South Carolina Department of Corrections says the last of its supply of pentobarbital has expired, the key ingredient in the SCDC lethal injection formula, leaving only the electric chair as a possible means of state-sponsored execution until more of the drugs are secured. Source: The State/AP
The state House backtracked a bit on Monday after initial budget approval votes were taken without roll-call votes, but not until after Gov. Nikki Haley took to Facebook to blast House leadership for allowing the anonymous voting. Source: The State, P&C
While on a ‘testing the waters’ trip to New Hampshire, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham defended statements he made on ‘Meet the Press,’ where he told host Chuck Todd that he doesn’t use email during a discussion of the Clinton email kerfuffle. Channeling the low-ceilinged, mountain lodge interior of the event venue, Graham told a group of incredulous reporters, “I talk to people, face-to-face, I pick up the phone.” Source: Bloomberg
The Education Oversight Committee voted yesterday to adopt new education standards for math and English to replace nationally-developed Common Core standards. One critic of the national standards says the new guidelines are Common Core “warmed over.” Source: The State
Pushed to the tipping point by the “implosion” of S.C. State University, Republican state Rep. Jim Merrill of Daniel Island has drafted a proposal to completely defund the state Commission on Higher Education, which Merrill says acts as a rubber stamp for schools. Opponents of the proposal say if changes are needed, they should be done through legislation, not the state budget. Source: The State
Upstate Congressman Trey Gowdy has canceled a scheduled appearance at a NoVa “Beyond Benghazi” fundraiser that raised some eyebrows over the weekend. Source: AP, WaPo
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