A state agent testifying Wednesday in Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial meticulously reconstructed activity from his iPhone and the cellphones of his son and wife the night they were killed to try to link the disgraced South Carolina attorney to the shooting deaths.

The key evidence for prosecutors is a video from the son's phone of a dog at the kennels near where Murdaugh's son Paul was killed with a shotgun and wife Maggie was shot several times with a rifle at the family's Colleton County hunting lodge on June 7, 2021.

The timeline from prosecutors said the video was taken about five minutes before the killings. Two friends of Paul Murdaugh testified later Wednesday that they were certain they heard Alex, Paul and Maggie Murdaugh's voices on it.

In interviews with police, Alex Murdaugh said he was never at the kennels that night.

Later Wednesday, Murdaugh's defense used that same data to suggest that Murdaugh's phone and his wife's phone were not together when her iPhone recorded a final change in orientation between portrait and landscape mode, indicating it may have been tossed on the side of the road about a half-mile from the family's property.

Murdaugh, 54, is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his 52-year-old wife and 22-year-old son. Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

Court ended Wednesday with a cliffhanger. Judge Clifton Newman said he would rule Thursday morning on whether evidence of Murdaugh possibly stealing from clients and his family law firm could be admitted.

Prosecutors opened the door by asking one of Paul Murdaugh's friends in the last question of the day if he knew anything about Alex Murdaugh “being confronted on the morning of June 7, 2021, about $792,000 of missing fees from his law firm?” The friend answered no.

Prosecutors said fear that this theft was about to be exposed led Murdaugh to kill his wife and son to get sympathy and buy time to cover up the crimes. The defense said it's absurd to think a lawyer would believe the brutal deaths of his family would not bring more scrutiny into his life.

State Law Enforcement Division Lt. Britt Dove returned to the witness stand Wednesday on the fifth day of testimony. He specializes in retrieving and analyzing cellphone data.

Dove went over a trove of information from the cellphones of Alex Murdaugh, his wife and son. There were phone call logs and texts, steps recorded, apps asking for information, GPS locations, changes when the phone went from vertical portrait mode to horizontal landscape mode and back, and — key to the prosecution's case — when the camera was activated.

The last time the camera on Paul Murdaugh's cellphone came on was 8:44:49 p.m. when it took a video for under a minute, Dove said.

Someone appears in the video to be trying to get an image of a wagging dog's tail. Voices are heard trying to get the dog to stay still and figuring out if it had a chicken or a guinea in its mouth.

The video was meant for Rogan Gibson, who testified Wednesday he considered the Murdaughs a second family.

“Can you think of any circumstances that you can envision, knowing them as you do, where Alex would brutally murder Paul and Maggie," defense lawyer Jim Griffin asked Gibson.

“Not that I can think of," he responded.

Paul Murdaugh read the final text on his phone at about 8:48:59 p.m. and 36 seconds later another text came in that he never read. Maggie Murdaugh's phone showed she last read a text 28 seconds later, Dove testified.

Alex Murdaugh told police the night of the killings and three days later that he was never at the kennels with his family, instead taking a short nap several hundred yards away before leaving to visit his ailing mother. Computer data from the SUV indicated he started the vehicle at about 9:06 p.m. and drove off.

At nearly the same time, Alex Murdaugh's phone called his wife's phone, which indicated its display came on and there was an orientation change. Defense attorney Phillip Barber suggested to Dove that the person who killed Maggie Murdaugh had her phone in their hand and was surprised at the call, throwing it out the window.

Dove said he didn't have enough information, such as how the phone could have been thrown, to agree or disagree.

There were no more significant changes to Maggie Murdaugh's phone until it was recovered from the side of the road the next day, Dove said.

But about five minutes after she read the final text, Maggie Murdaugh's data indicated her cellphone camera turned on for one second. Dove told prosecutors that can happen when an iPhone is trying to detect a face to see if it is the owner wanting to unlock the phone.

The defense suggested a different scenario — that in a panic, she tried to use her phone camera to take a photo of someone.

“And if the perpetrator or perpetrator responded by shooting at her, would that explain why it went off in one second and there was a bunch of orientation changes very shorty thereafter?" Barber asked.

“There’s a lot of possibilities could happen not knowing how a person reacts," Dove said.

Prosecutors also had Dove read a message sent to the family on the day she was killed. Maggie Murdaugh texted someone that she was worried about her husband's health, and after a doctor's appointment that day, she was heading back to the lodge in Colleton County instead of the family's house on Edisto Island.

"Alex wants me to come home," she texted.

Alex Murdaugh also faces about 100 charges related to accusations of money laundering, stealing millions from clients and the family law firm, tax evasion and trying to get a man to fatally shoot him so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy. He was being held in jail without bail on those counts before he was charged with murder.

Since the killings, Murdaugh’s life has seen a stunningly fast downfall. His family dominated the legal system in tiny Hampton County for generations, both as prosecutors and private attorneys known for getting life-changing settlements for accidents and negligence cases.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Recruiting and retaining prison workers is a growing issue for the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 10% drop in prison staffing in the next 10 years.

One state is leading the way to help close the gap in the shortage of correction officers.

“We were in bad shape just like everyone else; it’s a national problem," said Bryan Stirling, the South Carolina Department of Corrections director. “The unique challenge corrections have is the environment they have to work in.”

There is a growing crisis in our correction facilities. The lack of correctional officers is hurting facilities all over the country, even on the federal level.

The Justice Department budgeted for nearly 21,000 full-time officers in 2020 but only had nearly 14,000 of those positions filled in 2021.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts there will be about 33,000 officer openings on average each year for the next 10 years.

“If you don’t have the core function of safety, you can’t reach the basic needs these folks have without staff,” Stirling said. “So, we have to do things differently. So, what does that mean? More aggressive recruiting, more aggressive pay scale."

In South Carolina, the state is trying to fix staffing issues, because those who work here know this job is can be demanding. Each officer is responsible for the safety of the public, the inmates, and their fellow officers. Staffing shortages make this job that much harder. That is why South Carolina has taken several different approaches to try and fix this.

“It could be a tough job, but any job can be a tough job,” said Lt. Genice Cole, with retention at Broad River Institute in SCDC. “We have increased the training to feel more comfortable and feel more welcome. It was previously four weeks. With it being eight weeks, we give them the opportunity to be inside in the housing units with staff that are certified to give them a little more comfort.”

“I have been doing this for three months,” said Alex Hassam, a recruit for SCDC. “Honestly, training has been fantastic. Communication has been good. There’s a lot of people to walk you through things to help you gain confidence. You’re never truly alone and always having somebody who has your back that is very nearby.”

South Carolina recently increased pay for their officers. According to Stirling, an officer can make more than $50,000 in their first year. The BLS reported the pre-pandemic starting salary average was around $32,000 a year.

“We have more aggressive recruiting, and a more aggressive pay scale. We just had a historic pay raise here in South Carolina; other states are doing pay raises as well. Other departments that hire are union based, and you can be close to six figures starting off. We are up 150 officers this year just in six months due to the raises given through the legislature.”

South Carolina has also lowered the age minimum to be a correctional officer to 18, which Stirling said has helped fill vacancies.

“We’re going to pair them with experienced officers, with someone that’s older inside the prison. We’re not going to just put them in a dorm by themselves,” Stirling said.

This staffing shortage issue is expected to grow, but South Carolina hopes other states can learn from each other and implement the best tactic for their situation.

Republican Nikki Haley announces presidential campaign, challenging Trump

Updated: 7:25 AM EST Feb 14, 2023

Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday, becoming the first major challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.The announcement, delivered in a video, marks an about-face for the ex-Trump Cabinet official, who said two years ago that she wouldn’t challenge her former boss for the White House in 2024. But she changed her mind in recent months, citing, among other things, the country’s economic troubles and the need for “generational change,” a nod to the 76-year-old Trump’s age.

Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and son in a case that chronicled the unraveling of a powerful Southern family with tales of privilege, greed and addiction.The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder at the end of a six-week trial that pulled back the curtain on the once-prominent lawyer’s fall from grace.Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison without parole. His sentencing has been scheduled for Friday morning.Through more than 75 witnesses and nearly 800 pieces of evidence, jurors heard about betrayed friends and clients, Murdaugh’s failed attempt to stage his own death in an insurance fraud scheme, a fatal boat crash in which his son was implicated, the housekeeper who died in a fall in the Murdaugh home, the grisly scene of the killings and Bubba, the chicken-snatching dog.In the end, Murdaugh’s fate appeared sealed by cellphone video taken by his son, who he called “Little Detective” for his knack for finding bottles of painkillers in his father’s belongings after the lawyer had sworn off the pills. Testimony culminated in Murdaugh’s appearance on the witness stand, when he admitted stealing millions from clients and lying to investigators about being at the dog kennels where the shootings took place but steadfastly maintained his innocence in the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.“I did not kill Maggie, and I did not kill Paul. I would never hurt Maggie, and I would never hurt Paul — ever — under any circumstances,” Murdaugh said.Murdaugh’s 52-year-old wife was shot four or five times with a rifle and their 22-year-old son was shot twice with a shotgun at the kennels near at their rural Colleton County home on June 7, 2021.Prosecutors didn’t have the weapons used to kill the Murdaughs or other direct evidence like confessions or blood spatter. But they had a mountain of circumstantial evidence, led by a video locked on Paul Murdaugh’s cellphone for more than a year — video shot minutes before the killings that witnesses testified captured the voices of all three Murdaughs.Alex Murdaugh, 54, had told police repeatedly after the killings that he was not at the kennels and was instead napping before he went to visit his ailing mother that night. Murdaugh called 911 and said he discovered the bodies when he returned home.But in his testimony, Murdaugh admitted joining Maggie and Paul at the kennels, where he said he took a chicken away from a rowdy yellow Labrador named Bubba — whose name Murdaugh can be heard saying on the video — before heading back to the house shortly ahead of the fatal shootings.Murdaugh lied about being at the kennels for 20 months before taking the stand on the 23rd day of his trial. He blamed his decadeslong addiction to opioids for making him paranoid, creating a distrust of police. He said that once he went down that path, he felt trapped in the lie.“Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Once I told a lie — I told my family — I had to keep lying,” he testified.Prosecutor Creighton Waters grilled Murdaugh about what he repeatedly called the lawyer’s “new story” of what happened at the kennels, walking him moment by moment through the timeline and assailing his “fuzzy” memory of certain details, like his last words to his wife and son.A state agent also testified that markings on spent cartridges found around Maggie Murdaugh’s body matched markings on fired cartridges at a shooting range elsewhere on the property, though the defense said that kind of matching is an inexact science.Murdaugh comes from a family that dominated the local legal scene for decades. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were the area’s elected prosecutors for more than 80 years and his family law firm grew to dozens of lawyers by suing railroads, corporations and other big businesses.The now-disbarred attorney admitted stealing millions of dollars from the family firm and clients, saying he needed the money to fund his drug habit. Before he was charged with murder, Murdaugh was in jail awaiting trial on about 100 other charges ranging from insurance fraud to tax evasion.Prosecutors told jurors that Murdaugh was afraid all of his misdeeds were about to be discovered, so he killed his wife and son to gain sympathy to buy time to cover his tracks.Murdaugh’s lawyers will almost certainly appeal the conviction based on the judge allowing evidence of the financial crimes, which they contend were unrelated to the killings and were used by prosecutors to smear Murdaugh’s reputation.

Aric Hutchinson is still trying to wrap his head around the idea that his wife is no longer here on Earth with him after the couple were involved in a car crash that proved fatal for her on their wedding night in South Carolina.

Now, the groom has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the alleged drunk driver involved in the crash and a number of local establishments where the driver had been "bar hopping" throughout the day, according to a news release from an attorney representing Hutchinson and the lawsuit.

While he doesn't remember the crash itself, Aric Hutchinson remembers one of the last things his new wife, Samantha Hutchinson, 34, said to him: "She wanted the night to never end," he said during an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America" on Friday.

South Carolina authorities say Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, drove her car into the newlywed couple’s golf-cart-style vehicle.

The bride died of blunt force injuries, according to the Charleston County Coroner’s Office. Aric Hutchinson, his brother-in-law and the couple’s nephew were also injured in the crash, GMA reported.

Family of Samantha Miller via AP

"She (Komoroski) stole an amazing human being that should not have been taken," Aric Hutchinson said.

The lawsuit, which is also an injury lawsuit filed by the brother-in-law and nephew, claims Komoroski visited the El Gallo Bar and Grill in Charleston before making her way to Folly Beach, where she began bar hopping on Center Street, with stops at several bars and restaurants.

Video above: Husband attends paddle vigil for bride killed

CNN has reached out to the other establishments named in the suit and is awaiting comment.

"Despite being noticeably and visibly intoxicated at each of these establishments," the lawsuit states, "Jaime Komoroski continued to be served, provided, and/or allowed to consume additional alcohol at each of them."

Chris Gramiccioni, an attorney representing Komoroski in the criminal case said he and his client "ask that there not be a rush to judgment."

"We cannot fathom what the families are going through and offer our deepest sympathies," the statement said. "Our court system is founded upon principles of justice and mercy and that is where all facts will come to light."

"The state grants restaurants and bars a license for the privilege to serve alcohol, and with that privilege comes a responsibility to the community to serve patrons responsibly and to deny service to individuals who are visibly intoxicated," Danny Dalton, Hutchinson’s attorney, said.

Komoroski was a new employee of a local restaurant, Taco Boy, and her supervisor is accused of “organizing, arranging, and supervising an employee function/meeting knowing that excessive amounts of alcoholic beverages would be purchased for, served to, and consumed by the employees attending the function/meeting,” the lawsuit says.

"We can confirm with absolute certainty that Jamie Komoroski did not set foot in Taco Boy, nor did anyone on our team serve her alcohol at the restaurant," Taco Boy said in a statement in response to the lawsuit. "We have confirmed this by watching 16 hours of video footage from multiple cameras, staff interviews with everyone working that day, and by reviewing all sales receipts."

Komoroski's blood alcohol level was over three times the legal limit at the time of the crash, according to a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division toxicology report. She is now charged with one count of reckless homicide and three counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily harm, online court records show.

Two broken legs, broken bones in his face, subsequent injuries and multiple surgeries later, Aric Hutchinson is finding comfort being back in the apartment the couple shared, he said.

“It's hard but it's also nice, he said. "It's got Sam written all over the house."

Komoroski remains in custody, jail records show.

"If this (lawsuit) stops one person from getting in their car while intoxicated, or helps someone have the courage to step up and stop that from happening, or helps an establishment really take a hard stand on over-serving people – that's something positive that can come out of out of this," Dalton said Wednesday.

A North Carolina man was arrested Thursday in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a 4-year-old girl in Lexington County, South Carolina, more than three decades ago, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Office.

Thomas Eric McDowell, 61, has been charged with murder, kidnapping and first-degree burglary in the disappearance and death of Jessica Gutierrez.

Gutierrez disappeared from her home sometime after 11:30 p.m. on June 5, 1986, according to a missing person poster distributed by the sheriff's office and the FBI.

Authorities later identified McDowell's fingerprint, according to a redacted arrest warrant. It's unclear where authorities found the fingerprint or when it was identified as belonging to McDowell.

In the same warrant, authorities said McDowell was later identified in a photo lineup, and he told other people he had kidnapped and killed the girl.

The sheriff's office said the girl was never seen again, and her body was never found.

Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said after taking "a fresh look at the case" last year, special agents from the FBI and the state prosecutor's office visited the area. South Carolina law enforcement agents helped interview more than 125 people. A video featuring an emotional interview with Jessica's mother, Debra, was also circulated when the case was reopened.

But it's unclear what development in the case led to McDowell's arrest, and a spokesperson for the sheriff, who provided the arrest warrants and other information, didn't supply an answer to this question when pressed by CNN.

Wake County Detention Center

"If you're not safe at home, where are you going to be safe?" asked the girl's mother, Debra Gutierrez, in an interview last year with law enforcement officials. The mother said she "had mental breakdowns" following her daughter's disappearance.

McDowell was living in Lexington County in 1986. The Wake Forest Police Department arrested him at his home Thursday morning, about 20 miles north of Raleigh. He is being held in the Wake County Detention Center, according to the sheriff's office, which also said the case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.

CNN has contacted the South Carolina Attorney General's Office for additional information and is awaiting comment.

At a hearing Friday afternoon in Raleigh, North Carolina, McDowell, represented by a public defender, was ordered held without bond until he is extradited to South Carolina.

A nurse in Columbia, South Carolina has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of making fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina.

Related video above: Should You Post Your Vaccine Card On Social Media? Can You Laminate It? All The COVID-19 Vaccine Card Answers You Need to Know

Tammy McDonald, 53, is charged with making fake vaccine cards on June 20 and July 28, allegedly filling out vaccine cards for people she knew had not received a COVID-19 shot. She's then accused of lying to federal agents when questioned about the matter in October.

"She provided CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Cards to individuals and had personally filled out the individuals' identifying information and lot numbers for vaccines she knew had not been administered to those individuals," the indictment said.

McDonald has been charged with two counts of producing fraudulent identification documents and one count of lying to federal investigators, according to the indictment. She was arraigned Friday and granted a $10,000 bond, and has pleaded not guilty on all charges, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"Although the indictment speaks for itself, creating fraudulent or fake vaccine cards for those who have not been vaccinated poses a direct threat to the health of the people of South Carolina," Acting U.S. Attorney DeHart said in a statement.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, McDonald faces up to 15 years in prison for each count of making fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards, and five years in prison for lying to federal investigators.

CNN has reached out to McDonald's attorney for comment and is awaiting a response.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, had a dying wish to help educate needy children.

But his estate has been held up by 14 years of legal battles.

Now the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that Tomi Rae Hynie, a former partner of Brown's who claimed to be his wife, was not legally married to the singer due to her failure to annul a previous marriage, and therefore has no right to his estate.

Brown's union with Hynie has long been the center of the evolving legal troubles following his death at the age of 73 on Christmas Day 2006.

More than six weeks after prominent Lowcountry attorney Alex Murdaugh reported being shot in the head off a Hampton County road, South Carolina's Law Enforcement Division has released 911 calls made that day.

Murdaugh initially told law enforcement that he was changing a tire on September 4 when someone drove past, stopped and shot him in the head.

The incident took place just three months after Murdaugh discovered the bodies of his wife and son on the family's property in Colleton County.

TIMELINE: The Murdaugh Murders

Exactly 10 days after the roadside incident, Curtis Edward Smith, 61, was arrested in connection with the shooting after Murdaugh confessed to police that it was all a part of an assisted suicide plot.

Murdaugh says he wanted his surviving son Buster to collect on a $10 million life insurance policy.

On Friday, SLED released three 911 calls placed that day related to the incident: one by a passerby and two made by Murdaugh himself.

In the phone call from by a passerby, the caller says she saw a man on the side of the road, covered in blood and waving his hands.

Below video: Passerby calls 911, sees Murdaugh bleeding by the side of the road

Dispatch: Hampton County 911. Where is your emergency?

Caller: We’re on Salkehatchie Road and there is a man on the side of the road with blood all over him waving his hands.

Dispatch: He’s just laying there waving his hands?

Caller: He looks fine but it kinda looks like a setup so we didn’t stop.

Dispatch: Oh I don’t blame you.

Murdaugh himself also calls 911 for assistance, during which the dispatcher tries to clarify whether he had been shot at all.

Below video: Alex Murdaugh calls 911 after attempted suicide shooting

Excerpts from the call:

Dispatch: Ok. What’s going on?

Murdaugh: I got a flat tire. I stopped and somebody stopped to help me. And when I turned my back they tried to shoot me.

Dispatch: Oh OK. Were you shot?

Murdaugh: Yes, but I mean, I’m OK.

Dispatch: You were shot where? Where were you shot at?

Murdaugh: Huh?

Dispatch: Did they try to shoot you or did they shoot you?

Murdaugh: They shot me.

Dispatch: OK. You need EMS?

Murdaugh: Uh, well. I mean yes. I can’t drive.

Dispatch: OK.

Murdaugh: I have trouble seeing and I’m bleeding a lot.

When asked to give a suspect description, Murdaugh says the shooter was younger than him, with very short hair.

Murdaugh is currently being held without bond in Richland County, South Carolina on charges pertaining to stealing money from the wrongful death settlement involving the longtime family housekeeper Gloria Satterfield.

He awaits a psychiatric evaluation.

To date, there have been no arrests in the killing of his wife and son.

Below video: SLED releases 2nd Alex Murdaugh 911 call after attempted suicide

A woman who was attacked by an alligator Thursday morning in Hilton Head, South Carolina, is alive thanks to some quick-thinking neighbors.

According to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, the attack happened at around 8:15 a.m. on Rookery Way in Hilton Head Plantation.

Deputies say the woman had been walking her dog next to a lagoon behind her home when an eight-foot-long alligator grabbed her legs.

At that point, a neighbor heard the commotion and saw the woman being dragged into the water, according to the sheriff's office. The neighbor called for her husband who grabbed a shovel and beat the alligator until it released the victim.

"The victim’s legs were damaged; however, the full extent of her injuries is unknown, nor do we know if there were any other injuries to the victim," a Hilton Head Plantation (HHP) representative said in an email to residents.

The victim was taken to Memorial Health in Savannah and was able to talk to her daughter while en route to the hospital.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources captured and euthanized the alligator and will examine it to see if it was being fed.

"We are very grateful for the quick thinking and brave neighbors who fought off the alligator and held onto the victim who was being pulled into the water by the alligator. We are also most grateful for the work of our Security Officers and HHI Fire and Rescue, who treated the victim at the scene and transported the victim to the hospital, SCDNR, for their quick response to remove the alligator and the Beaufort County Sherriff’s Deputies for their quick response and assistance," the HHP representative said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim and her family."

HHP added that they believe the victim lived alone.

As of Thursday afternoon, there was no information available on the victim's injuries or condition. Her dog was uninjured.

“This is an unfortunate incident. We advise residents to be aware of their surroundings, especially if they are taking walks with small pets near lagoons that are habitats for alligators,” said Joheida Fister, Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue Deputy Chief.

A longtime resident of Hilton Head Plantation, Neal Warner, told sister station WJCL he's seen alligators in the area before, but they never bothered anyone.

"I would see them pop into the water, they would never ever linger for us," Warner said.

Warner told WJCL he is now afraid to walk his own dog in the area where the attack happened, despite the alligator being removed.

"It's just not worth it, there are other places to safely walk," Warner said.

You may remember, there have been alligator attacks in Sun City and Sea Pines as well. Both of those incidents also involved someone walking their dog.

Watch the video above for more on this story

Nikki Haley, former President Donald Trump’s first U.N. ambassador and former governor of South Carolina, shared her thoughts on whether he will run for office again, and criticized him for his role in stoking the violent riot on the U.S. Capitol building.

"We need to acknowledge he let us down," Haley told Politico magazine for an article published Friday. "He went down a path he shouldn't have, and we shouldn't have followed him, and we shouldn't have listened to him. And we can't let that ever happen again."

In an in-depth article in Politico magazine, Haley, who had remained in touch with former President Donald Trump after leaving her appointment and walked a fine line of being an ally and critic, said she had an emotional reaction to his speech on Jan. 6.

“Somebody is going to hear that, and bad things will happen,” Haley is quoted as saying about Trump’s comments specifically targeting former Vice President Mike Pence. “When I tell you I’m angry, it’s an understatement.”

Despite her reaction, Haley said she thought an impeachment “is a waste of time.”

When asked if Trump should be held accountable, Haley said she thought Trump is “going to find himself further and further isolated.”

“I think his business is suffering at this point. I think he’s lost any sort of political viability he was going to have. I think he’s lost his social media, which meant the world to him,” Haley is quoted as saying.

She also confidently said she doesn’t believe Trump will run again for president.

“I don’t think he’s going to be in the picture,” she told Politico.

Millions of Americans remain supportive of the former president, and statements from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and a Mar-a-Lago visit from House leader Kevin McCarthy, indicate Trump will remain a figure within the party.

Haley admits that support and loyalty for Trump will not just go away now that he is no longer in office.

“Nor do I think the Republican Party is going to go back to the way it was before Donald Trump. I don’t think it should. I think what we need to do is take the good that he built, leave the bad that he did, and get back to a place where we can be a good, valuable, effective party,” Haley said. Adding, “at the same time, it’s bigger than the party. I hope our country can come together and figure out how we pull this back.”

Haley told the magazine she last talked to Trump in December, but did not push back on his baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, saying she believes the former president “genuinely, to his core, he believes he was wronged.”

A South Carolina animal shelter hosted a canine wedding Thursday to support donations for the new Have a Heart Heartworm Treatment Fund and raise awareness to adopt shelter dogs.

Greenville County Animal Care in South Carolina hosted a livestream of the ceremony for Sassy and Spero.

Click the video player above to watch the full ceremony.

The event was planned by Wedding Festivals and Upstate Bridal Association, according to the shelter.

Sassy and Spero have been together since Sassy started her heartworm treatment, according to the shelter.

"Every heartworm positive dog will have their treatment covered in full, making it easier than ever to adopt a heartworm positive dog," the shelter posted on Facebook.

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You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This tradition of doggy weddings has gone on for multiple years, with last year's couple being Honey and Duke.

This content is imported from Facebook.
You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Lifeguard in South Carolina bitten by shark while on duty

Hilton Head Island lifeguard bitten by shark while on duty

Updated: 1:02 PM EDT Aug 4, 2021

A lifeguard is recovering after he was bit by a shark while on duty on South Carolina's Hilton Head Island.The lifeguard was bitten around 11:45 a.m. Tuesday morning at the Palmetto Dunes Resort, according to Mike Wagner, operations manager of Shore Beach Services. Hilton Head Island Deputy Fire Chief Joheida Fister says the victim suffered several deep lacerations to the upper body, but was in stable condition.Crews transported the lifeguard to the airport so he could be flown to Savannah, Georgia, for treatment. Wagner says the injuries were non-life-threatening.Local shark expert, Chip Michalove of Outcast Sport Fishing, says the shark was likely a blacktip. The species is typically in shallow water this time of year, whipping through schools of menhaden, according to Michalove. Just last week, a surf instructor was bitten by a shark just south of Hilton Head on Georgia's Tybee Island.

Nearly a full day after making landfall in Florida, Tropical Storm Elsa is still dumping heavy rainfall and bringing dangerous winds to the Southeast U.S.

As of Thursday morning at 5 a.m. ET, Elsa was located near the Georgia-South Carolina border with sustained winds of 40 mph. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecasts that the storm will continue to move northeast through the weekend, hugging the Eastern Seaboard up into Canada.

The NHC says Elsa poses a threat for "limited flash and urban flooding" across the Carolinas on Thursday. Tropical storm conditions are expected on the coasts of North Carolina throughout the day, and the Mid-Atlantic will see similar conditions in the region by Thursday night.

Later in the week, the system will dump heavy rainfall from the Mid-Atlantic into New England, which could lead to additional flooding.

Elsa made landfall in the "Big Bend" region of western Florida on Wednesday morning. Since then, officials have blamed the system for at least one death in Jacksonville. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis described that fatality as a "freak accident" on Thursday, saying that a tree fell on a moving car.

He added that Elsa had "as minimal impact as could have been anticipated" on the rest of the state.

In addition to the one fatality, a tornado spawned by Elsa injured another 10 people at an RV park on a Navy base in southern Georgia.

The system killed three people in the Caribbean earlier this week.

According to the Associated Press, one person died in St. Lucia. In the Dominican Republic, a 15-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman died Saturday in separate events after walls collapsed on them.