Former Governor likely to run for Senate seat
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is “on the proverbial 1-yard line” of running for Sen. Tim Scott’s recently vacated congressional seat, Free Times reported.
His ex-wife and former South Carolina first lady Jenny Sanford shut down speculations that she would run for the seat. If she had run for the seat, previously held by her ex-husband, it may have been a Sanford vs. Sanford race.
Jenny Sanford said being a mother was more important to her than running for the seat.
At a tea party convention in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Saturday, former Gov. Sanford said the issues facing Congress now are the same ones he faced as a representative in the 1990s.
Former Gov. Sanford faced scandal in his second gubernatorial term when he left the state for nearly a week and his destination was unknown to his family, staff and the public. He initially stated he had been hiking part of the Appalachian Trail; it was later revealed he was in Argentina visiting a woman to whom he is now engaged.
Tweeting could be new key to weight loss
Looking for ways to finally achieve those elusive New Year’s fitness goals? Twitter might be one solution, according to a new study.
Researchers from the USC Arnold School of Public Health found that weight loss study participants who used Twitter to frequently communicate with other participants lost more weight than those who were less active on the popular social media site, The State reported.
USC researcher Brie Turner-McGrievy said the findings reflected the effectiveness of large-scale social support.
“Traditional behavioral weight loss interventions generally provide social support through weekly, face-to-face meetings,” Turner-McGrievy told The State. “While we know this is effective, it is costly and can create a high degree of burden on participants.
“Providing group support through online social networks can be a low-cost way to reach a large number of people who are interested in achieving a healthy weight.”
Participants used Twitter as an encouragement tool and, according to the study, lost 0.5 percent more weight per every 10 tweets, The State reported. The findings, however, are correlative and do not suggest Twitter use as an actual cause for higher weight loss.
The study appears in this week’s edition of the scholarly journal Translational Behavioral Medicine.
Teacher facing termination after flag-stomping
A Chapin High School English teacher may lose his job after stomping on an American flag in his class last week, WIS TV reported.
Scott Compton was placed on administrative leave last week after the incident, during which he said the flag “doesn’t mean anything.” Lexington-Richland School District Five Superintendent Stephen Hafter, who served in the military, will recommend that the school board terminate Compton. No action was taken against the teacher at last Monday’s board meeting, however.
Compton’s class was told a permanent replacement would be found for him.
Compton’s attorney Darryl D. Smalls later said his client was trying to illustrate that the “inspirational idea” of the U.S. was greater than objects representing it while teaching a lesson on symbolism. Smalls also maintained that Compton had “only positive comments” about the U.S. during his lesson.