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58 minutes ago  Economists are bracing for a weak showing in the August employment report, which is scheduled to be released Friday with the private sector forecast to add a net total of only 41,000 jobs, the fewest since January.

1 hour, 3 minutes ago  Residents and officials of North Carolina's barrier islands were waiting for daybreak to see how much damage the storm's winds and waves had left behind.

1 hour, 6 minutes ago  BP says it has so far spent $8 billion responding to the disastrous oil well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.

1 hour, 10 minutes ago  Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he saw and heard evidence the U.S. counterinsurgency strategy is taking hold in critical Kandahar province.

Yesterday at 11:24 PM  Quarterback Stephen Garcia and freshman tailback Marcus Lattimore each ran for two touchdowns and South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier won his 18th straight college opener 41-13 over Southern Miss on Thursday night.

Yesterday at 9:23 PM  Columbia City Council reconvened Thursday after hearing from hundreds of residents through a series of meetings.

Yesterday at 8:20 PM  The National Hurricane Center says Earl's winds are now at about 110 mph and could weaken further.

Yesterday at 7:53 PM  The Orangeburg County Sheriff's Department says 16-year-old Kayla Traxler was last seen Friday, August 27 outside the Bi-Lo Grocery Store at 365 Stonewall Jackson Boulevard in Orangeburg.

Yesterday at 7:45 PM  Authorities in South Carolina say a man wanted in the savage beating of a Georgia store owner also is a suspect in the deaths of two women in a nearby town.

Yesterday at 7:42 PM  The downpours started Thursday night in several bursts as the storm's so-called rain shield whirled into the southernmost tip of the barrier islands.

Yesterday at 6:54 PM  Officials are seeing a record low in the number of fatalities during the 100 deadly days of summer.  To help continue that downard trend, the Highway Patrol is beefing up it's presence on the road during the 78 hour Labor Day travel weekend.

Yesterday at 5:47 PM  AAA officials expect a nearly 8 percent increase in Labor Day travel this year.  Lower gas prices are helping that number.

Yesterday at 5:30 PM  Columbia now has an online payment website where you can pay water, parking garage rental and solid waste bills.

Yesterday at 5:21 PM  Worried about the fragile economy and their own upcoming elections, a growing number of Democrats are joining the rock-solid Republican opposition to President Barack Obama's plans to let some of the Bush administration's tax cuts expire.

Yesterday at 5:17 PM  Family, friends and former students attended the funeral service for Lilease Hall Thursday afternoon.