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CHESNEE, S.C. — Police in South Carolina say an 8-year-old girl has been shot to death by the estranged husband of her father's girlfriend. Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright says the man grabbed the girl in a headlock Wednesday and shot her twice in the driveway of a home in Chesnee, about 60 miles southwest of Charlotte, N.C.

There has been much talk over Sarah Palin’s shock announcement that she is resigning from her post as Governor of Alaska before the end of the first term. The primary questions in much of the coverage have been “What the hell is she up to?” and “Why on Earth does this help her?” I am convinced the answers are quite straight forward: Sarah Palin has decided to run for the 2012 Republican nomination for the President of the United States, and to do this she needs to get out of Alaska. Ever since she was picked as John McCain’s Vice-Presidential...

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina's top cop says Gov. Mark Sanford did not improperly use state funds for visits with his Argentine mistress. State Law Enforcement Division Chief Reggie Lloyd said Thursday that Sanford did not break any laws. The governor's spokesman says he does not intend to resign. South Carolina's attorney general asked police to investigate the governor's travel after Sanford revealed to The Associated Press he had spent time with Maria Belen Chapur more often than previously disclosed.

The man who took five lives in six days in a small Cherokee County town should have been in jail, according to South Carolina officials who have examined his criminal record. Patrick Tracy Burris, who allegedly murdered five Gaffney residents ranging in age from 15 to 83, was a habitual felon with a 25-page rap sheet that included an eight year stint in North Carolina prison. Police say Burris should have never been released from prison, and now they are demanding answers. “When you have that many crimes you shouldn’t get parole,” said South Carolina Law Enforcement Chief Reggie Lloyd...

A serial killer who murdered five people over six days was tracked down by police who were notified by an alert citizen, and then killed after wounding one officer when he opened fire. But as usual, there is a story behind what was published by Old Media. Law enforcement raises warning flag After examining Burris’s criminal history, South Carolina’s State Law Enforcement Division [SLED] Chief Reggie Lloyd said: "Look at this," Lloyd said, waiving [sic] a stapled copy of Burris' criminal record. "This is like 25 pages. At some point the criminal justice system is going to need to explain...

WASHINGTON -- The nation's lawyers and law enforcement leaders gave Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor ringing endorsements Tuesday, even as Republicans tried to rally opposition. With Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearing less than a week away, the American Bar Association announced that the 54-year-old appellate judge is "well qualified" to serve on the nation's highest court. The unanimous recommendation is the association's highest grade for a potential judge. "The only way she can get derailed is if she performs poorly next week," acknowledged Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a Senate Judiciary Committee member. He said he was still undecided, but added, "I...

CLEMSON — The ACC has halted its plans to hold its conference baseball tournament in Myrtle Beach, citing failure to reach an agreement on the Confederate flag issue. In May, the ACC awarded the event to Myrtle Beach for 2011-13, expressing a willingness to look past the NCAA’s ban of predetermined championship events being contested in the state. On Monday, the league announced it had given the event to Durham, N.C. (for 2011, 2013) and Greensboro, N.C. (for 2012), confirming a report by The State that its plans had changed. Clemson coach Jack Leggett - Mary Ann Chastain /AP Do...

GAFFNEY | Authorities have identified a man killed by North Carolina police as the killer they think shot five people to death over six days last week in this mostly rural Cherokee County community. Law enforcement officials identified the suspect Monday night as 41-year-old Patrick Tracy Burris. They said he was a felon with a lengthy record who was paroled in April after serving more than eight years for felony breaking and entering and larceny. Authorities said bullets in the gun found on Burris after he was killed by police early Monday near Gastonia, N.C., matched those used to kill...

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) -- After nearly four hours of deliberation and multiple rounds of balloting, the South Carolina Republican Party voted Monday night to censure Mark Sanford for traveling overseas to visit his mistress -- but stopped short of calling on the governor to resign.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) – After spending the holiday weekend with his family in Florida, Mark Sanford is apparently intent on fighting off calls for his resignation and staying in office, according to one South Carolina Republican who spoke with the governor on Monday. Richard Yow, a member of the South Carolina Republican Party executive committee from Chesterfield County, received a phone call from Sanford on Monday afternoon. Yow said he spoke to the embattled governor for ten minutes, during which Sanford asked Yow for his forgiveness. Yow said he told Sanford he could forgive him, but he told the...

BREAKING NEWS: SOUTH CAROLINA KILLER IS DEAD

North Carolina police officer has been wounded and a suspect killed during a confrontation after the officer responded to a burglary call South Carolina law enforcement agencies have been called to the scene because of a possible connection to the five killings that have occurred in Cherokee County recently. Multiple media outlets reported that the confrontation happened about 3 a.m. Monday in Gaston County, west of Charlotte.

Breaking on Fox.

Grand Strand marketers turn eyes toward Europe. BY MIKE CHERNEY MYRTLE BEACH — When it comes to attracting foreign visitors to the Grand Strand, some local tourism leaders are looking to Congress for help. The Travel Promotion Act of 2009, which has been introduced in the House and Senate, would create a nonprofit corporation to advertise the U.S. as a travel destination in foreign countries. The campaign would be funded by industry contributions and a $10 fee on foreign travelers who do not have to pay for a visa. The travel industry, including the U.S. Travel Association and the American...

This is an updated composite drawing of the suspected serial killer in Cherokee County, South Carolina made available on Friday, July 3, 2009. Sheriff's deputies searched Friday, July 3, 2009 for a serial killer blamed for four deaths over the past six days as terrified residents wondered who might be next. ( Cherokee County Sheriff's Department via Spartanburg Herald Journal)

Charleston held a Tea Party today. I was unable to attend but would love to hear if any of the local FReepers were there and what they heard from the speakers, etc. From what I heard on the news, it was considered a bipartisan event. Someone said that Jim DeMint was there, but have not been able to confirm. This is the second Tea Party held in Charleston.

GAFFNEY, S.C. – A teenage girl shot while helping her father in their family's small furniture and appliance store died Saturday, becoming the fifth victim of a suspected serial killer terrorizing a small South Carolina community, authorities said. Abby Tyler, 15, died about 11:15 a.m. at a Spartanburg hospital after fighting for her life for two days, Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said. Tyler was wounded and her father was killed Thursday as they worked to close the Tyler Home Center near downtown Gaffney. County Sheriff Bill Blanton said investigators believe the killings are linked and the search is on...

SAN DIEGO -- President Obama recently reignited the immigration debate when he told reporters that congressional leaders of both parties were ready to "actively get something done and not put it off until a year, two years, three years, five years from now, but to start working on this thing right now." In the months ahead, keep an eye on two things: the calendar and the issue of guest workers. The calendar: "Right now" might not be soon enough. The conventional wisdom is that the longer Obama waits, the harder it will be to pass any immigration reform legislation. One...

A review of travel and financial records showed that Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina did not spend public money improperly while conducting an extramarital affair, the chief of the State Law Enforcement Division said Thursday. Since Monday, the governor’s continuing revelations about the affair, including his admission that he had seen his lover more times than he initially acknowledged, have stepped up calls for his resignation and heightened support for an investigation into his travel records. The chief of the State Law Enforcement Division, Reginald Lloyd, said that the review of Mr. Sanford’s records was not a criminal inquiry,...

GAFFNEY, S.C. -- FOX Carolina has confirmed with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office that the four recent slayings in Gaffney are connected. The Cherokee County Coroner released the name of the fourth victim early Friday morning. Stephen Tyler, 48, was shot and killed at his business -- Tyler Home Center -- on Thursday night. Tyler's 15-year-old daughter was also shot in the head and was transported to an area hospital. There is no word on her condition. The shooting of the Tylers is only the latest incident in a violent spree of shootings. On Saturday, a peach farmer was killed....

As the source of media spectacle and late-night jokes, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has provided considerable distraction for the nation as his marital infidelity was made public. Despite the intrigue, character still counts among Americans. The majority of Americans say he should resign, and they also disapprove of his adulterous behavior, according to new opinion polls. A CNN-Opinion Research survey of 1,026 adults released Tuesday found that 54 percent of the respondents said Mr. Sanford should resign from office because of his brazen romantic affair with an Argentine woman, first revealed last week by a South Carolina newspaper -...

Gov. Mark Sanford will spend the long Fourth of July holiday weekend with his wife, Jenny, and their family in Florida, his office said today. Sanford will leave for Florida on Friday morning.

COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins stated that Eric Robinson, age 19 and Joshua Stokes, age 23, both of North Charleston, were sentenced today in federal court for armed bank robbery and firearms charges. Chief United States District Judge David C. Norton of Charleston. sentenced Stokes to 97 months in federal prison, and Robinson to a term of 106 months. On September 16, 2008, at 3:20 p.m., Robinson and Stokes ran into the South Carolina Federal Credit Union at 82 Bridgetown Road in Goose Creek, wearing black ski masks and white gloves. Stokes brandished a silver revolver, while Robinson...

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) – Former South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson is calling on Gov. Mark Sanford to cut a check from his campaign war chest to help repair the "serious damage" he has done to Republican fundraising efforts in the state. Sanford, a prodigious fundraiser, is sitting on nearly $1.69 million in his gubernatorial election account, and he still has roughly $128,000 in his congressional account, according to his most recent campaign finance reports. New financial reports are due later this month. But now that Sanford's political career has collapsed, his money is in limbo. Under South Carolina...

The wife of embattled South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford called his affair with an Argentine woman "inexcusable" but said Thursday she is willing to forgive him. Jenny Sanford's e-mailed statement was her first public comment since her husband told The Associated Press earlier this week that his mistress is his soul mate but he is trying to fall back in love with his wife. "My forgiveness is essential for us both to move on with our lives, with peace, in whatever direction that may take us," Jenny Sanford said in the statement. "Mark has stated that his intent and determination...

Like most Americans, I have heard enough from the adulterers. John Ensign’s press conference was blissfully short. Mark Sanford’s is interminable. Every day brings a cringe-inducing new update. The bottom line is the same: men who should know better, out of an inflated sense of ego, blow up their careers and their families for transitory pleasures. We can’t learn much from them. But their spouses and the reaction to their spouses tell us something about where we are and where we are heading in the culture wars. Jenny Sanford is the new feminist icon. Defiant, brave, principled, and funny. When...

An emotional Gov. Mark Sanford continued his confessions today, saying he had more encounters with a mistress from Argentina than he disclosed last week, including a trip to New York City earlier this year to end the relationship under the supervision of a “trusted spiritual adviser” who accompanied him. Sanford has identified Warren “Cubby” Culbertson of Columbia, S.C., as one of his closest Christian advisers, but in an interview with me, Culbertson declined to comment when asked if he was the adviser who accompanied Sanford to New York. When the Associated Press asked Culbertson yesterday if he had met Sanford’s...

S.C. politicians wavering on Sanford (USA Today cannot be posted on FR)

People like John McCain and others who have been part of the self-absorbed, navel-gazing and corrupt Washington environment for a quarter century no doubt resent someone not "of them." But it is indeed odd when Sarah Palin, a bright, shining light for conservatives remains the prime target of the existing machine, while Mark Sanford and other hypocritical liars are serenaded as getting a raw deal by the very public daughter of a defacto leader of the party. For some reason, Meghan McCain, writing in The Daily Beast, seems to think adulterous politicians, like South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, should be...

... but the way he did so may raise some eyebrows. Rep. Bob Inglis, an upstate South Carolina Republican, put it this way to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal's Jason Spencer: On Sanford's ability to govern while dealing with a personal crisis: I don’t think that’s a problem. We are all coping in our private lives with personal issues. That would be like saying Sarah Palin shouldn’t be governor of Alaska because she has a special needs child. Gov. Palin is coping with a special needs child. That’s a lot to put on somebody. That’s a lot to put on a marriage....

...last week I thought Mark Sanford could survive the adultery. But I don't think he can survive his weirdly exhibitionist public meditations on the adultery. I doubt many of his constituents share his view of the gubernatorial office as a personal growth experience the entire state can benefit from, and he might at least run some of the talking points of his thrice-daily confessionals past the staffers: "South Carolina's Governor Mark Sanford may be sleeping in the doghouse permenantly after telling the AP that his mistress is his soulmate, but that he'll try to fall back in love with his...

While many on the left are reveling in the downfall of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford after he disclosed his affair with a woman in Argentina, there's a sympathetic figure being overlooked that might have the necessary background to fill the void left by the governor should he resign. On CNBC's June 30 "The Kudlow Report," Wall Street Journal senior economics writer Steve Moore explained his close relationship with the Sanfords and raised a new political possibility. "This is such a tough thing for me Larry, because as you know Mark Sanford has been a long-time friend of mine," Moore...

Bauer, 40, has made a career of running against South Carolina's establishment -- and winning. Elected to the state legislature at age 26, he became known as an ambitious politician, rising quickly and winning the state's No. 2 position in 2002. Yet as lieutenant governor, he has become known as much for his personal behavior as for his political record. In 2003, he was charged with driving 60 mph and running two red lights in downtown Columbia. When pulled over, Bauer was so aggressive that a police officer pulled a gun on him. In 2006, Bauer was stopped by a...

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has been unusually candid about his affair with a 41-year-old former reporter in Argentina. In stark contrast to the taciturn Eliot Spitzer – who made no mention at all of his escapades as "Client 9" except opening his resignation speech with a reference to his "private failings" – Sanford held forth at length with reporters last week, describing how the affair came about and at one point prefacing an answer with, "To give you way more detail than you'll ever want…" Then there were the e-mails. Perhaps Sanford shouldn't be judged on those, given that...

(snip) As for the current healthcare debate, Sen. Graham opposes socialized medicine. "A government option will destroy private sector competition over time. No one in private healthcare business in south Carolina can compete against the federal government," said Sen. Graham. On one hand, President Barack Obama is pushing a public plan where uninsured Americans could get affordable healthcare, but it wouldn't be mandatory. On the other hand, Sen. Graham says costs would mount, wait times would increase, and quality of care would decrease, so he's supporting another idea. "I do believe we need to come up with a new system....

Integrity: In a society that so often feeds on others' adversity, Jenny Sanford has reminded us that hard times bring out the best in good people. No politician's wife has ever shown more grace.South Carolina's first lady sacrificed her privacy and much of her time for the sake of her husband's political career. In return, she discovered that her husband, conservative Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, was having ongoing trysts with his Argentine mistress. The details are the sort of thing that keep a gawking public coming back for more — steamy e-mails, a cover story that he was hiking incommunicado...

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford declared his Argentine mistress his soul mate Tuesday but said he is committed to reconciling with his wife in hopes of saving his family and what is left of his political career. Sanford, who also admitted meeting his lover more times than he had previously claimed, told The Associated Press in emotional interviews that he "crossed lines" with a handful of other women during 20 years of marriage. But he said he never went as far as he did with Maria Belen Chapur, the woman at the center of...

The Associated Press is reporting that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford said he has "crossed lines" with women other than his mistress. During an interview with the news agency, the Republican governor admitted to meeting his Argentine mistress on more occasions than he admitted last week....

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint will be in Charleston on July 3 as part of a book signing tour for Saving Freedom, which was released on Monday. “Our government has never been further from the principles of freedom,” said the South Carolina Republican. “Out-of-control government spending and unprecedented power grabbing is draining the economic and political will of freedom loving citizens and increasing the dependency of generations to come. “Across the nation socialistic policies have incrementally worked their way into all areas of American life. But there is still hope for the cause of freedom. It starts with understanding the difference...

The older brother of the man who allegedly shot and killed an undercover Houston police officer last week is wanted in a gang-related slaying last year of a South Carolina man, authorities said. Juan Pedroza Carrillo, 40, was one of three men linked to the November 2 fatal shooting of Jorge Alberto Vindel Ramos, 51, in Lexington County, S.C., authorities said. Ramos was shot in the head and chest with a .380 semi-automatic pistol as he was working on his car outside his home, officials said. While the motive for the killing remains under investigation, federal immigration officials confirmed that...

S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford sent the following e-mail apology Monday evening. I write to apologize and ask for your forgiveness. Well beyond the personal consequences within my own family, I know that at so many different levels my actions have upset, offended and disappointed friends and supporters and for this I am most sorry. As I mentioned in last week's press conference, I've always believed God's laws were there to protect us from ourselves, and what has transpired over this last week vividly illustrates the damage that comes personally, and to those you love and respect, in doing otherwise. So...

Some states faced with sinking tax collections and rising debt are going after unused gift cards that bolster their revenue. South Carolina is considering legislation that would give the state the right to collect unclaimed gift-card credit. A similar measure in Texas to allow the collection of unused credit even from cards that have no expiration date passed that state's House this spring and stalled in the Senate. Texas already collects unused gift cards with expiration dates. Since the recession began, states have been aggressively tapping so-called abandoned property -- anything from gift cards to dormant bank accounts and safety-deposit...

Sex scandals like Governor Sanford’s and John Ensign’s are private matters that don’t affect public policy and shoot down rising political stars. It’s time to end hypocrisy in America.When I first heard about Governor Sanford’s sex scandal, I was flooded with disappointment for many reasons. Particularly since his admission of an extramarital affair came so closely after Nevada Senator Ensign made a similar confession. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I am younger, or that just have a more open-minded view of politicians and sex, but it’s of very little concern to me who elected officials sleep with....

Last year South Carolina Rep. James E. Clyburn was expected to stay neutral in the long, bitter Democratic presidential primary struggle between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. An influential endorsement from Clyburn, a civil rights hero and top member of the House Democratic leadership, would have been welcomed by former President Clinton, who worked closely with him in the 1990s and thought they were close friends.

When I've been asked whom I thought could be the individual to lead the Republican Party out of the wilderness, my answer has always been Mark Sanford. His vision for his party and his country -- traditional values and limited government -- has always been clear, consistent, and, in my view, correct. And he has always pursued that vision, as a congressman and as a governor, with a boldness and courage rare among politicians. The Cato Institute publishes a bi-annual report card of the nation's governors, ranking them according to fiscal responsibility. In the most recent report, three governors out...

In a lousy week, Mark Sanford had one stroke of luck: Michael Jackson chose the day after the governor's news conference to moonwalk into eternity, and thus gave the media's pop therapists a more rewarding subject to feast on — or at any rate one of the few stories whose salient points are weirder than Sanford's. Not that the governor didn't do his best to keep his end up on the pop culture allusions: "I've spent the last five days crying in Argentina," he revealed, in presumably unconscious homage to Evita. The plot owed less to Tim Rice and Andrew...

<p>BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- A 41-year-old Argentine former reporter acknowledged having a relationship with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, saying Sunday that widely published e-mail correspondence between the two was obtained from her account without permission.</p> <p>In a brief statement sent to news network C5n of Buenos Aires, Maria Belen Chapur said she will not talk about her private life, which has already been the focus of intense media scrutiny in the United States and Argentina.</p>

THERE'S a huge difference between what South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford did, and what ex-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer did. "I didn't fall in love with any of them," Spitzer was overheard telling LMDC executive director Avi Schick the other day at Solo in the Sony Building on Madi son, where they had the $24 prix-fixe lunch. And Spitzer didn't use any taxpayer money on his trysts, while Sanford is reimbursing the state about $12,000 for travel expenses to Buenos Aires. Schick had Vietnamese beef spring rolls and a grilled chicken salad.

A 41-year-old Argentine woman has acknowledged having a relationship with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. SNIP She denies the hacker was a friend of hers. Chapur says she suspects she knows who the hacker is but will not identify him, because she lacks proof and for legal reasons. She says Sunday's 200-word statement will be her only comment on the matter.

"The author is ending her marriage. Isn’t it time you did the same?” So The Atlantic provocatively introduces its July/August feature “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.” It comes at a propitious moment. This seems to be the week for TMI — too much information. South Carolina governor Mark Sanford has told more, much more, than we needed to know about his mistress (how he met her, how their relationship ripened), his views on God’s laws, on the Appalachian Trail, and on forgiveness. Why must wayward American public figures stage these auto autos-da-fé — these self-immolations on TV? Dignity, which...