bbc world service

Sub freezing lows are forecasted throughout the state both Friday night and Saturday night. Some areas could experience temperatures as low as the single digits.

Tropical Storm Nicole is now a depression dumping heavy rain in places from Georgia to New York. Flooding is still possible in urban and mountain areas, with as much as 8 inches of rainfall predicted for the Blue Ridge Mountains. Dozens of homes and high-rises have been declared structurally unsafe in the Daytona Beach area. The buildings were evacuated as Nicole's storm surge compromised their foundations. Some houses lost their backsides as the storm swallowed the shore. At least three deaths were reported — a man and woman electrocuted by a downed power line and a man whose yacht was slammed by waves against a dock.

South Carolina Supreme Court justices have grilled lawyers over the extent of the right to privacy in a case that could determine the scope of the state's abortion restrictions. Over 18 months of legal back and forth came to a head Wednesday when the justices heard arguments over whether the state constitution prohibits a 2021 ban on abortions after cardiac activity is detected, typically around six weeks. After being blocked by federal courts, the law took effect shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

A near total abortion ban in South Carolina that doesn't include exceptions for pregnancies' caused by rape or incest was sent to the state House floor Tuesday but not without hints and warnings that the lack of exceptions could cause a big legislative fight in a few weeks. The House Judiciary Committee voted 13-7 to approve the ban. All yes votes were from Republicans and all votes against the bill from Democrats. But three Republican committee members who were at the meeting did not vote. South Carolina currently has a six-week ban passed in 2021 that went into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The full House will likely debate the bill at a special session called by House Speaker Murrell Smith in the next few weeks.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham has challenged a subpoena to testify before a special grand jury investigating whether then-President Donald Trump and others broke any laws when they tried to overturn Joe Biden's win in Georgia. Graham's lawyers wrote in a court filing Friday the South Carolina Republican received a subpoena ordering him to appear before the special grand jury Aug. 23. Graham is challenging the subpoena in federal court rather than before the Fulton County Superior Court judge overseeing the special grand jury. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis says Graham called Georgia's secretary of state and members of his staff after Trump's loss and asked about reexamining absentee ballots.