Latest Henry McMaster News

Tropical Weather Latest: Helene weakens into a post-tropical cyclone as rescue efforts persist

Sep. 27, 2024 20:44 PM EDT

Hurricane Helene weakened into a post-tropical cyclone on Friday after making landfall overnight in northwestern Florida as a Category 4 storm. The storm has been blamed for at least 44 deaths, including 19 people in South Carolina, as it plowed its way north through several southeastern states. ...

Tropical Weather Latest: Fast-moving Hurricane Helene is expected to be a major storm upon landfall

Sep. 25, 2024 23:32 PM EDT

Helene strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday, and forecasters warned that the storm would intensify as it crosses the Gulf of Mexico on a path to Florida. The storm had already prompted residents to evacuate, schools to close and officials to declare emergencies in Florida and Georgia. ...

South Carolina inmate dies by lethal injection in state’s first execution in 13 years

Sep. 20, 2024 20:56 PM EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina put inmate Freddie Owens to death Friday as the state restarted executions after an unintended 13-year pause because prison officials couldn’t get the drugs needed for lethal injections. Owens was convicted of the 1997 killing of a Greenville...

South Carolina Supreme Court rejects claim inmate didn't kill clerk and refuses to stop execution

Sep. 19, 2024 20:16 PM EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Supreme Court has again refused to stop the execution of inmate Freddie Owens who is set to die Friday by lethal injection. The justices ruled Thursday that a sworn statement from a friend whose testimony helped convict Owens and who now...

South Carolina death row inmate asks governor for clemency

Sep. 18, 2024 13:31 PM EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina inmate scheduled to be executed Friday is asking Gov. Henry McMaster to spare his life, something no governor in the state has done since the death penalty was restarted nearly 50 years ago. Freddie Eugene Owens, 46, is set to be the first...

South Carolina justices refuse to stop state's first execution in 13 years

Sep. 12, 2024 18:53 PM EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stop the execution of Freddie Owens who is set to die by lethal injection next week in the state's first execution in 13 years. The justices unanimously tossed out two requests from defense lawyers who...

South Carolina prison director says electric chair, firing squad and lethal injection ready to go

Aug. 28, 2024 22:38 PM EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's prisons director said Wednesday that state's supply of a lethal injection drug is pure, its electric chair was tested two months ago and its firing squad has the ammunition and training to carry out its first execution next month in more than 13 years. ...

The Latest: Debby moves inland as the tropical depression soaks the Carolinas

Aug. 08, 2024 17:19 PM EDT

As Tropical Depression Debby drenches the Carolinas, heavy rainfall from the tropical storm is also expected to cause flooding across portions of the mid-Atlantic states and Northeast through Saturday morning. Meanwhile, residents as far away as the Great Lakes and New Jersey have also experienced...

Tropical Storm Debby doles out repeat deluges for weather-weary residents

Aug. 07, 2024 21:36 PM EDT

HUGER, S.C. (AP) — Days of rain forced the deluge-hardened residents of a South Carolina community to begin the near-ritualistic task of assessing damage left behind by Tropical Storm Debby, which continued spinning over the Atlantic Ocean and influencing thunderstorms from the East Coast to the...

The Latest: Tropical Storm Debby lingering over Georgia and the Carolinas

Aug. 07, 2024 19:51 PM EDT

Tropical Storm Debby was lingering over coastal Georgia and the Carolinas on Wednesday, still dumping torrential rain in places before moving north. The system has already stirred up tornadoes and submerged streets in waist-high floodwaters. The storm was forecast to move relatively...