South Carolina Morning Headlines

Good morning. You're listening to South Carolina Public Radio. I'm Christina Thacker with your statewide headlines. Alec Rupert Murdoch's defense team is asking the judge in his new trial to move the case to Richland County. Judge Deborah McCaslin ruled last week that the 58-year-old's retrial should not be held again in Colleton County. That's where he was convicted three years ago of murdering his wife and son. Originally, the defense had asked for the new trial to be held in Charleston County, but the state argued that area is too expensive and congested. Judge McCaslin said if the two sides cannot reach an agreement, she will choose the venue. And the city of Folly Beach will hold a special committee meeting Wednesday after a judge ruled against its short-term rental caps. The Friday ruling is centered around a voter-approved referendum that limits the number of investor-owned short-term rental properties. The judge argued powers of taxation and regulation belong to the city council, not to voters. The court also threw out the city's registration fee. The city said it plans to appeal that decision on social media, saying it will not immediately revoke the cap as proceedings continue. A highway in Fairfield County is back open after a mass of fire at a Winsboro mattress manufacturing plant. Deputies with the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office say U.S. Highway 321 South is open, but drivers are urged to use extreme caution near the M. Lilly USA facility. Nearly 200 firefighters from across the state are battling the blaze, which involves highly flammable mattress foam. Emergency crews will remain on the scene today. Drivers should expect changing smoke conditions, reduced visibility, and emergency vehicle presence as crews work to extinguish the fire. And a Richland County man will spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2024 murder of an auto repair shop owner. On Thursday, a jury convicted Michael Harper of murder and weapon possession in the shooting death of Henry Durigbar. Judge Heath Taylor sentenced Harper to life in prison. According to the solicitor's office, evidence at trial showed Harper entering the repair shop to confront the victim. Surveillance video showed the pair arguing before Harper shot Durag Bar four times and attempted to hide evidence before fleeing. The Richland County Sheriff's Department investigated the case. Harper ultimately confessed to the killing. The months long Grand Strand Renourishment Project is complete. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the Coast now has a stronger first line of defense against major storms. Cruise finished work this weekend after placing more than one and a half million cubic yards of sand across nearly 28 miles of coastline. The newly widened beaches are designed to protect coastal communities and support the local tourism economy.

The South Carolina Republican Party has postponed its U.S. Senate stump stop, scheduled for Friday in Anderson. The state GOP says the event was pushed back because President Donald Trump is holding a rally in Myrtle Beach the same day. President Trump endorsed Darlene Graham before the Republican primary. However, the White House has not released details regarding the rally. And Governor Henry McMaster Monday announced his final budget vetoes while in the executive office. The 14 vetoes included striking a measure inserted by the legislature that would have paused spending $150 million to cover cost overruns associated with the Scout Motor site until the completion of an audit. Myon Schechter. Has more. In his veto message, Henry McMaster called withholding the money a bad business policy. He argued keeping the months-long pause could hurt South Carolina's reputation as a handshake state. We owe the money and we contracted to do it and we have to pay it. Commerce leaders connected the overruns in part to a five-month delay over environmental permitting questions. Lawmakers, however, wanted a fuller picture of what happened at the electric carmaker's wife would cite. They also said they wanted to avoid similar overruns in the future. future. Henry McMaster said a state inquiry could still occur, repeating, though, that bills must be paid now. It is unlikely the General Assembly will return to Columbia to deal with the governor's vetoes. For South Carolina Public Radio, I'm May on Schechter at the State House. And homeownership in South Carolina is growing for one particular group of buyers, millennials, who are now buying more than renting, according to a new national report. Scott Morgan has more. More millennials own than rent in three out of every four metros in the U.S. It's only not that way in California, Texas, and the northeast where renters still dominate. But in South Carolina, home ownership among millennials is higher than the share of renters in the Charleston, Greenville, and Columbia markets. That's according to new numbers called by Rent Cafe, and they show that 60% of millennials own in Greenville and Columbia followed closely by Charleston. While rentership among millennials is growing in Greenville and Charleston, homeownership increased by more than 70% from millennials in Columbia between 2018 and 2023, as rentership took a sharp drop. Scott Morgan, South Carolina Public Radio, Columbia. You're listening to South Carolina Public Radio, and I'm Christina Thacker.