A layer of ice and a blanket of snow has covered coastal areas stretching from South Carolina to Virginia. The winter weather system that entered the region on Friday brought colder temperatures and precipitation not often seen in the region. The storm had mostly blown off the Atlantic Coast by 7 a.m. Saturday. Meteorologists said it left as much as six inches of snow in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. There was up to a half inch of ice in parts of coastal North Carolina that are further south. The ice accumulation also stretched along much of the South Carolina coast in smaller amounts. Charleston got less than a 10th of an inch of ice.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is making another trip to drum up support among abortion opponents in the early-voting state of South Carolina. Pence will give a keynote address at the May fundraising banquet for the Carolina Pregnancy Center. That's according to a copy of an invitation obtained by The Associated Press. The organization has become a regular stop for GOP presidential hopefuls. Last year, Pence chose the fundraiser of another conservative Christian nonprofit in South Carolina as the scene of his first public address since the end of the Trump administration.

Several schools have canceled classes in coastal areas of the Carolinas and Virginia and authorities are urging drivers to stay off potentially icy roads amid the latest round of winter storms. The governors of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia each declared states of emergency ahead of the storms forecast to sweep the region into Saturday. The National Weather Service says the latest winter blast could ice over a large swath of eastern North Carolina and the northeastern corner of South Carolina, while dumping snow around Norfolk, Virginia.

The South Carolina Senate has passed a new map for the state's U.S. House seats that makes minimal changes to the current seven districts. Six of those districts regularly end up sending Republicans to Congress The 26-15 vote on Thursday fell exactly on party lines. It likely shut the door on any significant changes to the districts, which Democrats and civic groups say unfairly amplifies Republican power and dilute minority strength into just one district. The Senate made minor changes to the House plan, so the map heads back to that chamber.

Despite the omicron surge, college students are starting the spring semester on campus – and administrators are bracing for the worst.

Recent research — and plenty of anecdotes — suggest some rapid tests may be less sensitive at detecting omicron if you don't have symptoms. Here's how researchers hope to make them more effective.

A team of researchers has discovered the gymnastic ability of bark beetle larvae. Scientists recently recorded the larvae performing the twisting leap for the first time.

Jury selection begins Monday in the former Alaska governor's case. A 2017 Times editorial wrongly connected an ad from her political action committee to the shooting that wounded Rep. Gabby Giffords.

After nine cases were detected in the region, the country will impose gathering size limits and other measures. Until this month, New Zealand had avoided any outbreaks of the omicron variant.

Dozens of travelers from Fiji tested positive in Kiribati, prompting the island nation to implement its first lockdown. Samoa's order followed a cluster of cases in airline passengers from Australia.

The U.K. said its claim is based on an intelligence assessment. Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops near the Ukraine border, stoking fears of an invasion.

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with former National Security Advisor, General H.R. McMaster, about how climate policy can be used to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin's agenda.

Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics tells us more about how prisons were affected early on in the pandemic. NPR's Michel Martin speaks with researcher Wendy Sawyer about the new data.

The new film is based on the bestselling memoir by Dana Canedy. She tells NPR's Michel Martin about the film's release and the story of love and devotion at the center of it.