Jeffrey Collins, Associated Press

The number of new COVID-19 cases in South Carolina are reaching levels only seen in the worst days of the pandemic before vaccines were widely available. Health officials said there were 6,697 new cases of the disease reported Friday in South Carolina. The only days with more cases reported since the pandemic started 18 months ago were 7,680 cases on Jan. 6 and 7,450 cases on Jan. 8.

South Carolina's governor said while getting the COVID-19 vaccine was the right decision for him, other people reluctant to get the shot need to talk to friends, pastors and doctors and decide if it is best for them. Gov. Henry McMaster's comments Thursday came as statistics show both good news and bad news with the pandemic.

The South Carolina House voted Wednesday to add a firing squad to the state's execution methods amid a lack of lethal-injection drugs — a measure meant to jump-start executions in a state that once had one of the busiest death chambers in the nation.

A committee in the South Carolina House rejected a bill Tuesday that would have prevented transgender students from playing on girls’ sports teams in middle and high school.

South Carolina senators may soon take up one of the most divisive issues to hit the state in years: standardizing the state flag's iconic palmetto tree and crescent design.

The South Carolina House gave key approval Thursday to a bill that would make sure lawmakers have a chance to change or end a prolonged state of emergency issued by the governor.

South Carolina’s new law banning most abortions was suspended by a federal judge Friday on its second day in effect. Judge Mary Geiger Lewis put a 14-day temporary restraining order on the law and will renew it until she can hold a more substantial hearing on March 9.

South Carolina’s governor on Thursday signed a law banning most abortions, one of his top priorities since he took office more than four years ago. Planned Parenthood immediately sued, effectively preventing the measure from taking effect.

Some South Carolina Republican lawmakers are trying to get the decidedly conservative state to join 44 others that allow people to carry guns without concealing them.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and his wife have donated plasma to help patients who have COVID-19 recover more quickly from the disease. McMaster and the first lady contracted COVID-19 in December and doctors encourage people who recover from the disease to donate the blood product.