Gavin Jackson

FBI firing senior officials at odds with Trump administration | CNN Politics Two senior FBI officials, including one who initially resisted the Trump administration’s effort to gather the names of agents who worked on cases related to the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, ...

Steven Jensen, former SAIC of the Columbia Field Office and most recently assistant director in charge of the WFO, was fired along with former acting director Brian Driscoll.
Jensen was over Domestic Terrorism Operations during January 6 and oversaw investigations.
amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/08/...

Public media is very different from state-run news. Here’s why. In many ways, public media remains the last broadly shared civic commons.

“Unlike commercial media, where the profit motive often creates incentives to emphasize conflict and sensationalism, public media generally seeks to provide balanced perspectives that encourage dialogue and mutual respect. Reports are often longer and more in-depth”
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/publ...

YouTube video by SouthCarolinaETV Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in Greenville | S.C. 2028

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear spoke before 60 union reps at the South Carolina AFL-CIO convention in Greenville on July 16, 2025. Beshear, a rising star in the Democratic Party, was elected governor in the solidly Republican state by a slim margin in 2019 and by 6 points in 2023.

youtu.be/ryii_KCJE-8

Downing of a Flag How the Confederate flag impacts the people, politics and perceptions of South Carolina.

Today is the 10-year anniversary of the Confederate battle flag being removed from Statehouse grounds. Downing of a Flag, a powerful two-part documentary, on the 54-year history of it flying and what it took to remove it.
Such docus showcase public media’s importance.
www.pbs.org/show/downing...

Lindsey Graham Swayed Trump on Striking Iran. Here’s What’s Next. The hawkish Republican senator gained the president’s trust after a relationship filled with ups and downs.

"Sen. Lindsey Graham wanted President Trump to strike Iran. That desire was at sharp odds with many in the president’s orbit who were urging him to stay out of the conflict."

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Following his announcement, via the AP, former Lt. Gov. André Bauer issued a press release this morning announcing his candidacy for U.S. Senate, challenging Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

apnews.com/article/lind...

Spartanburg Republican Sen. Josh Kimbrell set to be the second Republican to jump in the 2026 S.C. governor’s race this week following AG Alan Wilson’s announcement today.

Less daylight is coming: the summer solstice, what is it? Summer officially starts on June 20 at 10:42 p.m.

Happy Solstice 🌞
"For example, June 20 will be Columbia's longest day of the year, with 14 hours, 25 minutes, and 15 seconds of daylight. From then on, Columbia loses a few seconds in the days after the 20th."
www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/sc-news/2025...

How Rand Paul got sidelined by fellow Republicans The Kentucky senator has found himself cut out of negotiations over his own committee's portion of the GOP megabill.

Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham said that he has taken over as the lead negotiator in talks with bicameral leadership and the White House over how to deploy tens of billions of dollars to strengthen border security and reduce the flow of migrant encounters..."
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

‘Throwing us off a cliff’: Megabill could derail hundreds of planned clean energy projects A POLITICO analysis identified 794 planned clean electricity generation facilities — mostly in GOP districts — that could lose subsidies under the House bill. The Senate is debating changes.

"House and Senate Republicans are divided over how hard a blow their megabill should strike against the clean energy tax credits at the heart of Joe Biden’s climate law.
Hundreds of projects — overwhelmingly in Republican districts — hang in the balance."
www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

Like I've said before, if you have any doubts about climate change, just go to a super-boring insurance conference and listen to the super-boring panels where they dryly talk about the growing threat of disasters so catastrophic and unpredictable in scope they simply cannot be insured at any price.

Heavily Armed Man at ‘No Kings’ Protest Had 13 Bombs at Home, Police Say Kevin Krebs, 31, of Malvern, Pa., is facing more than two dozen additional charges after investigators searched his house on Monday.

A Pennsylvania man who was arrested on weapons charges at a “No Kings" protest on Saturday is facing more than two dozen additional charges after investigators said they found a cache of homemade bombs at his home outside Philadelphia.

Columbia City Council votes to repeal conversion therapy ordinance in first reading Columbia City Council voted 4-3 to repeal its 2021 conversion therapy ban on June 17, marking the end of a fight between the city and state over the local law.

The city of Columbia voted 4-3 to repeal its conversion therapy ban, seemingly ending a nearly two-month long fight between the city and state over an ordinance aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ youth.

Read more: www.postandcourier.com/columbia/new...

Doubts abound for Thune’s aggressive megabill timeline A host of concerns inside the GOP are threatening the majority leader's grand July 4 plan.

In Thune’s perfect world, he’d be ready by this time next week to start voting on the megabill.

But a host of concerns inside the GOP are threatening the majority leader’s grand July 4 plan.

Moody’s maintains South Carolina’s Aaa credit rating. Notes the “Accounting irregularities identified in audited financials reflect weak practices, which the state is addressing.”
Factors that could cause a downgrade include additional inconsistencies/restatements.
treasurer.sc.gov/media/wdbp4p...

Harry Enten on Trump's bill: "The amount of disapproval for this bill -- holy cow, my goodness gracious! We're talking about 29 points underwater ... we're talking about a negative 41 net favorability rating among independents. You rarely ever see proposed pieces of legislation as unpopular"

YouTube video by SouthCarolinaETV AG Alan Wilson Talks Immigration & the Governor's Race; SCEMD on Hurricane Prep | This Week in SC

What S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson told me when I asked him last week about a potential 2026 gubernatorial run.
youtu.be/Ij5Lba_rWtE?...

Remembering Mother Emanuel 10 Years Later: Part I On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 17, 2025: the first of two episodes dedicated to the 10-year commemoration of the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting where nine black parishioners, ...

One of two S.C. Lede episodes dedicated to the 10-year commemoration of the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting. We have reflections from South Carolinians and folks who participated in the Charleston Forum last week.
www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/podcast/sout...

Analysis | Tim Scott’s video attacking CBO: Nine errors in 60 seconds Every claim made by the Republican senator to ridicule the nonpartisan agency turns out to be false

“Sen. Scott posted a one-minute video that was instantly ridiculed for its errors — nine, by our count. That’s one mistake every 6.66 seconds.”
wapo.st/43YfHha

Aiken Breakin' Heart with Shane Massey On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 14, 2025: our live event recorded Thursday, June 12 at Good Girl Brewing in Aiken featuring host Gavin Jackson, reporter Maayan Schechter, and speci...

Our live South Carolina Lede taping from Aiken with Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey. We covered a good bit including what traits he wants to see in the next governor.

www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/podcast/sout...

S.C. Rep. R.J. May, R-Lexington, has been indicted on 10 counts by federal grand jury for distributing child sexual abuse material.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in April 2024, the social messaging app Kik flagged several videos from the username “joebidennnn69."

House to vote on White House rescission package to claw back $9.4 billion in funding for foreign aid, NPR, PBS The House is expected to vote Thursday on White House's rescission package to claw back funding for NPR, PBS, foreign aid.

“The House is expected to vote Thursday on the White House's rescission package — its formal request to claw back funding for NPR, PBS and international aid that lawmakers had previously approved. “

www.cbsnews.com/news/house-v...

SC Republican Rep. RJ May arrested, in Lexington County custody S.C. Rep. RJ May represents House District 88, which covers part of Lexington County. First elected in 2020, May was a driving force behind the creation of the hardline House Freedom Caucus.

Maayan Schechter with the latest on
South Carolina Republican lawmaker RJ May who was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Lexington County Detention Center, jail records show.

www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/sc-news/2025...

DNI Tulsi Gabbard repeats Putin’s talking points today, releasing an unhinged video where she claims that “political elites” want a nuclear war with Russia because they have sophisticated bomb shelters that will help them survive it.

Elon Musk-Trump Feud Live Updates: Musk’s Epstein Claim ‘Unfortunate Episode,’ White House Says A rift between President Donald Trump and billionaire backer and Tesla CEO Elon Musk erupted Thursday with the two trading insults.

I had never been as tempted to get back on Twitter as I did yesterday. I'm sure there's plenty on Bluesky, but I don't scroll here like I did Twitter. Luckily, The Wall Street Journal has a great live blog with the latest on Musk/Trump. www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

“In a paper published in Nature Communications, the researchers have shown for the 1st time that mRNA can be delivered into the cells where HIV is hiding, by encasing it in a tiny, specially formulated fat bubble. The mRNA then instructs the cells to reveal the virus.”
The virus can no longer hide!

MERZ: Tomorrow is the D Day anniversary, when the Americans ended a war in Europe

TRUMP: That was not a pleasant day for you? This is not a great day

MERZ: This was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship

“What is surprising is that PBS is a major source of news regardless of political preferences. 54.5% of self-declared “extreme conservatives” and 58.5% of self-declared “extreme liberals” in our survey sample consider PBS a major source of news and information.”

Americans trust PBS <em>because</em> it’s publicly funded, not in spite of it "President Trump says he is 'restoring trust in government funded institutions.' Our findings demonstrate that such trust already exists, in spades, towards PBS."

"... Americans from across the political spectrum don’t subscribe to the notion of a biased PBS. We found that those who watch PBS trust it immensely, for several complementary reasons."
www.niemanlab.org/2025/06/amer...

Trump asks Congress to wipe out funding for public broadcasting President Trump is asking lawmakers to claw back the $1.1 billion in federal subsidies for public broadcasting that Congress approved earlier this year. His request also includes cuts to foreign aid.

"CPB is privately incorporated in D.C. and was set up by Congress with statutory safeguards against political influence. It sued the Trump White House over the attempt to fire CPB directors. Then NPR and three Colorado member stations sued the administration..." www.npr.org/2025/06/03/n...