Feds Want S.C. Nuke Fuel Lawsuit Dropped

The federal government says South Carolina’s lawsuit over its failure to meet a deadline on a nuclear fuel project should be dismissed.

The U.S. Department of Energy says in court papers filed Monday the state is incorrectly interpreting statutes governing the project to convert nuclear weapons components into reactor fuel. The government also says any potential fines should be handled in a different court system.

In February, South Carolina accused the federal government of acting unconstitutionally in failing to complete the mixed-oxide facility by Jan. 1. The suit also seeks daily fines of $1 million and plutonium removal.

The project is years behind schedule and billions over budget. Because it isn’t operating, the federal government was supposed to remove 1 metric ton of plutonium from South Carolina or pay fines.

Chick-fil-a Recalls Cookies

Chick-fil-A’s Chocolate Chunk Cookie supplier CSM Bakery Solutions has issued a voluntary recall of certain lots of Chick-fil-A cookies.

The cookies are being recalled because of the potential presence of undeclared peanut allergens.

“Because the nutrition and allergen information currently indicates the cookie is free from peanuts, we have decided to stop selling Chocolate Chunk Cookies in our restaurants until we can ensure the issue is resolved,” stated Chick-fil-A in their official press release.

Customers who purchased Chocolate Chunk Cookies are encouraged to discard them or may return them to their local Chick-fil-A for a complete refund. 

S.C. Roads Bill Could Be in Jeopardy

Another bump to fix South Carolina's crumbling roads.

"I like being realistic with people, I like to shoot straight, it's still not a done deal," South Carolina Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said.

With the bill once again being passed back to the Senate, a short term fix in the budget could be the only solution.

"With the surplus we've had there's going to be some money, significant amount of money," Massey said, "Probably several 100 million dollars going towards roads and bridges this year."

But it's not the fix people need, instead a fix they want to avoid with Jimmie Rogers.

"Pressing issue because it's a safety more than anything. It's bad enough when it rains you don't see these massive holes in the road and you're trying to duck them," Rogers said, the owner of Jack Rogers Tire in Aiken.

Rogers says anything from a popped tire to bent rims can result from poor road conditions.

"A smooth road and a good tire that's up to the right air pressure, of course it's going to be better riding and better fuel-efficiency road," Rogers said.

Without a roads bill this year, Massey says SCDOT will not be reformed and projects like replacing the I-20 bridges seem further away.

"I think everybody understands that our roads have fallen way behind, whether that be from a maintenance perspective or even in some areas with the interstate expanding like we're talking about with the I-20 bridge for safety concerns," Massey said.

Georgia DOT says the replacement of both the Augusta Canal and Savannah River bridges is a 70-30 percent partnership with SCDOT, but it is a long-range project waiting on South Carolina funding.

Justice Dept. Oks Charter Purchase of Time Warner

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday gave antitrust approval to Charter Communications Inc's proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable Inc  and Bright House networks, which would create the second-largest U.S. broadband provider and third-largest video provider.

The Justice Department's approval carried conditions designed to protect competition, coming at a time when the pay television industry faces stagnation due to new competition from over-the-web rivals like Netflix  and Hulu.

The Federal Communications Commission must also approve the deal, and the agency's chairman on Monday said he, too, was prepared to put conditions on the merger aimed at promoting broadband competition.

The Justice Department said that as part of its approval, Charter agreed to refrain from telling its content providers that they cannot also sell shows online.

"Continued growth of OVDs (online video) promises to deliver more competitive choices and a greater ability for consumers to customize their consumption of video content to their individual viewing preferences and budgets," the Justice Department said in a court filing. "The emergence of OVDs threatens to upend the competitive landscape."

At the FCC, Chairman Tom Wheeler said he circulated an order seeking approval of the merger with conditions that "will directly benefit consumers by bringing and protecting competition to the video marketplace and increasing broadband deployment."

County to Begin Work on Fiscal Year 2017 Budget

The Anderson County Council Finance Committee will meet Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the historic courthouse downtown for a work session on the fiscal year 2017 county budget.

The meeting, which will be held in the conference room on the second floor next to council chambers, is open to the public.

Demolition Under Way on Woolworth Building

After a number of delays, which were followed by interior work to enhance safety, demoltion of the Woolworth building in downtown Anderson began just after 8 a.m. this moring.

Anderson County is paying New Beach Construction Partners of Miami, Fla., $265,000 to take down and remove the rubble of the Bailes/Woolworth buildings.

"This is the most important piece of propery in Anderson County, because it is next to the historic courthouse," said Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns as he watched Monday morning's progress. 

Burns said the future of the property was yet to be determined, but could include anything for an extended downtown green space to a public/private partnership building with retail/commecial interests alongside space for other county needs.

"It's a good day," said Anderson County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn. "I think it's the start of a new day for Anderson County and I have great hopes for that piece of property."

Dunn said he'd like to see a public/private partnership, which he said would help revitalize downtown Anderson.

Demolition of the Woolworth building is expected to take at least a couple of days, and the site of that building will be completely cleared off before beginning the demolition of the Bailes building.

Once the site is cleared, a wooden fence will be erected around the property, and students from all five county school districts will be invited to paint there vision for the future on the fence.

Anderson County's orginal charter included the blocks bordered by McDuffie Street on the East, Murray Avenue on the West, Benson Street on the South and Whitner Street on the North. These blocks now are home to the historic courthouse, the new courthouse and the buildings being demolished.

Cruz and Kasich Cut Deal to Stop Trump

Republican White House rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich announced a deal on Sunday to stay out of each other's way in some upcoming state primaries in hopes of blocking front-runner Donald Trump from winning the party's presidential nomination.

Cruz's campaign said in a statement he would focus on the Indiana and give Kasich a clearer shot in Oregon and New Mexico, states where the Ohio governor expects to do well. Kasich, in turn, agreed to shift resources west and away from Indiana.

The Indiana primary is on May 3, Oregon's is May 17 and New Mexico's June 7.

Trump has won the most state nominating contests, but he has a tough path to earn the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination. The Cruz and Kasich campaigns believe their agreement to cede states where the other candidate appears strong could help limit Trump's ability to win more delegates.

Doctors Can Predict Opioid Relapse Factors

Certain factors can help healthcare professionals predict who might relapse during treatment for prescription opioid painkiller addiction, Canadian researchers report.

Opioid abuse is a serious problem in Canada and the United States, the researchers said. Methadone treatment is the most common therapy. But nearly half of patients continue to abuse opioids during or after methadone treatment, researchers noted.

Opioid painkillers include such drugs as Oxycontin, Percocet and Vicodin.

"We can improve our tailoring of treatment to each patient if we know who among patients taking methadone treatment is at high risk for opioid relapse," said principal author Dr. Zena Samaan. Samaan is an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

"As well, healthcare providers can target more aggressive therapies to those at high risk," she added in a university news release.

This study included 250 adults from Ontario who had been on a methadone treatment for an average of four years. The researchers found that relapse was more common among certain groups of patients.

Injection drug users were more than twice as likely to relapse as those who didn't inject drugs. There was a 10 percent higher risk of relapse for every year later in life that a person first began abusing opioids, the study revealed.

Researchers also found a 7 percent higher risk of relapse for each day people used tranquilizers in the previous month.

However, at least one factor was protective, the study said. Researchers found that the older the patient, the less likely they were to relapse.

Findings from the study were published recently in the journal Substance Abuse Research and Treatment.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more about opioids.

Demolition of Bailes/Woolworth Building Set for Monday (Finally)

Demolition of the Bailes/Woolworth building in Anderson is finally set to get under way Monday morning beginning at 9 a.m.

Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns said the Miami-based salvage company has at last removed all potential barriers to as clean a take down as possible.

"It should begin Monday morning at 9," said Burns, acknowledging the project has taken longer than initially expected. 

The first stage will involve pushing down the Woolworth Building into what is left of the Bailes building.

Downtown Greenville Roads Closed for Race Today

Several downtown Greenville roads will be closed on Saturday morning.

The closure comes due to the Reedy River Run. 

The following roads will be closed from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday:

Main Street, from Pendleton Street to Augusta Street

·         River Street, from Main Street to Broad Street

·         Richardson Street, from Broad Street to College Street

·         College Street, from Richardson Street to Main Street

·         Main Street, from College Street to Falls Park Drive

·         McBee Avenue, from Richardson Street to Lakehurst Street

·         Lakehurst Street, from East Washington Street to Woodland Way

·         Cleveland Park Drive to Ridgeland Drive

·         Ridgeland Drive, from McDaniel Avenue to Cleveland Street

·         Cleveland Street to Falls Street

·         Falls Street, from West Camperdown Way to Broad Street

·         Broad Street, from Falls Street to Main Street

·         North Street, from Laurens Street to Irvine Street

·         Irvine Street, from North Street to McBee Avenue

For more information, call 503-329-6453 or visit Reedy River Run.

Downtown Greenville Roads Closed for Race Today

Several downtown Greenville roads will be closed on Saturday morning.

The closure comes due to the Reedy River Run. 

The following roads will be closed from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday:

Main Street, from Pendleton Street to Augusta Street

·         River Street, from Main Street to Broad Street

·         Richardson Street, from Broad Street to College Street

·         College Street, from Richardson Street to Main Street

·         Main Street, from College Street to Falls Park Drive

·         McBee Avenue, from Richardson Street to Lakehurst Street

·         Lakehurst Street, from East Washington Street to Woodland Way

·         Cleveland Park Drive to Ridgeland Drive

·         Ridgeland Drive, from McDaniel Avenue to Cleveland Street

·         Cleveland Street to Falls Street

·         Falls Street, from West Camperdown Way to Broad Street

·         Broad Street, from Falls Street to Main Street

·         North Street, from Laurens Street to Irvine Street

·         Irvine Street, from North Street to McBee Avenue

For more information, call 503-329-6453 or visit Reedy River Run.

AU President's Gala Concert Tonight

A large group of singers, dancers and instrumentalists will present the free ticketed Anderson University President's Gala concert tonight at 8 p.m. in the Henderson Auditorium of the Rainey Fine Arts Center.

The evetn features a variety of performers from The South Carolina School of the Arts.  For ticket information please call 864-231-2080.

Report: U.S. Suicide Rate Highest in 30 Years

U.S. suicides have reached their highest peak in 30 years, with middle-aged Americans making up the largest part of the growing epidemic, according to new federal data.

A report published Friday by the National Center for Health Statistics found that between 1999 and 2014, the largest increases in suicide were seen among middle-aged men and women 45 to 64 years old, and girls 10 to 14 years old. Older Americans, aged 75 and over, were the only group to see a decline in suicides during the same period.

The suicide rate among women increased more quickly than among men. But men continued to account for the vast majority of deaths in 2014, the latest year for which data is available. The suicide rate among men was 20.7 per 100,000, compared to 5.8 per 100,000 among women.

This new suicide data underpins recent studies that showed a decline in life expectancy among middle-aged, white Americans – especially women. Such studies attributed the increasing death rate to drug and alcohol misuse, as well as suicide. However, the NCHS data did not analyze racial and ethnic differences in suicide.

“We wanted to highlight the growing problem of suicide in America,” said Sally Curtin, lead author on the NCHS report. “Deaths are just the tip of the iceberg. Many more incidents end up as hospitalizations and ER visits.”

Curtin’s report did not identify causes behind the increase in suicide. But a 2013 analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted the recent economic downturn and a vulnerability among baby boomers who had “unusually high suicide rates during their adolescent years” as possible contributing factors to the rising suicide rate for middle-aged adults.

“We don’t really know enough about what’s driving this rise,” said Mark Kaplan, professor of social welfare at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Past research in this field has focused on young people and very old people. But we know far less about what’s causing suicides among the middle age range: 25 to 64-year-olds. We’re only now starting to invest in trying to understand this phenomenon.”

Kaplan, who studies risk factors for suicide among vulnerable populations, noted that a greater emphasis is needed on age- and gender-specific prevention efforts, as well as means restriction programs for guns. Though suicides by firearm declined as a percentage of all deaths between 1999 and 2014, they were still the most common method of death.

Overall, more than 42,000 Americans died from suicide in 2014, and more than 21,000 were firearm-related deaths, according to the NCHS report.

But even the most up-to-date official numbers likely undercount suicides, Kaplan noted. That’s because many suicide deaths may be recorded as accidents in death reports. “The picture is likely even worse than is being officially presented,” he said.

“Suicide is a big problem, but it’s under-resourced and under-funded,” Kaplan said. “Many people don’t realize it’s an important public health problem until reports like this come out, but we should be paying closer attention year-round.”

The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255.