CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — More than 100 people turned out to provide the first public comment on a $300 million project to deepen the Charleston Harbor so the city can serve larger ships that will be calling when the Panama Canal is widened.

LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Lexington police have charged two women with stealing gifts from a holiday collection box intended for needy children.

BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. (AP) — About 35 children from Spartanburg County are embarking on a shopping spree for holiday gifts that they otherwise couldn't afford through the annual "Shop with a Cop" event.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A Charleston-based Coast Guard cutter is returning home after nearly three months at sea patrolling and snaring smugglers.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A 23-year-old from Matthews has been found guilty of three counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of three people killed during a car race along N.C. 49.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A former Charleston County sheriff's deputy has been charged with misconduct in office and grand larceny after an investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Members of the South Carolina National Guard are celebrating the national organization's 375th birthday with a ceremonial cake-cutting and oral history rendition.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina election officials don't yet know where they'll get an additional $500,000 to run next month's first-in-the-South presidential primary. But they assure voters the contest will occur.

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — The driver who struck a tent full of sleeping women and killed one at the All Good Music Festival denies responsibility for the accident.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is using money from a book advance and leftover inaugural cash to help launch a community aid foundation for the state's poorest counties.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's Legislative Audit Council has appointed Perry Simpson as its new director.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The state-owned utility will begin raising rates next year to pay for two nuclear power plants.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's tall ship, the Spirit of South Carolina, is for sale.

BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) — The subsidy for the Daufuskie Island ferry on South Carolina's south coast has been increased but some Beaufort County Council members wonder if there is a cheaper alternative.

MYRTLE BECAH, S.C. (AP) — Horry-Georgetown Technical College is doubling the size of its culinary arts program in the next three years to serve the needs of hundreds of restaurants on South Carolina's Grand Strand.

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — Former York County Councilman Paul Lindemann has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to lying on a mortgage application.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Organizers say what will be known as Myrtle Beach Bike Week West will be held in Florence in March.