County threatens to demolish old PTL hotel

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ROCK HILL --- York County is warning the owners of the old hotel at the former PTL ministry to renovate the building or it will be demolished.

The county council voted Monday to notify MorningStar Ministries that the former Heritage Grand Hotel in Fort Mill will be destroyed if it isn't renovated by June 30, The Herald of Rock Hill reported.

Morningstar has a $40 million plan to convert the 21-story hotel into a retirement facility. It hasn't been able to get enough people to buy into the project to obtain financing for renovations.

The hotel was part of Heritage USA, a now-closed Christian theme park built in the late 1970s. Praise The Lord ministries collapsed when televangelist Jim Bakker was caught in a sex scandal.

Audit finds $395,000 missing from agency

COLUMBIA --- The state Law Enforcement Division is investigating $395,000 missing from the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

The money was discovered missing during a June audit, The State reported Tuesday. Probation spokesman Peter O'Boyle said the department was a victim of fraud by people outside the agency. SLED Chief Reggie Lloyd would not confirm that.

The money came from an account for a former restitution center operated by the department. The audit says the department didn't notice the account had been accessed by an unauthorized person through electronic transfers.

Man gets 23 years in ex-girlfriend's slaying

GREENWOOD --- A man who strangled his ex-girlfriend and stuffed her body under an abandoned house has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Derrick Anderson, 34, pleaded guilty Monday to voluntary manslaughter, The Index-Journal of Greenwood reported. He was initially charged with murder.

Prosecutors say the body of 40-year-old Susan Edens was found in 2007 after a neighbor complained of a bad odor.

SC teen gets life in prison for killing man

FLORENCE, S.C. --- A South Carolina teen has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing a man he thought was an informant about drug dealings.

The Morning News of Florence reported U.S. District Judge Patrick Michael Duffy sentenced 18-year-old Edward McCain of Georgetown.

Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald says McCain pleaded guilty in October to killing 18-year-old James Fannin of Georgetown and wounding another man.

Prosecutors couldn't seek the death sentence because McCain was 17 when the men were shot.

Prosecutors say McCain arraigned to meet the men near a Georgetown park after hearing that one or both of them had helped police in an investigation.

Prosecutors say McCain fired six shots into the men's car.

SC bill nixes tax break on jobless benefits

COLUMBIA, S.C. --- South Carolina legislators have nixed a tax break for people drawing unemployment checks.

The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved legislation that keeps the state from going along with federal law changes that exempt unemployment checks during 2009 and 2010 from income taxes.

That means people drawing unemployment and filing income taxes before the April 15 deadline have to report their unemployment benefits and pay state taxes even if they're getting the federal tax break.

The proposal would reduce the state's income tax collections by about $11.3 million.