The Aiken County Sheriff's Office is investigating an armed robbery that happened Wednesday at an Edgefield Highway grocery store in Trenton.

The store's 76-year-old owner called police at 9:35 a.m. Wednesday claiming two unknown black males entered Storey Grocery, pointing handguns at her and demanding money from the register, according to an Aiken County Sheriff's Office incident report.

The victim gave the suspects $60 from the register, and both men fled the scene in a white Dodge Magnum heading toward Aiken, the report said.

A witness at the scene told deputies the suspects never spoke to her or pointed the guns at her, the report said.

The investigation is ongoing.

Tripp Girardeau is the crime and courts reporter with the Aiken Standard.

SAN FRANCISCO - Dealing a blow to gun supporters, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Americans do not have a constitutional right to carry concealed weapons in public.

In a dispute that could ultimately wind up before the Supreme Court, a divided 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said local law enforcement officials can place significant restrictions on who is allowed to carry concealed guns.

In a 7-4 vote, the court upheld a California law that says applicants must supply a "good cause" to obtain a concealed-carry permit. People who are being stalked or threatened, celebrities who fear for their safety, and those who routinely carry large amounts of cash or other valuables are often given permits.

The ruling overturned a decision by three-judge panel of the same court that said applicants need only express a desire for personal safety.

The 9th Circuit's rulings are binding in nine Western states. Only two other federal appeals courts have taken up the issue - in cases out of New York and Maryland - and both ruled the way the 9th Circuit did.

The National Rifle Association called the ruling "out of touch" and said the dispute could ultimately be determined by the Supreme Court, which has so far declined to take up the issue.

"This decision will leave good people defenseless, as it completely ignores the fact that law-abiding Californians who reside in counties with hostile sheriffs will now have no means to carry a firearm outside the home for personal protection," said NRA legislative chief Chris W. Cox.

Gun-control advocates hailed the decision.

The New York-based gun control organization Everytown called it "a major victory for public safety."

The 9th Circuit decision arose from a lawsuit Edward Peruta filed challenging the San Diego County sheriff's refusal to issue him a permit because he failed to cite a "good cause." The sheriff required applicants to produce supporting documents, such as a restraining order against a possible attacker.

Peruta argued that the requirement violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris called the ruling "a victory for public safety and sensible gun safety laws."

WASHINGTON - Billionaire Charles Koch, one of America's most influential conservative donors, said he is fed up with the vitriol of the presidential race and will air national TV ads that call on citizens to work together to fix a "rigged" economy that leaves behind the poor.

Koch, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, described Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton as part of personality politics at its worst. He said that's why neither he nor the political and policy groups he controls are playing much of a role in the presidential election. Instead, in an unusual strategy, the ads will be paid for by his private company, Koch Industries.

"Both the primaries and the general (election) seems it's more, 'You're the enemy, you're evil, or you're stupid,' or whatever ad hominem attacks on each other," Koch said, "rather than trying to find common ground so different opposing views can learn from each other and we can find better solutions."

Democrats, who have spent years vilifying Charles and David Koch, are unlikely to see them as unifiers. The brothers steer hundreds of millions of dollars - their own money and from like-minded donors whose identities are largely kept private - into electoral politics and mostly Republican efforts at all levels of government.

While the Kochs have supported most of the previous GOP presidential nominees, they have a far less favorable view of Trump. A billionaire himself, Trump wrote on Twitter last year that most of his GOP rivals were "puppets" of the Kochs. The bad blood reflects the tensions between Trump and some of the Republicans' biggest donors, which could hurt his fundraising efforts.

Still, Charles Koch said his policy team plans to meet with Trump's policy team, at the request of the Trump campaign. He added he'd be happy to arrange the same sort of chat with Clinton's camp. Koch said he'd "love to get them on board" with any of his political ideas, the same feeling he has about Trump.

With a campaign they're calling "End the Divide," the Kochs are taking a page from the playbook of other Republican leaders eager to talk about something other than their party's flame-throwing nominee.

They're plowing ahead with recommendations from a study the Republican Party made after its 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney, lost to President Barack Obama. It found the party has been harmed by a perception "that the GOP does not care about people."

Also offering a kinder, gentler Republican counterweight to Trump: House Speaker Paul Ryan. On Tuesday, he held forth at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic in Washington to outline House Republicans' plan to reduce poverty.

The Koch ads are part of a branding strategy for their multibillion-dollar conglomerate, based in Wichita, Kansas. But their long-time political activism means the campaign doubles, in a way, as a Republican effort.

The 60-second ad has the feel of something coming from a political candidate, with language that might appeal to supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

It shows Americans in contrasting neighborhoods and homes, and some people who look content and others who appear stressed. A narrator says: "Look around: America is divided. Between success and failure. With government and corporations picking winners and losers. Rigging the system against the people. Creating a two-tiered society."

Before directing viewers to an "End the Divide" website hosted by Koch Industries, the narrator says, "It's time to remove the barriers, to end the divide, to replace winner-take-all with a system where we all can win."

Many of Koch's policy prescriptions on issues such as education reform, government regulation and reducing poverty align more closely with Republicans. Yet Koch says he could find common ground with Democrats on some things, pointing to his partnership with the White House and Democratic senators on efforts to reduce incarceration.

It's not a comfortable fit. Obama and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid are among those who have called out the Kochs by name, with Reid denouncing them from the Senate floor as "un-American."

Koch said those sorts of attacks "are not about to stop me."

Koch said that because he's not a politician worried about the next election, he has the flexibility to make an issues-based appeal to Americans through ads, which will air starting Friday on national networks, cable channels and online.

"We're not running a popularity contest. We're not promising people things that can't be delivered," Koch said. "We're trying to encourage people to think about how do I succeed by helping others improve their lives" even if it involves doing things that "may not win me votes or get me a lot of money."

WASHINGTON - Twenty-one states on Thursday sought more than $150 million in uncashed money orders from Delaware, where more than 1 million businesses take advantage of friendly incorporating laws and unclaimed financial property is a major source of state revenue.

A lawsuit filed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court is another escalation in an ongoing dispute involving uncashed money orders from Dallas-based MoneyGram, which has been submitting unclaimed money to Delaware.

MoneyGram is incorporated in Delaware - just like more than half of all publicly traded companies in the U.S., and about two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies. Delaware benefits significantly from rules that ultimately routes unclaimed property to the company's state of incorporation instead of the state of origin.

As a result, abandoned property is the third-largest source of general fund revenue for Delaware, and is expected to total more than half a billion dollars in the current fiscal year.

Other state officials contend the MoneyGram checks should be sent back to the state of purchase. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have previously sued Delaware over the same issue, which the Supreme Court has yet to consider.

"We are committed to get this money for unclaimed MoneyGram checks reverted to the states, claiming what rightfully belongs to our taxpayers," said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who announced the lawsuit in Washington.

A Delaware official disputed the allegations and last week asked the Supreme Court to keep the status quo.

"Delaware cannot speculate why Texas did not intervene in the existing Supreme Court case, but is hopeful that the Supreme Court will provide all states with guidance on how companies should handle this particular type of unclaimed property in the future," said Thomas Cook, Delaware's secretary of finance.

Other states in the lawsuit are Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia.

Under U.S. Supreme Court rulings, states follow a two-tier priority scheme for reporting and claiming abandoned property.

Under the primary rule, unclaimed property is reported to the state of the owner's last known address appearing on a company's records. But if the owner's address is unknown or incomplete, the unclaimed property is reported to the company's state of incorporation.

The Aiken Department of Public Safety has charged an Aiken man after police records said his wife shot him in self-defense after he assaulted her at their Taylor Street home last month.

Robert Elijah Campbell, 50, is charged with first-degree domestic violence and unlawful conduct toward a child, according to jail records.

Campbell was taken to Augusta University Health Medical Center in Augusta to be treated for his injuries, said Lt. Karl Odenthal with the Aiken Department of Public Safety.

He was then extradited to the Aiken County detention center Wednesday, where he was still being held Thursday afternoon.

Bond information has not been made available.

Police responded to Taylor Street around 5:30 a.m. May 31, after a 49-year-old Aiken woman called 911 claiming her husband assaulted her while their 12-year-old daughter was present, a Public Safety incident report said.

When officers found Campbell, he had a gunshot wound to his leg and claimed his wife had shot him, the report said.

The victim told police Campbell hit her in the face before putting both hands around her neck and choking her in their bedroom, the report said.

Then, the victim said she pulled out her .22 caliber pistol and shot Campbell out of "fear for her life," according to the report.

Investigators found the firearm on top of the refrigerator, the report said.

Campbell told police his wife "came after him" during an argument over money, and he pushed her against the wall to get her off him, according to the report.

Campbell claimed the victim went to their bedroom, where she exited with the firearm and shot him, the report said.

However, the couple's daughter told police she had witnessed her father choke her mother and then saw her mother shoot her father, according to the report.

Tripp Girardeau is the crime and courts reporter with the Aiken Standard.

A North Carolina landowner wants Aiken County agencies to remove more than 6 million pounds of e-waste from a now defunct recycling center and pay nearly two years of back rent, according to a federal lawsuit.

Aiken County Solid Waste and North Augusta Public Works are among 11 solid waste providers named as co-defendants in the suit originally filed by Carolina Pines I LLC.

The suit says Carolina Pines was the landlord of Creative Recycling Systems of North Carolina LLC, which operated a Charlotte recycling facility that has since shut down after filing for bankruptcy in 2014.

Carolina Pines says in the litigation the co-defendants retain "title to and responsibility" for the e-waste, and wants the waste removed.

The company says it's also due back rent, which the lawsuit calculates at $15,288 per month dating back to Sept. 10, 2014.

Carolina Pines is also asking for damages, interest, attorneys' fees and costs and other relief deemed proper by the court.

County Administrator Clay Killian said Aiken County's official response is that the County denies ownership of the equipment since it's already been dumped.

"What happened to it after the fact is their problem and not the taxpayers of Aiken County," Killian said Wednesday.

North Augusta City Attorney Kelly Zier said in a prepared statement that the City didn't deliver any of the materials to Creative Recycling's warehouse.

"All materials that are the subject of this action, at least from the City of North Augusta, and apparently from all Defendants were picked up from the Defendants by Creative Recycling, thereafter invoiced and services were paid for by the customer," the statement said.

"None of this material was delivered to the Plaintiff's warehouse site by the Defendant, City of North Augusta and, apparently none of the other Defendants.

"The City is of the belief that it has acted properly and responsibly related to all materials in question and that any claim of the Plaintiff should be against Creative Recycling," the statement continued.

Rita Barker, attorney for Carolina Pines, was unavailable for comment Thursday.

The Carolina Pines lawsuit was filed in Richland County Circuit Court in February. In April, it was removed to federal court, where cases involving interstate commerce are usually heard.

Mediation is due by Jan. 30, 2017, and a jury selection deadline has been set for March 1, 2017, according to a scheduling order.

According to the lawsuit, Carolina Pines is an Ohio limited liability company that was the owner and landlord of property leased by Creative Recycling.

Creative Recycling contracted with the co-defendants, accepting e-waste between June 8, 2009 and June 6, 2014, the suit said.

Creative Recycling and the defendants agreed to "share profits from the processing, recycling and/or disposal of electronic equipment," the suit continues.

In August 2014, though, Creative Recycling filed for bankruptcy, and the suit said a bankruptcy court approved the company's rejection of its master lease. Creative Recycling said in the suit the defendants are now responsible for the waste.

According to the suit, the property as of July 2014 contained various e-waste items, including TVs, health care and classroom equipment and computers holding confidential and private data.

"The presence of the electronic equipment at the premises has damaged the premises and substantially interfered with Carolina Pines' use of the premises," the suit states.

Carolina Pines stated in the suit the defendants are responsible for removing the waste, saying in November 2015 it sent written notice to remove the equipment and vacate the premises within 20 days.

Aiken County Sheriff's Office deputies are currently on a manhunt for three suspects in the Wagener area following a home invasion Thursday afternoon.

Deputies were responding to a call about a home invasion in Wagener at 3:30 p.m., involving three male suspects who left the scene in a white Dodge Magnum, when they spotted the suspect's car and started chasing it, according to Cpt. Eric Abdullah with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

The suspects wrecked the vehicle at the intersection of State Park Road and Oak Ridge Club Road about a minute into the car chase and all three suspects fled on foot, Abdullah said.

The Bloodhound Tracking Team and a helicopter have been called out to the area and are all currently in pursuit, he said.

This story will be updated when more details become available.

Tripp Girardeau is the crime and courts reporter with the Aiken Standard.

The Midlands Chapter of the USC Aiken Alumni Association held a reception at the USC Alumni Center in Columbia on May 26. More than 30 alumni gathered, reconnected, made new contacts, enjoyed the new alumni center and received an update on the university from USC Aiken Chancellor Dr. Sandra Jordan.

The Midlands Chapter was established in 2014 to increase awareness and connections among USCA alumni who live or work in Lexington, Richland and surrounding Midland counties of South Carolina.

"(The Midlands Chapter) wants to provide alumni in the area with opportunities to network, reconnect with their university and give back," Dr. Sarah Keeling, Class of '96 alumna and president of the Midlands Chapter, said. "I hope other alumni will join the Midlands Council leadership in doing just that."

Since its inception, the Midlands leadership team has held several networking events in Columbia and initiated the first 5K Double Knot Trail Trot last year, which raised more than $1,000 for scholarships for USCA students. This year's 5K will take place Sept. 10.

"We invite all alumni to participate. We need runners, walkers, volunteers, sponsors and spectators," Keeling said. "There's really something for everyone."

Whether through professional, social or philanthropic activities, Keeling said it's important for USCA alumni to gather because it allows them to connect with each other and feel an affinity for their alma mater.

This perspective ties directly to the school's core values of character, citizenship, curiosity and collegiality.

"Citizenship is one of the university's core values," USC Aiken Director of Alumni Relations Randy Duckett, Class of '80, said. "As alumni, we put our educational and collegiate experiences to work for the common good and look for opportunities to enrich the lives of all community members."

Teaming up with the Alumni Council, the newly-formed Aiken Chapter, the GeorgiaLina Chapter - expected to be functioning in September - and the Midlands Chapter hope to assist new chapters and raise the bar on alumni activities.

In addition to creating alumni chapters in the Midlands, Aiken and GeorgiaLina, the USC Aiken Alumni Association will initiate the formation of leadership teams throughout the state of South Carolina in 2017. For more information, email Duckett at randyd@usca.edu.

Editor's note: The teen's name has been changed to protect her identity.

After finding the perfect dress, Helping Hands Inc. teen resident "Mary" had her own glam squad to help her get ready for prom.

Foster children can often move from placement to placement which prevents them from experiencing school functions like prom, sports events, etc. For Mary, being able to participate in her senior prom a few weeks ago was a huge deal.

The team of agency beauty-enhancers, because Mary is a beautiful girl all on her own, included Clinical Program Manager Rysheeka Bush, Administrative Assistant Sonia Chacon, Finance Coordinator Gaby Soto, Youth Case Manager Laura Wilson and Volunteer Coordinator/Community Outreach Advocate Geneva Wright.

"How could I pass up the opportunity to bring a smile to Mary's face? Every girl should have an opportunity to feel special and like a princess," Chacon said.

Some girls learn how to choose foundation, eyeshadow palettes and how to apply it from their mothers, sisters or other family members. Some don't.

The staff members helped Mary pick out the right kind of makeup and colors that would complement her skin tone and explained everything along the way. They also showed her how to do certain techniques and explained what "not to do" so she would always look flawless when applying cosmetics.

Mary said she still uses the techniques, especially leaving her eyebrows with a more "natural" look.

Because they spent several hours primping, the ladies walked away with special moments that made true, lasting impressions.

Wright's favorite part of the afternoon was when Mary was getting her eyebrows done.

According to Wright, when asked to let them see, Mary excitedly turned around and said, "'Bam!' with a ton of enthusiasm and a giant smile on her face."

A close second favorite memory, according to Soto, was when Mary was completely ready and quite literally, skipped down the hallway like an eager, thrilled child.

Wilson's favorite moment was when she finished Mary's hair and makeup.

"I chose to help Mary (get ready) for prom because I remember how excited I was for my own prom. It makes you feel even better about yourself and gives you a new sense of confidence when you're all 'dolled up,'" Wilson said. "Just to see her glow, both inside and out, was a reward for me. It brought tears to my eyes to hear her say how beautiful she looked and felt."

Wilson used that emotional encounter to instill in Mary true confidence. With encouraging words, Wilson told Mary that she "was always beautiful and will always be beautiful."

"It was very special to me because I've never had so much attention; it made me feel so good inside," Mary said. "I've never felt beautiful; I always felt like a regular person, but when I was ready for prom, I felt really, really pretty."

Helping Hands is proud to have such thoughtful and caring staff members. Mary's prom could have been dull and uneventful, but the staff members put their best effort into making it a lasting, memorable experience.

"This truly renewed my reason for why I work here; we work to make (lasting) memories for the children and youth (we care for)," Chacon said.

For more information about Helping Hands, Inc. and the programs and services provided, visit: www.ShapingBrighterFutures.org or call (803) 648-3456.

These are the bookings recorded for the Doris C. Gravat Detention Center for June 8, 2016. Some of the people listed may not have actually spent time in jail if they posted bond and were released. Although those listed have been arrested and charged, that does not mean they have been found guilty. All bookings may be viewed online by visiting www.aikenstandard.com and clicking on the "Crime" tab.

Agustin Hernandez Jr., 20 - driving under the influence, simple possession of marijuana, open container of beer/wine

Joseph Antonio Diaz, 18 - possession of crack cocaine, simple possession of marijuana

Kevin Harold Ferguson, 22 - possession of marijuana second offense, possession of crack cocaine

Christopher Adin Richardson, 36 - family court failure to pay as ordered, hold for probation

Stephanie Diane Clements, 36 - obtaining a controlled substance by fraud five counts

Jessica Lee Miller, 34 - obtaining a controlled substance by theft two counts

Sarah Lisa Swett, 24 - obtaining a controlled substance by theft two counts

Jay Leo Stokes, 46 - driving under the influence

Quatavious Freeman, 20 - failure to pay child support

Robert Elijah Campbell, 50 - domestic violence first degree, unlawful conduct toward a child

Larry Benjamin Day, 33 - failure to pay child support

Dallas Trel Smith, 26 - receiving stolen goods bench warrant two counts

Daniel James Jasper, 31 - unlawful use of a telephone bondsman off bond, criminal domestic violence bondsman off bond

Ernest Woodward IV, 19 - false information to police/fire, driving under suspension second offense

Rodney Jermaine Mathews, 34 - failure to pay child support

Glenn Carson Daniels, 56 - trespassing after notice, hold for Aiken Department of Public Safety warrant and ticket

Amanda Elise Kay Jackson, 29 - family court violating an order sentenced

Shawana Monique Williams, 33 - financial transaction card fraud value $500 or less in a six-month period, financial transaction card theft

Barry Harold Cook, 22 - grand larceny value more than $2,000 but less than $10,000

James Edward Gleaton, 45 - open container of beer in a vehicle, driving under suspension first offense failure to pay

Thomas Edward Moore, 45 - driving under suspension first offense two counts, open container

Anthony Eugene Milledge, 40 - false information to public safety officer, simple larceny $2,000 or less bench warrant

According to reports provided by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office:

A North Augusta man reported Wednesday someone broke into his vehicle while it was parked outside his Edgefield Road home and stole several items.

A 22-year-old Aiken woman called police Wednesday after someone broke into her King Street home.

A 46-year-old Aiken man reported Tuesday his 36-year-old wife "snapped" and ran over his foot with a trailer ramp at their Green Road home. He also said she broke a security camera, punched holes in the walls and left with electronics.

A 33-year-old Graniteville woman reported Wednesday someone stole her vehicle while it was parked on Keys Family Road in Beech Island.

A 26-year-old Aiken woman called police on June 4 claiming someone broke into her Maybelle Lane home and vandalized the house. She said bleach was poured over several items inside.

A 57-year-old Burnettown woman reported Wednesday someone stole her vehicle while it was parked on Keith Drive in Warrenville.

A 20-year-old North Augusta woman called police Wednesday after someone broke into her Pampas Lane home.

A 37-year-old Beech Island woman reported Wednesday someone stole her vehicle while it was parked on Pampas Lane in North Augusta.

According to reports provided by the Aiken Department of Public Safety:

An employee with a Richland Avenue store called police Wednesday claiming a 40-year-old Aiken man stole a pack of beer from the store, but returned it to her when she asked him about them.

A 31-year-old Harlem, Georgia, woman reported Wednesday someone broke into her vehicle while it was parked on Willow Run Road in Aiken and stole her Xbox One from inside the car.

Officers arrested a 56-year-old Aiken man Wednesday for trespassing after he attempted to get inside a woman's York Street apartment.

An employee with a Beaufort Street store called police Wednesday claiming a 14-year-old attempted to steal food items from the store.

Susan Selden has been the executive director of the Cumbee Center to Assist Abused Persons for nearly a year. She replaced Kay Mixon, who worked for the nonprofit for more than 30 years before her retirement.

Not long after Selden took over, she said her priority was to increase awareness of the Cumbee Center's work in Aiken and the surrounding area.

Since then, Selden believes, progress has been made.

"We're trying to get out more to other organizations and do more presentations to let them know why the Cumbee Center exists and what its mission is," she said.

The Cumbee Center has a new mission statement, which says that the nonprofit's purpose is "to support and empower domestic violence and sexual violence victims and their families by providing services, reducing the tolerance of abuse and advocating for social change."

"The mission statement that we had before was a good one, but we just felt like we needed something new to give us a better idea of what we were working toward," Selden said. "We also felt like the old mission statement didn't suit the new culture we were trying to create with new energy and more motivation for our employees. We made some staff changes, and there is a new environment. I've also been looking at ways to save money and looking for new grants to improve our financial stability."

The new Cumbee Center logo, which is purple and teal, includes images of a house and a ribbon.

In addition, the Cumbee Center has a new office in Edgefield at 207 Folk St. It is an improvement over the former Edgefield location on Church Street because it provides more space and allows the Cumbee Center's clients to have more privacy, Selden said.

Early this year, Simone Byrd became the Cumbee Center's case manager and victim advocate for Edgefield, McCormick and Saluda counties.

"What we would eventually like to do is to have an advisory council for that area that would meet quarterly," Selden said. "The council would provide advice and also do some fundraising. It would be ideal if we could get members from all three of those counties."

Byrd also is involved in the Cumbee Center's effort to expand its Youth Violence Prevention Program in public schools.

"She has been a substitute teacher, and that will help in working with the schools," Selden said.

A new two-part fundraiser for the Cumbee Center, the Homegrown Festival & Southern Soiree, will be held June 25 at the Big Red Barn on Chime Bell Church Road.

The Homegrown Festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and feature music, food trucks, representatives of local breweries serving beer and inflatables. Tickets cost $10 apiece. Children 5 and younger will get in free.

The Southern Soiree, scheduled for 7 to 11 p.m., will be a farm-to-table dinner provided by Chef Megan Alig of CrEATive Cuisine in Grovetown, Georgia. There also will be live music and dancing.

Tickets are $75 each.

For more information about the Cumbee Center and the Homegrown Festival & Southern Soiree, visit www.cumbeecenter.org.

Dede Biles is a general assignment reporter for the Aiken Standard and has been with the newspaper since January 2013. A native of Concord, N.C, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

An 87-year-old Aiken County woman has died following a three-vehicle collision in Aiken, according to the Aiken County Coroner's Office.

Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton identified the victim as Elise McGee, 87, of Warrenville. McGee was pronounced dead at 4:57 p.m. Thursday at the Augusta University Medical Center trauma center, Carlton said.

The stated cause of death was multiple body trauma. The conditions of the others involved in the collision were not known, Carlton said.

The crash occurred around 3:50 p.m. Thursday on Silver Bluff Road near Richardson Lake Road, said Cpl. Sonny Collins with the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Collins said in a recording the collision occurred when a 2000 Chrysler minivan turned off Village Green Boulevard onto Silver Bluff Road.

The van, according to the Highway Patrol, failed to yield the right of way to a 2012 Camaro that was traveling on Silver Bluff Road.

The Camaro struck the minivan in the passenger side, causing the passenger of the minivan to be killed, Collins said.

After the initial collision that resulted in the fatality, one of the vehicles made contact with a dump truck that was stopped nearby, Collins continued.

The victim who died was wearing a seat belt. No charges have been filed and the investigation is continuing.

Aiken County Sheriff's Office deputies have four suspects in custody Thursday night and one is still at large following a home invasion in the Wagener area.

Deputies were responding to a call about a home invasion in Wagener at 3:30 p.m., involving suspects who left the scene in a white Dodge Magnum, when they spotted the suspect's car and started chasing it, according to Cpt. Eric Abdullah with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

The suspects wrecked the vehicle at the intersection of State Park Road and Oak Ridge Club Road about a minute into the car chase and all three suspects fled on foot, Abdullah said.

The Bloodhound Tracking Team and a helicopter were called out to the area to pursue the suspects, he said.

Tripp Girardeau is the crime and courts reporter with the Aiken Standard.

Americans agree on this much: They are disgusted with politics.

They look toward Washington, D.C., and see a broken federal government, a place where politicians seem more interested in self-preservation than We the People. Things don't seem much better in state capitals, and, who knows? Lead-tainted water may be pouring out of their kitchen faucet next.

Yet Americans say they still believe in America, the experiment in democracy that the founders described as a place where the government should protect the rights of ordinary people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There's something at the core of America they long for, even if it's hard to define and seems distant in 2016.

Donald Trump proclaims he will "make America great again." Hillary Clinton counters that America "has never stopped being great." But what does that even mean? And who defines greatness? A billionaire businessman, a former secretary of state - or an aging musician in New Orleans?

What about the woman in Illinois who served in the U.S. military in Afghanistan?

Or the industrial worker worried about his job in Alabama?

The Associated Press interviewed a wide range of Americans to get a sense of what they think about the nation's greatness in the twilight of President Barack Obama's eight years in office. The responses were as different as Americans themselves, yet a theme emerged: Compared to other nations, the United States is at least good, probably even great. But there's a lot of work to be done.

"Yes, America is great. It could be a lot better if the politicians weren't fighting each other all the time ...," said Rodney Kimball, a 74-year-old stove dealer in West Bethel, Maine. "The government needs to start doing what's right for the people."

America is divided by political party, choice of media, income, gender, race or ethnic group, religious faith (or not), generation, geography and general outlook on the country's future. Pundits have proclaimed the electorate angry and wondered if the nation can ever recover the sense of unity experienced in the immediate aftermath of the al-Qaida attacks that took place 15 years ago this September.

The current dearth of confidence in the nation's politics and government is striking. Recent polling by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows just 13 percent of Americans are proud of the 2016 election, and 55 percent feel helpless. Only 10 percent have a great deal of confidence in the overall political system, with 4 percent having a great deal of confidence in Congress, 15 percent in the executive branch, and 24 percent in the Supreme Court. Few Americans see either political party as responsive to ordinary voters.

Although their America is still a land of shining seas, spacious skies and majestic mountains, many express a deep sense of disenchantment and uncertainty in their own lives.

"I think that America as an idea is one of the most beautiful ideas that the world has ever known. I think that American opportunity and ingenuity has built some of the most incredible technologies and innovations today," said Allene Swanson, 22, of Chicago. "And still, when I look around, I see a country that seems like it's crumbling. I see people who are hungry and broke and who are struggling a lot."

Seeking success

For some, real success has always seemed out of reach. The old textile mill across town is a reminder, dark and empty because labor was cheaper in Southeast Asia or Latin America; the manufacturing plant on the outskirts of the city uses steel imported from China.

Employment has rebounded since the Great Recession, but wages are stagnant. Forget saving for a home - millions work more than one job just to keep food on the table and the lights on. What happened to the American dream?

That's what is being asked in places like inner city St. Louis, home to 32-year-old Craig House. He lives with his grandmother in a sea of burned-out buildings and abandoned schools not far from a hip, trendy part of town.

"America has always been great, just not for me and my people. For us it's been the worst ever," said House, shaking his head as he takes a long drag off his cigarette. "People come from all over the world, Arabs own this, that. Black man don't own nothing."

Known as "Deacon" in his native New Orleans, 74-year-old guitarist John Moore remembers a time when America was headed in the right direction, when everything seemed to be coming together. It was in the 1960s, when black people like Moore were seeing an end to racial segregation; when women were gaining equality; when politicians were taking a stand to end poverty despite the turmoil of protests over the Vietnam War.

"Those were the best years," said Moore, tears welling in his eyes in the living room-turned-recording studio of his shotgun house. "And then they were destroyed right before my very eyes when they assassinated all of our leaders. Robert Kennedy. John Kennedy. Martin Luther King. Malcolm X. All of our leaders. And, you know, that was the end of hope. We had no more hope."

Hope returned, at least for some, in 2008 when a mixed-race lawyer with a foreign-sounding name won the White House. Obama's election seemed to prove that anyone could accomplish anything in America.

Government problems

Yet the years that followed have seemed more unsettling than uplifting to many. Today, some people want more from their government. Others just want it to go away as much as possible.

"I expect less government, less regulation," said Russ Madson, 45, a steel industry worker looking for better opportunities in Birmingham, Alabama. "Our country was built by people like the Rockefellers, Edison, Henry Ford - pioneers. And today they couldn't do what they did because of regulation."

But others expect more of government. Agriculture consultant and farmer Mike Poling of Delphos, Ohio, expects good governance and leadership "and nothing less."

"That's what got us to this point and that's what made America great," said Poling, 58. "What made America great is its people. That's what built the country. Our forefathers had the foresight to draft the Constitution, the Bill of Rights that has laid the groundwork for (the) nation carrying on for 200 years and continues to guide us."

Yet American greatness isn't just about words scrawled on yellowed paper and kept in a vault at the National Archives. A veteran of the war in Afghanistan, daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong, 29-year-old Kimberly Jung sees it as something deeper, a challenge to every citizen.

"I believe greatness is a responsibility," said Jung, of Chicago. "It's a dual state of mind in which you know your power or you know what resources you have but also your weaknesses. And you harness that set of strengths and weaknesses to work with a group and form a team and do great things."

That striving for the common good is somehow AWOL in America right now, people say.

"If there was one thing I could change about this country it would be to sit here and get us focused back on the country itself and not on our own self-interest," said Poling, the Ohio farmer. "I think we've lost track of what built this country, and that is the fact we came together as a body of one to build it and make it great."

Equal opportunity

In a sprawling country of 319 million people, it's easy for most anyone to tuck themselves away in suburbia, the rural heartland, an urban ghetto or a gentrified neighborhood and see only those things outside the front window or just down the street. People can turn on the echo chamber of cable TV or the internet and forget what high school student Dana Craig says America really is: A great place built on the idea that everyone should get an equal opportunity, a chance.

"Throughout history (I am) not sure we did the best job in keeping up with these principles and reaching those goals in the way that we want to, but I think what defines our greatness is our ability to continue working toward these goals even if we are not necessarily perfect in them," said Craig, 15, of River Falls, Wisconsin.

Whether they opt for Trump, Clinton or someone else this November, Americans say the state of the union isn't good enough. Amal Kassir sees her own future caught up with the chance the country has right now to make itself into something better.

Kassir, a 20-year-old college student in Colorado, was born in Denver to a father from Syria and a mother from America. A poet who also works in her family's Middle Eastern restaurant, Kassir describes her own life as being intertwined with that of the United States.

Is America great? Yes, she says. And it's also her best chance.

"No doubt whatever greatness I'm capable of comes from being in this place," she said.

Turtles swimming in a sea of blue, a dog with soulful eyes, impressionistic landscapes and familiar Aiken scenes covered the walls of the Aiken Center for the Arts on Thursday.

The works were by USC Aiken art faculty members Ginny Southworth, Al Beyer, Michael Fowler and Eric Miller and Ruth Larkin, a member of the Aiken Artist Guild. The artists greeted guests at an opening reception for an exhibit of their works at the center. The show will run through July 9.

Southworth described her photography as driven by how light affects a photographic subject, and the effect was demonstrated in her works of Aiken scenes.

"My photographs are about light, and these were all taken on walks in the evening or early in the morning," said Southworth, who teaches photography at USCA. "It's scenes of Aiken that I see all the time when I'm walking."

Beyer, who teaches art at USCA, stood beside a portrait of his dog, Sanford, which he called "the best dog in the world."

"He's a mixed-breed," Beyer said. "He's probably part beagle and part boxer, but he's also part go-cart. He's really strong. He can pull you down the street, but he's a really nice, sweet dog."

Fowler showed recent landscapes featuring vivid colors in oil on canvas.

"Some have called my style impressionistic or color field," said Fowler who teaches graphic design at USCA and also does fine art. "They are mostly painted from memory or imagination."

Fowler also exhibited some of his logo designs, preliminary sketches and a few student works.

"I've been painting about 40 years, and I plan to keep it up," he said.

Miller, a USCA faculty member, showed sculptural pieces.

Larkin, a member of the Aiken Artist Guild, said her travels inspire her paintings. In Hawaii, she swam with sea turtles, which are featured in one of her works in the exhibit.

"I particularly loved swimming with the turtles," said Larkin, who has been on 19 cruises. "They were so beautiful. The dolphins were chasing them. They are right next to you. You don't know how big they are. They are the most beautiful, beautiful animals.

Larkin's other works featured scenes of Capri in Italy, Charleston in the South Carolina Lowcountry and hummingbirds in the Caribbean.

"I can't stop painting," said the artist, who studied realism at the Chicago Art Institute and paints from acrylics to oils. "I go from different styles when I paint, depending on my moods as all artists do."

The Aiken Center for the Arts, at 122 Laurens St. SW, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

For more information, call 803-641-9094 or visit aikencenterforthearts.org.

Larry Wood covers education for the Aiken Standard.

Aiken City Council will meet today in an executive session to discuss a proposed contractual arrangement and proposed sale or purchase of a property.

Council will briefly meet at 4:30 p.m. inside Council Chambers in the Aiken Municipal Building, 214 Park Ave., before they vote to enter the executive session, which is closed to the public and the press.

Following the executive session, Council will meet in a public work session to discuss road specifications, developments and infrastructure.

Rick Toole, of Toole Engineers, and the city's Engineering and Utilities Director George Grinton will discuss these items with City Council.

The work session is the first of four scheduled work sessions to discuss the fiscal year 2016-17 budget.

Additional meetings are scheduled for June 13, 14 and 15.

Today is the day for celebrating the official beverage of the South - iced tea.

It's a Southern thing, a way of life.

You can enjoy it sweetened or unsweet, but a good pitcher of sweet tea can almost qualify as its own food group. It is so much more than just a beverage.

"We are celebrating our legendary iced tea throughout the summer at all Augusta and Aiken area Bojangles' restaurants," said Allison Campbell, director marketing with Bojangles'. "Customers can get a free 32-ounce iced tea with the purchase of any menu item."

After the National Iced Tea Day observance, Bojangles' also will kick off their "Summer of Tea" celebration, running through Sept. 5, offering their signature tea for $1, not including tax.

Bojangles' also will give away a year's supply of iced tea to one lucky Bojangles' E-Club member. All existing and new members who are part of Bojangles' E-Club before midnight Friday, are eligible for a chance to win this refreshing prize.

"We are constantly reminded by our fans how much they love our Legendary Iced Tea," said Bojangles' senior vice president of marketing Randy Poindexter. "With tea this good, we had to declare this as the Summer of Tea at Bojangles'. This summer, we're reminding customers that wherever you go, you should take our Legendary Iced Tea with you."

Starbucks also will be giving away complimentary cups of their iced tea.

Starbucks also will observe National Iced Tea Day where customers can get a free hand-shaken iced tea with the purchase of an iced tea all day Friday.

Flavors, which are blended with fruit and spices, include Raspberry Limeade, Pineapple Berry Blue or Golden Monkey Strawberry Lemonade teas. No coupon is necessary.

Recipes for iced tea have been found dating back to the 1870s, according to the National Iced Tea Day website.

The Buckeye Cookbook, published in 1876, and Housekeeping in Old Virginia, published in 1877, both contain iced tea recipes.

It is believed, however, that iced tea started to appear in the United States in the 1860s and became widespread in the 1870s where it was found offered on hotel menus and was on sale at railroad stations.

The popularity of the refreshing iced tea drink grew rapidly after it was introduced at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.

Green tea has been suggested to be used for a variety of positive health benefits such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, treating some forms of cancer, improved oral health, aiding in the reduction of blood pressure, weight control, improving antibacterial and antiviral activity, assisting in the protection from solar ultraviolet light, improving anti-fibrotic properties, and assisting in increasing neuroprotective power.

Early iced tea, introduced around 1776 was known to be 100 percent alcoholic and a staple of America's founding fathers.

John Adams famously wrote to beloved wife Abigail that, "The Tenth Day of June 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America."

Dan Brown is the city government reporter for the Aiken Standard and lives for sweet tea.

Aiken County could see an additional $84 million in road resurfacing projects based on funding from the roads bill that has been signed into law by Gov. Nikki Haley, according to Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken.

"This would include resurfacing five miles of I-20 from the Savannah River to Exit 5," Taylor said in a statement sent to the Aiken Standard. "The proposed bridge replacement program would target 22 structurally deficient bridges in Aiken County (and nearly 400 bridges statewide over the next decade)."

Haley penned her name to legislation Wednesday, which will allow the state to borrow $2.2 billion over 10 years for infrastructure and is funded with $200 million annually in existing fees and vehicle sales taxes, reports The Associated Press.

Christy Hall, secretary for the S.C. Department of Transportation, said that will free up other money DOT can use "to replace bridges and pave roads, allowing more than $4 billion worth of total work," the article states.

The law also will address the governance of the agency.

AP reports the governor reluctantly signed the bill, saying in a letter to leaders in the legislature "to claim this law as anything close to a victory, to represent it in any way as a true solution to our infrastructure problems" would be deceiving the public.

Senate President Pro Tem Hugh Leatherman said in a statement Wednesday that he is "extremely happy" the governor signed the bill, which he said "overwhelmingly received bipartisan support" from the senate.

"This bill would generate billions for infrastructure projects throughout South Carolina. I want to make sure that the people of our state know that this is a starting point toward fixing our roads," Leatherman said. "We will have to come back next year and find a continual source for our roads. I believe this $4 billion shot in the arm will be a great first step for fixing our roads and bridges."

State lawmakers have long said that a continuous source for funding the state's crumbling roads and bridges is needed, with many also calling for a reform of DOT.

In a statement responding to the governor signing the bill, S. 1258, the agency said although the bill is primarily known for its funding components, the legislation also addresses several administrative and operational items. The statement later mentions the new governance provision for the agency is "very complex and it remains unclear where the ultimate accountability lies for the agency."

The legislation will remove the governor's ability to appoint the DOT secretary and keeps the agency's commission. Commissioners would hire the DOT secretary and the secretary reports to the commission, which reports to the governor, according to AP.

The law takes effect July 1 and the governor will have input in selecting all eight DOT commissioners. Legislators still must approve them.

"Without a new law, the agency would have reverted to its pre-2007 governance that gave the governor's office no control," AP's report says. "Haley said that's the only reason she signed it."

In terms of highway funding, SCDOT called the roads legislation a "good first step" though it noted it is not a long-term or complete solution to addressing the infrastructure needs of the state.

Hall said in the statement she anticipates the call for reform and funding of transportation infrastructure will continue.

"The goal will be to bring us much closer to providing a highway system in good condition that will be able to adapt as South Carolina continues to grow and to ensure our citizens that the funds are spent wisely on statewide priorities" Hall said.

In last year's budget, the legislature included around $200 million to send to counties to complete work. Aiken County received $10.5 million, which came from an additional $7.8 million. The County typically gets a little more $2.7 million in funds from state.

The County Transportation Committee proposed to use the additional funds to resurface roughly 47 miles.

"Those projects in Aiken County have been approved and Aiken County residents should start seeing some work very soon on those projects," said Sen. Shane Massey, R-Edgefield.

In this year's budget, Aiken CTC received an additional $1.8 million in addition to the regular allotment, he said.

Christina Cleveland is the county government reporter at the Aiken Standard. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Editor's note: This story is part of Divided America, AP's ongoing exploration of the economic, social and political divisions in American society.

It's a tale of two Americas: the one that national averages indicate has all but recovered from the Great Recession and the one lost in the statistics. The national numbers aren't capturing the experience of many typical people in typical communities.

A key reason is that pay and wealth are flowing disproportionately to the rich, skewing the data used to measure economic health - and producing an economy on paper that most Americans don't recognize in their own lives. That disconnect has fueled much of the frustration and anxiety that have propelled the insurgent presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders.

Again and again, primary voters who were most worried about the economy told pollsters that they had cast their ballots for Trump or Sanders, according to Edison Research, which conducted the surveys on behalf of The Associated Press and television networks.

In Aiken County, Trump's popularity became clear in February when residents voted him as their Republican choice, beating out the other candidates with 31.5 percent of the votes, according the South Carolina State Election Commission.

Sanders didn't see the same turnout locally, though. He was overwhelmingly defeated by Hillary Clinton in Aiken County, receiving only about 30 percent of the votes compared to her 70 percent.

Trump's candidacy, in particular, has been driven by support in some of the most economically distressed regions in the country, where jobs have been automated, eliminated or moved to other states and countries. It's in these places that the outsider message of an unconventional candidate promising a return to the way things used to be resonates most.

Less security than in the past

Mike Williams earns $22 an hour as a maintenance worker at an Owens-Corning factory in Memphis, Tennessee, along with health care and retirement benefits. But after a recent raise, his hourly pay has only recently returned to where it was a decade ago, when he worked as a welder.

"I feel like I'm going backward rather than forward," Williams, 51, said on a recent afternoon after finishing his shift.

In March, Williams voted for Trump in the state's primary, which the real estate billionaire won easily. One reason he backed Trump, he said, is he feels less secure than in the past, when more manufacturing work was available.

"I remember when you could quit a job today and go to work somewhere else tomorrow," Williams said.

After seven years of national economic expansion - to the point where the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates again - the depth of such insecurity across America has caught many observers off guard.

Said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at Northern Trust and former economist at the Federal Reserve: "The averages certainly don't tell the whole story."

Consider incomes for the average U.S. household. They ticked up 0.7 percent from 2008 to 2014, after taking inflation into account. But even that scant increase reflected mainly the rise in income for the richest tenth of households, which pulled up the average. For most others, incomes actually decreased - as much as 6 percent for the bottom 20 percent, at a time when the economy was mostly recovering.

In Memphis, hiring resumed after the recession and the unemployment rate has declined to match the national figure of 5 percent. Yet those figures, too, obscure as much as they reveal: Many of the new jobs, in Memphis and elsewhere, are in lower-paying industries and are more likely to be part time or temporary.

Fewer middle-income jobs available

The U.S. economy has added a healthy average of roughly 200,000 jobs a month since 2011. Yet most have been either high-paying or low-paying positions. By the end of 2015, the nation still had fewer middle-income jobs than it did before the recession, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

From 2010 to 2014, the recovery period of the recession, South Carolina's employment rate has raised to 6.6 percent, slightly below the national rate at 7.2 percent, according to data collected by The Associated Press.

In Aiken County, however, along with the other poorest 20 percent of counties in America, the employment rate has raised only by 1.6 percent.

This equates to 773 jobs added in the county during the same time period.

Aiken County saw its worst year of the Great Recession in 2010, when unemployment was 10 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of January 2016, unemployment is at 5.6 percent.

That reflects what economists call the "hollowing out" of the workforce, as traditional mid-level positions such as office administrators, bookkeepers and factory assembly-line workers are cut in recessions and never fully recover their previous levels of employment.

Poll: It is getting better

Most South Carolinians feel jobs and unemployment continue to be the most important problem the state faces, according to a recent poll conducted by the Winthrop Poll.

"It's hard to find an average city," Tannenbaum said.

The same is true for households. These data suggest that the post-World War II trend of a steadily growing middle class, lifted by broader national prosperity, is reversing.

Slightly fewer than half of adults now fall in the middle-class camp, according to the Pew Research Center, a shift that followed four decades of decline. In 1971, 61 percent of households were middle class, according to Pew, which defines middle class as income between two-thirds and double the median household income.

In the same Winthrop Poll, when asked about South Carolina's economic conditions and their own financial situations, more than half of the respondents said that it is getting better.

Though the outlook on jobs and the economy as a whole may not be where it needs to be, the people of South Carolina are seeing a brighter outlook for the state.

Contributing to this report were AP staff writers Nicholas Riccardi in Las Vegas and Adrian Sainz in Memphis. Aiken Standard reporter Charnita Mack also contributed to this report.