Obamacare Enrollment Rising in 2018

More Americans who signed up for Obamacare plans are sticking with them. 

Some 10.6 million people were enrolled in Obamacare in February, up 3% from the same time a year earlier, according to new federal figures released Monday. This comes despite a 3.7% decline in the number of people who signed up for 2018 coverage during open enrollment in the fall.

Those who selected 2018 plans during open enrollment were more likely to complete their enrollment by paying their first month's premiums -- only 9% failed to do so, compared to 15% the prior year.

This year's Obamacare enrollees are also more likely to receive federal subsidies to help pay their premiums. Some 87% of this group qualified for government assistance, compared to 84% who were typically subsidized in 2017.

Average monthly premiums for 2018 jumped 27% -- that came on top of a 21% increase the prior year. The average monthly subsidy for 2018 was $520, compared to $373 a year earlier -- an increase that will likely raise federal spending by more than $17 billion this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated. 

 

The Trump administration called attention to the growing divide between those who are subsidized and those who don't receive assistance. Rising premiums are making it harder for middle class Americans who don't qualify for government assistance to afford coverage on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.

Obamacare's subsidies, however, protect those who qualify from rate hikes. They pay less than 10% of their income for the benchmark silver plan no matter what it costs. But only those who earn less than $48,240 for an individual or $98,400 for a family of four are eligible to receive them. 

The administration looked at average monthly enrollment in 2016 and 2017. Overall, 10% fewer people were covered by Affordable Care Act policies, but that breaks down to a decline of 20% among the unsubsidized and a dip of only 3% among those who receive assistance.

In 2014, the subsidized portion of the individual market was 23% larger than the unsubsidized. That split grew to 61% last year.

Study: Vacation Benefits Vanish Quickly for Most Workers

Taking time off reduces many workers' stress and re-energizes them, but those benefits disappear once they're on the job again, researchers say.

Moreover, many people said they're unable to relax and enjoy their time away from the office at all, according to a new poll of more than 1,500 American adults who work full- or part-time.

When they returned to work after some time off, 68 percent of respondents said they were in a better mood; 66 percent had more energy; and 57 percent reported feeling more motivated and less stressed. The payoff: 58 percent said they were more productive; and 55 percent said they did better work.

But that post-vacation glow apparently faded fast. For 40 percent, it was gone within days, while 24 percent said it vanished as soon as they returned to work.

And some workers apparently never seem to relax: 21 percent said they felt tense or stressed while on vacation; 28 percent ended up working more than planned; and 42 percent dreaded returning to work.

The results of the Work and Well Being Survey were released recently by the American Psychological Association (APA).

"People need time off from work to recover from stress and prevent burnout," said David Ballard, head of the APA's Center for Organizational Excellence.

"But employers shouldn't rely on the occasional vacation to offset a stressful work environment," he added in an APA news release. "Unless they address the organizational factors causing stress and promote ongoing stress-management efforts, the benefits of time off can be fleeting. When stress levels spike again shortly after employees return to work, that's bad for workers and for business. Employers can do better."

Only about four out of 10 respondents said their employer encourages workers to take time off. Sixty-four percent of employees in those companies said their employer also provides sufficient resources to help them manage stress, compared with 18 percent of employees in workplaces where time off is not encouraged.

Overall, 35 percent of respondents said they have chronic work stress, and 41 percent said their employer provides sufficient resources to help them manage it.

What's stressing workers out? The top causes include low salaries (49 percent); lack of opportunity for growth or advancement (46 percent); heavy workload (42 percent); unrealistic job expectations and long hours (39 percent each), the findings showed.

S.C. Two-Cent Gas Tax Now in Effect

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Gasoline prices are up in South Carolina and it has nothing to do with Mideast oil prices, or American production of hurricane threats.

South Carolina gas tax increased 2 cents per gallon Sunday, year two of six planned years of increases to provide more funding for roads and bridges.

South Carolina's gas tax is now 20.75 cents per gallon, one of the lowest in the country. Georgia's tax is 31.6 cents per gallon. North Carolina's is 34.3 cents.

Last July's initial 2-cent hike was South Carolina's first gas tax increase in 30 years.

With Sunday's increase, AAA says South Carolina has the second lowest gas prices in the country, just behind Alabama.

South Carolina Transportation Secretary Christy Hall says the state has a record level of roadwork underway.

Georgia Hands-Free Cell Phone Law Now in Effect

As of July 1, you can no longer handle your cell phone or even put it in your lap while driving in Georgia. 

Of course, you can still talk on your phone but if your vehicle doesn't have a built-in system for calls, you'll need to either put the phone on speaker from the dashboard or the console or possibly use an earpiece.

• More information on the 'hands-free' driving law

You are allowed to press one button to either answer the phone or hang it up but you cannot hold or cradle it in any way.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Safety, here is a brief description of what you cannot do:

• A driver cannot have a phone in their hand or use any part of their body to support their phone.  Drivers can only use their phones to make or receive phone calls by using speakerphone, earpiece, wireless headphone, phone is connected to vehicle or an electronic watch.  GPS navigation devices are allowed.
• Headsets and earpieces can only be worn for communication purposes and not for listening to music or other entertainment.
• A driver may not send or read any text-based communication unless using voice-based communication that automatically converts message to a written text or is being used for navigation or GPS
• A driver may not write, send or read any text messages, e-mails, social media or internet data content
• A driver may not watch a video unless it is for navigation.
• A driver may not record a video (continuously running dash cams are exempt)
• Music streaming apps can be used provided the driver activates and programs them when they are parked.  Drivers cannot touch their phones to do anything to their music apps when they are on the road.  Music streaming apps that include video also are not allowed since drivers cannot watch videos when on the road.  Drivers can listen to and program music streaming apps that are connected to and controlled through their vehicle's radio. 

There are exceptions to the law for utility workers and law enforcement officers. Those exceptions are as follows:

• Reporting a traffic crash, medical emergency, fire, criminal activity or hazardous road conditions.
• An employee or contractor of an utility service provider acting within the scope of their employment while responding to an utility emergency.
• A first responder (law enforcement, fire, EMS) during the performance of their official duties. 
• When in a lawfully parked vehicle—this DOES NOT include vehicles stopped for traffic signals and stop signs on the public roadway.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce to Fight Trump Tariffs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest business group and customarily a close ally of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party, is launching a campaign on Monday to oppose Trump’s trade tariff policies. 

U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, from Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., July 1, 2018. REUTERS/Eric Thayer

With some of America’s tightest trading partners imposing retaliatory measures, Trump’s approach to tariffs has unsettled financial markets and strained relations between the White House and the Chamber. 

The new campaign, detailed first to Reuters, is an aggressive effort by the business lobbying giant. Using a state-by-state analysis, it argues that Trump is risking a global trade war that will hit the wallets of U.S. consumers. 

“The administration is threatening to undermine the economic progress it worked so hard to achieve,” said Chamber President Tom Donohue in a statement to Reuters. “We should seek free and fair trade, but this is just not the way to do it.” 

The Chamber, which has 3 million members, historically has worked closely with Republican presidents and praised Trump for signing business tax cuts in December. But mounting trade tensions have opened a rift with the president. 

Trump has implemented billions of dollars in tariffs targeted at China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union, saying such moves are needed to offset trade imbalances. 

Nations have begun retaliating. On Friday, Canada struck back at U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, vowing to impose punitive measures on $12.6 billion worth of American goods until Washington relents. 

China is expected to impose a new 25-percent tax on soybeans in July. Mexico is adding duties to pork imports. The EU has targeted $3.2 billion in American goods exported to the 28-member bloc, including bourbon and Harley Davidson motorcycles.

Leftist Outsider Wins Presidential Election in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Leftist outsider Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won Mexico’s presidential election handily on Sunday, exit polls showed, setting the stage for a government that will inherit tense relations with Washington and the scrutiny of nervous investors. 

Jose Antonio Meade, the candidate of the ruling centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, conceded defeat to Lopez Obrador, a 64-year-old former Mexico City mayor, within minutes of the polls closing.

Mexicans Vote for New President Following Violent Campaign

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans lined up to vote for a new president on Sunday with the anti-establishment outsider who is tipped to win calling for national reconciliation after a campaign in which dozens of down-ticket candidates were murdered by suspected drug gangs.

Presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador casts his ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Mexico City, Mexico July 1, 2018. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Opinion polls before the election showed a double-digit lead for Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor expected to inject a dose of nationalism into government and sharpen divisions with U.S. President Donald Trump if he wins. 

Lopez Obrador, 64, would be the first leftist president in decades in Mexico, Latin America’s No. 2 economy, if he ousts the ruling centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). 

Runner-up in the 2006 and 2012 elections, he pitched himself as the only man capable of cleaning up a political class whose credibility has been ground down by graft, years of subpar economic growth and soaring crime levels. 

Since the race began late last year, at least 133 politicians have been murdered from all the major parties. The crimes are mostly attributed to gangs trying to influence municipal elections. 

“With all my heart, I want today’s election to take place without violence,” Lopez Obrador said before voting in the south of Mexico City after a campaign marked by mud-slinging between presidential candidates over tit-for-tat graft allegations. 

“As soon as the election is over, we will begin a period of national reconciliation,” said Lopez Obrador, who is known by his initials AMLO, smiling and flashing a victory sign at the polling station where he arrived 40 minutes before it opened. 

Presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gestures after casting his ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Mexico City, Mexico July 1, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Across the country, many people, waiting in the morning chill to vote at schools and community centers, said it was time to give the left a chance, and that traditional parties had failed to stem graft and bloodshed. 

In addition to the political killings, Mexico suffered its most violent year in recent history in 2017, with murders unabated this year. The bloodshed is blamed on drug cartels splintering and branching out into fuel theft and extortion. 

“This is our chance to bring about change in the country,” said Meinardo Perez, 25, an engineer voting for Lopez Obrador, who nonetheless recognized the candidate would struggle to keep all his promises. 

“But we have to start somewhere. We need to upset things,” he added.

Study: Taking Vacations Will Boost Your Career

You’re watching TV and scrolling through Instagram when an advertisement for an idyllic vacation spot appears on the screen. Perhaps it’s a beach utopia, a jungle paradise, a snowy reprieve or a cruise ship filled with laughing, carefree people. Or maybe you’re simply thinking about that last mini excursion you took (has it been two years already?), or contemplating how glorious a staycation would be, allowing you to catch up on your personal life and put in quality time with the family.

You stop for a few blissful seconds and think to yourself, “Wouldn’t that be nice?” You’ve even got plenty of vacation days saved up! The sweetness of it all lingers momentarily before melting away into frenzied visions of work piled up on your desk, a career you can’t afford to put on temporary hold or a boss that you assume would be cranky if you went MIA for a week.

AMERICANS AREN’T TAKING TIME OFF, STUDY SHOWS

Sound familiar? That’s the American norm. A recent study by Project: Time Off discovered that 54 percent of the more than 7,000 employees surveyed ended 2016 with unused vacation time, meaning Americans sacrificed a collective 662 million vacation days that year. Despite this, of the 54 percent who forfeited their deserved time off, 92 percent expressed that vacation was important to them.

Those who don't take time off are 78 to 84 percent less likely to receive a raise or bonus compared to those who do take time away.

“The biggest concern is workload, which is exacerbated by the fact that when you do take time off, you can see the work piling up in real-time on your phone,” explains Katie Denis, senior director at Project: Time Off and author of the study. “Beyond workload, the primary reasons people are skipping vacation show that they are overwhelmed and anxious about the optics of getting away. They feel no one else can do the work, that the pressures of increased responsibility make it harder to leave or that vacation somehow compromises dedication.”

ARE YOU ADDICTED TO WORK?

An additional contributing factor may be the fact that many of us are self-prescribed "work martyrs" who are addicted to our jobs.

“[Some employees] identify so strongly with their work that they are compelled to work all the time,” says Dr. Marika Lindholm, a sociologist who specializes in helping people focus on well-being and self-care. “Increasing efficacy on the job provides feelings of self-worth that they don’t get anywhere else because they are working all the time and it becomes an addictive cycle. It’s up to employers to set the tone by encouraging employees to take time off and, of course, take time off themselves.”

Dr. Lindholm says that signs of work addiction include not “feeling alive or worthy” unless you’re working, losing sight of non-work related passions and hobbies, neglecting self-care rituals like exercising, working through meals and feeling anxious or guilty when you’re not working. Your family and friends may even comment on your increased work load, and your relationships may suffer until a change is made.

NOT TAKING TIME OFF IS HURTING YOUR CAREER AND YOUR HEALTH

Contrary to the internal dialogue playing inside employee's heads, further studies by Project: Time Off indicate that not using PTO does more harm than good in terms of career success. These work martyrs are 23 to 27 percent less likely to receive a promotion, and 78 to 84 percent less likely to receive a raise or bonus compared to those who do take their deserved time away.

“At a certain point, our productivity and energy suffers,” notes Denis. “Work martyrs feel that they are sacrificing their vacation time in service to their jobs, but in reality, they are trading away opportunities to be better for their companies by skipping time off. Time off can be a fantastic way to incite innovation, and bringing the next great idea to your organization is hugely impactful. Great creative breakthroughs don’t happen sitting at a desk.”

Related

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5 Ways to Make Your Vacation Worth It

Letting vacation days fall by the wayside also negatively impacts your health.

“The mental and physical benefits of taking time off work include improved sleep, a better headspace, more clarity and increased creativity,” explains Dr. Kathryn Smerling, a New York City based psychologist. “By taking time off, you’ll find a renewed sense of purpose, more energy to carry out tasks and in general, an overall sense of happiness.”

4 TIPS FOR USING ALL YOUR VACATION DAYS (SANS THE ANXIETY)

It’s one thing to understand that taking time off improves your reputation (and effectiveness) at work, and that it boosts your mental and physical health. But actually claiming those days is another story. Here are a few tips for minimizing the stress around using your hard-earned PTO.

1. Plan your time away. “The single-most effective step any employee can take is to plan their time off in advance and block the calendar,” said Denis. “The details don’t need to be worked out, but if the calendar is not blocked off, it’s dramatically less likely to happen. From there, employees should talk with their managers about their plans. There is a lot of anxiety about making multiple requests up front, but managers who need to plan against company priorities will greatly appreciate the advanced notice.”

Taking an additional day off work before and/or after your vacation to catch up on personal and work-related tasks helps you ease into, and out of, your vacation time.

2. Pad your vacation with an extra day off. Take an additional day off work before and/or after your vacation to catch up on personal and work-related tasks. This not only ensures you utilize an extra day that may otherwise go unused at the end of the year, but also helps you ease into, and out of, your vacation time. “Don’t go straight from the plane to the office” said Dr. Smerling. “Give yourself an extra day to get settled in, organized, relaxed and clear-headed.”

3. Take personal care days. You don’t have to leave the country or the state to claim your vacation day. You don’t even have to leave your house. If your body and mental state is urging you to take some time off, listen.

4. Avoid pileup anxiety by delegating. One of the biggest contributors to not taking vacation days is the fear of work piling up, which is heightened by the assumption that colleagues won’t adequately fill your shoes. “We all like to think that we are irreplaceable and that without us things will fall apart, but it’s unhealthy when we don’t trust co-workers and have trouble sharing or delegating responsibilities,” says Dr. Lindholm. “The desire to have complete control undermines creative and productive collaboration with coworkers, and unwillingness to delegate tasks robs your coworkers or employees opportunities for growth.” When you see that your colleagues are fully capable of covering for you while you’re out of office, you’ll feel more comfortable taking that much-needed time off.

West Point Appoints First African-American Superintendent

June 30 (UPI) -- A black man will lead West Point for the first time in the U.S. Military Academy's 216-year history.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point confirmed Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams as the first black superintendent in the academy's history, Newsweek reported.

Williams, a Virginia native, will officially take charge of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as the 60th superintendent Monday, a West Point release shows.

He is a West Point alum who graduated in 1983 with masters' degrees in leadership development, military art and science, and national security and strategic studies.

Williams most recently served as the Commander for Allied Land Command at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Turkey.

He previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army in Europe and Deputy Commanding General for Support for the 2nd Infantry Division, Republic of Korea. He has also served as Assistant Surgeon General for Warrior Care and Transition, helping veterans transition to civilian life.

Among his decorations and awards are the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, the Parachutist Badge and Presidential Service Badge.

BMW Warns Tariffs Could Cut Jobs in S.C.

BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. tariffs on imported cars could lead BMW  to reduce investment and cut jobs in the United States due to the large number of cars it exports from its South Carolina plant, the German carmaker has warned. 

FILE PHOTO: An overall view of the assembly line where the BMW X4 is made at the BMW manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina March 28, 2014. REUTERS/Chris Keane/File Photo

President Trump’s administration last month launched an investigation into whether auto imports posed a national security threat and Trump has threatened to impose a 20 percent tariff on all imports of EU-assembled cars. 

“The domestic manufacture of automobiles has no apparent correlation with U.S. national security,” BMW wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross this week, adding that imposing duties would not increase U.S. growth and competitiveness. 

The BMW plant in South Carolina is its largest globally and ships more than 70 percent of its annual production to other export markets, the company said. 

Chinese tariffs on U.S. passenger cars, imposed in retaliation for U.S. duties on Chinese goods, have already hiked up the cost of exporting to China, BMW said. Any U.S. tariffs would likely lead to further retaliatory measures from China and the European Union. 

In addition, higher tariffs on components imported to the United States would make other production locations outside the country more competitive. 

“All of these factors would substantially increase the costs of exporting passenger cars to these markets from the United States and deteriorate the market access for BMW in these jurisdictions, potentially leading to strongly reduced export volumes and negative effects on investment and employment in the United States,” BMW said in the letter. 

Two major auto trade groups, one representing BMW among others, had earlier this week said that imposing up to 25 percent tariffs on imported vehicles would cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, dramatically hike prices on vehicles and threaten industry spending on self-driving cars.

Clemson, S.C. State to Offer Dual Degree Physics Program

CLEMSON — Physics students at South Carolina State University will be able to earn their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in just five years as part of a new dual-degree program with Clemson University.

Undergraduate physics students will study at SC State for three years, then transfer to Clemson University, earning a bachelor’s degree from SC State and their master’s degree from Clemson by the end of the fifth year thanks to a new agreement between the schools that leaders signed Thursday.

The dual-degree program gives students a cost-effective way to receive the personalized support available in a smaller program at SC State and benefit from the resources available at Clemson, a top research university, according to Sean Brittain, chair of Clemson’s physics and astronomy department.

The agreement was signed by South Carolina State Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Learie B. Luke and College of Science, Mathematics & Technology Dean Stanley Ihekweazu and Clemson University Executive Vice President and Provost Robert Jones and College of Science Dean Cynthia Young. S.C. State President James Clark traveled to Clemson for the signing and to have additional collaborative discussions.

Robert Jones, Clemson University provost and executive vice president for academic affairs (left), and South Carolina State Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Learie B. Luke sign the agreement establishing the physics dual-degree program. Image Credit: Jacob Dean

“This partnership benefits South Carolina State students who can earn an advanced degree in five years and conduct research at Clemson,” said Jones. “Clemson will benefit from the experiences and contributions of a more diverse group of students. It’s a win all the way around.”

“We are excited about the endless possibilities that exist through this partnership.  It represents yet another step along the way for our ‘Transformation Through Collaboration’ Initiative at SC State,” Clark said. “Our students will have an opportunity to receive both their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in just five years taking courses from both land-grant institutions. The agreement is a win-win for both universities and will certainly assist with increasing the number of students interested in physics.

“I look forward to this and future partnerships with Clemson that benefit our students, our state and beyond,” said Clark.

Luke added, “This collaboration extends the longstanding partnership SC State has had with Clemson, which has welcomed our graduates to pursue graduate degrees in engineering and other fields in the past.  The goodwill between Provost Jones and me will undoubtedly lead to many more mutually beneficial collaborative initiatives between our institutions.”

The dual-degree program will lessen the economic burden on students because it shortens the time required to secure a graduate degree.

Brittain and SC State physics professor Donald Walter came up with the idea for the dual-degree program a few years ago. “We have a partnership for undergraduate research with them, and we were looking for ways to build a closer connection between our institutions, find better ways to recruit students into physics – particularly from under-represented minorities – and provide a pathway from SC State to Clemson for their majors,” Brittain said.

Once the courses for their bachelor’s degree are completed, the participants will be eligible to serve as graduate teaching assistants, he said.

Julia Frugoli, associate dean for inclusive excellence and graduate education in the College of Science, said the first students can join the program at SC State this fall and arrive at Clemson in the fall of 2019.

“This is one of those things where everybody benefits because we get good students who add to our diversity and their students get experiences they wouldn’t get otherwise,” she said.

More dual-degree programs with SC State in the STEM fields could follow, Frugoli said.

“We believe that this program will be a valuable recruitment tool for our colleagues at South Carolina State because it provides added value to their students, and it will bring needed diversity to our profession generally and Clemson in particular,” Brittain said.

“This is the most recent product of a decade-long partnership between our two physics programs and we have others in the works,” Walter said.

Capital Gazette Gets Back to Work After Shootings

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — E.B. “Pat” Furgurson stood just behind the police officer briefing reporters on America’s latest mass shooting Thursday evening, a voice recorder in one hand, notebook in the other, press badge around his neck.

He was doing his job, just like the dozens of other journalists who crowded around as the sun set.

But it was different for Furgurson, an award-winning reporter with Annapolis' Capital Gazette, since this story involved his newspaper and his colleagues, five of whom had been shot and killed in their own newsroom hours earlier.

"People in there were just trying to do a job for the public,” he said. “Something like this might happen in Afghanistan or Iraq or something like that, but you don't expect it to happen in a little sleepy office across from the local mall.”

“But we’re still putting out a newspaper,” he continued, emotional but defiant. “You’ll see it in the morning.”

Moments later, he was swallowed by a swarm of news cameras and reporters asking him questions, instead of the other way around.

The shooting turned the world inside out for the small newspaper and the community it serves. In the midst of a tragedy, journalists found themselves at the center of their own story.

A photojournalist who wasn’t in the office when the shooting broke out rushed back to the scene. A writer detailed the terror he felt as he listened to the gunman reloading. They shared what information they had, trying to piece together the story like everyone else, making sure they had their facts straight.

“Police saying 117 were evacuated. I reported 170 earlier. Will confirm,” reporter Chase Cook tweeted (he was right, the officer later clarified he said “one-seven-zero”).

“It’s an eye opener that the U.S. is not exempt from this. For a long time we thought we were.”

Meanwhile, journalists mourned.

On social media, co-workers shared stories about how a slain editor had pushed them to construct a better sentence. They discussed the impact a writer who was killed had on her community. And they politely asked their peers at other news outlets to hold off on interview requests for now.

The Capital Gazette has been a part of this community so long that its antecedent once bumped news of the Declaration of Independence to the second page so it could save the front for local coverage.

“I've been a spokesperson for police, I've been a spokesperson for politicians, and I can keep it together when I'm talking about tragedies,” said Susan O’Brien, the spokesperson for the mayor of Annapolis, choking up. “But when it's someone you know and adore and love and respect, it's really hard.”

The paper and the city are “intertwined,” she said, even as the outlet suffered through staffing cuts and financial troubles, like so many other local papers across the country.

Lt. Ryan Frashure, the public information officer for the Anne Arundel County Police Department, said this one “hit close to home."

“They have crime reporters that I speak to every day, sometimes more than my family,” he said between press briefings.

Journalism has been a dangerous profession abroad, but not here.

Seven journalists were killed in the U.S. while on the job over the past quarter century, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. But on Thursday, nearly as many were killed in a single day.

“It’s an eye-opener that the U.S. is not exempt from this,” said Alison Bethel McKenzie, the executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists. “For a long time we thought we were.”

The suspected shooter’s apparent motive was apparently based on a personal vendetta he had with the newspaper for covering his arrest on harassment charges. The suspect, Jarrod W. Ramos, 38, sued the paper in 2012 and lost. Over the years, he also made multiple threats against it.

But many experts were quick to note the political climate has become extremely hostile to journalists.

“We don’t know whether the suspect’s actions were triggered by this climate. But we cannot ignore that this climate exists,” said Stephanie Bluestein, a journalism professor at California State University, Northridge. “I hope reporters will not let something like this get into their psyche and affect the way they do their jobs.”

In Annapolis, the paper’s staffers were determined to do their job and put out “a damn paper” in the morning, as one tweeted. The paper's official account emphatically retweeted the original.

Journalists elsewhere, who have been under pressure financially and politically like never before, rallied to the cause. Reporters in New York, Washington and Los Angeles offered to make phone calls, send emails and do whatever else it took to help the Capital Gazette meet their deadlines and get the paper out.

Sure enough, a little after midnight, the paper released an image of its chilling frontpage for the next day: “5 shot dead at The Capital.”

A largely blank opinion page memorialized those killed: Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters.

S.C. Senate Passes $8B Budget; Teachers Get 1 Percent Raise

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The South Carolina Senate has passed an $8 billion budget giving a 1 percent salary increase for teachers and building a new state crime lab.

The Senate voted 30-9 to approve the spending plan Thursday. The House was debating the measure during the second day of a special session.

The budget gives $54 million to build a new State Law Enforcement Division crime lab and about $17 million for school safety measures - mostly door locks, cameras and metal detectors.

The budget assures no public school teacher in South Carolina makes less than $32,000 a year.

Looming over the debate was a proposal removed from the plan to refuse $34 million in federal money for family planning and abstinence education. A small part of the money goes to Planned Parenthood