Trump administration diverts human rights funds to push far-right agenda abroad Support such as for white Afrikaners and anti-communism reveals how US is redefining what qualifies as human rightsWith hours left before the funding expires, the Trump administration is pushing to direct more than $175m of the state department's flagship human rights fund to a slate of awards that includes a huge $40m grant for an anti-communism fund, support for a group advancing white Afrikaner rights in South Africa, a campaign against Brazil's supreme court and programs that would reward ideological allies in Europe who protect "western civilizational norms".On Wednesday, the state department obligated the funds to the grantees hours before the deadline despite congressional concerns and requests not to do so, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The state department declined to comment on questions from the Guardian specifically on whether it had obligated the funds and had "blown" holds from Congress due to concerns about the money's use. Continue reading...
South African leader urges men to speak up on gender-based violence after series of killings President announces measures amid anger at authorities over recent murders of womenSouth Africa's president has called on men to take more responsibility for violence against women as he announced measures to tackle the problem, amid anger at authorities over a recent wave of murders.Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that not enough had been done to protect women. He said police would be reviewing unsolved murders, attempted murders and serious sexual offences against women and children, as well as producing a funded plan to reduce the forensic backlog for such cases, both within 60 days. Continue reading...
Burundi agrees to receive 'third-country' migrant deportees from US Burundi joins several other African nations in accepting people deported under Trump's hardline policyBurundi has agreed to join a clutch of other African nations in receiving migrants from other countries deported from the US under Donald Trump's hardline immigration policy.However, Burundi will only accept those not accused of crime or terrorism links, said Nancy Ninette Mutoni, a spokesperson for the country's president, Évariste Ndayishimiye. Tuesday's announcement gave no details of numbers, timing or financial details. Continue reading...
DRC politician beaten to death after radio appearance about Ebola outbreak Marie-Celestin Karondwa was attacked on Sunday after promoting measures to prevent spread of disease, his party saysA senior member of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's ruling party was beaten to death on Sunday after appearing on a radio programme to raise awareness about the Ebola outbreak, a party representative has said.Marie-Celestin Karondwa, the acting president of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party's federal executive committee in Butembo, a new hotspot for the outbreak, was attacked after taking part in a radio show during which he promoted prevention measures for the disease, the UDPS federation in the city said in a statement, Reuters reported. Continue reading...
At least 27 dead after two mass shootings in South Africa, police say Seventeen people killed near Johannesburg in suspected 'illegal goldmining turf war', as 10 killed in separate incident at barbecue venue near Cape TownTwo separate mass shootings near South Africa's two biggest cities killed at least 27 people, as the country grapples with one of the world's highest murder rates amid investigations into corruption and criminality within the police.The South African police service said on Sunday that 17 people were killed on Saturday night when eight suspects armed with AK-47 assault rifles and pistols opened fire at a bar in Wedela township, about 50 miles south-west of central Johannesburg. At least 15 other people sustained gunshot injuries in that attack, police said. Continue reading...
Brazil attorney general says meddling 'cannot be tolerated' after Trump funding plans revealed Jorge Messias calls Guardian report 'an important alert for Brazilian sovereignty' as nation prepares to go to pollsBrazil's attorney general has said foreign meddling in his country's institutions and democracy "cannot be tolerated" after a Guardian report revealed how the Trump administration was pushing to direct funds to a campaign against the Brazilian supreme court.Writing on X, Jorge Messias called the report "an important alert for Brazilian sovereignty". "The information is especially serious in light of Brazil's electoral process and the recent episodes of external pressure on our institutions," Messias added. Continue reading...
Layoffs are down, but employers aren't rushing to hire for the holidays Layoffs are down, but employers aren't rushing to hire for the holidaysBy Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - New applications for US unemployment benefits drifted close to 57-year lows last week and layoffs decreased in September, suggesting labor market stability persisted even as employers remained cautious about boosting hiring. The report from the Labor Department on Thursday joined a raft of other data, including robust consumer spending in August, in painting a rosy picture of the economy despite rising headwinds from the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has driven diesel prices to record highs. Economists said robust corporate profits growth and resilient domestic demand were shielding workers from layoffs, for now. "At some point, elevated energy costs and material prices will force firms to lay off marginal workers to protect profit margins, but there is no sign of that here," said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 197,000 for the week ended September 26, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 200,000 claims for the latest week. Claims have held below the 200,000 level for three straight weeks and are near levels last seen in 1969. Some economists said historically low layoffs, if sustained, could raise questions about the labor market overheating, with monetary policy implications. "We do not appear to be close to that result yet, but this is a new risk that the FOMC appears to be watching," said Stephen Stanley, chief US economist at Santander US Capital Markets, referring to the Fed's policy-setting committee. A separate report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed layoffs announced by US-based employers dropped 18% to 43,281 in September. They were down 20% from a year ago and fell 43% in the third quarter. Employers are, however, in no rush to increase headcount. Hiring plans increased by 90,787 last month. While that was sharply up from 12,325 in August, hiring intentions were down 23% from a year ago, and the tally was the lowest for any September since 2011. Challenger, Gray & Christmas said a surge in seasonal hiring typically seen starting in September was absent, adding that "companies are in a wait-and-see period." The Federal Reserve last month raised its overnight benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to the 3.75%-4.00% range, the first hike in three years, and flagged further increases in borrowing costs in the months ahead. The odds of another rate hike this month were diminished by cooler-than-expected inflation readings in August and July. Financial markets priced in a roughly 37.1% chance of further monetary policy tightening at the October 27-28 meeting, down from about 68.6% a week ago, CME's FedWatch tool showed. But August's market-friendly inflation readings are unlikely to be sustained. An Institute for Supply Management survey on Thursday showed inflation pressures building up at the factory gate in September, with no commodities reported to have seen price declines. The survey's measure of input prices jumped to 77.9 last month from 71.1 in August. SUPPLY CHAIN CONSTRAINTS Strong demand is running into capacity constraints, with supply chains stretched because of the war and tariffs. "The longer energy-driven price pressures persist, the greater the risk that they feed through into broader consumer price pressures," said Thomas Ryan, senior North America economist at Capital Economics. Comments from respondents to the survey were mostly negative and focused on pricing volatility, import tariffs, the Middle East conflict and increasing lead times. Some transportation equipment manufacturers complained that "every month, we are faced with new headwinds created by this administration," alluding to the trade war with Canada, adding "the only thing that is predictable is the chaos that is created by these trade policies." Others in the electrical equipment, appliances and components industry said "new tariffs against Canada have drastically increased costs for capital expenses as well as assemblies." Similar complaints were voiced by some makers of computer and electronic products who reported that the "US tariff schedule is providing challenges." Food, beverage and tobacco products manufacturers complained about higher fuel prices driving up "transportation costs and the overall cost of goods." While some makers of fabricated metal products reported strong orders, they said labor and steel shortages were "limiting our production output to meet demand." Stocks on Wall Street were trading lower. The dollar advanced versus a basket of currencies. US Treasury prices fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note hitting the highest level in 24 years. The claims report showed the number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, dropped 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.701 million during the week ended September 19. That was the lowest level in the so-called continuing claims since April 2023. Still, some people who have lost their jobs are experiencing long spells of unemployment. A survey from the Conference Board on Tuesday showed the share of consumers saying jobs were "plentiful" dropped in September to the lowest level since February 2021, while the proportion who viewed jobs as "hard to get" was the highest in more than 5-1/2 years. The claims data have no bearing on September's employment report as they fall outside the survey period. Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 90,000 jobs last month after advancing 162,000 in August, a Reuters survey of economists showed. The unemployment rate is forecast holding steady at 4.1% for a third straight month, in part held down by a smaller labor force because of retirements and an immigration crackdown. "We continue to think the pace of layoffs will rise next year, in response to the recent tightening of financial conditions and growing adoption of AI by firms," said Samuel Tombs, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrea Ricci) This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/articles/us-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-124022508.html
Early voting data shows emerging signs of a Democratic advantage in the midterms Early voting data shows emerging signs of a Democratic advantage in the midterms"I Voted" stickers sit on a table at Naperville Municipal Center in Naperville, Illinois, on September 24, 2026, on the first day of early voting ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. - Kamil Krzaczyski/AFP/Getty ImagesElection Day is still a month away, but more than 700,000 Americans have already voted across at least 30 states. There are signs emerging of the advantage Democrats have in motivating their voters - a trend that's played out in polling all summer long.In several states with key Senate or governor races this fall, Democrats make up a larger share of voters requesting ballots so far than they did at this point in 2024.In Iowa, Democrats have made 67% of ballot requests, up from 54% at this point in 2024. In Pennsylvania, it's 66%, up from 62%, and in Maine it's 57%, up from 53%. And according to data from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, 42% of ballot requests are from Democrats, up from 36% at this point two years ago.It's worth noting that in all of those states except for Iowa, ballot requests at this point in 2022 were more Democratic than they are now.The uptick in the share of requests from Democrats would be in line with polling, special election results and primary turnout, all of which have indicated Democrats may be more motivated to vote this November.On the other hand, it could just be further evidence of Republicans continuing to shift to preferring other forms of voting.An important caveat: While the fact that a person has voted is generally public information, your ballot itself is secret, so this data can't tell us how many votes a party or candidate has won. That won't be known until states start reporting results after the polls close on November 3.Early voting data also only shows one slice of voters: a slice that is typically older and less Republican than the electorate as a whole.
Early voters are skewing older
Voting patterns have shifted in the last several years as the country has emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic.As mail voting has fallen from its 2020 highs, voters 65 and older have made up a larger share of people choosing to vote that way, going from 27% of mail voters in 2020 to 31% in 2022 and 37% in 2024, according to CNN Exit Poll data.That's not unexpected. Mail voting can be a convenient option for older people who might have trouble getting to the polls. In many states where voters need an excuse to vote by mail, age itself can qualify as a reason to receive a mail-in ballot.There are early signs that that trend is continuing this year.In nearly every state for which there is comparable data, voters 65 and older make up a larger share of ballot requests this year than they did at this point in either 2022 or 2024.
A big Democratic advantage in Virginia
Perhaps the most positive signs for Democrats so far come from Virginia, which has reported both by far the most total votes of any state in CNN's count and is the only state which has reported substantial numbers of both early in-person and mail votes.While Virginia voters don't register by party, there's a clear relationship between how a locality voted in 2024 and its relative pace of early voting.Cities and counties that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 20 percentage points are at 78% of their turnout from this time in 2024, while those that voted for President Donald Trump by 20 points are at just 61%.Partisan turnout, as measured by the share of voters who have only participated in one party's primaries since 2022, also points to a considerable Democratic advantage in the early voting period relative to the same point in 2024.While the turnout so far shows a clear advantage in Democratic motivation, Republican voters could close the gap as Election Day nears. It's still early in the voting period - Virginians cast over 4.5 million votes in 2024 and over 3.4 million votes in 2025. The Senate race in Virginia is not expected to be competitive this year, and Republican voters may be more motivated in more highly contested races.Still, two competitive House races in the state also suggest a move towards Democrats in terms of enthusiasm.Democratic primary participants outnumber Republican primary participants by 15 points among votes cast so far in the 1st District and 18 points in the 2nd District. Both districts are battlegrounds currently represented by Republicans facing tough challengers: Rep. Rob Wittman in the 1st and Rep. Jen Kiggans in the 2nd.At the same point in 2024, the partisan composition was relatively split in both districts, with Republican primary voters leading by about 3 points in the 1st District and Democratic primary voters leading by 2 points in the 2nd District.Statewide, Democratic primary participants outpace Republicans by about 18 points, up from 8 points at the same point in 2024.
Early voting data has its limits
Data on pre-election voting is valuable but it does have limits.Early vote data is compiled by CNN, the Associated Press, and the data firm Catalist, a company that provides data, analytics and other services to Democrats, academics and nonprofit advocacy groups, including insights into who is voting before November.The number of votes cast so far is a tiny fraction of the roughly 57 million pre-election votes cast in 2022 and an even smaller share of the roughly 112 million votes cast overall in that election but is expected to grow substantially over the next few weeks.The data so far is also largely limited to mail ballots, as very few states have started significant early in-person voting. In recent years mail voters have been much more Democratic, while early in-person voters have been more evenly split or Republican leaning.This story has been updated with additional information.For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.comThis article originally appeared on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/01/politics/cnn-early-voting-takeaways-democratic-advantage
Pentagon used emergency measure to change voter forms for Americans abroad Pentagon used emergency measure to change voter forms for Americans abroadDemocrats filed a lawsuit Thursday over the Trump administration's recent use of an emergency measure to make changes to the federal voter-registration form used by U.S. service members abroad and citizens residing outside the country, arguing that it's an attempt to disenfranchise eligible American voters. The lawsuit follows concerns by advocates for American citizens overseas, who said the changes will spark confusion among eligible voters abroad and officials within U.S. election offices. The Pentagon has saidthe changes are meant to align the form with federal law. More than 2 million Americans living abroad are eligible to cast their ballots in U.S. elections. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. The new version of the form changes ID requirements and eliminates a checkbox that allows a voter to declare, "I am a US citizen living outside the country, I have never lived in the United States." That category, sometimes referred to as "never resideds," encompasses the adult children of U.S. citizens who have long lived abroad. The Democratic National Committee's lawsuit against the Pentagon and the Office of Management and Budget argues that the federal government manufactured an emergency to justify infringing on the voting rights of "never resideds." The DNC is asking the court to declare that the agencies acted unlawfully, stop the federal government from distributing the recently altered version of the form and direct the Pentagon to reissue a previous version of the form. Doris Speer, president of the Association of Americans Resident Overseas, said she believes the changes to the form, known as the Federal Post Card Application, are "an effort to deter the overseas vote, not to legally stop people from voting but to make the process so difficult that you really have to want to vote to get through it. The result will be confusion, chaos and fewer overseas votes." The changes to the form follow the Trump administration's unsuccessful efforts to restrict voting by mail and pass sweeping voter ID legislation. That proposed legislation, the Save America Act, would require Americans to prove their citizenship when registering to vote and show photo ID to vote, and permit the Department of Homeland Security to obtain access to voter rolls. The political stakes of the upcoming midterm election are high for the GOP. Republicans are in danger of losing their majority in the House of Representatives, and Democrats have vowed to step up their investigations into President Donald Trump if they are in the majority. In August, the Pentagon sought emergency approval to make several changes to the FPCA, used by U.S. voters abroad to register to vote and request an absentee ballot. The Pentagon did not solicit public feedback on the change, as normally would be a part of the process for a document change of this nature. The Pentagon told The Washington Post in a statement that recent updates were made "to streamline voter identification instructions and ensure alignment with Federal law" but did not detail which federal law. The Pentagon also did not explain what emergency allowed the government to expedite the form changes. In an Aug. 13 letter to OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs seeking emergency processing to alter the form, Deputy Undersecretary of War for Personnel and Readiness Sean O'Keefe wrote that the changes were necessary because the previous version of the document may have confused "voters about the information they are required to provide under Federal law and their eligibility to use these forms to register and vote." In justifying the emergency, O'Keefe wrote that "the next Federal election is fewer than 90 days away, so there is insufficient time to modify" the forms via the standard process, adding that "public harm is reasonably likely to result if normal clearance procedures and time periods are followed." Elections are typically scheduled years in advance. Tammy Patrick, a longtime elections administrator who serves as the chief program officer at the National Association of Election Officials, and other advocates for U.S. voters overseas say they still don't understand what constituted an emergency in this case. "I don't think there is an actual emergency," Patrick said. "I have not heard from any election officials about anything related to our infrastructure, neither at the state level … nor at any local level, causing any major concern within our hundreds and hundreds of members." A 1986 law established federal protections for military and overseas voters. But states determine voter eligibility rules and residence requirements. Currently, "never resideds" are eligible to vote in 37 states based on their parents' previous residence. Along with changes to the form itself, the General Services Administration's website for the newly altered form also states that it "is for absent Uniform Service members, their families, and citizens residing outside the U.S. intending on returning only." Previously, the federal government made no distinction on who was eligible to use the form based on whether an American citizen intended to return to the United States. Susan Dzieduszycka-Suinat, president and CEO of the nonprofit U.S. Vote Foundation, said that changing the form "without an effective public comment process sends a terrible message to the people who have always been part of it: election officials, usability experts, and organizations like ours. That process used to give us a form that supported voter participation and made life easier for election administrators." Speer, with the Association of Americans Resident Overseas, said she wasn't interested in mounting a legal fight ahead of the midterm election, arguing that any effort to stop the federal government from using the new form could create even more confusion for voters. But Dzieduszycka-Suinat said U.S. Vote Foundation is "investigating this issue and the emergency process that was used with legal counsel." She said the organization is prepared to fight in court. Eligible "never resided" voters must now seek their ballots through states, rather than through the federal government. California, for example, is one of 37 states that allow a U.S. citizen who never has lived in the United States to vote if their parent or legal guardian was previously registered to vote as a resident of the state. The California secretary of state's office told The Post that the state's online voter-registration application continues to include a category for U.S. citizens who "have never resided in the U.S." Related ContentThis article originally appeared on Washington Post at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/pentagon-used-emergency-measure-change-090000846.html
Trump says he regrets appointing Gorsuch, Barrett and Kavanaugh to Supreme Court Trump says he regrets appointing Gorsuch, Barrett and Kavanaugh to Supreme Court WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump said he regretted nominating three Supreme Court justices - Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh - who have opposed him in recent rulings, according to a Time Magazine interview. The Republican president was asked about his recent comments regarding the three conservative justices in the interview, which was conducted on Monday. "Do you regret nominating them?" the interviewer asked, referring to Trump's comments in a recent Truth Social post. "Yeah. Yeah," Trump responded, according to a transcript of the interview. "What can I do? I put them in. They voted against me too often. I was very - I gave them the position of a lifetime, and they vote against me often." Trump appointed Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett during his first term as president, building a 6-3 conservative majority and allowing the court to steer a dramatic rightward course since 2020. "I do like loyalty, yeah," Trump told the interviewer, who then asked whether that was what he wanted from the justices. "No, I don't want loyalty. I want good decisions," Trump said. After the top US judicial body declined to allow a Postal Service rule restricting the use of mail-in ballots in the November midterm elections, Trump said his appointees were behaving differently than they had during interviews. "These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves," he wrote on Truth Social. After the court in February struck down his sweeping global tariffs that it found he had imposed illegally using a law meant for national emergencies, Trump reserved special ire for Gorsuch and Barrett, who were in the majority in that 6-3 ruling. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Doina Chiacu, Editing by Timothy Heritage) This article originally appeared on Reuters at https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trump-says-regrets-nominating-supreme-123634128.html
Christa Pike's attorneys said she is still alive a day after she survived two doses of lethal injection drugs on Wednesday. The inmate, who was given the death penalty after being convicted of first-degree murder in 1996, is in critical condition and receiving life-saving medical care, her legal team told reporters Thursday afternoon.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has since paused executions in the state.
Pike, 50, remained alive and snoring loudly after being given two doses of pentobarbital, her attorneys and other witnesses said. She was subsequently taken to a hospital.
"Last night was not just inefficient, it was cruel, and it was torturous," attorney Randy Spivey said Thursday. "It was also predictable."
Spivey said Pike's legal team warned the state of Tennessee and the courts that her medical condition of thrombocytosis "would cause her to suffer an agonizing death." They said it could increase clotting and pain during the execution process and that her veins are difficult to access. Pike's attorneys said the state and the court dismissed their client's concerns.
"She was not seeking to delay her execution," attorney Stephen Ferrell told reporters Thursday. "She was seeking to have that execution performed humanely and as quickly and as painlessly as possible."
Lee ordered "a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred" and said that another scheduled execution later this year had been paused.
"There are very few answers this morning. It's very early," Lee told reporters Thursday morning. "There are a lot of questions. The people of our state deserve to have those questions answered.
"This is a tragedy. There is no one who wanted what happened last night to happen. It's deeply disturbing to me that this has happened in this state."
Pike's attorneys said Thursday that the governor's independent review doesn't go far enough after being in solitary confinement for more than 20 years and the botched execution attempt.
"Christa has endured punishment greater than any other person in the history of the American death penalty," Spivey said. "The governor must commute Christa's sentence now."
Spivey said the execution team tried to establish an IV line for over an hour and that he counted at least seven needles used in her left arm alone, one of which appeared to be bent when it was pulled after an unsuccessful attempt.
May Martinez, the mother of Pike's victim, Colleen Slemmer, told NBC News the execution attempt had been a "mess," adding, "They didn't say anything, and then, all of a sudden, they asked all the victims to leave. We didn't know anything until we got up to the office and saw the commissioner. And he said that it didn't work ... and she's on her way to the hospital."
In a statement posted on Facebook, Sen. Marsha Blackburn called for the state to return to the electric chair as a means of execution. "This situation is tragic," she said. "Christa Pike should have been executed long ago. Now, this botched process is extending the pain for the family of Colleen Slemmer. While there should be a thorough review of what happened and why the process failed, the answer is simple: bring back the electric chair and deliver justice for these victims swiftly."
Pike had been scheduled for execution at 10 a.m. Wednesday for killing Slemmer in 1995, at the age of 18. She would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
An appeals court stopped the lethal injection just an hour before it was to start, a stay that was subsequently overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Media witnesses said officials raised the curtains to the execution chamber at 7:27 p.m., showing Pike strapped to a gurney. "I'm going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life, and that is in love," she said in her "last" words.
However, Pike remained conscious after the first dose. Nashville Banner reporter Steven Hale said she lifted her head off the gurney at 7:54 p.m. She also reportedly asked prison officials if her arm was supposed to feel that way.
Tori Gessner, a journalist with WKRN News 2 in Nashville, said Pike was seen pointing at her arm and asking, "Does this happen like that?"
By 8:26 p.m., witnesses reported that the second dose of pentobarbital had been administered.
Pike continued to be heard snoring behind the closed curtain until the microphone was cut off at 8:53 p.m. At that time, an announcement was made to escort media witnesses out of the area.Christa Pike, pictured in January 2023.
Tennessee Department of Correction via AP
Pike's legal team said in a statement to the Tennessean newspaper, "Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution.
"We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy."
Gov. Lee said he had paused another execution scheduled for Dec. 3 this year. "Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the state's most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective," he said.
Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said what Pike experienced was "singular and unparalleled."
Seven other people have survived medical problems caused by an execution team's failure to access a vein to administer lethal injection drugs, but no one has remained alive after receiving the drugs used in such executions, she said.
"I've witnessed, I believe, five executions in Tennessee," Gessner said. "Nothing about today was normal, typical at all, and the court delay was just the tip of the iceberg."
The Tennessee Department of Correction said that it "followed every step of the state's lawful, established execution protocol approved by the attorney general's office."
The state's execution protocol calls for a secondary set of drug syringes to be administered "if the inmate is not deceased" after the first set. It does not specify what happens if the subject is still alive after the second set.
Lawyers for Pike filed an emergency motion late Wednesday with the Tennessee Supreme Court seeking to immediately halt and stay the execution, saying she was in "unnecessary agony" and that the execution was violating her right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. They also filed motions in the Sixth Circuit and a district court.
Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 after being convicted of first-degree murder of Colleen Slemmer the previous year on the University of Tennessee Agricultural campus.
According to legal documents filed with the Supreme Court, Pike "tortured, and killed Colleen Slemmer" on Jan. 12, 1995 because Pike "just felt mean that day." Pike is reported to have cut Colleen's throat multiple times and crushed her skull with a piece of asphalt.
Pike was also convicted of attempted first-degree murder after trying to strangle fellow inmate Patricia Jones in 2001.
Of those 64, the DPI says seven execution attempts resulted in failure. It said the execution of Tennessee inmate Tony Carruthers - which failed when staff were unable to find a vein to administer a lethal drug - was the most recent it had documented before Pike.
The DPI, which says it does not take a position on the death penalty itself but is critical of problems in its application, cites figures showing that, historically, around 3% of attempted executions between 1890 and 2010 were flawed. Lethal injection has drawn particular scrutiny, with 7.2% of attempted executions being botched, the DPI said, compared with the rate of 3.15% across all methods, including electrocution, hanging and gas.
Experts have pointed to difficulties establishing intravenous lines, questions about the drugs used and the ethical role doctors can play in executions, since their ethics code requires them to swear to preserve life.
Such figures on botched executions have been questioned by some, including Michael Conklin, an assistant professor of business law at Texas A&M University-Central Texas. In a 2020 paper, he argued that some of the cases classified as botched attempts included those in which the prisoner resisted, those in which there were difficulties inserting the IV, and those in which prison officials opened the curtain too early.
The state of Tennessee has experienced recent issues that predate Pike's case.
In April 2022, Lee called off the execution of Oscar Smith about an hour before it was scheduled to begin after the state discovered that its lethal injection drugs had not been properly tested. An independent investigation found that the state had repeatedly failed to follow its own drug-testing protocols between 2018 and 2022.
Tennessee then revised its protocol, resuming executions in May 2025 and using a single, lethal drug, pentobarbital.Tony Carruthers was scheduled to be executed on May 21, 2026.
Tennessee Department of Correction via AP
Pike's failed execution was Tennessee's second this year. Carruthers, who was convicted of the kidnapping and murders of three people in Memphis, was scheduled to be executed on May 21, 2026, but officials abandoned the attempt after they were unable to establish the intravenous access needed to administer the drug. The ACLU, which was part of his legal team, said witnesses reported more than an hour of attempts to establish a line while Carruthers groaned in pain.
Families of victims, however, may feel differently. The family of Slemmer, Pike's victim, traveled to Nashville expecting to witness the execution. Her mother, May Martinez, told the Associated Press she had waited decades to see it happen, "Every time I think about it, I think about Colleen feeling that pain and trying to get up and run," she said.
There were 47 executions in 2025, according to the DPI, higher than the recent average of fewer than 30 per year. These included the lethal injection of South Carolina inmate Marion Bowman, who received twice the intended drug dose, and Tennessee inmate Byron Black, who reportedly showed sustained cardiac activity for nearly two minutes after prison staff pronounced him dead.This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/tennessee-death-row-inmate-christa-pike-survives-2-doses-of-execution-drugs-081613268.html
Christa Pike's failed execution follows a pattern with lethal drugs in multiple states Christa Pike's failed execution follows a pattern with lethal drugs in multiple statesChrista Pike, the only woman on Tennessee's death row, received two doses of a lethal drug in a Nashville execution chamber Wednesday night. But she didn't die. Although her survival was "unparalleled," as one expert said, it was the latest example of a botched execution attempt involving lethal injections in Tennessee and elsewhere around the United States."All of this was predicted, and the court did nothing," said Steve Ferrell, an attorney for Pike, at a news conference Thursday, referencing the state's history of problems with its lethal drug protocol.Pike, 50, was condemned for the 1995 murder of her former classmate Colleen Slemmer, then 19, whom she and two others tortured and killed in a manner widely described as gruesome, horrific and disturbing. Eighteen at the time of the attack and 20 at her sentencing, Pike was the youngest woman sent to death row in the country's modern capital punishment era.The extent of Pike's injuries after the failed execution was unclear, but her attorneys said Thursday that she was still alive and receiving "lifesaving medical care" at a hospital. A doctor told CBS partner BBC News that Pike would have likely suffered traumatic brain injury.Her legal team had said in an emergency motion to halt the execution Wednesday night that she had not lost consciousness, retained a heartbeat and could be heard audibly snoring on the gurney, despite correctional staff administering two syringes' worth of the drug pentobarbital to her through an IV. At one point, Associated Press reporter Kim Chandler, who witnessed the execution, said Pike "looked toward prison officials and asked if it was supposed to feel that way." "The case of Christa Pike lays bare multiple reasons why the death penalty should be abolished," United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement on Thursday. "The prolonged suffering - physical and mental - arising from multiple failed execution attempts is abhorrent, and cruel. And there are key fair trial questions still unresolved."Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, whose denial of Pike's clemency petition this week allowed the execution to move forward, has since announced the state will cancel the one remaining execution scheduled to take place this year, so that "a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred" on Wednesday night could be conducted.
A problematic history
Pike's bungled injection wasn't a first for Tennessee. Earlier this year, in May, the state halted the planned execution of death row inmate Tony Carruthers when officers failed to establish an IV line through which to administer his lethal injection, after trying to do so for more than an hour. At the time, Carruthers' attorney said he had been "tortured," telling CBS News that he groaned and bled from multiple attempted injection sites as staff tasked with handling the execution repeatedly punctured him in his chest, arms, feet and neck. The defense team representing Carruthers had asked a Tennessee district court to stop the execution, alleging the ordeal "constituted cruel and unusual punishment," in violation of his constitutional rights, but the request was denied on the grounds that a burden of proof to demonstrate the state's actions were "cruel and unusual" hadn't been met. Lee ultimately granted Carruthers a yearlong reprieve from execution, meaning that he'll return to the chamber a second time to be put to death after that. The governor said he wouldn't reconsider Carruthers' clemency petition, even as gaps in forensic evidence sparked public doubt over the legitimacy of the murder conviction for which he was sentenced to death.Carruthers was among seven U.S. inmates whose executions by lethal injection failed because of issues establishing an IV line in the modern death penalty era, although researchers say other instances may exist. His attorneys' allegations of torture and unconstitutionally cruel punishment also echoed similar accusations from representatives of other inmates who've experienced botched execution attempts due to this problem. In addition to Tennessee, these incidents have happened in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, an organization that provides data on capital punishment but doesn't take a position on it. Pike's survival was "singular and unparalleled," marking the first execution where an inmate remained alive after receiving lethal drugs, versus other instances where failure to locate a vein ultimately prevented the drugs from being administered, Robin Maher, the Death Penalty Information Center's executive director, told the AP. In a statement, her organization drew connections between Pike's execution and that of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma in 2014, where Lockett appeared to survive the procedure but died of a heart attack while still in the execution chamber.Tennessee resumed executions in 2025 after a three-year hiatus, triggered by controversy and criticism surrounding its execution protocol. Lee, in 2022, said the pause would allow for an investigation into its lethal injection process after it was determined that corrections officials didn't test the lethal drugs they'd planned to use for that year's execution of Oscar Smith for bacteria. That review led Tennessee to alter its lethal injection protocol, shifting from a procedure involving three different drugs to the current one used in Pike's case, consisting solely of pentobarbital. The Tennessee Department of Correction said it "followed every step of the State's lawful, established execution protocol" in a statement released after Pike's procedure. "The lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening," the statement said.
"Veiled in secrecy"
Experts and groups advocating against the death penalty have sounded alarms for years about issues with lethal drugs used in executions. Declining support for capital punishment nationwide and skepticism over how executions were being carried out led pharmaceutical companies over the last decade or so to cut ties with state corrections departments, which, in turn, struggled to acquire lethal drugs. Advocates have said this shift has contributed to increased incidents of lethal injections gone awry, accusing states of putting inmates to death with expired or untested chemicals. Because the details of execution protocols, within and outside of Tennessee, are frequently allowed to be kept secret, contesting them, legally, is difficult.Pike's lawyers had raised concerns about Tennessee's protocol in appeals leading up to the execution, and Pike herself said she was "nervous" about how the procedure would play out in a letter that CBS News obtained from her spiritual adviser this week."I am not afraid to die. I'm only nervous about the process," said Pike in the letter, written Monday, before she learned Lee had denied her petition for clemency.Her attorneys said the circumstances around Pike's execution proved their concerns had been valid."Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution," they said in a statement. "We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms. Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy."This article originally appeared on CBS News at https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christa-pike-botched-execution-lethal-injection/
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, whose denial of Pike's clemency petition this week allowed the execution to move forward, has since announced the state will cancel the one remaining execution scheduled to take place this year, so that "a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred" on Wednesday night could be conducted.
Tennessee resumed executions in 2025 after a three-year hiatus, triggered by controversy and criticism surrounding its execution protocol. Lee, in 2022, said the pause would allow for 
