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Repair cafe in North Carolina to reduce stuff that goes to landfills- old sewing machines, tea kettles, old sweaters, old shoes,  Schwinn bike, a lawnmover, toaster oven, generators,chainsaws, on and on. By getting together volunteer mechanics, electricians, sewers, fixers, this adds resilience in a North Carolina community. It goes further to roads and bridges. And there is a sense of exhilaration when people come together and talk.

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The quiet calm Darlene takes on the role of her brother Senator Lindsey Graham. She says she will work hard to help complete her brother's work. For the people of South Carolina this means a lot. This brother and sister were very close, maybe the only US senator with such a close relationship with his sister. The were both very young when their parents died and they looked after each other over their lifetime.

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Caroline Simpson CEO of Greater Manchester Area to head Downing 10 North from Manchester for devolution. This No. 10 North office Burnham calls the nerve center of his plans for devolution. This office will have three tasks says Burnham- to increase public ownership of essential utilities, water, energy and housing, reindustrialize large parts of the country, and regenerate towns giving priority to ones left behind. The office will work to equalize the standard of living in London and the north of England, other regions left behind.

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Mary -Louise Parker in movie Young Washington 2026 as Washington's mother Mary Ball. Here she talks to Marc Myers of the WSJ about her childhood growing up as an Army officer's daughter in different bases before settling down in Arizona. Her fight with shyness till she over compensated. Her father's confidence in her and pointing to her the prospect of going to the North Carolina Institute of Arts, where she learnt the craft of acting. She moved to New York for different roles including one in "Weeds."  She is 61 years, and lives with 2 sons 19 years and 22 years, in a large apartment in Brooklyn that overlooks the water with views of sunsets which she enjoys. It was Mary Ball who told her son not to join the British Navy, wanting to keep him in America. Washington joined the British forces in North America after a career as a surveyor. Land and landholdings were important at the time and as a surveyor with important connections to prominent British families Washington built his career, and further enhanced it by joining the British forces against Indian raids and the French in the coveted Ohio territory. Where did Washington get his keen knowledge of history and the Enlightenment thinkers that enabled him to grasp the ideas of Jefferson? Washington was like the first Chief Justice Marshall in the same communities at the time in the Virginia colony. Both were mentored by a major British landowner who built a large library in the colony that both were able to go to and learn what they later used to start the struggle for a new Nation. It shows the importance of books and libraries, of knowledge during the Enlightenment period in shaping the minds of the Nation's founding fathers- Jefferson, Marshall, Washington, Madison, Samuel Adams and others. ...

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Effects of the hurricane in the hard hit rural western part of North Carolina and the controversy surrounding the Republican candidate for governor are likely to affect voting in the state in 2024. The margin is razor thin for Republicans says this report in WSJ, less than 0.8%.

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As Governor of South Carolina for two terms 2011-2017 Nikki Haley played a major role in getting Boeing to expand its operations in the state and attracting auto companies and other manufacturing industries. South Carolina had suffered from the decline of its textile industry from an earlier industrialization era. She personally helped recruit smaller companies such as Kent Cycle to set up plants in the state.  Nikki Haley's father Ajit Singh Randhawa  is from Amritsar, India, and went to the University of British Columbia on a scholarship for advanced studies in 1964. He was a professor at Punjab Agricultural University before going to Canada. His wife Raj Kaur had a law degree from University of Delhi and after getting a Masters degree in education taught in public schools in South Carolina for 7 years. Ajit Singh moved to South Carolina as a professor of biology at Voorhees College after receiving his PhD. in 1969. Nikki Haley graduated from Clemson University in 1994 with a Bachelors degree in Accounting and Finance. After working for FCR she joined her family's clothing business started by her mother. From 2005 to 2011 she served in the South Carolina House of Representatives. The report from Politico on Haley's career shows her to be resilient and sticking with her beliefs and principles even as she found herself to be the only immigrant  prominent in southern state politics of South Carolina. She also served as US Representative at the United Nations 2017-2018 following two terms as governor of South Carolina.  ...

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To better reflect a diverse electorate in the presidential nominating process in the state primary elections president Biden is proposing including states with more union voters and diversity. South Carolina comes first with more union and diverse voters, then Iowa and New Hampshire with more rural voters, then Michigan with more union voters, followed by Georgia.

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The entire campaign could be settled here in North Carolina as Harris with 20 offices in the state, and tens of thousands of more volunteers, the energy of popular two term Roy Cooper Democratic governor of the state, work to get the support of voters in the Raleigh Durham area as well as rural voters in the western parts of the state.

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Boeing makes the decision to make the next version of the Dreamliner, the 787-10, exclusively at its plant in the North Charleston area of S. Carolina. This is a non-union facility. Larry Loftis, Boeing's vice president and general manager of the 787 program, says the decision was made because it is not practical to ship by air the midbody section of the new plane which is 114 feet long, 10 feet longer than the 787-9. It would not fit into the modified 747 aircraft used to ship jet parts from one manufacturing facility to another. Currently this midbodysection is assembled in S. Carolina from pieces shipped by air from Italian and Japanese plants. Then flown to Everett, Washington or a S. Carolina assembly line for the final steps in the manufacturing process. Reliability and quality issues for the Dreamliner, and cost, are also better addressed by reducing shipment from one manufacturing facility to another. The decision to build this non-union plant in 2009 created strains with the labor unions. The 787-10 is 224 feet long, carries 320 passengers, one third more than the 787-8 and 15% more than the 787-9. It has a list price of 289 million. Boeing has 132 orders from airlines and lessors for this new version....

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Some of the worst devastation from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina is in the western part of the state in the towns in this mountainous forested part of the state around Asheville.

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Mark Robinson Republican candidacy for Governor in North Carolina remains one of the strangest, some might call it bizarre, aspects of this year's election with a black candidate reportedly supporting pro-slavery positions. North Carolina has a large Black vote, a large vote in rural areas west of Raleigh/Durham which like in Michigan's west tend to vote Republican, and the suburbs around Raleigh/ Durham more midwestern in outlook, and a popular two term Democrat as Governor Roy Cooper who is a part of the Harris-Walz team.

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US and Kennedy at HHS pulls back from Denmark's policy on vaccines.

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SCOTUS 2026 decision knocking down 1 gerrymandered district in Louisiana- affects 4 Florida seats and seats in South Carolina Tennessee and Missouri. This gives Republicans more wind in their sails for the midterms.

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Teaching method on Western Civilization favored by charter schools in the US for K-12 and a growing number of private schools. Extensive in California, Washington, Texas, Florida, North Carolina and other states.

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Rick Perry gets the endorsement of South Carolina's David Wilkins, former state House speaker. Perry completed an 8 day campaign trip through South Carolina. He made his announcement in Charleston, S.C.

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WSJ looks at a washing machine factory set up in Newberry, South Carolina. It generated 1500 well paying factory jobs. It also generated $1 million in added tax revenues every year for investment in Newberry schools and public services. When multiplied thousands of times for 51 states this adds up to billions of dollars into schools and public services, transportation in the 51 states. Add to this the restaurants and other small businesses that are supported by 1500 workers and their families this creates additional jobs of 2 or 3 times the 1500 jobs created with additional tax revenues from these workers. This is also how America reached a higher standard of living after 1945 than any other country. The higher prices come from paying American workers higher wages than in a third country in Asia. And from the point of view of the thousands of such communities in 51 states in America this is overall a massive win compared to the destruction of such factory supported communities and destruction of American manufacturing itself. Some of the higher prices are paid by city dwellers in major metropolitan centers who have much higher incomes than rural and small town communities where factories are located which are easily borne considering the benefits they enjoy of a secure supply chain, and a better educated workforce, a better educated citizenry in the country they live in. These costs and benefits are rarely counted to bring all the hidden costs and hidden benefits into the equation in many economic analysis that give no value to the national interest and the importance of communities across the entire US rural, small town and urban.  ...

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As the auto market shrinks in the USA, BMW expands it S. Carolina plant. This suggests that something is happening in the auto market with BMW cutting 5000 jobs in Germany, new auto manufacturing investment into the US as it makes sense for currency reasons to manufacture in the US and not in Germany.

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William Leitch says of this show in Spartanburg, South Carolina by Bob Dylan- it is about art and resilience and about just putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to be who you are and providing people of the world, what you alone can provide with what is your own unique product. Dylan cites in "To Ramona" as Leitch cites his motto- "Everything passes, everything changes. Just do what you think you should do." Dylan's concerts are smaller and in a simple format, not like Springsteen's. There is something perennial about him.

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Naval blockade of Iran cutting off oil exports and securing the Hormuz for navigation April 12 2026. Speaking on Hannity TV show General Keane and South Carolina Senator Graham say the goal is to get the enriched uranium out of Iran. Senator Graham says the Pope is a good man but he has no idea about the danger posed by enriched uranium in Iran and the development of a "dirty bomb" and ballistic missiles. The US Navy is able to control the seas around the Gulf and the Red Sea to check all sea traffic in the area and has all the capabilities to do this.