Hurricane Preparedness: Joint Base Charleston emergency managers are urging Lowcountry residents to prepare now for hurricane season, stressing 72-hour kits (including pets), family evacuation plans, and enrollment in the AtHoc mass notification system—especially as flooding can hit before storms make landfall. Election Day Weather: South Carolina’s primary is underway with damp conditions and storm chances across the Upstate, including possible thunderstorms during peak voting hours—so voters are being told to grab umbrellas. Drought Update: Despite wetter-than-normal May, drought still covers nearly all of South Carolina, with 4.6 million people affected, and officials warn recovery will take sustained above-normal rainfall. Pipeline Fight: Savannah Riverkeeper is stepping in as a Kinder Morgan-linked pipeline company files dozens of court petitions to enter private land for survey work in Hampton and Colleton counties, arguing opponents lack the right to refuse access. Deep-Sea Mining Rules: Experts warn proposed U.S. deep-sea mining regulations are outdated and could weaken environmental review and public input as leasing moves forward. Wildlife/Climate Research: Frozen squirrel scat from Arctic burrows is preserving ancient DNA from hundreds of species, offering a rare look at long-ago ecosystems.