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

Today at 12:10 PM  In an ongoing effort to balance our finances with the pursuit of happiness, it's time to get creative to secure your summer fun as well as your bottom line.

Today at 11:55 AM  The South Congaree Town Council voted to take a town administrator off of paid leave Tuesday night.

Today at 8:44 AM  Exactly how do desperate parents know when it's best to leave their children in a presumably safe place or race into the face of danger?

Today at 8:00 AM  Tensions between libertarian-leaning and more mainstream Republicans were on vivid display Tuesday.

Yesterday at 6:30 PM  A Spartanburg mother has been sentenced to 13 years in prison in the death of her 7-year-old daughter, who was thrown from a sport utility vehicle following a high-speed chase on Interstate 85.

Yesterday at 6:25 PM  A California winery has recovered four cases of Cabernet Sauvignon aged on the bottom of Charleston Harbor in South Carolina for three months.

Yesterday at 4:28 PM  The National Weather Service says that the tornado that devastated Moore, Okla., topped the scale as an EF5.

Yesterday at 1:45 PM  The Richland County Sheriff's Department is a finalist for the 2013 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.

Yesterday at 1:30 PM  Brett Parker's double murder trial was off to a late start Tuesday, but once it began, a steady flow of witnesses continued through the afternoon break.

Yesterday at 10:55 AM  Gov. Nikki Haley is calling on legislators to get a bill strengthening the state's weak ethics laws to her desk.

Yesterday at 8:33 AM  Associated Press photographer's first-person account of efforts to rescue chidlren and staff in a collapsed school.

Monday, May 20, 2013  Updated with new photos (Caution, graphic images), new video added; death toll now at 51.

Monday, May 20, 2013  The state inspector general says prescription painkiller abuse is rampant in South Carolina, but there's no statewide effort to combat it.

Monday, May 20, 2013  Numerous witnesses testified Monday about Bryan Capnerhurst, one of two people the state believes Brett Parker shot and killed at his Ascot Estates home in April 2012.

Monday, May 20, 2013  Lexington County Senator Katrina Shealy hosted a luncheon Monday for seven of South Carolina's soliders who gave their lives while serving our country.