Morning Answer Daily

GREENVILLE, S.C. — United Community Bank, a retail and commercial banking service provider, announced plans to expand operations in Greenville County and name the location as the company’s new corporate headquarters.

The $24.8 million investment will create 227 new jobs.

United Community Bank has more than 160 branches in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

With an executive presence in Greenville County since 2012, United Community Bank specializes in personalized banking services for individuals and businesses.

Services include consumer and commercial ban...

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. — There will be six more weeks of winter Punxsutawney Phil predicted as he emerged from his burrow on a snowy Tuesday morning to perform his Groundhog Day duties.

One of the members of Phil's “inner circle” spoke before his prediction was revealed, noting that it's been a “unique year."

“People have been referencing Groundhog Day. It has felt like at times we're all living the same day over and over again,” one of the members said. “Groundhog Day also shows us that the monotony ends. The cycle will be broken.”

“Today actually is Groundhog Day, there's only one,” he added. “There is quite literally a new day coming over the horizon.”...

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Tommy's Country Ham House in Greenville will close its doors this spring, after more than 30 years in business.

According to a release from the restaurant, owner Tommy Stevenson is retiring, and the property has been purchased by a Charleston-based restaurant group with plans to remodel the existing building for a new dining concept to open in early 2022.

"This has been one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made," said Stevenson. "The Country Ham House has been my life. This year I'll be 80 and I want to spend more time with my children and grandchildren."

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would outlaw almost all abortions in the state. It now heads to the House.

The vote was 30-13.

It has passed the House easily in previous years, and Gov. Henry McMaster has repeatedly said he will sign it as soon as he can.

The South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act requires doctors to use an ultrasound to try to detect a fetal heartbeat if they think pregnant women are at least eight weeks along. If they find a heartbeat, and the pregnancy is not the result of rape or incest, they can’t perform the abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger...

CLEMSON, S.C. —

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its 2021 football schedule on Thursday.

Clemson will open the season on Saturday, Sept. 4 when the Tigers face the Georgia Bulldogs at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. in one of the most anticipated non-conference games of 2021 before returning to Memorial Stadium to kick off its six-game home slate on Sept. 11...

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Spartanburg city officials say Spring Fling 2021 will be canceled due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.

The city posted Wednesday on Facebook saying, "We had so looked forward to celebrating with you all this year, but given the growing number of cases and the stress it is putting on our hospitals, we do not feel that large city gatherings are responsible just yet."

Spring Fling is an annual street festival that features performances, vendors, food and other attractions.

The event was also canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

City officials said they will keep people posted about smaller-scale events such as Jazz on the Square and Music on Main.

GREENVILLE, S.C. — More than 300,000 South Carolinians have an appointment to get the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks, with thousands more still trying to get in line through the VAMS appointment system.

It’s a system that many in South Carolina have complained feels difficult to navigate.

DHEC’s Interim Director Dr. Brannon Traxler held a media briefing Monday regarding the state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Traxler said that the hope is to have a vaccine-only call center, as well as a new vaccine appointment scheduler, rolled out by the end of this week. She added DHEC shares the frustration of many South Carolina residents who have had issues and difficulty making an appointment online....

GREENVILLE, S.C. —

An Upstate man whose home was searched by FBI agents over the weekend said he had a prophetic destiny to kill or harm the president, according to testimony made in federal court on Thursday.

David Halsey, 58, was arrested by South Carolina Law Enforcement agents on Sunday.

A warrant said that on or around Nov. 2 Halsey had a known improvised explosive which had been configured to cause damage, injury or death.

He was charged with possessing, manufacturing or transporting a destructive device or explosive for damage, injury or death...

President Donald Trump pardoned former chief strategist Steve Bannon as part of a flurry of clemency action in the final hours of his White House term that benefited more than 140 people, including rap performers, ex-members of Congress and other allies of him and his family.

The last-minute clemency, announced Wednesday morning, follows separate waves of pardons over the last month for Trump associates convicted in the FBI’s Russia investigation as well as for the father of his son-in-law. Taken together, the actions underscore the president’s willingness, all the way through his four years in the White House, to flex his constitutional powers in ways that defy convention and explicitly aid his friends and supporters.

Whereas pardon recipients are conventionally thought of as defendants who have faced justice, often by having served at least some prison time, the pardon for Bannon nullifies a prosecution that was still in its early stages and likely months away from trial in Manhattan, effectively eliminating any prospect for punishment....

The U.S. Capitol building is prepared for the inauguration ceremonies for President-elect Joe Biden as the "Field of Flags" are illuminated on the ground on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Between the still-raging coronavirus pandemic and a suddenly very real threat of violence, the inauguration of Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris promises to be one of the most unusual in American history.

Planners had originally sought to retain some time-honored aspects of a normal inauguration, just less crowded and within the boundaries of COVID-19 protocols, but plans changed in the wake of the violent Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol.

Downtown Washington D.C. has been turned into an armed camp. The National Mall is sealed to the public and the Washington Monument has shut down. 21,000 National Guard troops will be on the job on Jan. 20, alongside D.C. police and multiple federal law enforcement agencies....

(AP)  U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event.

The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance.

GREENVILLE, S.C. —

Prisma Health said it will open dedicated, high-volume community COVID-19 vaccine centers in Greenville and Columbia beginning Monday.

The two large-scale COVID-19 appointment-only vaccination sites, which currently only administer Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, Click on this story for all the details.

A newly-elected Georgia representative says she intends to file articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden as soon as he takes office.

Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-District 14) made the announcement Wednesday night on Twitter, saying she would file the articles of impeachment on Jan. 21....

A spacecraft orbiting Jupiter discovered an FM radio signal from Ganymede, one of the gas giant's moons. The discovery marks the first time a signal has been detected from Ganymede.

Patrick Wiggins, a NASA Utah ambassador, cautioned it's probably not aliens, according to KDFW.

“It’s not E.T.,” Wiggins said. “It’s more of a natural function.”

The spacecraft, called Juno, was moving across a region of Jupiter were magnetic field lines can connect with the Ganymede moon. That's when Juno picked up the radio source.

Juno was sent out to study how Jupiter formed and evolved over time...

GREENVILLE, S.C. —

Teachers and staff in Greenville County could soon be receiving a pay bonus, in addition to extra hours of paid time off if they need to quarantine because of COVID-19.

Greenville County School Board Trustees will vote on Tuesday on two recommendations from the administration: The extension of COVID-19 leave through August and the distribution of a bonus to all school district employees.

The COVID-19 leave extension, which will mimic the parameters of the federal FMLA leave that expired Dec. 31, will be funded through the coronavirus relief fund, the district said Friday.

After temporarily suspending President Donald Trump's account earlier this week, Twitter on Friday said it has permanently suspended his account.

Twitter said it did so because of the "risk of further incitement of violence."

The move comes as Big Tech sought to respond after Trump encouraged supporters, and a mob subsequently stormed the Capitol. Five people died.

The social media company issued the following statement:

After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence...

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Snow in the Upstate? It’s possible on Friday, especially north of I-85.

Thursday night a storm system will move toward the Carolinas and snow will begin to fall in the mountains and rain in the Upstate.

As temperatures cool overnight northern sections of the Upstate could see rain change to snow Friday morning, north of I-85.

Areas along and south of I-85 will likely see rain. The rain/snow line will meander between the NC/SC state line and the I-85 corridor as the precipitation continues into the afternoon. This means the cutoff for snow and rain will be over a very short distance...

ATLANTA — This week will find us back in a familiar place — waiting for Georgia to count votes.

With control of the U.S. Senate at stake, all eyes are on a runoff election that has Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler facing Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Millions of dollars have poured in, Georgians have been bombarded by advertisements and messages urging them to vote, and both sides have sent their heavy hitters to help turn out voters...

SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Interstate 26 eastbound in Spartanburg County has been shut down after a tractor-trailer struck a bridge Sunday afternoon.

Corporal Matt Southern said the vehicle struck the SC-49 bridge over I-26 near mile marker 44.

The collision happened at 4:41 p.m., Southern said.

All eastbound lanes of I-26 are closed, and traffic is being detoured off at exit 44.

Drivers can get back on the interstate at the top of the ramp by using the eastbound on-ramp, or they can make a right turn to continue on to SC-49.

Representatives from SC Department of Transportation are on scene investigating, according to Corporal Southern...