S.C. Close to Passing Tougher Abortion Law

South Carolina is on the cusp of passing a bill prohibiting nearly all abortions past 19 weeks of pregnancy, making it the latest of 15 states to pass restrictive bans whose constitutionality has yet to be ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court.

A compromise approved Tuesday by the Senate allows exceptions to the ban only if the mother's life is in jeopardy or the fetus can't survive outside the womb. That was crucial for passage in the Senate, where Democrats had blocked the legislation for years.

The measure's limited definition of "fetal anomaly" means it would be illegal to abort a fetus with a severe disability if the child could live.

"I can live with it," House Judiciary Chairman Greg Delleney, a Republican, said of the compromise worked out over the past year. He likened abortion at five months gestation and beyond to "infanticide."

The bill is among several fronts abortion rights supporters say make having the procedure tougher. Abortion opponents have also passed laws requiring clinics to get admitting privileges for doctors and banning a procedure commonly used in the second trimester, known as an evacuation method.

Local Mayors, County Council Deliver Meals on Wheels

Meals on Wheels-Anderson has invited other elected officials to participate as community champions during the month and the response has been very positive. The followin have or plan to participate:

Williamston Councilman Rockey Burgess, Anderson Mayor Terence Roberts. Anderson County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn; Anderson County Councilman Tom Allen,  Anderson County CouncilwomanCindy Wilson; Anderson County Councilman Mitchell Cole, Williamston Mayor Mack Durham, an dAnderosn City Councilman Matt Harbin. 

Tomorrow, Meals on Wheels-Anderson will hold its annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser, which has become a staple event in the community and serves as a signature event for the March for Meals campaign. More than 700 people select to dine with Meals on Wheels at either lunch or dinner helping to raise much-needed funds for the non-profit organization.

More Info: April Cameron, 864-225-6800 or april@acmow.org

Senate Says Road Bill Hurdle Cleared

The leader of South Carolina Senate Republicans says the biggest hurdle to passing their plan to improve state roads appears to have been cleared. Nearly every Republican united Wednesday to reject an amendment by their GOP colleague Senate President Pro Tem Hugh Leatherman to set aside $200 million to use to borrow up to $2 billion to improve interstates.

Instead, Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler says Republicans are united behind a bill that takes $400 million for the general fund for roads instead of raising gas taxes. Peeler expects a vote on the bill that has clogged the Senate for two months by the end of Wednesday’s session.

Democrats don’t like the bill. They say it doesn’t do enough to ensure a steady stream of money for roads.

Haley Seeks End to Taxing Military Retirement Benefits

Gov. Nikki Haley and South Carolina's military boosters want to end taxes on military retirement benefits.

Haley's budget calls for slicing $10 million from the state's coffers to pay for the cut. The plan would ultimately cost the state $33 million every year.

Doubters argue the idea isn't good tax policy because it narrows the state's tax base.

Supporters say it will attract military retirees looking for a second job after earning a pension for serving 20 years in uniform.

The push comes as lawmakers continue to wrangle over paying for the state's crumbling roads.

The measure passed the House unanimously last year, but it wasn't taken up in the Senate.

Poll: Clinton Leads Trump by 9 Percent Among All Voters

Powered by the same coalition that twice elected Barack Obama, Democrat Hillary Clinton holds a clear lead over Republican Donald Trump in a hypothetical matchup for the November election, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey shows that the former secretary of state is viewed more favorably than the New York billionaire on a series of issues and on a series of candidate attributes, although both rate poorly on the question of honesty.

Clinton leads Trump 50 percent to 41 percent among registered voters and has made steady progress against her potential rival over the past six months. Her margin over Trump has increased from three points last September to six points in December to the current nine points.

Statewide Tornado Drill This Morning at 9

South Carolina is getting ready to hold a statewide tornado drill.

The exercise is set for 9 a.m. this morning and is part of the state's Severe Weather and Flood Safety Week.

National Weather Service forecasters will issue a tornado warning during the drill so schools, businesses and others can make sure they get warnings through their weather radio or other means.

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division is spending the rest of the week getting people ready for all kinds of severe weather.

The organization added flooding to the week's designation after the damaging floods in the Midlands and Lowcountry last October.

Senate Hopes to Finish Roads Bill this Week

he state Senate's debate on how to get more money for South Carolina roads continues, but Republicans say the end should be in sight.

Democrats spent Tuesday introducing amendments to change the part of the GOP proposal that restructures the Department of Transportation Board and other parts of the Republican plan to take $400 million out of the general fund budget for roads.

All the amendments were killed on party line votes.

Republicans say they want to vote on the bill by the end of the week. Senators have done little else in the General Assembly session that started in January.

The state has around $1 billion in additional revenue thanks to population growth and the improving economy.

The Senate meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday for more debate.

Trump Has Another Big Day in Primaries

Real estate mogul Donald Trump took back much of the momentum he lost from his rivals last week, winning big Tuesday in Republican presidential primaries in Michigan and Mississippi as well as the caucus in Hawaii, but Texas Sen. Ted Cruz still was able to grab a victory in Idaho.

Trump took Michigan with 36 percent of the vote while Cruz just edged out Kasich 24.9 percent to 24.3 percent. Trump easily won Mississippi with 47 percent of the vote to Cruz's 36 percent.

However, Cruz handily won Idaho with 45 percent of the vote over Trump's 28 percent. But the state's 32 delegates still kept the Texas senator 100 delegates behind the billionaire in the total count.

Meanwhile, Trump held a commanding 45 percent to 31 percent lead over Cruz in Hawaii late Tuesday evening.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich failed to make a big enough impression in Michigan to give himself a better chance at victory in his home state, where he needs to win next week to keep his campaign relevant.

Sanders Wins Big in Michigan Upset

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton took an easy win in the Mississippi presidential primary on Tuesday, but Bernie Sanders delivered a major upset in Michigan.

Sanders' victory in Michigan revealed Clinton's possible weakness in the Rust Belt states that might be an opening for Sanders to close the 200-delegate gap between them.

Clinton maintained her strong support among African-American voters with her big win in Mississippi. Sanders won 1 out of every 10 black votes in Mississippi as Clinton continued to dominate in the Deep South.

Clinton won easily with 82 percent of the vote to Sanders' 16 percent there.

But that changed slightly with Michigan, where Sanders cut into her support with Clinton winning 65 percent of the African-American votes there.

Clinton saw up to a 20-point lead in Michigan collapse in just days, with Sanders ultimately slipping past her 50 percent to 48 percent.

School District Five Switches to Online Lunch Menus

Beginning this month, Anderson County School District 5 will make the switch to all interactive school lunch menus. Printed school menus will no longer be sent home with the students. 

 According to the district, the move is part of a continued effort to “Go Green."

The move will now require parents and students to view the daily school lunch menus on a web menus app or sign up for monthly emails of menus on the district website.

Once the project has been fully completed, each food item will have an image, description, and specific nutritional information. 

Trump Lead Slipping in National GOP Polls

Donald Trump continues to lead his rivals nationally in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination. But his hold on the GOP electorate has weakened since the primary season began, and the party is now deeply divided over his candidacy, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Trump maintains the support of 34 percent of registered Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, compared with 25 percent for Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, 18 percent for Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and 13 percent for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

In the Democratic race, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton still leads Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, but her national margin is the smallest in a Post-ABC poll since the beginning of the campaign. The new poll shows Clinton as the favorite of 49 percent of registered Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents compared with Sanders, whose support is at 42 percent. That seven-point lead for Clinton compares with her 19-point advantage in January.

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Study: Paid Sick Leave a Public Health Issue

A new study suggests that workers without paid sick leave are more likely to forego medical care for themselves or their family when they're ill.

Not surprisingly, they also take off fewer days of work whenever they are ill or injured, researchers say.

"These findings are a big deal. Paid sick leave should be thought of as a major public health issue," said study co-author Patricia Stoddard-Dare, an associate professor of social work at Cleveland State University in Ohio.

The study appears in the March issue of Health Affairs.

Many other developed countries require employers to let employees take sick days with pay, but the United States doesn't. An estimated 70 percent of U.S. full-time workers have paid sick leave, and some states and cities require it in certain cases, according to the study authors. But an estimated 8 out of every 10 part-time workers lack this benefit, the researchers noted.

Five Clemson Researchers Get National Recognition

Five Clemson University researchers have brought home some of the nation’s top awards for junior faculty members and are helping make robots fly, develop new medicines, save buildings from the wrecking ball and create new ways to make fertilizer.

The university’s College of Engineering and Science announced Monday that Feng Ding, Rachel Getman and Brandon Ross have won prestigious awards from the National Science Foundation, while Joseph Scott and Yue “Sophie” Wang have won top awards from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Five high-profile awards in two months is a milestone for a university that recently stepped up efforts to bolster its reputation for high-quality research. The awards bring more than $2.2 million in new research funding into the College of Engineering and Science.

Anand Gramopadhye, dean of the College of Engineering and Science, said the awards are a testament to the researchers’ creativity, dedication and hard work.

“South Carolina deserves a world-class research university and the awards confirm that these five Clemson University faculty members are the top young engineers and scientists in their disciplines,” he said.

“Having five top award-winners already this year speaks highly of Clemson’s research environment, which bodes well for the entire state. Through research, we help create the jobs of the future, inspire a new generation of grand thinkers and conceive the innovations that overcome some of humankind’s most complex challenges.”

Ding, Getman and Ross won awards through the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program, often called the NSF CAREER award.

Scott and Wang received awards through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program.

The awards were announced little more than a month after the university reached another key marker in research prominence.

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