SC Supreme Court will not halt upcoming execution; activists call for clemency

By Sklar Laird

COLUMBIA — The state Supreme Court will not halt the state’s first execution in 13 years over an inmate’s claims of new evidence and legal errors, the court said in a Thursday order.

Freddie Owens, who changed his legal name to Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah, is scheduled to die Sept. 20 by lethal injection. Unless his attorneys file another motion to halt his execution that convinces the high court, the only way to prevent his execution would be for the governor to grant him clemency.

Gov. Henry McMaster has declined to say whether he will give Owens clemency, saying he will announce his decision minutes before Owens is scheduled to die. Civil rights groups are circulating a petition asking McMaster to give Owens a lighter sentence.

'Obvious Conflict of Interest': Report Reveals 50+ US Lawmakers Hold Military Stocks

By Brett Wilkins

"It's abjectly terrifying that the personal benefit of any member of Congress is factored into decisions about how to wield and fund the largest military in the world," said one critic.

At least 50 U.S. lawmakers or members of their households are financially invested in companies that make military weapons and equipment—even as these firms "receive hundreds of billions of dollars annually from congressionally-crafted Pentagon appropriations legislation," a report published Thursday revealed.

UNC System eliminates dozens of positions as campus DEI initiatives come to an end

By Clayton Henkin

North Carolinians are getting their first look at the impact of the UNC System’s decision to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs from its campuses.

The UNC Board of Governors voted in May to repeal the policy in favor of “principled neutrality.” Campuses within the system had until September 1st to issue reports on how they followed the new directive, detailing the steps taken to achieve that compliance.

Andrew Tripp, the UNC System’s senior vice president and general counsel, told the Board of Governors on Wednesday that a total of 59 positions had been eliminated and 132 were realigned to other areas.

Congressional Democrats, civil rights leaders call for changes in the Senate filibuster

 By Ariana Figueroa

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers and a coalition of civil rights leaders Tuesday urged Congress to reform the filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation next Congress.

“Voting rights, succinctly put, are preservative of all other rights,” U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, said at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol.

Warnock was joined by Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Reps. Joe Morelle of New York, Terri Sewell of Alabama and John Sarbanes of Maryland, as well as dozens of representatives of civil rights groups, including plaintiffs in voting rights lawsuits in South Carolina and Alabama.

UNC Chapel Hill’s incoming class is less diverse after Supreme Court affirmative action ruling

 By Christine Zhu

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s newest class is less diverse following the Supreme Court’s 2023 affirmative action ruling, according to its latest student enrollment data released this week.

The percentage of first-year and transfer students identifying as white or Asian increased this year from 88.5 percent to 89.6 percent, compared to the fall 2023 report.

Meanwhile, the number of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students declined from 22.9 percent to 19 percent.