Innocent of killing kin, says S.C. lawyer
WALTERBORO, S.C. -- The once-powerful and now disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh pleaded innocent Wednesday to charges that he murdered his wife and son 13 months ago, with one of his attorneys calling for a speedy trial to clear his name and prod authorities to "go for the real killers."
The 54-year-old Murdaugh made his first court appearance in Colleton County since being indicted last week. Despite his plea of innocent, he agreed to remain jailed without bail.
Murdaugh has been behind bars since October, charged with financial crimes and several other misdeeds that were uncovered after the killings of his wife, Maggie, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, at the family's hunting estate in June 2021.
Defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian told a judge Wednesday that Murdaugh wants to stand trial within three to four months to show that investigators from South Carolina's State Law Enforcement Division targeted the wrong man and "the killer or killers are still at large."
Prosecutor Creighton Waters, a deputy state attorney general, said trying the case by January or sooner would be "very aggressive."
Senate backs S.C. judge for D.C. court
The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of South Carolina jurist Michelle Childs -- recently under consideration for a slot on the U.S. Supreme Court -- to sit on the federal court typically seen as a proving ground for the nation's highest bench.
Senators, including a number of Republicans, on Tuesday voted 64 to 34 to approve Childs' nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Senate Judiciary Committee had voted 17-5 to advance her nomination.
Childs, 56, has been a federal judge on South Carolina's District Court for more than a decade. She was on President Joe Biden's short list of candidates to replace Justice Stephen Breyer, but the nod went to jurist Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Childs had a litany of advocates, including House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., on whose advice Biden pledged during the 2020 campaign to nominate a Black woman to the high court.
Supporters also included Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who said then he was certain she "would have been a reliable vote for the liberal bloc of the [high] court" but applauded her "open mind and balance that all Americans are looking for."
On Tuesday, her Republican votes included both Graham and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
Texas GOP slams O'Rourke donation
AUSTIN, Texas -- George Soros and an Austin-area couple each gave $1 million to Beto O'Rourke's campaign to unseat Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Abbott's campaign quickly took aim at the check from Soros, a billionaire philanthropist who's become a boogeyman to staunch conservatives.
"It's no surprise Beto O'Rourke received a $1 million campaign contribution from ... liberal Democrats' favorite check writer, given they both support defunding our police, open borders and radical energy policies," Abbott campaign spokesman Mark Miner said.
O'Rourke's campaign responded that the top occupation of his donors is teaching.
While Texans gave $14.5 million to the Democrat's campaign, about 47% of his record-breaking $27.6 million fundraising haul came from out-of-state donors, according to a campaign finance report to the Texas Ethics Commission. Abbott's latest comparable figure is about 14%.
O'Rourke's report also shows the bulk of his donations are small, with seven donations of $100,000 or more.
Sixty-two of Abbott's top donors each gave six-figure sums that accounted for more than half of his $25 million haul.
NASA sets August moon rocket launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- On the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, NASA announced Wednesday it's shooting for a late August launch of its giant new moon rocket.
NASA will attempt the more than monthlong lunar test flight with three mannequins but no astronauts as early as Aug. 29. There are also two launch dates in early September before NASA would have to stand down for two weeks.
NASA's Jim Free noted the test flight begins "our Artemis program to go back to the moon," with the name derived from Apollo's twin sister in Greek mythology.
The 30-story Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule are currently in the hangar at Kennedy Space Center, following repairs stemming from last month's countdown test. Fuel leaks and other technical trouble cropped up during the repeated launch rehearsals at the pad.
NASA officials assured reporters Wednesday that the problems have been resolved and testing is almost complete. But they cautioned the launch dates could slip, depending on the volatile Florida weather and issues that might arise before the rocket is supposed to return to the pad Aug. 18.
"We're going to be careful," said Free, head of exploration systems development.
If Orion's trip to the moon and back goes well, astronauts could climb aboard in 2023 for a lunar loop-around and actually land in 2025.