South-Carolina
What to know about Hurricane Debby in the Midlands
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – As Hurricane Debby brings surging storm impacts to South Carolina, it’s important for you to be prepared.
Hurricane Debby made landfall on the Big Bend coast of Florida early Monday morning. Forecasters believe the hurricane has the potential to bring heavy rains, flooding and gusty winds to communities in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
While coastal communities will likely be visited with more severe weather, Debby is expected to affect the Midlands as well.
Current projections show northern Midlands counties like Newberry, Saluda and Fairfield counties could receive between five to seven inches of rain while counties closer to the coast like Orangeburg and Clarendon counties could receive between seven and ten inches.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency in preparation for Hurricane Debby on Sunday. He asked South Carolinians to monitor local forecasts and begin taking proper precautions.
WIS News 10′s First Alert Weather team has developed a timeline for Debby’s development throughout the week and how it will affect the Midlands.
Flooding preparation
One effective measure for combatting potential flooding is using sandbags.
Sandbags act as a barrier, preventing water from moving into buildings. While they do not guarantee a water-tight seal, they can be an effective tool in avoiding flood damage. They can be used to fill holes, hold objects in position and form barriers when backed by supportive planks.
The State Emergency Service (SES) states sandbags can get heavy, weighing between 33 to 44 pounds when filled properly, so you might need at least two people to lay them safely. When preparing sandbags, you should only fill them two-thirds full to allow the sand inside to shift inside the bag, lie flat and move to fill gaps, according to SES.
When stacking sandbags, SES encourages you to lay them like bricks, offsetting the rows so the gaps between the bags are staggered.

Sandbags are available for purchase at many hardware, landscaping or garden supply stories.
Orangeburg County officials announced Monday morning they are offering free sandbag pickup for residents at various locations.
Another important aspect of potential flooding is the effect it could have on drivers. For those forced to travel through storms this week, it’s important to prepare your vehicles for driving through water.
Officials recommend drivers stay towards the center of the road during a flood where water tends to be the most shallow.
Drivers are also encouraged to travel slowly and in low gear. Drying your brakes by lightly tapping them while driving slow can help ensure your vehicle doesn’t spin out.
Outage concerns
With severe storms comes the potential for outages, so several electric companies have begun to prepare for potential effects.
South Carolina electric provider Dominion Energy began cutting down more trees near power lines over the weekend to prepare for Hurricane Debby. Dominion spokesman Matt Long said fallen trees are the number one cause that contributes to outages.
If you are a Dominion customer who experiences an outage, you can report it through the Dominion Energy App or by calling 800-815-0083.
Power outages can disrupt communications, water and transportation. They can also cause food spoilage and prevent the usage of medical devices.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security encourages some tips for preparing for a potential outage:
- Take an inventory of items you need that rely on electricity.
- Plan for batteries and other alternative power sources to meet your needs.
- Have flashlights for every household member.
- Know how long medication can be stored at higher temperatures and get specific guidance for medications that are critical for life.
- Have enough nonperishable food and water.
- Use coolers with ice if necessary.
- Turn off or disconnect appliances, equipment or electronics during an outage. When power returns, it could momentarily spike/surge and cause damage.
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our email newsletter, and download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.
Copyright 2024 WIS. All rights reserved.
South-Carolina
South Carolina Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Dec. 17, 2025
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The South Carolina Education Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 17, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
25-33-53-62-66, Powerball: 17, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 Plus FIREBALL numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
Midday: 2-4-1, FB: 1
Evening: 9-0-3, FB: 8
Check Pick 3 Plus FIREBALL payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 Plus FIREBALL numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
Midday: 7-4-3-2, FB: 1
Evening: 6-8-8-9, FB: 8
Check Pick 4 Plus FIREBALL payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
Midday: 10
Evening: 15
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Palmetto Cash 5 numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
04-13-19-23-37
Check Palmetto Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
24-43-65-66-68, Powerball: 03
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
The South Carolina Education Lottery provides multiple ways to claim prizes, depending on the amount won:
For prizes up to $500, you can redeem your winnings directly at any authorized South Carolina Education Lottery retailer. Simply present your signed winning ticket at the retailer for an immediate payout.
Winnings $501 to $100,000, may be redeemed by mailing your signed winning ticket along with a completed claim form and a copy of a government-issued photo ID to the South Carolina Education Lottery Claims Center. For security, keep copies of your documents and use registered mail to ensure the safe arrival of your ticket.
SC Education Lottery
P.O. Box 11039
Columbia, SC 29211-1039
For large winnings above $100,000, claims must be made in person at the South Carolina Education Lottery Headquarters in Columbia. To claim, bring your signed winning ticket, a completed claim form, a government-issued photo ID, and your Social Security card for identity verification. Winners of large prizes may also set up an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for convenient direct deposit of winnings.
Columbia Claims Center
1303 Assembly Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Claim Deadline: All prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw date for draw games.
For more details and to access the claim form, visit the South Carolina Lottery claim page.
When are the South Carolina Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
- Pick 4: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
- Cash Pop: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
- Palmetto Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. ET daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Carolina editor. You can send feedback using this form.
South-Carolina
David Pascoe: ‘South Carolina Isn’t Run by Republicans’ – FITSNews
by DAVID PASCOE
***
Republicans have a supermajority in South Carolina; yet, our state is more liberal than the purple states that border us. John Adams once said, “facts are stubborn things.” Well, the facts prove our State Republican leadership gets its playbook from the Democratic Party.
In 2024, I was one of the only elected officials to endorse conservative Republican JD Chaplin in his campaign against liberal Democrat Gerald Malloy, who blocked every single pro-law enforcement bill in the General Assembly. Malloy was one of the most powerful lawyer-legislators in the state and teamed often with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to stifle conservative legislation. I met with Republicans in both Houses of the General Assembly and tried to rally them to support the REPUBLICAN nominee. They refused because they either feared Malloy and feared the lawyer-legislators in power who supported him. In my endorsement of Chaplin, I stated that the two-party system in South Carolina is not R vs. D but those who strive to serve others vs. those who strive to serve themselves. Luckily, JD Chaplin beat Gerald Malloy without the help of any Republican leadership in the General Assembly.
In our state, we have witnessed the liberal Republican Party establishment demonize and attempt to defeat conservative fighters because they are members of the Freedom Caucus. They use political consultants (The Swamp Parasites) giving them offices on State House property to attack the Freedom Caucus, the very men and women who exemplify what it means to be a conservative and fight against corruption and cronyism. The leadership in the General Assembly would rather work with liberal Democrats than work together with their fellow Republicans. But here is a coincidental fact – 30% of the General Assembly are lawyer-legislators; less than 10% of Freedom Caucus members are lawyer-legislators.
***
Let me tell you the core reason we are a liberal state and why I have enemies: conservatives are not really in charge of South Carolina. The lawyer-legislator uniparty is.
Nearly 30% of the General Assembly are lawyers. They control all of the money, the judiciary, and the most important committees. That is not representative government. That’s a cartel.
When lawyers gain unchecked political power, they do not just write laws. They shape the system to benefit themselves. They design rules that ordinary citizens cannot understand, navigate, or challenge. That is exactly what has happened in South Carolina.
For over 30 years, liberal Republicans have controlled the State House. Liberal control has given us a judicial system dominated by legislative insiders. We have judges effectively chosen by the same lawyers who practice before them. We have legislative privilege routinely abused to delay cases, rearrange court dockets, and keep powerful clients out of trouble.
***
***
What we have is a uniparty. A trial lawyer uniparty. Republicans and Democrats alike who share two things in common: they are lawyers who benefit from controlling the courts, and they cannot stand me because I am about to stand in their way as Attorney General. Their bank accounts cannot afford for me to win.
I have seen this system up close. I spent decades as a prosecutor. I led the State House Corruption Probe that exposed a pay-to-play culture operating at the highest levels of government. That investigation did not make me popular in Columbia. It did, however, make something very clear. Corruption does not thrive in chaos. It thrives in systems designed to protect insiders and punish anyone who challenges them.
The most powerful examples of this system are the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. These Committees are where judicial reform and pro-life legislation go to die. It is where lawyer-legislators protect their influence. It is where bills that threaten legislative control of the courts quietly disappear. This is not about party labels. It is about power. Worst of all, it is often about using public service for personal profit.
Under this system, lawyer-legislators decide which judges are allowed to be considered. And then they walk into courtrooms across South Carolina expecting favorable treatment from the very judges whose careers they control. That is not separation of powers. That is consolidation of power.
***

RELATED | BOUGHT AND PAID FOR
***
Families lose. Crime victims lose. Small businesses lose. And public trust evaporates.
This system did not develop by accident. It was built deliberately, layer by layer, and it continues because too many elected officials tolerate it. I’ve spent the last five years calling it out, which is the reason self dealing RINOs will stop at nothing to take down my campaign for Attorney General.
Bring. It. On.
The liberal Republicans aren’t winning this battle. As your next Attorney General, I will dismantle the lawyer-legislator uniparty for good, starting with Weston Newton’s stranglehold on this state. And more importantly, I will make it impossible for them to profit from their public service
If South Carolina wants real reform, it has to start by breaking the trial lawyer uniparty’s grip on the judiciary. It has to restore balance. It has to put citizens back ahead of insiders. I did not spend my career prosecuting corruption to stay quiet now. This system can be fixed. But only if we are honest about who really runs it.
Join me in this fight and let’s crush corruption in South Carolina.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

David Pascoe is solicitor for South Carolina’s first judicial circuit, which includes Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties. He is a Republican candidate for attorney general of the Palmetto State.
***
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South-Carolina
Clemson’s Defense Takes Care Of South Carolina, Picks Up Palmetto Series Win
The Clemson Tigers prevailed on the hardwood against the South Carolina Gamecocks, winning 68-61 at Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday night.
Defense ruled the roost for Clemson, which allowed only four successful threes from 26 attempts by South Carolina, a low 15.4%. The Tigers forced 14 turnovers and turned them into 16 points of their own, a credit to how the team can slow down opposing offenses.
South Carolina’s 61 points are the lowest that the Gamecocks have scored all season, a credit to head coach Brad Brownell’s defense.
Redshirt freshman Ace Buckner took advantage of the opportunity he was given, seeing extended time while playing the most minutes he had all season. With two Tigers injured during the game, he took over, finishing with a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds.
The bench led the way for Clemson (9-3), scoring 41 points to South Carolina’s 14 in the win. In addition to Buckner, Carter Welling came off the bench and finished with 16 points and four rebounds. The big man would also have three steals on Tuesday night.
The Tigers’ starting unit struggled to get going in the first five minutes, leading to a full shuffle of the lineup after being down as much as seven. Then, the bench unit carried Clemson out of the hole, gaining the lead by the 12:25 mark in the first half and not giving it back.
There was bad news from Tuesday’s win involving true freshman Zac Foster, who exited the game in the first half with a knee injury. He did not return to the game and was not on the bench in the second half with his team. The four-star prospect, according to 247Sports, will await the timeline that comes next with his injury.
Fellow guard Butta Johnson also missed the second half with a left leg injury, having a physical play close to the basket that also had him slow to get up.
It led to the opportunity for Buckner, who played 17 minutes in the second half and scored 15 of his points in the final frame. He would also finish with two steals in the win.
While the Tigers shot well from the field, they struggled from the free throw line. Clemson made 60% of its free throws, missing 12 in the win.
Clemson will be back in action in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday afternoon, playing Cincinnati at the Bon Secour Wellness Arena in the 2025 Greenville Winter Invitational.
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