LEXINGTON, S.C. Authorities say two people have been charged with killing a random victim on the side of a South Carolina road after deciding they wanted to kill someone.

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. A South Carolina police officer has been suspended after he was arrested on a domestic violence charge.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. The Dorn VA Medical Center is opening a new outpatient clinic for veterans in South Carolina's Upstate.

The runners-up to Merriam-Webster's 2009 Word of the Year (admonish), with definitions from the publisher's collegiate dictionary and, when applicable, the news event or story that generated the interest in the word:

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. A foreign currencies trader who cheated investors in more than 20 states to support a lavish lifestyle and buy presents for a girlfriend has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.

COLUMBIA, S.C. When an ambulance brought Daniel Webb home from the hospital after he hurt his knee in March, paramedics warned the then 550-pound man he probably wouldn't be able to get up from his recliner if they put him there, his wife said.

COLUMBIA, S.C. South Carolina lawmakers plan to formally consider impeaching Gov. Mark Sanford for the first time next week, the chairman of the committee beginning that work said Friday.

COLUMBIA, S.C. Three South Carolina men accused of bilking people out of more than $80 million lied about how they would invest their money, so it doesn't matter if investors knew it was risky, prosecutors said Thursday.

SUMTER, S.C. A high school principal in South Carolina has been arrested and charged with domestic violence.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. Colorado-based weather researchers say three hurricanes formed in the Atlantic this year, two fewer than they predicted before the season and one less than their August update called for.

ATLANTA The first county-by-county survey of obesity reflects past studies that show the rate of obesity is highest in the Southeast and Appalachia.

LIBERTY, S.C. Sheriff's deputies in a South Carolina county seized 177 dogs, a cat and a bird during an investigation into animal maltreatment at a local residence.

COLUMBIA, S.C. South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal has paid a fine of more than $80 after getting a speeding ticket.

PICKENS, S.C. A man who killed a South Carolina pawn shop owner, then fled to Canada to avoid the death penalty has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. Three former officials in a South Carolina county already plagued by scandal will stand trial in February, a federal judged ruled Thursday.