Morning Answer Daily

MOORE, S.C. — A woman and her son are both facing charges after a middle school coach was assaulted, according to an incident report from the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.

Jauqueline Robinson is charged with second-degree assault and battery.

Tyqwan Robertson, 18, is charged with third-degree assault and battery, breach of peace, threatening a public official, nonresidential burglary unlawful entry.

The report said the incident happened Friday at Dawkins Middle School.

Robinson is accused of cursing and screaming at the coach, scratching at his eyes and digging her fingers into his eye socket which injured the coach's eye, according to the report.

The report said the assault was captured on surveillance video.

According to the report, Robinson called her son Tyqwan Robertson, to come up to the school.

LONDON, Ky. — Law enforcement officials in Kentucky say a 16-year-old girl missing from North Carolina has been found after someone noticed her using a distress signal made popular on TikTok.

According to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, police have charged the driver who had the girl in his car with unlawful imprisonment and possession of material showing a sexual performance by a minor.

Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, the sheriff’s office spokesperson, told The Lexington Herald-Leader on Friday that the girl and the driver were acquainted. The girl initially went with the driver willingly, but at some point got scared.

The sheriff’s office says the girl’s parents reported their daughter missing from Asheville, North Carolina on Tuesday. On Thursday, a separate driver heading south on Interstate 75 called 911 in Laurel County in Kentucky to report that a girl in a silver Toyota car was making distress hand signals he recognized from TikTok as a signal for domestic violence...

GREER, S.C. — A local pianist has been arrested after a Greer woman was found "brutally stabbed" to death in her Canebrake home last month, according to Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis.

Christina Larain Parcell, 41, was found dead Oct. 13 from multiple sharp force injuries, according to Senior Deputy Coroner Jennifer Cason.

Investigators said Parcell was found after someone she knew called 911. Lewis said she was "murdered in a very violent way..."

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Voters headed to the polls Tuesday across the country.

The majority of the elections in the Carolinas focused on local government positions such as mayor, county and city council, school boards, and commissioners.

Below you will find links to results:

• Anderson and Abbeville counties results HERE
• Greenville County results HERE
• Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, Union election results HERE
• North Carolina election results HERE

For other results for South Carolina, click here. For other elections results in North Carolina, click here...

HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. — Four students were taken to the hospital after a school bus crash Tuesday morning.

The bus flipped over just before 7 a.m. off of Green River Road, Henderson County Public Schools said.

Setup has started for the United Community Bank Ice on Main in Downtown Greenville.

On Monday morning, crews brought in the necessary equipment to keep the 3,200-square-foot ice rink frozen all season long.

“The United Community Bank Ice on Main is just an iconic part of our city’s tradition," Michelle Seaver, president of the United Community Bank in Greenville and Spartanburg Counties.

This year marks the 11th year of the Holiday tradition.

“Just seeing the smiles on people’s faces, whether they are skating or not skating, is my favorite part," said Seaver....

Happy Halloween Weekend. All of us at 94.5 The Answer hope you have a 'Spook-tacular' weekend of safe and sane fun. Watch out for little ghouls and goblins, ghosts and gourds. Trick or Treating kids are harder to see and usually pretty distracted. it is our responsibility to make sure they get home to enjoy their buckets and bags hard earned treats.

In the spirit of the holiday, here are some stories of things that go bump in the night! Maybe, with a little luck, you'll be able to sleep without a night light!!! Ahahahahahahah

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Customers are being warned to expect higher natural gas bills this winter. It comes as a result of rising market prices for natural gas.

“Globally, the price of natural gas is increasing," Piedmont Natural Gas Spokeswoman Jennifer Sharpe said

Upstate natural gas suppliers say their customers can anticipate this cost to trickle down to their monthly bills.

“For the average residential customer, you can expect an increase of about $10 or $11 a month in your natural gas bill,” Sharpe said.

Sharpe also points to a rate increase for safety and infrastructure improvements and the typical rise in costs in the winter as additional reasons for larger bills for its customers...

BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. — William Wren Williams, 78 years old, says he and his wife started lending money to a former neighbor starting in May, because they thought she needed help.

And, he said, through text messages, the scammer claimed a close connection to President Joe Biden.

“What I heard was the fact that they were involved with the president, Mike Pompeo, Harris all them,” said Melinda Garner, his daughter, “A bunch of people that they were communicating with on a daily basis, on their phone.”

Over three months, Williams said he and his wife gave the scammer cash, gift cards, cryptocurrency…

JENKINSVILLE, S.C. — An earthquake was reported Monday afternoon in Jenkinsville, South Carolina.

The USGS reports it was a 2.2 magnitude that hit about 12:40 p.m.

Jenkinsville is about 19 miles from Newberry and 28 miles from Columbia.

Several earthquakes have been reported in the state this year...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s oldest and most powerful state lawmaker is currently receiving hospice care after the discovery of what colleagues describe as inoperable cancer.

A GOP senator told The Associated Press on Thursday that State Sen. Hugh Leatherman’s staff notified a handful of lawmakers the 90-year-old Florence Republican was recently hospitalized after experiencing severe abdominal pain.

Leatherman was first elected to the chamber in 1980 and serves as chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which has sway over the state's budget....

GREER, S.C. — Greer police are looking for a possible witness after a deadly crash Wednesday on Wade Hampton Boulevard.

The crash happened around 2:10 p.m., according to Lt. Patrick Fortenberry with the Greer Police Department.

Myron Belcher, 73, of Taylors, died at the hospital about an hour after the crash, according to Jonathon Lawson, with the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office.

Lt. Patrick Fortenberry, with Greer police, said the preliminary investigation indicates that a Mitsubishi Gallant hit the left side of Belcher's vehicle. Fortenberry said that caused Belcher to drive off the right side of the road and hit a tree...

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. — After Greenville's County Council voted two weeks ago not to refund old road taxes, some wanted a do-over.

"It's not going to go well with the taxpayer, it doesn’t go well with me, and anybody who believes in doing things right," said Steve Shaw, Greenville County Council, District 20. "It was the wrong way to collect it. Supreme Court said it was the wrong way, and we're gonna be back in court with this thing, and it's going to be very expensive is my fear."

South Carolina's State Supreme Court ruled in June that the county's road and public safety communications taxes were invalid, so the county stopped gathering that money.

Council member Stan Tzouvelekas said council should make a program to refund the road and public safety communications taxes if citizens want their money back.

"We weren’t supposed to collect that money - so it’s not really what you did with the money, if when you got the money wasn’t right," said Tzouvelekas, Greenville County Council, District 22. "So I'm trying to say give it back to the citizens, but obviously my fellow counselors didn’t agree..."

GREENVILLE, S.C. — The principal of AJ Whittenberg Elementary School in Greenville County has resigned.

Preston Spratt was placed on administrative leave Sept. 23 due to concerns related to a series of tweets composed in 2012 and 2013, the Greenville County School District said.

The district said the social media posts that were brought to the attention of district employees by a parent and could be perceived as insensitive to individuals living in impoverished neighborhoods.

Spratt sent WYFF News 4 a statement that included the following:

"I became a teacher because I realized that not all students had been given the same public education that I had received. I have built my career around supporting students through relationships and high expectations to increase their future opportunities. My accomplishments and hard work are well documented through the achievements of my students and the media...

GREER, S.C. — A Greer company said it is hiring new employees who have not or will not get the COVID-19 vaccine or who don't want to wear masks.

OTB Tax put up a billboard on Pleasantburg Drive in Greenville and one on Highway 123 in Easley that says: "No Vaxx? No Mask? No Job? Perfect. We're Hiring."

The billboards have been up for about a month.

Toppa Epps, the CEO of OTB Tax, said the company has 25 employees right now — all of whom are unvaccinated and do not wear masks in the office on Wade Hampton Boulevard.

He said the company is expanding and looking for hire more employees who have not gotten the COVID-19 vaccine and do not wear masks...

GREENVILLE, S.C. — WYFF News 4 Anchor Michael Cogdill announced today that he plans to retire from WYFF 4. In late November, Cogdill will anchor his final newscast, ending his nearly 33-year career at the station.

“For more than 3 decades Michael has been a trusted voice during breaking news,” remarked WYFF 4 President and General Manager John Humphries. “Together as a team for nearly 25 years, Michael and Carol Clarke set the standard for journalistic integrity in this market. Their calm, confident reporting in the face of a crisis has been reassuring to our viewers. We wish Michael the best and are grateful for the years of service he has dedicated to our communities..."

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina State Fair returns Wednesday after a hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year’s event was drive-thru only due to a high number of COVID-19 cases. On Tuesday, Department of Health and Environmental Control officials reported that such cases have dropped below 1,000 for the first time since July. More than 50% of South Carolinians are fully vaccinated against the virus.

State fair officials have instituted new protocols to prevent the virus’ spread like increased cleaning, hygiene signage, hand sanitizer stations and reminding guests that in Columbia they must wear a face covering, WIS-TV reported. Guests are also encouraged to socially distance, use card and touchless methods for payments as well as not coming to the fair if they aren’t feeling well...

(via WYFF) DC's latest comic "Superman: Son of Kal-El" will see the current Superman, Lois and Clark Kent's son Jon Kent, come out as bisexual.

The fifth volume of the comic book will hit shelves on Nov. 9, revealing a new relationship between Jon Kent and Jay Nakamura, a reporter who idolises the original Superman and Jon's father Clark.

Writer Tom Taylor explained that this isn't the first time he's tried to introduce an LGBTQ+ character into the DC multiverse.

"Over the years in this industry, it probably won't surprise you to hear I've had queer characters and storylines rejected," Taylor told IGN. "I felt like I was letting down people I loved every time this happened."

In many parts of the country, what was traditionally known as Columbus Day is now being celebrated as Indigenous Peoples Day. But it remains a federal holiday, so some businesses will be closed.

President Biden issued a proclamation commemorating Indigenous Peoples Day Friday and acknowledged the destruction of native communities that followed the arrival of Christopher Columbus in North America in the 15th Century.

"Today, we also acknowledge the painful history of wrongs and atrocities that many European explorers inflicted on Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities," Biden wrote in Friday's proclamation. "It is a measure of our greatness as a Nation that we do not seek to bury these shameful episodes of our past — that we face them honestly, we bring them to the light and we do all we can to address them,"

More than 100 U.S. cities have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day, including Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix and San Francisco. Several states including Minnesota, Alaska, Vermont and Oregon have chosen to celebrate Indigenous People's Day as well...

(CNN via WYFF) Google is cracking down on the ability of climate change deniers to make money off its platforms and to spread climate misinformation through advertisements.

The company said Thursday it will no longer allow advertising to appear alongside "content that contradicts well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change." Google will also prohibit advertisements that deny the reality of climate change.

The policy, which goes into effect next month, applies to any content on YouTube and other Google platforms that refers "to climate change as a hoax or a scam," as well as denials that "greenhouse gas emissions or human activity contribute to climate change."

"We've heard directly from a growing number of our advertising and publisher partners who have expressed concerns about ads that run alongside or promote inaccurate claims about climate change," Google said in its announcement Thursday. "Advertisers simply don't want their ads to appear next to this content. And publishers and creators don't want ads promoting these claims to appear on their pages or videos."...