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@ GoUpstate Facebook.com/GoUpstate $2SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINAMonday, August 17, 2020

By Ken Alltucker and Dan KeemahillUSA TODAY

Testing for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has dropped nationwide the past two weeks even as the evi-dence builds disease spread is picking up in many states.

Nowhere is the danger of the testing slowdown more evident than the South. In Mississippi, more than one in five tested for the virus in the past week were positive, the highest rate in the nation as of Friday. The average number of daily tests in Texas and

Florida dropped, but the ratio of positive tests in each state is more than double what the World Health Organization recommends.

Official case counts have dropped nationally but reporting problems and gen-erally reduced testing in some states makes it hard to place any confidence that infection rates are improving. And in some states with more reli-able data, testing slowdowns coincide with increasing or stable positive rates.

“The enhanced positiv-ity rate is the thing that bothers people more than

anything else,” said Dr. Wil-liam Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “Because it sug-gests this virus is circulating still very briskly, especially in certain parts of the country – in fact, much of the country.”

WHO recommends 5% or fewer tests should be positive two consecutive weeks before a community loosens restric-tions on businesses opening. If a positive test rate is above that benchmark, it’s a sign an

COVID testing drop casts doubt on lower case count

Texas National Guard members conduct COVID-19 testing at Waves Resort on Tuesday in Corpus Christi [COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES]

By Aamer Madhani and Matthew DalyThe Associated Press

B E D M I N S T E R , N . J . — T h e D e m o c r a t i c -run House on Sunday demanded that leaders of the U.S. Postal Service testify at an emergency oversight hearing Aug. 24 on mail delays as concerns grow that the Trump White House is trying to under-mine the agency during the coronavirus pandemic while states expand mail-in voting options for the November presidential election.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee said it wants to hear from new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and from the chair of the Postal Ser-vice board of governors, Robert “Mike” Duncan. With heightened scru-tiny of its operations, the agency is now requesting a temporary preelection rate increase, from mid-Octo-ber through Christmas, though probably not for first-class letters.

The agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment about whether the two men would appear before the House committee.

Pressure is increasing on DeJoy, a major Repub-lican donor and ally of the president, who has said he is modernizing the money-losing agency to make it more efficient. DeJoy has made cuts in overtime for postal workers, imposed restrictions on transpor-tation and reduced of the

quantity and use of mail-processing equipment.

“The postmaster general and top Postal Service lead-ership must answer to theCongress and the Americanpeople as to why they arepushing these dangerousnew policies that threatento silence the voices of mil-lions, just months beforethe election,” congres-sional Democrats said in astatement announcing thehearing.

The lawmakers includedHouse Speaker NancyPelosi of California andNew York Rep. CarolynMaloney, the committeechair, along with SenateMinority Leader ChuckSchumer of New York andMichigan Sen. Gary Peters,the top Democrat on theSenate Homeland Securityand Governmental AffairsCommittee, which over-sees the Postal Service.

Trump said last week that he was blocking a$25 billion emergencyinjection sought by thePostal Service, as well asa Democratic proposalto provide $3.6 billion inadditional election moneyto the states. The Repub-lican president worriesthat mail-in voting couldcost him reelection. Themoney for the post officeis intended yo help withprocessing an expectedsurge of mail-in ballots.Both funding requests havebeen tied up in congressio-nal negotiations over a newcoronavirus relief package.

On Saturday, Trump t r i e d t o m a s s a g e h i s

Dems summon postal leaders to hearing on mail delays

By Chris LavenderSpartanburg Herald-JournalUSA TODAY NETWORK

Honey bees continue to remain vital in sustaining agriculture across the United States helping to maintain healthy crops during the growing seasons.

Local beekeepers cele-brated World Honey Bee Day at a Living History Event on Saturday at Walnut Grove Plantation in Roebuck. Members of the Spartanburg Beekeepers Association said beekeeping has become more popular in recent years.

The Spartanburg County H i s t o r i c a l A s s o c i a t i o n ,

Beekeeping remains popular in Spartanburg County

Honeybees are seen in a hive shown by members of the Spartanburg Bee Keepers Association, for World Bee Day celebrated during a living history event at Walnut Grove Plantation in Roebuck, Saturday. The Spartanburg County Historical Association, beekeepers, the SC Independent Rangers, and ceramic artist Morgan McCarver, gave demonstrations during Saturday’s event at the historic plantation. [TIM KIMZEY, TIM KIMZEY/SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL]

Honeybees are seen in a hive shown by members of the Spartanburg Bee Keepers Association, for World Bee Day celebrated during a living history event at Walnut Grove Plantation in Roebuck, Saturday. Journey Greer, 3, watches the bees in the hive.The Spartanburg County Historical Association, beekeepers, the SC Independent Rangers, and ceramic artist Morgan McCarver, gave demonstrations during Saturday’s event at the historic plantation. [TIM KIMZEY, TIM KIMZEY/SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL]

By Genna ContinoSpartanburg Herald-JournalUSA TODAY NETWORK

She once doled out upper-cuts. Now she gives haircuts.

But Ashley Rushing is still tough — covered in tattoos all the way up to her neck and a blue-green pixie cut, she's opened up the Bareknuckle Barbershop in Drayton Mills Marketplace, the name a nod to her MMA fighting career.

Once known as Doll Face in the MMA world, Rush-ing fought for a little more than a decade, starting with

an amateur career at a North Carolina gym. She began her professional career when she moved to South Carolina and fought in two professional fights with Invicta Fighting Championships, a women's MMA organization.

But she's always had a pas-sion for cosmetology, too, and has worked as a cosme-tologist for about 15 years.

"My family's always done hair, so I've kind of always been around it," Rushing said.

When Rushing broke a lower vertebrae ending her fighting career, she decided to

focus on hair full time which led to the opening of Barek-nuckle Barbershop.

She co-owns the shop with Tyler Maupin, who isn't a stylist, but works on the busi-ness and financial side. He created the name and helped with the design for the shop.

Artist Leon Wilkie created the logo - two fists (or bare knuckles) grasping a pair of scissors. The shop also dis-plays some of Rushing's belts from her fighting career.

However, Maupin and

Cuts, not bruises: Former MMA fi ghter opens barber shop in Spartanburg

Ashley Rushing, stylist and co-owner of Bareknuckle Barbershop, in the newly opened shop at the Drayton Mills Marketplace, in the Drayton community of Spartanburg, Wednesday. [TIM KIMZEY,

TIM KIMZEY/

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