6/1 NEWSBREAK: U.S. House passes debt ceiling bill; 4 S.C. members vote no

The U.S. House voted 314-117 with broad bipartisan support to suspend the country’s spending limit for two years while imposing major spending caps and policy changes.

Four of South Carolina’s members of the U.S. House voted against passing the bill to keep the country out of bankruptcy and raise the debt ceiling: U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace of Isle of Palms, William Timmons of Greenville, Ralph Norman of Rock Hill and Russell Fry of Surfside Beach. Two Republicans — Joe Wilson of Lexington and Jeff Duncan of Laurens — joined U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn of Santee to approve the measure.

Clyburn said in a tweet Tuesday that the bill was “a pretty good deal” and “prevents a default, preserves Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare and expands access to critical programs.” Mace blasted the deal as something that would sell out “our kids and grandkids.”

The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate. Deadline for passage is June 5.

In other headlines:

CP: Cool off with summer cocktail staples. Charleston bartenders, a distiller and bottle shop owner describe and recommend five cocktails to get you through the summer.

CP: ‘An Iliad’ delivers not-to-be-missed theater. The one-man show An Iliad, which is based on Homer’s Iliad and plays at Spoleto Festival through June 3 is performed by writer/actor Denis O’Hare and focuses on the Poet who tells the audience the story of all wars, something made clear from the very beginning.

CP: High Tide Festival to return to North Charleston June 3. High Tide Festival is returning for its second year to Riverfront Park with electronic dance music from a diverse lineup of DJs.

CP: Sofar Sounds to bring intimate concerts to Charleston. Sofar Sounds Charleston is returning with intimate shows at unexpected venues. The featured artists are not revealed until they take the mic.

Hurricane season starts today. Time to prepare. Several of South Carolina’s beaches lost tons of sand and suffered severe damage last year to the weakened dunes. The best way to help sustain the state’s coastlines fall under three categories: nourishment, vegetation and fences. Meanwhile, Folly Beach has received $77M worth of sand to replenish dunes.

Charleston Co. 911 call center implements AI to help with non-emergency calls. Charleston County says they are using new technology for their non-emergency phone number to help ease the workload of their call takers. People will now be greeted by Amazon Connect, which will still get people the help they need while taking stress off their call takers.

Charleston Police Department reflects on riots 3 years later. Charleston Police Department officials say the riot on King Street three years ago was a surreal experience, but the department has learned a lot from it.

Charleston Co. teachers concerned over budget delay. Teachers are making their concerns known after the Charleston County School Board voted to delay next year’s budget in favor of continuing this year’s budget, meaning spending will be frozen at its current level, all while inflation has made everything more expensive.

Charleston airport sees record numbers over Memorial Day weekend. The Charleston International Airport said it experienced a 15% increase in travelers compared to the same time last year during the holiday weekend. A combined total of 38,689 travelers passed through the airport between Thursday and Sunday, with an additional 10,172 passengers on the Tuesday after Memorial Day.