New Horizons passes by Pluto after 9 years of flight NASA's New Horizons research vessel hit an important milestone today as it passed by Pluto following a nine year journey that took the craft more than 3 billion miles from Earth,
On Tuesday, a chapter in South Carolina history began winding down when Dylann Roof was formally indicted on 13 charges related to the Charleston church shooting, at the same time that the S.C. Senate entered the final throes of voting over the removal of the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds.
With her crowning on Saturday as Miss South Carolina, Daja Dial pledged to lead the state into a new era of progress starting with support of the Confederate flag’s removal from Statehouse grounds, and in turn received approval from viewers and fellow competitors alike.
It is time again for South Carolina Black Pride Week which, starting Wednesday, will celebrate the African-American LGBT community through a myriad of family-friendly, political and entertainment events for “the most vulnerable and underserved in our community,” as described on the SC Black Pride website.
A public viewing will be held for the late Senator Clementa Pinckney on Wednesday in the South Carolina Statehouse, SCE&G announced that it had donated $100,000 to the Mother Emmanuel AME Church, and following the controversy around the Confederate battle flag in front of the South Carolina Statehouse this week, petitioners have begun to rally to remove a similar symbol found on the Mississippi state flag.
On Tuesday, as the S.C. General Assembly begins discussions over the Confederate battle flag on the Statehouse grounds, the words "Take it down!" echoed around the capitol, as large crowds gathered to rally both for and against its removal.
As a violent cloudburst subsided over the capital of the Palmetto State on Monday afternoon, Governor Nikki Haley held a press conference calling for the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina Statehouse grounds.
On Thursday morning, the FBI released information on the man they suspect to have carried out a shooting on June 17 at a historic African-American church in Charleston that left nine dead and left another three in the hospital.
The Richland County Sherrif’s Department were called to respond to a house on Pelican Drive in the middle of the day after a man was shot multiple times in front yard, the USC director of the former Center for Manufacturing and Technology, pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining $336,000 in federal grant money last Friday, and the Oliver Gospel Mission has begun the task of providing heat relief to the homeless.
As flocks of incoming freshmen flooded campus on Monday and Tuesday for the first of 13 orientation sessions, returning students and graduates were reminded of their own experiences as first-years.
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has been campaigning across South Carolina this week, stopping in Lexington on Monday, and planning to stop in Spartanburg and Lexington on Friday.
Summerville High School head football coach John McKissick, 88, has announced that he will be retiring from his job after one of the most impressive careers in football history.
On Tuesday, the National Weather Service called for highs of 100 to 102 in the Columbia, S.C. area, as a heatwave begins to settle in for the week.
Students, faculty and staff grazed for fresher options at the first Healthy Carolina Farmers Market of the summer semester on Tuesday.
Governor's Cup to see route changes, additional races The Governor’s Cup Road Race will undergo a number of changes to its track layout and distances, as well as moving the event to the spring, according to announcements by the Columbia Regional Sports Council and Carolina Marathon Association made Tuesday. Beginning next year in 2016, the race will be held on the weekend after Mother’s Day. The new track layout will “connect major sites in downtown Columbia, as well as across the Congaree River with a finish line located near the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in the Congaree Vista,” according to the announcement. Though the 13.1 half-marathon race will remain the same distance, one of the smaller 8K races will be replaced by a 5K with further plans to add an additional 5K walk and a childrens' race. Officials say that track changes were influenced by where the majority of activities are taking place in Columbia, in an effort to assist with tourism. —James Stewart, News Editor Black bear spotted along I-26 near Chapin A black bear has been spotted multiple times along I-26 in the vicinity of Chapin, according to WLTX. Several people confirmed seeing the bear, including a police officer with most reports citing the area near Columbia Avenue. Although black bears are a common animal along the Eastern seaboard, they are more often found in the upstate, closer to the mountains. In fact, there have been almost no sightings of bears in the Midlands last year. Most black bears weigh about 350 or 250 lbs.
This summer, the University of South Carolina is beginning the process of formally establishing a social contract, in an effort to reinforce the expectations of Carolina students held by the University.
With the launching of USC graduate Frank Scozzafava’s company, Scootaway, last month, students have been able to request ride-share scooters through a smartphone app, providing a favorable alternative to USC’s sweaty shuttle rides and parking woes.
