Latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Midlands

Thursday, January 31, 2013  A federal judge is allowing the South Carolina State Ports Authority to take part in a lawsuit challenging its plans to build a $35 million cruise terminal in Charleston.

Thursday, January 10, 2013  A former Conway pastor has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from a Ponzi scheme in which people were bilked out of $2.5 million.

Monday, December 10, 2012  South Carolina has issued notice it plans to appeal a federal judge's ruling keeping most of the state's tough new immigration law from going into effect.

Friday, December 07, 2012  A judge has ordered a psychiatric evaluation for a Lexington attorney accused of extorting more than $1 million from clients.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012  A federal judge is considering whether some aspects of South Carolina's tough new immigration law should take effect.

Thursday, October 04, 2012  A judge has ruled a federal court challenge to South Carolina's planned $35 million cruise ship terminal should be heard in Charleston, not Washington, D.C.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012  A federal judge has appointed former South Carolina U.S. Rep. John Spratt to mediate a lawsuit challenging the $650 million deepening of the Savannah Harbor shipping channel.

Monday, August 13, 2012  A special commission overseeing South Carolina's interests on the Savannah River agrees that a federal judge should decide whether the $650 million deepening of the river's shipping channel is subject to South Carolina's environmental laws.

Thursday, July 26, 2012  The Georgia Ports Authority wants to enter a federal lawsuit challenging the $650 million deepening of the Savannah River shipping channel. The authority also wants to block the Savannah River Maritime Commission, a South Carolina state agency, from being involved in the case.

Monday, July 09, 2012  A federal judge will not dismiss a lawsuit over a pollution permit for the $650 million deepening of the Savannah River shipping channel.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012  The U.S. Senate has confirmed Columbia attorney Mary Geiger Lewis as a federal judge. Senators voted 64-27 on Monday in favor of Lewis' nomination as a U.S. district judge for South Carolina.

Tuesday, May 08, 2012  A federal judge has scheduled a hearing for a federal lawsuit over a South Carolina Supreme Court decision that removed nearly 200 candidates from ballots for the state's June 12 primaries.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012  A federal judge in South Carolina has halted a lawsuit over the state's tough new immigration law pending the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court decision on a similar challenge in Arizona.

Monday, June 21, 2010  Companies that ferry people and supplies to offshore oil rigs asked a federal judge Monday to lift a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling projects imposed in the aftermath of the massive Gulf spill.

Friday, April 16, 2010  A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional Thursday, saying the day amounts to a call for religious action.