The Post and Courier of Charleston reported attorney Johnny Linton of Summerville has purchased the inn from Sheila Crump Johnson, co-founder of Black Entertainment Television.

Terms of the sale were not released.

Johnson's Salamander Hospitality will continue to manage the Summerville property.

The 62-year-old Linton says he hopes to grow what he called an "artisans' village" at the 1906 mansion.

He made the announcement with 17 oil-on-canvas paintings by contemporary impressionist Rick Reinert on display. Linton says he hopes to bring in sweetgrass basket weavers, canoe makers, singers, pianists, fly fishermen and chefs.

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The CPSC said Thursday that both agencies will keep evaluating consumer complaints and provide updated information. The CPSC received nearly 4,700 diaper rash reports from April through August and says both agencies evaluated the diapers' materials, construction and other characteristics.

Claims that the new version of Procter & Gamble's biggest-selling brand can cause severe rashes triggered lawsuits as well as the government probes.

CPSC says it cannot rule out that some babies may react differently to the new product, especially those who are sensitive to materials in Dry Max.

Jim Newsome also said during a public meeting Thursday in Charleston that the Ports Authority has formed an advisory council with residents in neighborhoods near the 63-acre site of the proposed terminal.

This has been the first year-round cruising season from Charleston. Last winter, the authority unveiled plans to create a new cruise terminal and open another half-mile of Charleston's historic waterfront to the public.

A study commissioned by the authority and released earlier this year estimated cruises meant $37 million to the South Carolina economy this year.

The National Weather Service office says dangerous rip currents are expected along the entire coast until 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Those dangerous conditions are expected to continue with a high surf advisory in effect along the south coast starting at midnight tonight until early Friday morning. High surf is also expected along the Grand Strand from noon until midnight Thursday.

A small craft advisory also is in effect until midnight Thursday night on the north coast and until 6 a.m. Friday on the south coast.

Testing now is slow and misses more than half of all cases. Experts say that a better test can help curb TB in poor countries, where most people spread the lung disease before they are diagnosed and treated.

In the U.S., clinics could use it to diagnose a drug-resistant strain on someone's first visit and start proper treatment right away.

The test was developed by university researchers working with a California company and a Swiss-based nonprofit group. The U.S. government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation paid for the work.

BP PLC told the House Energy and Commerce Committee that it spent a total of $93 million on advertising from April to the end of July. The company says the money was intended to keep Gulf Coast residents informed on issues related to the oil spill and to ensure transparency about its actions. The increased spending was largely targeted at TV, newspapers and magazines. A small portion was directed to the Internet.

BP says it actually aired fewer TV spots from April to July than during a similar period last year.

A new study shows the appetite suppressant raises the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with heart problems.

The strongly worded editorial in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine comes two weeks before government advisers review the prescription drug.

The weight-loss pill has already been pulled in Europe and U.S. drug regulators have added stronger warnings to the label.

The maker of the diet pill, Abbott Laboratories, says it's still appropriate for obese people who don't have heart disease and who can't lose weight through diet and exercise.

Surfers pulled 47-year-old Tazwell Brown from the water off Satellite Beach in central Florida on Saturday. No official cause of death has been determined, but investigators say the Ocoee, Fla., man appeared to have drowned.

Authorities in Ocean City, Md., called off a search Sunday for a 23-year-old man from Washington who went swimming late Saturday.

More than 250 people in Ocean City and roughly 70 on Florida's central Atlantic Coast were rescued from rip currents.

Swimmers are being warned to stay close to shore or out of the water altogether until Hurricanes Danielle and Earl run their course.

FDA officials released their initial observations of the ongoing investigations at Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms on Monday. The two farms recalled more than half a billion eggs after salmonella illnesses were linked to their products earlier this month.

Reports released by the FDA show numerous violations at both farms, including rodent, bug and wild bird infestation, uncontained manure, holes in walls and other problems that could have caused the outbreak.

Several positive samples of salmonella have been found at both farms.

The Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday it will add heart disease, Parkinson's disease and certain types of leukemia to the list of conditions veterans can claim is tied to Agent Orange. That list is topped by diabetes.

The agency estimates that the proposed changes will cost $42 billion over the next 10 years as Vietnam vets get older. The rule will go into effect in two months unless Congress steps in.

Veterans only need to prove that they were in Vietnam when Agent Orange was used to kill jungle foliage and later got one of the illnesses possibly linked to it. The VA already compensates for some types of cancer and diabetes.

Danielle's maximum sustained winds increased Friday to near 135 mph (215 kph) with some additional strengthening possible.

Danielle is located about 545 miles (875 kilometers) southeast of Bermuda. The hurricane is forecast to pass east of Bermuda on Saturday night.

Also in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Earl is moving west with maximum sustained winds near 45 mph (75 kph).

And in the Pacific, Hurricane Frank has weakened slightly off Mexico's coast. Further weakening is expected over the next couple days as the hurricane moves over cooler waters.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Friday that Lance. Cpl. Bob Beres is leading the effort to build a granite memorial wall in front of patrol headquarters in Blythewood, outside Columbia.

Beres is organizing the first Fallen Trooper Memorial Run on Oct. 5 at Charleston Southern University.

He says people are being asked to run or walk the track as far as they can and contribute what they can.

Beres says some troopers plan to circle the track 49 times, once for each trooper killed since 1932.

He says he plans to go 100 miles — that's 400 laps — to raise awareness for the campaign.

The campaign hopes to raise $20,000.

Former Federal Emergency Management agency director Mike Brown tells NBC's "Today" show "there was a disconnect" about what the Bush administration was saying about the situation, and how bad things actually were.

Brown said "there was a mentality in Washington which says you put the best face on everything." He said information given out by the administration was accurate, but "we never put it in context" with how much still needed to be done to lift the stricken city.

Brown is the man whom then-President George W. Bush famously praised publicly for doing a great job.

Joe McGill, who re-enacts with the 54th Massachusetts in South Carolina, says when the re-enactors aren't at the table telling the story, it doesn't get told.

The 54th is the unit whose 1863 attack on Battery Wagner in Charleston Harbor is told in the movie "Glory."

Yale historian David Blight says that for years, the story of black troops was erased from the mainstream American memory, teaching and textbooks.

Blight says while the story now is mainstream for scholars, many Americans still don't know the story of the black troops.

Officials in Summerville say a popular life-sized bronze sculpture has been stolen from a town park. It had been erected by the arts organization Sculpture in the South that has placed 20 sculptures in public spaces around the Charleston suburb.

The missing boy in a conductor's hat was part of an installation called "Follow the Leader" featuring four other children and a dog on a brick wall.

Parks officials say a three-quarter inch mounting bolt on the sculpture was snapped and the statue was stolen Monday night.

Another bronze sculpture was stolen from another town park three years ago.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the citation on Monday.

One of the three violations is considered "willful," or shows indifference or intentional disregard for employee safety. The willful citation was given for exposing workers to drowning hazards when interacting with killer whales.

Another "serious" citation was for failing to install a stairway railing system beside the stage in Shamu Stadium.

Trainer Dawn Brancheau died Feb. 24 when a killer whale grabbed her hair and dragged her into a pool.

SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs says the park disagrees with the "unfounded allegations" from OSHA.

Officials also said Monday they do not expect the number of eggs recalled to grow based on what they know now. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it has not identified additional clusters of illness that would indicate the outbreak has spread beyond two Iowa farms.

Also Monday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee said it is investigating the outbreak and sent letters to both farms asking for detailed information about company operations, communications with the government and what they knew when.

Danielle is the second Atlantic hurricane of the year. On Monday afternoon, it was about 1,320 miles (2,120 kilometers) east of the Lesser Antilles islands.

Forecasters say the storm could become a major hurricane by Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Frank has weakened slightly in the Pacific. It's maximum sustained winds were 50 mph (85 kph), but it could gain strength again in the next day or so.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Mexico's coast from Laguanas de Chacahua westward to Zihuatanejo. A tropical storm watch is in effect from west of Zihuatanejo to Punta San Telmo.

A report by the South Carolina Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation said Thursday that 87 worker deaths were recorded in 2008.

The agency says biggest decline came in the transportation and material moving occupations, where fatal incidents declined 36 percent. There were 28 deaths in those areas in 2008 and 18 in 2009.

The state numbers are part of a national report from the U.S. Labor Department, which said high unemployment and layoffs in more dangerous industries played a major role in a 17 percent national decrease in deaths.

South Carolina's jobless rate dropped to 10.7 percent in June, the seventh-worst jobless rate in the nation.

Paterson told WNYC Radio's "The Take Away" on Friday that he's still seeking a meeting, but the discussion he'd hoped to have this week won't happen.

Paterson had said this week that he had hoped to meet with developers in a couple of days to talk about the concerns of those still hurt and angry over the Sept. 11 attacks.

He says the group postponed a Monday meeting because its imam leader was traveling.

Paterson has also offered to provide state assistance for any relocation.

The state Department of Employment and Workforce said Friday the labor force decreased again — for the fourth-straight month. July's rate was up from 10.7 percent in June and compares with a national jobless rate of 9.5 percent for July.

The total number of jobs in the state decreased more than 30,000 for the month, led by a seasonal reduction of education workers and the loss of about 2,000 temporary Census jobs. Since July 2009, however, 18,000 jobs have been added to the state's economy.

Marion County had the highest unemployment rate with nearly one in five residents looking for work. Lexington County had the lowest rate at 8.2 percent.

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey and Intertech Group President Jonathan Zucker meet with reporters on Thursday to announce details of the seventh annual Palmetto Regional Robotics competition.

The event is scheduled for March at the North Charleston Convention Center. It will attract about 1,000 local and regional high school students who will have six weeks to design and build a robot meeting competition specifications.

More than 35,000 students from seven countries compete in the international event, vying to secure their share of $12 million in scholarships.

A team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts mapped a 22-mile-long mist of oil with special instruments that look for the chemical signature of oil. Scientists say the most troubling thing is that it's not degrading very fast. That means it could be a long-lasting threat for marine life deep in the ocean.

The work is published online Thursday in the journal Science.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Thursday that Maverick Equipment Manufacturing Inc. of Warwick, R.I., is moving into a building in Summerville.

A sales office already is operating in Summerville with about 20 workers.

The state Commerce Department says Maverick is spending about $1.5 million in the move.

The company makes giant hydraulic hammers that heavy-machine operators plunge into the ground in construction projects.

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The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said eggs from Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa, were linked to several illnesses in Colorado, California and Minnesota. The CDC said about 200 cases of the strain of salmonella linked to the eggs were reported weekly during June and July, four times the normal number of such occurrences.

The eggs were distributed around the country and packaged under the names Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemp.

The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the egg company.

The Beaufort Gazette reports the town of Ridgeland is still using automated cameras to catch speeders, despite a state law that says tickets based only on photographic evidence must be issued in person.

Police in the town about 20 miles from the Georgia-South Carolina state line sit in a recreational vehicle watching computer monitors relay information from cameras and radar.

If a driver is doing over 80 mph, the camera snaps a picture of the driver and the vehicle's plate and a ticket is mailed.

Ridgeland Mayor Gary Hodges says since an officer is monitoring the system, tickets aren't based only on photographic evidence.

The average score for the Class of 2010 was 20 on a 36-point scale. That's up from 19.8 last year, and half a point increase over five years.

South Carolina is one point below the national average of 21. Last year's gap was 1.3 points. Massachusetts had the highest average score at 24. Mississippi fared the worst at 18.8.

Eighteen percent of South Carolina's test-takers met college readiness benchmarks in the four core subjects. Nearly 20,000 public and private school graduates took the ACT, just over half of the students who graduated.

Both the ACT and SAT are accepted by most colleges. The SAT has historically been more popular in South Carolina, but ACT participation has grown.

The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports the film "Isopod" will be shot in Georgetown.

City Administrator Chris Eldridge says it's an ecological disaster movie and location scouts came to town about three weeks ago to see what the city had to offer.

Eldridge says the scouts were looking for a coastal town and liked the Georgetown waterfront and the city's oak shrouded streets.

He says Barry Levinson, who won the Oscar for best director in 1989 for "Rain Man," will direct the film.

The scientists say as much as 80 percent of the oil still lurks under the surface. The Georgia team said it is a misinterpretation of data to claim that oil that is dissolved is actually gone. The report from University of Georgia and other scientists came from an analysis of federal estimates.

Earlier this month federal scientists said that only about a quarter of the oil remained and the rest was either removed, dissolved or dispersed.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports that 214 tickets were written for drivers in a dangerous 22-mile section of the interstate between Jedburg and I-95 during five days last week.

Twenty-six people have died along that section of the highway since the start of 2007, many in one-vehicle accidents.

The Highway Patrol announced the crackdown last week as part of an enforcement effort targeting dangerous driving on the interstate between Charleston and Columbia.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports the city of North Charleston is considering the use of speed cushions.

Speed cushions are small humps made of rubber that can be picked up and moved. Speed humps are permanent and usually made of asphalt.

The city has been reluctant to install permanent speed humps because of the cost and because they slow emergency vehicles moving in and out of neighborhoods. Officials say the placement of the cushions wouldn't interfere with emergency vehicles.

The cushions are cheaper and officials say they can be moved temporarily to areas where stepped up traffic enforcement is needed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in a posting Monday that it has received one complaint alleging complete steering loss.

The complaint said the steering shaft also interfered with the driver's ability to hit the brakes.

The government says it is "very concerned" about the incident because the vehicle was only two months old and had low mileage.

The preliminary investigation covers more than 50,000 vehicles.

Seven cases have been confirmed — three in California and four in Nevada. Two other California cases are being investigated. Five people have been hospitalized.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said four of the cases have been linked to a Goya brand of fruit pulp that was used in milkshakes or smoothies. No other food was tied to the illnesses.

The fruit pulp was made from mamey (ma-MAY'), a sweet, reddish tropical fruit grown mainly in Central and South America. The company has recalled packages of the pulp.

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Attorney General Troy King filed two lawsuits in federal court in Montgomery late Thursday afternoon. One is against BP, the other against Transocean and others, but they are identical in wording.

They seek unspecified money damages plus punitive damages against BP, Transocean, Haliburton and other companies associated with the oil rig that Deepwater Horizon. The rig exploded on April 20, leading to some 200 million gallons of oil to spew into the Gulf of Mexico.

A spokesman for BP says the company does not comment on ongoing litigation.

King filed the lawsuit against the wishes of Gov. Bob Riley, who says the state should pursue an out-of-court settlement first.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports Friday that start times will be staggered for the 34th annual Cooper River Bridge Run and Walk next April. Runners have complained for years about the human traffic jam that forces them to walk, jog and stop over the 6.2-mile course.

More than 40,000 people participated in the race last April.

Next year, groups of up to 5,000 people will start in three-minute intervals. Walkers will be in the back.

The race crosses the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge over the Cooper River, which links Mount Pleasant and Charleston.

The longest cable-stayed bridge in North America was finished five years ago.

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The Summerville town council voted 4-2 Wednesday night to give tentative approval to the ordinance, which in most cases would also keep illegal immigrants from working in the town of 45,000 near the coast.

Passage came after 90 minutes of public debate which was evenly divided between supporters and opponents. The ordinance comes up for a final vote at next month's council meeting.

A representative of the American Civil Liberties Union warned the ordinance violates federal housing laws and that other communities have spent nearly a million dollars defending such ordinances.

Supporters said the town has to have the resolve to send a message to Washington on immigration reform.

The State newspaper of Columbia reports Thursday this year's freshmen class is nearly 500 students larger, for a class of about 4,400 students. That could bring the school up to $3.5 million in additional revenue.

The university accepted more students partly to fill a hole caused by state budget cuts. Officials say more students than expected then took the school up on its offer.

Last year, there were 3,900 freshmen. Four years ago, the freshman class consisted of fewer than 3,700 students.

Freshmen are required to live on campus. That means more upperclassmen must find housing off campus.

The state director for employees' insurance program said Thursday the pilot will pay for the surgery for 100 people statewide on a first-come, first-serve basis. The plan will cover gastric-bypass or Lap-Band surgery for people who qualify.

Lawmakers required the trial program and set aside more than $2 million for it in the budget. They told the Budget and Control Board to create it as part of workers' benefits plan for 2011, which the board approved Thursday.

Results will be studied to see if the surgeries lead to overall health savings.

Almost two-thirds of South Carolina's residents are considered overweight or obese.

Doctors feared the worst when they studied Ron Sveden's (SVEE'-dehn) X-rays and spotted a small dark spot.

The former teacher had worked for years smoking fish and had already had emphysema before he felt his health take a turn for the worse this summer.

By the time Sveden reached the hospital, he had a collapsed left lung and pneumonia. Two biopsies came back negative for lung cancer.

Feeding a scope down Sveden's throat, Dr. Jeff Spillane scraped away at an encrusted mass and discovered a sprout. Spillane says Sveden apparently inhaled a pea that took root in his lung.

Spillane removed it, and Sveden's health has returned.

Education Department spokesman Jim Foster said Tuesday the agency surveyed the state's superintendents about how they would spend the money. About half the superintendents responded and some said they may rehire one or two positions, but none planned a wholesale rehiring of teachers after the school year begins.

Last year, South Carolina schools cut 2,200 jobs, including 1,400 teachers. For the current school year, the Education Department has estimated as many as 3,800 additional employees have been or will be cut. As many as 2,500 of those would be teachers.

The proposed ordinance goes before the Summerville town council on Wednesday.

Councilman Walter Bailey says the ordinance would prevent illegal immigrants from living in the town of 45,000 and in most cases keep them from working there.

Bailey is a former state prosecutor and says the idea was prompted in part by the Obama administration's challenge of the new Arizona immigration law.

A federal judge has blocked key aspects of that law but Bailey says his Summerville ordinance is different enough to where he doesn't think the judge's ruling applies.

A one-year anniversary celebration is being held Tuesday at a Nurse-Family Partnership site in North Charleston.

Tuesday's program at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church will feature program leaders and local officials discussing the site's progress since it was established a year ago.

Through the program, first-time mothers meet with a registered nurse early in pregnancy. Then the nurses continue home visits until the child reaches its sceond birthday.

Weeks ago, scientists discovered specks of oil on crab larvae. They say it's an ominous sign that crude has infiltrated the Gulf's vast food web — and could affect it for years.

Biologist Harriet Perry of the University of Southern Mississippi says about 40 percent of Gulf waters that crab larvae inhabit have been affected by the spill.

She says scientists are focusing on crabs because they're a "keystone species" that play a crucial role in the food web as both predator and prey.

Crabs are also big business. Some 33 million pounds are harvested annually in Louisiana, generating nearly $300 million.

Officials from the Highway Patrol and other law agencies met with reporters Monday in North Charleston to announce a crackdown on dangerous driving on one of the state's busiest interstate highways.

The stepped up enforcement will target the 120-mile ribbon of Interstate 26 between Columbia and Charleston.

The patrol says it will be looking for drunk and reckless drivers among other violators.

The U.S. and Canada are Chrysler's primary markets, and both have seen more demand for cars and trucks since a recession-related slump last year. Chrysler says revenues rose 8.2 percent to $10.5 billion compared with the first quarter, largely because of a 22 percent jump in sales.

Chrysler has been run by Fiat SpA since leaving bankruptcy protection in June 2009. This was the first time since 2007 that the company has released second-quarter results. Chrysler lost $197 million in the first quarter.

Chrysler says it remains on track to break even or post an operating profit this year and may raise that forecast when it reports third-quarter results. Chrysler said it made an operating profit of $183 million in the second quarter.

The company said Thursday that its engineers finished pumping cement into the deep-sea well at 2:15 Central time.

On Wednesday they pumped enough mud into the well to push the oil back to its underground reservoir. Crews must now wait at least a day for the cement to dry.

BP bottled up the leak in July with a cap that was always considered a temporary solution.

Executives say the static kill may permanently plug the well. But either way they plan to pump mud and cement through a relief well this month to forever suffocate the source of the oil.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday said 14 to 20 named tropical storms are expected to develop, with eight to 12 storms strengthening into hurricanes. Four to six of those hurricanes could become major storms with sustained winds of at least 111 mph.

That's slightly fewer storms than NOAA expected in May. But lead seasonal hurricane forecaster Gerry Bell says ocean temperatures and a climate phenomenon known as La Nina favor more storm development.

Three named storms have developed since hurricane season began June 1: Hurricane Alex and tropical storms Bonnie and Colin.

North Charleston City Council is holding the hearing Thursday.

Mayor Keith Summey says the plan would reconnect neighborhoods and build a better quality of life in the city.

Opponents worry the plan could affect the competitiveness of a new State Ports Authority terminal being built at the old Naval Base in North Charleston.

The city has a tentative agreement with CSX transportation and a local developer to remove some lines running through the city.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports the donation comes from Anita Zucker, wife of the late Jerry Zucker, who was president and CEO of the InterTech Group in North Charleston. Anita Zucker became CEO and chairwoman when her husband died two years ago.

College of Charleston President George Benson says he's glad Charleston is becoming a center of Holocaust studies.

Charleston had the largest Jewish community of any city in America in the early 19th Century and still has a sizable Jewish community.

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The State newspaper reported that Department of Motor Vehicles director Marcia Adams said Tuesday the new licenses and identification cards should be offered in late September or early October.

Adams says the new cards are designed to protect against fraud, counterfeiting and duplication. The new cards also will guard against efforts to change photographs or birth dates.

Adams says some of the security features will be invisible to the naked eye.

There is no change in cost, $25 for a new driver's license and $5 for a state identification card.

The agency plans a publicity campaign about the new cards soon.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen told WWL-TV in New Orleans on Wednesday that pumping mud down the throat of the blown-out well quelled the immediate threat.

But he told the station that engineers will still pump mud and cement later this month through an 18,000-foot relief well to permanently plug the underground reservoir that's fed the gusher.

Allen says "we've pretty much made this well not a threat but we need to finish this from the bottom."

BP bottled up the leak on July 15 with a massive cap after it had spewed millions of gallons of oil into the sea, but that cap was always considered a temporary solution.

Tuesday's event is a way for communities to show criminals they are concerned about crime and won't tolerate it.

Law enforcement officials say National Night Out is designed to heighten the public's awareness of crime and drug prevention efforts and strengthen partnerships between law officers and the communities they serve.

Dozens of neighborhoods from Spartanburg and Greenville to Columbia and down along the coast have planned events that include everything from cookouts and safety demonstrations to flashlight walks through the neighborhoods.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Tuesday that Florence Sen. Hugh Leatherman has written the state's public schools, warning them not to raise tuition more than 7.3 percent.

Leatherman chairs the finance committee and says he would work on budget cuts, tuition limits and a reduction in out-of-state students if schools don't trim the increases.

The College of Charleston has the largest percentage increase at nearly 15 percent. College President George Benson didn't want to talk about Leatherman's letter, but is trying to arrange a meeting with him.

Most colleges and universities blame a lack of state support for the decision to raise tuition.

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Clyburn spoke Tuesday to the annual meeting of the Southern Legislative Conference that has attracted 1,600 lawmakers to Charleston.

He says he doesn't think another round of federal stimulus spending is needed, but he says passing a new highway bill would help provide jobs.

Clyburn urged state lawmakers to promote tourism and take advantage of the South's rich cultural diversity. He says the region's history has been glorious and at times painful. But he says diversity that once caused wedges between people is the region's strength.

Charleston County parks safety manager Nikki Bowie told The Post and Courier of Charleston the number and severity of stings have been on the increase in the past week or so.

Bowie says the Isle of Palms north of the city of Charleston reported more than 300 stings in the past week and Folly Beach to the south of the city saw stings jump from 15 on Wednesday to 150 on Thursday.

Bowie says the county's beach parks typically see just a couple if any jellyfish stings in a month.

She says lifeguards are stocking up on vinegar to take some of the pain out of the stings.

Oil still washes up on marshes and protective boom lining the shore, months after a sea-bottom well began gushing crude from the bottom of the Gulf.

Chemical dispersants whose long-term effects on sea life are unknown were used by BP to help break up the oil.

Fishermen worry they'll lose money even at the perception that their catch could be oily or contain toxic dispersants.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg notes that giving the OK to reopen one closed fishery does not mean it couldn't be closed again if more oil shows up.

Graham told The Greenville News for a story Monday that the release of more than 90,000 documents written between 2004 and 2009 has undermined the war effort and endangered lives. He says he expects people will be killed because of the release of the documents.

Graham says prosecuting those who leaked the documents would give people confidence they can help the U.S. war effort without worrying their names will be released.

He says those in the military should be court-martialed and civilians should be prosecuted in U.S. courts.

Summerville Councilman Walter Bailey has proposed an ordinance requiring most employers to check the immigration status of workers. It would also require those who rent homes or apartments in town to prove they are citizens or in the country legally.

Bailey says the ordinance was sparked in part by the Obama administration's challenge to the new Arizona immigration law — much of which was blocked by a judge on Wednesday.

Members of the Hispanic community in Summerville say immigration is a federal, not local, issue.

A town attorney is reviewing the ordinance before it goes before council.

In a statement Friday, the Army said Pvt. Bradley Manning was flown Thursday to Quantico Marine Base where he will be held while awaiting trial for leaking top-secret military intelligence to WikiLeaks.

The 22-year-old intelligence analyst is accused of leaking a classified helicopter cockpit video of a 2007 firefight in Baghdad that left a Reuters photographer and his driver dead.

He's also come under suspicion in the leak of tens of thousands of secret Afghanistan war logs WikiLeaks posted this week on the Internet.

A person familiar with negotiations for Lopez said she's close to signing a deal to join Fox TV's hit singing contest as a judge. The person, who was not authorized to comment publicly, spoke Thursday night on condition of anonymity.

DeGeneres announced earlier Thursday she is leaving the show after one season, following fellow judge Simon Cowell out the door. Fox has yet to announce a replacement for Cowell.

Actor-singer-dancer Lopez, whose films include "Selena" and "The Back-Up Plan," has appeared as a mentor on "American Idol."

Fox declined comment. Phone and e-mail messages for Lopez's representatives were not immediately returned.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports that an 11-foot-long, 500 pound alligator was removed from a lagoon on the resort island on Wednesday.

It took three gator wrestlers from the Critter Management company and a truck to pull the gator from the lagoon near a church.

A worker said the gator was so big, it was a like a frog in a puddle.

Critter Management owner Joe Maffo said most encounters with gators occur during the spring and early summer. He said the gator probably just found a lagoon where he felt comfortable.

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Roy He of North Carolina State University said Thursday the chances are low in part because the well is capped for now. BP expects to permanently kill it soon.

He also says large amounts of oil haven't been observed in the Loop Current, which could carry oil around Florida and into East Coast waters. He also points to the ongoing dilution and degradation of the oil.

A National Center for Atmospheric Research model released at the beginning of June projected that parts of the oil spill could come up the East Coast during the summer.

The conference said on Tuesday that its teams would place a "GC" sticker on helmets to be displayed all season.

The league said more than 170 players in the Southern Conference are from states being affected by the oil spill.

Commissioner John Iamarino said Elon coach Pete Lembo brought him the idea. The NCAA's rules committee and supervisory officiating organization approved use of the decal.

The Regimental Band and Pipes from The Citadel leaves on Wednesday for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The event is a monthlong nightly festival of military music and pageantry.

The Citadel is the only military college ever invited and is making its second trip to Scotland. The band also played at the event in 1991.

It's also the only band from the United States at this year's event.

The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports that Myrtle Beach has collected more than expected in sales tax revenues during the past 10 months.

Since the city began collecting the 1 percent sales tax in August, Myrtle Beach has raised $14.2 million. Forecasters had projected the total would be only about $15 million for the entire year.

Officials expect the sales tax collection to be well over projections because the two months not reported are June and July, the busiest months for coastal tourism.

Myrtle Beach is using the money from the special sales tax to promote tourism.

The National Weather Service in Charleston has issued the advisory for Tuesday, saying while it will be slightly cooler than Monday, highs will still be in the mid to upper 90s.

The combination of high temperature and high humidity will make if feel as though it's between 105 and 113 degrees outside.

Forecasters say that the risk of heat illnesses is especially high because of the long duration of the ongoing heat wave.

South Carolina's ability for children to succeed ranks 45th in the nation in the Kids Count report released Tuesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. That's ahead of only five states — New Mexico, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The report says South Carolina's rates for infant mortality and teen birth have improved. But indicators slipped for percentages of low birth-weight babies, children in poverty and children living in single parent families.

Children's Trust of South Carolina chief executive Sue Williams says the state needs to focus on a more holistic approach to improving children's lives.

Keith Overton suggested at a hearing Tuesday that Congress charge a federal agency with reviewing news reporting. He complained many in media put "ratings ahead of accuracy" and exaggerated the amount of oil that hit Florida beaches.

Overton is also chief operating officer of TradeWinds Island Resort in St. Pete Beach, Fla. He did not specify what government could do. Congressional action is limited, given the First Amendment's free speech protections.

He did get a sympathetic response from Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., who agreed the media focuses on sensationalism.

GM will also offer a $350-per-month lease deal that's about equal to the Leaf's.

Both cars are eligible for a federal tax credit that will cut their prices by $7,500.

The Volt runs on battery power but has a small gas engine to generate electricity once the battery runs down. The 4-door sedan can drive up to 40 miles on a fully charged battery. The Leaf can go up to 100 miles on a charge but doesn't have a gas engine. It goes on sale in December.

GM says the Volt is a better value because it eliminates worries about running out of power.

The state Department of Employment and Workforce says its 36 offices across the state are open 8 a.m. to noon Saturday to help process claims restored under a new law.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama signed a $34 billion measure that restores unemployment benefits to people who have been out of work for six months or more. It ends a seven-week interruption that caused 2.5 million people nationwide to lose benefits averaging about $300 a week.

South Carolina's jobless rate dropped to 10.7 percent in June, the seventh-worst jobless rate in the nation.

Mount Pleasant celebrates at its Memorial Waterfront Park on Saturday.

The evening celebration includes free T-shirts with the new town logo, a jump castle for the kids and a fire department display that simulates what it is like to be in a house fire.

The party is capped off with a free outdoor showing of the movie "ET: The Extraterrestrial."

The National Civic League bestows the All America designation in a competition involving cities nationwide.

Ten cities were honored in June. North Miami, Fla., Acworth, Ga., and Gastonia, N.C., are other Southern cities that received the award.

Stephen Liesen of Quincy, Ill., needed 30 minutes to reel in the fish thought to be the largest lemon shark ever caught in South Carolina waters.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head Island reports that the state Natural Resources Department will check and weigh the shark on a certified scale to verify the record. The agency's web site lists the record at 370 pounds caught by R.L. Price of Ladson in 2002.

An avid sports fisherman, Liesen calls Thursday's catch "the fish of a lifetime."

The Florida Museum of Natural History web site says lemon sharks are named for their yellow-brown coloring and are among the larger species of sharks, at eight to 10 feet long.

The State of Columbia reports that the Natural Resources Department has increased the number of bears a hunting party can take to five from three. Individuals are still allowed to bag just one bear per season.

Natural Resources officials say the number of black bears in South Carolina has gotten so large that the animals are boldly looking for food in residential areas. Black bears can get up to 600 pounds.

Natural Resources Department officials also can expand the two-week late-October hunting season to areas outside the state's three mountain counties of Greenville, Pickens and Oconee where most of the state's bears live.

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for inland counties for Friday as well as an advisory for the moderate risk of rip currents along the coast.

A combination of temperatures in the mid and upper 90s and moderate levels of humidity will likely produce heat indexes of 105 degrees or greater each afternoon through the weekend.

Forecasters say wind and or wave conditions support stronger or more frequent rip currents, and only experienced surf swimmers who know how to escape a rip current should enter the water.

There had been worries that the cap that has mostly contained the oil would have to be reopened and left gushing if a major storm came through. But engineers are confident enough in the strength of the cap that they've decided to leave it sealed while most of the ships on the surface were told to leave the area.

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen and BP officials concede the storm, which is expected to enter the Gulf by the weekend, could delay by another 12 days the push to plug the broken well for good using mud and cement.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reported the fire marshal's office has told the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant that it must stop the sleepover program on the carrier unless it adds the sprinklers.

Fire Marshal John Reich says existing conditions where Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts sleep in crew bunks create a danger to the campers and emergency officials who might respond to a fire.

Patriots Point had more than 2,500 campers in May alone.

The letter says the fire marshal ordered the changes in 2008 and learned this year the improvements had not been made.

Patriots Point officials say a 1990 order allows the museum to continue its current operations.

Retired U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says Tuesday that the procedure would make it easier to complete the permanent fix of plugging the oil from the bottom of the blown out well because the oil would be smashed in from two directions.

No oil would be released.

The mechanical cap has stopped the oil since Thursday. But several leaks had caused mounting concern that the cap was displacing pressure and causing leaks deep underground.

The state Tax Realignment Commission meeting on Wednesday at the Statehouse plans to discuss state taxes on fuel as well as a streamlined sales tax and an overview of the state's property tax exemptions.

It's also hearing county concerns about the automobile dealer license tags.

The panel's final recommendations for tax law changes are due before legislators return to Columbia in January.

Ed Buice of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service told The Post and Courier of Charleston that a sailor has been arrested in New Jersey in the death of 22-year-old James Allen Horton.

Buice said Douglas Emery was charged with murder, kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct and desecration of a corpse. Buice did not know Emery's age, naval rank or how he knew the victim.

Horton was found with a gunshot wound to the chest in a ditch in Berkeley County in 1992. He had been tied up and shot.

A Montana man, a Long Island, N.Y., man, and a woman from Goose Creek have also been charged.

Kent Wells, BP PLC vice president, said at a Friday news briefing that pressure is good inside the new cap.

Wells spoke 17 hours after valves were shut to trap oil inside the cap, a test that could last up to 48 hours.

He said there were no signs of any new leaks underground.

Engineers are looking for high pressure in the cap because low pressure would be a a sign of another leak.

BP is also planning to start drilling again on a relief well, part of the permanent fix of plugging the well at the bottom.

Tesla will develop the electric power system for the RAV4, which looks a small sport utility vehicle but is based on a car frame. The company already has built one prototype for testing and plans to deliver a fleet of prototypes for Toyota to evaluate sometime this year.

The companies announced a partnership in May to develop and build electric cars at a recently closed auto factory in the San Francisco Bay area.

The State newspaper reported that economists say South Carolina collected nearly $140 million more than expected from April through June.

Economists say the increased collections are a sign the economy is improving. But Board of Economic Advisors' chairman John Rainey says it's too early to raise official estimates that would give lawmakers more to spend in the coming year.

Corporate income taxes are up for a third straight month, compared to the same period last year. It's the first three-month increase since the recession began in 2008.

The unemployment rate dropped to 10.5 percent in May, but many of the new jobs were temporary positions with the U.S. Census.

The pill lorcaserin (lore-KASS-ah-rin) helped overweight and obese people lose at least 5 percent of their body weight without the heart problems some other drugs have caused.

Lorcaserin is one of three new diet drugs seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration. It's made by Arena Pharmaceuticals of San Diego. The study was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate said Wednesday that Michigan is the lead state backing Arizona in federal court. Michigan is joined by Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia, as well as the Northern Mariana Islands.

Cox says states have the authority to enforce immigration laws and protect their borders.

The Arizona law would require state and local police to question and possibly arrest illegal immigrants during the enforcement of other laws such as traffic stops.

President Barack Obama's administration recently filed suit to block it, saying immigration is a federal issue.

The food maker recalled Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks after about 20 people complained. Five reported nausea and vomiting.

The company says it has identified chemicals normally present in packaging called hydrocarbons as the source.

The Food and Drug Administration said it is reviewing Kraft's information and conducting its own risk assessment.

Ken Feinberg, who is in charge of paying individuals and private businesses for their lost income, told a meeting of government officials in Louisiana on Thursday that he expected a seamless transition from BP management to his administration.

The fund has not been tapped yet, but Feinberg said by the end of the first week of August his group would be ready to make payments.

The Southeastern Institute for Women in Politics is asking GOP Rep. Nikki Haley and Democratic Sen. Vincent Sheheen to pledge to use their appointments to increase gender diversity.

South Carolina consistently trails the nation in women in government leadership positions.

Initiative director Candy Waites says government needs a more balanced perspective. The group is collecting resumes of women interested in serving.

A campaign spokesman says Sheheen will attend the initiative's launch next week and sign the pledge.

Haley could be the state's first female governor, but her stance on the pledge was unclear Thursday.

An administration official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the talks with BP, said the government was acting out of "abundance of caution," adding that until BP answers the questions the government is reluctant to move forward.

The development was a setback for BP, which seemed be on track to place a temporary cap on the well following nearly three months of failed attempts to stop the spill, which has sullied beaches from Florida to Texas.

New 44-cent stamps being released Friday will feature Beetle Bailey being yelled at by Sergeant Snorkel, Archie with Betty and Veronica, Calvin and Hobbes, the crabby tabby Garfield and the perpetual 5-year-old Dennis the Menace.

Dedication ceremonies are at the cartoon museum at Ohio State University and the stamps will go on sale nationwide.

The body of 22-year-old James Allen Horton was found with a gunshot wound to the chest in a ditch near Summerville just outside of Charleston in 1992.

Horton was stationed at the old Charleston Naval Base at the time.

Several news outlets report a Montana man was arrested last week in the case. Police in Long Island, N.Y., say a second man was arrested Tuesday.

The victim's mother, Rosaline (Ros a LYNN') Horton of Sherburne, N.Y., says her son was stationed aboard a minesweeper and had served two tours in the first Gulf War.

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