South-Carolina
Morning Edition is celebrating a summer of love
Good morning. The newsletter team is taking a break for Independence Day. We’ll return with the news you need to start your day tomorrow. Today, ring in the summer sun with Morning Edition’s “Summer of Love” series.
The future of marriage
by Claire Murashima, Morning Edition and Up First production assistant
When I was a girl, I didn’t dream of getting married the way many of my friends did. It doesn’t bother me that I’ve spent most of my twenties single.
/ Don and Cindy Murashima
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Don and Cindy Murashima
As my peers and I settled into life after college, it felt as if we either took the traditional path and married young or didn’t think about marriage at all. Of the latter, some don’t believe in the institution, some are ethically non-monogamous, and some feel their long-term relationships suffice without marriage.
So, for the first installment of Morning Edition’s “Summer of Love” series, I teamed up with Michel Martin and futurist Jake Dunagan to answer the question: What will marriage look like in the future?
I also talked to four other experts whose interviews didn’t make it on air. They had a lot to say about how rapidly shifting marriage norms in recent decades will play out in the future. Here are some of their thoughts:
- 💒 Therapist Sheila Addison says the LGBTQ+ community is “leading the way in re-imagining marriage.” Though many of her queer clients are skeptical of the institution, as same-sex marriage was legalized nationally nine years ago, she says they want “committed, intimate relationships of some kind” and added that “for many folks, that still does mean marriage.”
- 💒 Marriage coach Hasani Pettiford counsels couples on the verge of divorce due to infidelity. He says marriage is in peril because of a culture that says to flee when things get hard. He compares the struggle to commit to a relationship with buying a house. “If I rent, I can break a lease and move on. I’ll pay a little fee,” Pettiford said. “But if I own a house, it’s a whole lot harder to leave.” This mentality of renting vs. ownership has spilled into relationships, Pettiford says.
All of the experts I spoke with predict that marriage will continue to become more fluid. It has already evolved away from the model of one male and one female marrying to create children and never getting a divorce.
Dunagan thinks there could be three alternate potential futures for the institution of marriage:
- ❤️ It could collapse. Today, many don’t feel a need for religious or state approval to have a lasting romantic relationship.
- ❤️ Its norms could become more rigid and be used to reinforce social norms.
- ❤️ Lastly, it could completely transform. Humans and non-human entities like AI could marry.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more stories about love! Listen to Morning Edition on the NPR app or your local NPR station to hear about how marriage has evolved, the politics of marriage, love songs over time, and more. If you have one story you’d like to hear, please let me know at cmurashima@npr.org.
July 4th stories you may have missed
by Suzanne Nuyen, Up First newsletter writer
Randy Schmidt / Boucherie
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Boucherie
Today marks another very important anniversary: the 100th birthday of the Caesar Salad. Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant living in Mexico, created the iconic dish on July 4th, 1924, in Tijuana. Cardini’s original restaurant is still open for business. Read about how he created the Ceasar salad and how it’s evolved over the years.
Throughout this week, Morning Edition asked newly naturalized citizens what it means for them to be American.
- 🦅 Bernadette Medina, 47, says becoming a citizen was her “proudest moment.” Eduardo Bautista says it was “a dream come true.”
- 🦅 Joanne and Andy Daw migrated to the U.S. from the U.K. Andy says it was hard saying goodbye to their home. While their ties to family in the U.K. won’t change, they’re signaling they’re starting a different future in the U.S.
- 🦅 Nickolas Grosser left Brazil to feel safe and free as an LGBTQ+ person. He met his husband in the U.S. and says he feels a weight has been lifted off his shoulders after becoming a citizen.
The American flag is one of the most iconic symbols of this holiday. It’s flown worldwide, and many flags across the nation started as strips of fabric at Annin Flagmakers in Ohio. The company began in 1847 in New York City. It has made some of the most historically significant flags, like the one draped over Abraham Lincoln’s casket, the one raised by U.S. Marines at Iwo Jima, the one on the moon and every flag flown at presidential inaugurations since Zachary Taylor. (via WOSU)
What’s on your July 4 playlist? Chances are, you’ll hear Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A” today. But you’ve probably never heard of the Freedom remix of the song. In 1984, on the cusp of superstardom, Springsteen agreed to let a producer remix three songs from his upcoming album, also titled Born in the U.S.A. Four decades later, these remixes have nearly vanished.
Independence Day fireworks can be difficult for veterans because the loud, colorful blasts can remind them of combat or other traumatic military experiences. Mandy Rabenhorst-Bell, the PTSD program manager for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Eastern Colorado, has advice for how to help ease veterans’ stress. (via KUNC)
This newsletter was edited by Treye Green.
Copyright 2024 NPR
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Six Republican candidates vying to become South Carolina’s next governor met in downtown Charleston for a wide-ranging debate that put abortion, infrastructure and the future of data centers at the center of the race.
The forum was held at the Sottile Theatre, where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy and Attorney General Alan Wilson took the stage.
Questions included whether they would support a state hate crime law, how they would address concerns about growth and infrastructure, how to navigate collaboration, abortion and the future of data centers in the state.
One issue that drew near-unanimous opposition was state Senate Bill 1095, a proposed total abortion ban that passed out of committee earlier in the day. All of the candidates opposed the bill, but they differed on what they would do if it reached the governor’s desk.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
Norman said he would sign it.
“You know, this is an emotional issue, but I will tell you if this bill came to my desk as governor. If it passed the House and the Senate, I would sign it,” Norman said.
All of the other candidates on stage said they would veto the bill if it came across their desk as governor, with Reddy arguing the question should be decided by voters.
“The Supreme Court did not say the loudest voice in the ruling class prevails. It said it’s up to the people in the state, so let’s put it to a referendum,” Reddy said.
On infrastructure, candidates discussed reforming the South Carolina Department of Transportation and allowing private-sector involvement to help pay for improvements.
Wilson outlined ideas that included leasing interstate easements and expanding private express lanes.
“We privatized that grass between the interstates. We turn it into private express lanes that can be told we leased the easements on the sides of interstates to telecommunication companies and energy companies, and charge them for natural gas line and fiber optic fiber optic cables,” Wilson said.
Evette also pointed to public-private partnerships and the possibility of fast-pass lanes.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
“We want to make sure that we’re innovative public private partnerships coming in and creating fast pass lanes to allow people that are in a hurry to be able to utilize that,” Evette said.
The final question focused on data centers, with candidates agreeing corporations should “pay their way.”
“They should pay for their water. They should pay for their infrastructure, any roads around it, and we should look at what Governor Ron DeSantis has done in Florida with the large data centers that are coming to Florida. That should be the model in South Carolina and everywhere,” Mace said.
Kimbrell said the state should set limits to protect natural resources and guard against higher power costs for residents.
“Put parameters around data centers to ensure that the water consumption does not impact places like the ACE Basin,” Kimbrell said. “Ensuring that the Public Service Commission makes absolutely sure nobody’s power rate goes up and we try to get behind the meter energy grids in place so they can be self-sufficient.”
Two more debates are planned ahead of the primaries on June 9.
A bill that could make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion is moving to the full South Carolina Senate with just a few weeks left in the legislative session.
The South Carolina Senate medical affairs committee continued a debate of Senate Bill 1095 on April 21 in Columbia. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, builds on a restrictive abortion bill that failed to progress in the fall.
The committee passed the measure in an 8-4 vote, moving it to the full Senate for consideration. Lawmakers have until May 14, the last day of the 2026 legislative session, to pass the bill for it to become law.
Senate Bill 1095, also called the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” bans performing an abortion or supplying abortion drugs. It makes it illegal for a woman to get an abortion, with the only exception being to save a pregnant woman’s life.
It also makes mifepristone and misoprostol Schedule IV controlled substances. Alprazolam (Xanax) and zolpidem (Ambien) are two other examples of Schedule IV substances.
Pro-Life Greenville, an anti-abortion organization based in Greenville, responded to the bill’s progress with “full endorsement” of the legislation.
“Unborn children, like all human beings, deserve to have their lives protected under law here in the Palmetto State,” Pro-Life Greenville stated. “Today’s vote by the SC Senate Medical Affairs Committee brings that urgent need one step closer to reality.”
Under the bill, a woman who has an abortion could face misdemeanor charges. The maximum sentence would be two years in jail with a $1,000 fine.
Those found guilty of performing an abortion or providing a pregnant woman with abortion-inducing drugs could face felony charges, a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail, and a possible $100,000 fine.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT), a firm opponent of the bill, decried the Senate committee passage. PPSAT Director of Public Affairs Vicki Ringer said in a statement that the bill will cost people their lives, and it will make it more difficult for women to get reproductive and pregnancy healthcare.
“Abortion bans have and will continue to cost people their lives,” Ringer stated. “As this ban inches closer to the governor’s desk, it is becoming increasingly clear just how many of our lives anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to endanger in service to their agenda.”
Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com
BARNWELL, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – An officer was injured, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has issued a Blue Alert for an “armed and dangerous” woman.
According to the Blue Alert, Cushman is wanted in connection with an officer being injured.
The location of the assault was Gardenia Road in Blackville, S.C.
On Monday night around 10:35 p.m., officials said they were looking for Lacey Cushman, 37, a white woman who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 210 pounds.
According to SLED, she has brown eyes and an unknown hair color. Her hairstyle and clothing are unknown.
She was last seen driving a 2011 white Chevrolet Traverse with an S.C. tag, 706IRU, in Barnwell County.
Her last known direction of travel was toward Bamberg County.
If you see her or have information, call 911 immediately.
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