MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) — The Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum on Charleston Harbor saw more visitors and earned more money during the last six months of 2011 compared with the previous year.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Dorchester County officials say a man beaten at a bar in Summerville last week has died.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Republican Rick Perry says he's dropping out of the GOP presidential race and endorsing Newt Gingrich.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — One of South Carolina's poorest counties would become a single school district under a bill approved by the House.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) — Republican Rick Santorum is declaring himself the winner in Iowa, saying it shows he can defeat rival Mitt Romney. He's also vowing to stick with his bid for the GOP presidential nomination despite Thursday's decision by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to drop out of the race.

YORK, S.C. (AP) — York County Animal Control officers are looking into the discovery of several dead animals found in a highway ravine.

SUMTER, S.C. (AP) — The Department of Natural Resources is investigating vandalism at an Indian mound in Manchester State Forest southwest of Sumter.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, under duress two days before the pivotal South Carolina primary, acknowledges he has part of his millions invested in the Cayman Islands, although his aides say he never used the location as a tax haven.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Feed the Children is helping a local South Carolina group deliver two tractor-trailer trucks full of food to needy families.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is rolling out a TV ad with his closing appeal for votes in Saturday's South Carolina primary, taking a swipe at President Barack Obama's economic policies and making a tough-to-keep promise to restore the nation's triple-A credit rating.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — New age and service-length requirements in a proposal to reform South Carolina's pension system may not apply to current employees after all.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Mitt Romney's Republican rivals are intensifying their efforts to erode if not eliminate his standing as the man most likely to defeat President Barack Obama this fall.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say two men and two women died in a fiery early morning wreck near Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia.

CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — The retrial of a man charged with killing a Myrtle Beach police officer is scheduled to start in March,