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SC leaders applaud Qatar deal for Boeing jets, question raised about $400M gifted plane

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SC leaders applaud Qatar deal for Boeing jets, question raised about 0M gifted plane


South Carolina leaders reacted to President Donald Trump’s recent visit to Qatar — where he finalized a deal to sell American jets to Qatar’s fleet and was offered a $400 million jet as a gift from the prime minister.

Trump returned to the United States on May 16 after a four-day visit to Middle Eastern countries. Part of the tour included a stop in Qatar, where Trump signed an agreement to create an economic exchange worth $1.2 trillion, according to the White House.

That agreement included a $96 billion agreement to sell hundreds of Boeing jets to Qatar Airways. Boeing will produce 210 777X and 787 Dreamliner jets, which are built in South Carolina, to join Qatar Airways’ fleet.

The White House issued a statement on the sale that claims the agreement is Boeing’s “largest-ever widebody order and largest-ever 787 order.”

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Boeing built its first South Carolina 787 Dreamliner in April 2012. The North Charleston manufacturing facility became the only producer of the Dreamliner in the United States in 2021, when the company moved production from its Everett, Washington, facility.

Republican U.S. Rep. William Timmons (SC-4th District) said that trade negotiations between the U.S. and foreign nations are going well — and while there are a lot of difficult changes underway, those factors create a “perfect storm” that strengthens the U.S. economy.

“It’s just exciting,” Timmons said. “All the ingredients are getting right in the next few months.”

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Boeing Commercial Airplane President Stephanie Pope said the company is honored that Qatar Airways has placed the record-breaking order.

“Our team is looking forward to building 787s and 777s for Qatar Airways into the next decade as they connect more people and businesses around the world with unmatched efficiency and comfort,” Pope said.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster addressed the deal on May 15 while he met with state leaders on storm preparedness for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season.

“We’ve done a lot of business with Qatar,” McMaster said. “The work that he’s (Trump’s) done over there is just remarkable.”

Trump faced criticism from key Republican and Democratic lawmakers earlier this week when he posted on Truth Social that the Department of Defense was offered a Boeing 747 as a gift from Qatari leaders.

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“The fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year-old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats,” the president said.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was among critics of the president’s potential acceptance of the jet. She also posted about the matter on social media and said that accepting gifts from foreign nations is never a good practice.

“Regardless of how beautiful the plane may be, it opens a door and implies the President and US can be bought,” Haley said. “If this were Biden, we would be furious.

Reporter Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com.



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Clemson Tigers and the West Virginia Mountaineers play in Charleston, South Carolina

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Clemson Tigers and the West Virginia Mountaineers play in Charleston, South Carolina


West Virginia Mountaineers (5-0) vs. Clemson Tigers (4-1)

Charleston, South Carolina; Friday, 6:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: West Virginia and Clemson square off at TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina.

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The Tigers are 4-1 in non-conference play. Clemson scores 84.6 points and has outscored opponents by 26.0 points per game.

The Mountaineers are 5-0 in non-conference play. West Virginia is 4-0 in games decided by 10 points or more.

Clemson makes 46.0% of its shots from the field this season, which is 8.5 percentage points higher than West Virginia has allowed to its opponents (37.5%). West Virginia averages 14.2 more points per game (72.8) than Clemson gives up (58.6).

TOP PERFORMERS: Carter Welling is shooting 70.0% and averaging 11.4 points for the Tigers. Jake Wahlin is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers.

Honor Huff is scoring 17.2 points per game and averaging 2.0 rebounds for the Mountaineers. Brenen Lorient is averaging 12.8 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.



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‘Bright, curious’: S.C. school district speaks on 7-year-old student’s death

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‘Bright, curious’: S.C. school district speaks on 7-year-old student’s death


GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. – The South Carolina Highway Patrol responded to a fatal crash Saturday afternoon.

Troopers said that the crash was reported to have happened at 3:35 p.m. at the intersection of Augusta Road and Matrix Parkway.

Officials said that four vehicles were involved in the crash. A 2019 Jeep SUV was turning left onto Matrix Parkway from Augusta Road when a 2018 Ford pickup truck traveling south on Augusta Road struck the Jeep.

The two vehicles then collided with a 2018 Mitsubishi SUV and 2005 Honda sedan on Matrix Parkway.

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According to troopers, the driver of the Ford was not injured. The drivers of the other three vehicles, along with three passengers in the Mitsubishi, were taken to the hospital.

According to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, a rear-seat passenger in the Jeep was taken to Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Emergency Department, where he later died from his injuries.

The corner identified the victim as 7-year-old Caius Zaire Blakley from Woodruff.

Caius Zaire Blakley
Caius Zaire Blakley(Spartanburg County School District 4)

Spartanburg County School District Four confirmed Blakley was a student at Woodruff Primary School.

The district released the following statement:

This incident remains under active investigation by the Greenville County Coroner’s Office in collaboration with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

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South Carolina’s near-total abortion ban fails to advance out of subcommittee

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South Carolina’s near-total abortion ban fails to advance out of subcommittee


The State Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee continued discussions about Senate Bill 323 – a proposed near-total abortion ban.

The controversial bill creates new definitions for human life, contraception and makes abortion a felony. The bill also removes current exceptions for rape, incest and fatal fetal anomaly written into the state’s six-week ban.

On Tuesday, a motion to send a favorable report on Senate Bill 323 to the full medical affairs committee failed 3-2, with four members abstaining.

READ MORE | “SC looks at most restrictive abortion bill in the US as opponents keep pushing limits.”

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The motion came after three hours of discussion of possible amendments to the bill. Some proposals sought to remove criminal and civil protections for pregnant mothers, or return to state law that took precedent before Roe v. Wade became precedent in the 1970s.

Those amendments failed to pass.

The bill’s author, State Sen. Richard Cash, chairman of the Medical Affairs Subcommittee, defended the bill as written – claiming abortion is the number one issue in the state.

“I believe it’s our first duty as elected officials to bring an end to it, to protect innocent human life, life, liberty, property,” Cash said. “The rights are in that order. It is our duty to protect innocent life.”

READ MORE | “Second hearing scheduled regarding SC’s controversial near-total abortion ban bill.”

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State Sen. Billy Garrett, one of the bill’s original sponsors, abstained. At one point in the meeting, he said he wants to protect the unborn. However, he was against criminalizing mothers.

“I’m extremely in favor of saving babies’ lives,” Garrett said. “I’ll always be that way. My constituents are that way. They asked me to be that way, and I am, but I have never intended, nor should any of us ever intend to, to punish or be punitive towards our moms.”

Sen. Tom Fernandez and Sen. Cash voted in support of the bill. Sens. Deon Tedder, Ronnie Saab and Brad Hutto voted against it. Sens. Garrett, Matt Leber, Thomas Corbin and Jeff Zell abstained.

“This is an enormous victory for reproductive freedom and for the people of South Carolina,” said Dr. Amalia Luxardo, CEO of the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN). “This outcome was made possible because thousands of South Carolinians stood up, spoke out, and refused to allow their rights and their futures to be stripped away.”



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