family members of victims of gun violence gave a powerful attestation at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday to the ways shootings impacted their lives and spurred them to advocacy.
Debby meandering near coastal Georgia and South Carolina, bringing a prolonged period of catastrophic flooding
Read full article: Debby meandering near coastal Georgia and South Carolina, bringing a prolonged period of catastrophic floodingAfter moving ashore Florida’s Big Bend yesterday around daybreak as a Category 1 hurricane, Debby has crept through north Florida and southeast Georgia slower than most of us can run.
The Latest: Tropical Storm Debby churns off the US Southeast
Read full article: The Latest: Tropical Storm Debby churns off the US SoutheastThe mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, says the peninsula that makes up much of the city's historic downtown will remain closed Tuesday as Tropical Storm Debby spins nearby.
Tropical Storm Debby drenches Southeast with rain, high water as it drifts along the Atlantic coast
Read full article: Tropical Storm Debby drenches Southeast with rain, high water as it drifts along the Atlantic coastTropical Storm Debby has drenched coastal cities in Georgia and South Carolina and is not finished bringing heavy rain to the eastern U.S. Debby was centered just east of Savannah on Tuesday afternoon.
Ship at full throttle in harbor causes major South Carolina bridge to close until it passes safely
Read full article: Ship at full throttle in harbor causes major South Carolina bridge to close until it passes safelyAuthorities say a large cargo ship lost control of its engines and went nearly full throttle through a South Carolina harbor, prompting the closure of one of the busiest bridges in the state.
NAACP fund seeks to close Black voter registration and turnout gaps ahead of the November election
Read full article: NAACP fund seeks to close Black voter registration and turnout gaps ahead of the November electionThe NAACP is announcing that nonprofits engaged in a variety of voter-engagement efforts can apply for grant funding that helps local organizations register voters, boost turnout and guard against minority disenfranchisement.
West Virginia could become the 12th state to ban smoking in cars with kids present
Read full article: West Virginia could become the 12th state to ban smoking in cars with kids presentWest Virginia could become the 12th state to ban smoking in vehicles with children present under a bill that has won final legislative passage.
Virginia bank delays plans to auction land at resort owned by West Virginia governor's family
Read full article: Virginia bank delays plans to auction land at resort owned by West Virginia governor's familyA Virginia bank says it will delay plans to auction off land at West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s posh resort in an attempt to recover more than $300 million on defaulted business loans by the governor’s family.
Bill decriminalizing drug test strips in opioid-devastated West Virginia heads to governor
Read full article: Bill decriminalizing drug test strips in opioid-devastated West Virginia heads to governorA bill that would decriminalize all strips used to test drugs for deadly substances now goes to West Virginia's governor.
Holiday travel weather: Storm drenches Florida and causes floods in South Carolina as it moves up East Coast
Read full article: Holiday travel weather: Storm drenches Florida and causes floods in South Carolina as it moves up East CoastA late-year storm has unleashed heavy rain and gusty winds as it barrels up the East Coast.
West Virginia places anti-abortion pregnancy center coalition at the helm of $1M grant program
Read full article: West Virginia places anti-abortion pregnancy center coalition at the helm of $1M grant programA West Virginia coalition that helps support a network of anti-abortion pregnancy centers in the state is receiving $1 million to distribute to organizations committed to encouraging people not to end their pregnancies.
Communities across Appalachia band together for first-ever 13-state Narcan distribution event
Read full article: Communities across Appalachia band together for first-ever 13-state Narcan distribution eventAn effort to destigmatize the use of overdose reversal drugs that started as a pilot in two West Virginia counties has expanded to all thirteen states in Appalachia this year.
Idalia emerges over Atlantic waters; coastal flooding continues, tropics not slowing down
Read full article: Idalia emerges over Atlantic waters; coastal flooding continues, tropics not slowing downIdalia quickly moved back into the Atlantic off the coast of Myrtle Beach overnight, but not before delivering major coastal flooding to parts of the Palmetto State, including in downtown Charleston where floodwaters reached nearly 3.5 feet, the fifth highest water level observed at a tidal gauge with records going back 100 years.
Supermoon could team up with Hurricane Idalia to raise tides higher just as the storm makes landfall
Read full article: Supermoon could team up with Hurricane Idalia to raise tides higher just as the storm makes landfallA rare blue supermoon could be playing a role in worsening the impact of Hurricane Idalia as the storm lashes Florida's west coast.
West Virginia's capital officials reject abortion provider's proposal to start syringe service
Read full article: West Virginia's capital officials reject abortion provider's proposal to start syringe serviceCity councilors in West Virginia’s capital city have voted against a proposal from the state’s long-time abortion provider to start a syringe service program in one of the country’s most opioid-devastated areas.
As clinics pivot post-Roe, battle rages over syringe service in opioid-ravaged West Virginia
Read full article: As clinics pivot post-Roe, battle rages over syringe service in opioid-ravaged West VirginiaStaff at Women’s Health Center of West Virginia know what it’s like to provide controversial health services government officials have sought to restrict.
Effort to find 2 children lost in a Pennsylvania flash flood may soon pivot to an underwater search
Read full article: Effort to find 2 children lost in a Pennsylvania flash flood may soon pivot to an underwater searchAuthorities searching for two young siblings who were swept away from their car during flash flooding in the Philadelphia suburbs over the weekend say they haven't been found.
For WVa. abortion protester, charges dropped with conditions
Read full article: For WVa. abortion protester, charges dropped with conditionsA protester arrested for disrupting West Virginia lawmakers as they moved to ban abortion last September will see all charges dropped against her — if she stays out of trouble for the next six months.
San Diego State tops Charleston 63-57 in NCAA tourney
Read full article: San Diego State tops Charleston 63-57 in NCAA tourneyMatt Bradley scored 17 points, including two free throws in the final minute, and No. 5 seed San Diego State held on to beat 12th-seeded College of Charleston 63-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
WV House OKs transgender care ban mental health exemption
Read full article: WV House OKs transgender care ban mental health exemptionWest Virginia’s Republican supermajority House of Delegates swiftly OK’d a proposal to add mental health exemptions to a bill that would ban certain health care for transgender youth.
West Virginia transgender sports ban halted during appeal
Read full article: West Virginia transgender sports ban halted during appealA federal appeals panel has ruled that West Virginia transgender athletes can compete in female school sports while an appeal is heard on a state law banning their participation.
W.Va. bills pass on carbon sequestration, hydrogen hubs
Read full article: W.Va. bills pass on carbon sequestration, hydrogen hubsTwo bills that would make it easier for hydrogen hubs and underground carbon sequestration projects to come to historically coal-dependent West Virginia are headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice.
Purdue at No. 1, Charleston ranked for 1st time in 20 years
Read full article: Purdue at No. 1, Charleston ranked for 1st time in 20 yearsPurdue solidified its No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll following UConn’s first loss of the season while No. 23 Charleston moved into the rankings for the first time in 20 years.
Deep freeze breaks pipes, creates water crisis across South
Read full article: Deep freeze breaks pipes, creates water crisis across SouthDays of freezing temperatures in Deep South areas that usually freeze for only hours are threatening dozens of water systems as burst pipes leak millions of gallons of water.
West Virginia's opioid crisis transcends partisan politics
Read full article: West Virginia's opioid crisis transcends partisan politicsWest Virginia's opioid crisis is transcending partisan politics as city council candidates from three different parties tackle the issue in the capital of Charleston.
Judge rules against required coverage of HIV prevention drug
Read full article: Judge rules against required coverage of HIV prevention drugA federal judge in Texas has ruled that required coverage of an HIV prevention drug under the Affordable Care Act violates a Texas employer’s religious beliefs and undercut the broader system that determines which preventive drugs are covered in the U.S. The ruling was handed down Wednesday by Fort Worth-based U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, who ruled in 2018 that the entire ACA is invalid.
Courts block abortion bans in Wyoming, North Dakota
Read full article: Courts block abortion bans in Wyoming, North DakotaAbortion bans set to take effect this week in Wyoming and North Dakota were temporarily blocked Wednesday by judges in those states amid lawsuits arguing that the bans violate their state constitutions.
Anti-abortion centers to grow, wield more influence post-Roe
Read full article: Anti-abortion centers to grow, wield more influence post-RoeHundreds of so-called crisis pregnancy centers are located across every state in the U.S. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that states can make abortion illegal, experts say these centers are likely to redouble their efforts to persuade women not to end their pregnancies.
Opioid fight needs new strategy, Cabinet leadership: report
Read full article: Opioid fight needs new strategy, Cabinet leadership: reportA bipartisan report from a congressional commission says the U.S. needs Cabinet-level leadership and a new multipronged strategy to counter its festering overdose epidemic.
Cruise ship changes course after US judge orders seizure
Read full article: Cruise ship changes course after US judge orders seizureA cruise ship with hundreds of passengers has diverted to the Bahamas after a U.S. judge granted an order to seize the vessel as part of a lawsuit over $4 million in unpaid fuel.
Marchers compare deadly coal battle to Manchin's wage stance
Read full article: Marchers compare deadly coal battle to Manchin's wage stanceA grassroots group is using the centennial of a deadly fight to organize West Virginia coal miners to urge Sen. Joe Manchin to support higher wages and better voting protections.
Biden picks ex-West Virginia health official as drug czar
Read full article: Biden picks ex-West Virginia health official as drug czarPresident Joe Biden is nominating West Virginia’s former health commissioner as the nation’s top anti-drug official, tapping a doctor who served on the front lines of the nation’s opioid epidemic.
Hundreds protest Manchin's opposition to voting law overhaul
Read full article: Hundreds protest Manchin's opposition to voting law overhaulHundreds of demonstrators outraged with Sen. Joe Manchin’s opposition to a sweeping overhaul of U.S. election law marched through the state’s capital city on Monday evening.
CDC inquiry sought on HIV outbreak in WVa's largest county
Read full article: CDC inquiry sought on HIV outbreak in WVa's largest countyU.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has submitted a congressional inquiry with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding an HIV outbreak in West Virginia’s largest county.
DOJ seeks $3.2M from West Virginia governor's coal companies
Read full article: DOJ seeks $3.2M from West Virginia governor's coal companiesWest Virginia Governor Jim Justice speaks during the State of the State Address in the House Chambers of the West Virginia State Capitol Building in Charleston, W.Va., on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson)CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking $3.2 million in penalties from Appalachian coal mines owned by West Virginia Gov. The U.S. and several states settled and signed a consent decree with the companies in late 2016 to resolve allegations of Clean Water Act violations from Justice-owned mines in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The defendants named in the new filing are Southern Coal Corporation, Premium Coal Company Inc., and Justice Coal of Alabama. A lead attorney for the companies and the governor's office did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Obama speechwriter's memoir 'Grace' to come out in 2022
Read full article: Obama speechwriter's memoir 'Grace' to come out in 2022FILE - President Barack Obama speaks at a service honoring the life of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, one of nine people killed in the shooting at Emanuel AME Church, in Charleston, S.C. on June 26, 2015. Cody Keenan, the White House speechwriter who helped Obama work on his response to the Charleston church massacre, has a book deal. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)NEW YORK – The White House speechwriter who helped President Barack Obama work on his response to the Charleston church massacre in June 2015 has a book deal. “Grace: A President, His Speechwriter, and Ten Days in the Battle for America” will be published in Fall 2022, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media announced Tuesday.
The Latest: ACC postpones Pitt-Boston College men's game
Read full article: The Latest: ACC postpones Pitt-Boston College men's gameThat can mean a positive COVID-19 test, an inconclusive test or potential exposure to someone who tested positive. He was pulled at halftime of Memphis’ game against Brooklyn on Jan. 8 but played the Grizzlies’ next game Jan. 11 against Cleveland. ___The Atlantic Coast Conference announced that Saturday's Pittsburgh-Boston College men’s basketball game has been postponed. The postponement follows a positive COVID-19 test, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the Boston College men’s program. The conference also said Pittsburgh's men's game at Wake Forest scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 7, will move to this Saturday evening.
State lawmaker charged after entering Capitol with rioters
Read full article: State lawmaker charged after entering Capitol with rioters(Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature via AP)CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Republican West Virginia state lawmaker has been federally charged for entering a restricted area of the U.S. Capitol after he livestreamed himself rushing into the building with a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters. He appeared before a federal judge in Huntington, West Virginia, on Friday afternoon after being arrested, news outlets reported. The legislation comes days after Republican Tennessee state Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver attended the demonstrations, which she described as “epic.” It’s unclear if Weaver entered the Capitol. No one in the office of West Virginia Republican House leader Roger Hanshaw responded to an email requesting comment. “Our house!” Evans yells inside Capitol halls.
Charleston weighs wall as seas rise and storms strengthen
Read full article: Charleston weighs wall as seas rise and storms strengthenAs high tide laps against the sea wall tourist walk down the Battery in Charleston, S.C. Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. Others fear the wall will damage wetlands and wildlife, or that poor neighborhoods will be left out of flooding solutions. The barrier is reminiscent of fortifications that colonists built around Charleston 350 years ago to keep out invaders, but the Corps says the new wall is designed to keep out storm surge. The agency's proposal includes a floating breakwater offshore and some nonstructural measures, such as raising homes not situated behind the sea wall. Whether the city builds the wall or not, the process has accelerated the conversation Charleston needs to have about sea level rise, said Winslow Hastie of the Historic Charleston Foundation.
Tentative settlements in WVa veterans' hospital deaths
Read full article: Tentative settlements in WVa veterans' hospital deathsCHARLESTON, W.Va. – Tentative settlements have been reached in several civil lawsuits filed on behalf of the families of veterans who died at a West Virginia hospital where a former nursing assistant admitted to intentionally killing seven people with fatal doses of insulin. The settlements were disclosed by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on Saturday as well as in federal court filings stemming from the deaths of six veterans at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg. Manchin said in a statement that the tentative settlement “is further evidence that the VA and the Clarksburg VAMC were negligent in the murders that happened under their watch.”The veterans' deaths involved in the settlements occurred in 2018. Fired hospital nursing assistant Reta Mays pleaded guilty in July to intentionally killing seven patients with wrongful insulin injections. Mays admitted at a plea hearing to purposely killing the veterans, injecting them with unprescribed insulin while she worked overnight shifts at the hospital in northern West Virginia between 2017 and 2018.
Former coal CEO Robert Murray files for black lung benefits
Read full article: Former coal CEO Robert Murray files for black lung benefitsCHARLESTON, W.Va. – Former coal CEO Robert E. Murray, who has fought federal regulations on the industry, has filed an application with the U.S. Department of Labor for black lung benefits, according to a published report. Murray declined to speak on the record with the news outlets, but said he has black lung from working in underground mines and is entitled to benefits. He also disputed that he fought regulations to stop black lung and threatened to file a lawsuit if a story was published indicating he fought federal regulations and benefits, the outlets said. Murray told NPR last year that his lung disease was not caused by working in underground mines. “And it’s not — has anything to do with working in the coal mines, which I did for 17 years underground every day.
Charleston votes to remove statue of slavery advocate
Read full article: Charleston votes to remove statue of slavery advocateA 100-foot monument to former U.S. vice president and slavery advocate John C. Calhoun towers over a downtown square Tuesday, June 23, 2020, in Charleston, S.C. Officials in Charleston voted unanimously Tuesday to remove the statue from a downtown square, the latest in a wave of actions arising from protests against racism and police brutality against African Americans. The resolution authorizes the removal of the statue of the former U.S. vice president and senator from South Carolina from atop a 100-foot (30-meter) monument in downtown Marion Square. Just before 1 a.m. Wednesday, workers using massive cranes began to bring the statue down from its 100-foot (30-meter) monument in downtown Marion Square. In the heart of downtown Charleston, Calhoun towers over a sprawling square frequented by locals and tourists alike that is a frequent venue for festivals and large public events. Several organizers have said recently that they would no longer use the space while the statue remained.
Charleston votes to remove statue of slavery advocate
Read full article: Charleston votes to remove statue of slavery advocateCORRECTS PUBLICATION TO THE GREENVILLE NEWS In this Wednesday, June 17, 2020, photo protesters gather around the statue of John C. Calhoun at Marion Square in Charleston during a demonstration in Charleston, S.C. Mayor John Tecklenburg called for the relocation of the monument honoring Calhoun, a slavery advocate. The move comes days after the fifth anniversary of the slaying of nine Black parishioners in a racist attack at a downtown Charleston church. In the heart of downtown Charleston, Calhoun towers over a sprawling square frequented by locals and tourists alike that is a frequent venue for festivals and large public events. Several organizers have said recently that they would no longer use the space while the statue remained. About 40% of enslaved Africans brought to North America came through the port city of Charleston, which formally apologized in 2018 for its role in the slave trade.
5 years after church massacre, S Carolina protects monuments
Read full article: 5 years after church massacre, S Carolina protects monumentsHe also left behind pictures of himself holding the gun used in the killings, posing at historic Civil War and African American sites and holding the Confederate flag. Outraged political leaders came together and overwhelmingly voted to take down a Confederate flag that flew near a monument to Confederate soldiers on the Statehouse lawn. The law protects all historical monuments and names of buildings, requiring a two-thirds vote from the state General Assembly to make any changes. The president of the University of South Carolina wants lawmakers to let the school remove the name of J. Marion Sims from a women's dorm. The time has come to take down the monuments that honor the evil that was done in the name of Charleston, in the name of South Carolina," Rivers said Tuesday at the foot of Calhoun's statue.
Tropical Storm Bertha forms off the South Carolina coast
Read full article: Tropical Storm Bertha forms off the South Carolina coastPublished: May 27, 2020, 8:46 am Updated: May 27, 2020, 8:58 amMIAMI Tropical Storm Bertha has formed off the coast of South Carolina, becoming the second named storm before the official start of this years Atlantic hurricane season. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says a tropical storm warning has been issued Wednesday morning for South Carolinas coast and the storm was expected to bring heavy rainfall. Berthas maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph but its expected to weaken to a tropical depression after moving inland. The storm is centered about 30 miles east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and is moving northwest near 9 mph.
10 Things to Know for Today
Read full article: 10 Things to Know for TodayBERNIE SANDERS TAKES HITS AS FRONT-RUNNER Democrats unleash a roaring assault against the Vermont senator, but moderates did little to draw separation among themselves, a dynamic that has so far only benefited Sanders. SOUTH KOREAN VIRUS CASES JUMP AGAIN The majority of the nearly 300 new cases, including a 23-year-old American soldier who was based in Camp Carroll, are in the hard-hit Daegu area. WHAT EXPERTS EXPECT WITH VIRUS OUTBREAK Scientists can't tell yet just how deadly the new respiratory virus that's spreading the globe really is, but they do expect a steep learning curve for countries not already hit. GLOBAL SHARES CONTINUE SLIDE World markets fall on growing fears that a new virus' spread may be unstoppable, hurting global growth considerably. WHERE MEXICO’S DRUG WAR HAS SPREAD Gangland killings have shifted to the conservative industrial heartland state of Guanajuato, where booming foreign investment continues even as the area becomes Mexico’s most violent.
MIT: Hackers could alter ballots in widely used voting app
Read full article: MIT: Hackers could alter ballots in widely used voting appThe analysis of the Voatz app, which has mostly been used for absentee voters and overseas military personnel, found that attackers could “alter, stop or expose how an individual has voted.”Voting security experts have long argued that online voting is dangerously insecure. Although few voters are expected to cast ballots on such apps in the coming election, the report casts a harsh light on the looming proposition of online voting. In 2018, Alaska explored using an online voting system but shuttered the program because of security concerns. To some experts, a study finding holes in a smartphone voting app wasn't a shock. The app also was used in the 2016 Massachusetts Democratic Convention and the 2016 Utah Republican Convention.
South Carolina boy drives 200 miles to live with stranger he met on Snapchat
Read full article: South Carolina boy drives 200 miles to live with stranger he met on SnapchatAn 11-year-old South Carolina boy drove his brother's car 200 miles to meet a man he met on Snapchat. (CNN) - An 11-year-old boy drove 200 miles across South Carolina to meet a stranger he knew only on Snapchat, the Charleston Police Department said. The child drove from the northwest town of Simpsonville to Charleston. He told the officer early Monday morning he had taken his brother's car to go to Charleston where he wanted to live with "an unknown male he met on Snapchat," police said. Police have launched an investigation into the unknown male, Charleston spokesman Charles Francis told CNN affiliate WCSC.
Gators, Hurricanes to participate in 2019 Charleston Classic
Read full article: Gators, Hurricanes to participate in 2019 Charleston ClassicCHARLESTON, S.C. – Florida and Miami will participate in the Charleston Classic next season, the schools announced Thursday. Joining the Gators and Hurricanes will be Connecticut, Missouri State, Penn State, Saint Joseph's, Towson and Xavier. The Hurricanes won the 2014 tournament the last time they traveled to Charleston. Previous tournament winners include Temple last year, Villanova in 2016 and Virginia in 2015. Fans can save up to $25 on discounted tickets by signing up on the tournament's website between now and Nov. 25.