By Skylar Laird | Reporter
Last night, I saw Come From Away, a show about the 38 planes diverted to Gander in Newfoundland on 9/11 and the generosity of the people there who welcomed the confused and devastated passengers. I love this show, and it’s a great reminder of how important kindness is in the face of tragedy. Theaters across the country are putting on the show in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, including performances in Columbia, Aiken, Florence and Spartanburg.
“This technology is moving so rapidly it’s mind boggling.” - Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, about artificial intelligence used in Flock cameras.
A Flock Safety license plate reader camera near Casa Grande, Arizona, in October 2025. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror)
By Jessica Holdman
Legislators approved $365,000 for police and sheriff’s departments seeking to add automated license plate readers to their crime fighting arsenals or expand their fleets of Flock cameras as part of a $350 million list of earmarks. As some sheriffs doubled down on the use of the cameras, some legislators raised concerns about security and surveillance, mirroring nationwide controversy.
MORE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT…
SC inmate convicted of killing wife dies on death row | By Skylar Laird
Teachers for younger students are instructed focus on the “helpers,” such as first responders, when talking about the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (Photo by Seanna Adcox/SC Daily Gazette)
By Skylar Laird
Roughly one-third of Americans weren’t yet alive during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. That includes all of the state’s public school students, leaving it up to teachers to make sure they know about and understand the events and consequences of that day.
MORE ON 9/11…
On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, States Newsroom editor remembers the heroes of Flight 93 | By Shalina Chatlani, of Stateline
How 9/11 changed the way America surveils its citizens | By Amanda Watford, of Stateline
The preserved H.L. Hunley Submarine at the Friends of the Hunley museum and Clemson University’s Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston. (Photo courtesy of Friends of the Hunley)
By Jessica Holdman
Visitors to The Charleston Museum next month can get a glimpse of clothing and other items lost at sea with the H.L. Hunley, a Confederate submarine lost at sea for more than a century. The exhibit is more than 25 years in the making, with researchers working to recover and preserve various textiles.
MORE IN HISTORY…
USC celebrates 225th anniversary in 2026 | By Jessica Holdman
SC to rebuild 169-year-old slave cabin destroyed by Hurricane Helene | By Jessica Holdman
OTHER NEWS FROM THIS WEEK...
How many South Carolina college grads stay in state for work? | Jessica Holdman
IN COMMENTARY THIS WEEK...
The SC Arts Commission should fund art, not police ideas | By columnist Paul Hyde
Why the App Store Accountability Act is a child safety imperative | By Flavia West, executive director of Dickerson Children’s Advocacy Center
MORE FROM OUR AFFILIATES...
Trump plan to send $5K to every adult projected to cost $1.2T and ‘explode’ the deficit | By Ashley Murray in DC
Trump administration aims to exclude many noncitizens from the census | By Ariana Figueroa in DC
Trump doesn’t have the power to limit mail-in voting, lawmakers tell US Supreme Court | By Jacob Fischler in DC
Federal appeals court to consider Louisiana’s arguments for banning telehealth abortion | By Sofia Resnick for Stateline
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