Tennessee suspends executions after botched lethal injection for Christa Pike
Tennessee has suspended executions and opened an independent investigation after the attempted lethal injection of Christa Pike failed, leaving the state's only woman on death row alive and in critical condition. Governor Bill Lee called the episode "deeply disturbing," and the state's prison chief has resigned in its wake. Pike's lawyer, Randy Spivey, said she survived two doses of the lethal drug.
Pike, 50, was convicted of the 1995 torture and murder of fellow student Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville when she was 18. She had been scheduled to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years, and the U.S. Supreme Court had cleared the way for the procedure after a lower court paused it. In a final statement before the attempt, she said she was "ready to be free."
According to her attorney, Pike remained alive and snoring more than 40 minutes after receiving a double dose of the drug that was supposed to kill her quickly. She is now in critical condition, and the governor has ordered an independent inquiry into the state's handling of executions.
UAE says Flydubai co-pilot attempted terrorist axe attack on captain
The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said the co-pilot of Flydubai flight FZ1073 to Tel Aviv attempted a "terrorist attack" by attacking the captain with a crash axe during the flight. The aircraft plunged more than 17,000 feet before passengers and crew overpowered the assailant, according to the UAE official account. An investigation is under way to determine all the circumstances, including motive.
The co-pilot has been identified as Omani national Hamam al-Hammami. Oman had reportedly barred him from flying because of extremist views, and it remains unclear what background checks Flydubai carried out before allowing him on the Israel-bound service. The midair assault has deepened concerns about the safety of Israelis traveling abroad.
Debris found in search for missing air ambulance off Massachusetts
Debris has been found in the search for a Canadian-registered air ambulance jet carrying six people that disappeared early Saturday during a medical evacuation flight from Bermuda to Boston near Nantucket, Massachusetts. The U.S. Coast Guard is continuing to search for the aircraft and those on board.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a search-and-rescue alert after the jet lost contact with controllers. Flight data showed the aircraft dropped at least 9,000 feet over two minutes, leveled off for several more minutes, and then disappeared from tracking.
New York attorney general named special prosecutor in Cornell rape case
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor to investigate an alleged gang-rape of a student at a Cornell University fraternity house in 2024. Hochul said she no longer has faith in the local district attorney's ability to handle the case and pledged to ensure the facts "are brought into light."
The accuser, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, alleges that the university failed to protect her and respond adequately to the alleged assault. Her attorney says she told police in 2024, "I was raped," and a photo of her was shared with a group on the night of the incident. Documents in the case also reveal she felt she had been used "like bait."
Russia strikes second major bridge in Kyiv within days
Russian air attacks hit Kyiv's Northern Bridge across the Dnipro River on Saturday, the second major bridge in the capital struck in two days after the Southern Bridge was hit. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the repeated strikes on infrastructure were "tearing Kyiv apart."
The bridge attacks came amid an escalation in strikes on the Ukrainian capital. At least five people were killed as Kyiv and Moscow traded strikes, according to accounts of the exchange.
North Korea fires ballistic missile after Seoul demands apology
North Korea fired a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea at about 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, South Korea and Japan said.
The missile launch came a day after Seoul demanded an apology for a blast last month that wounded three South Korean soldiers inside the Demilitarized Zone. Pyongyang rejected the accusation that its mines caused the blast, and Kim Yo-jong, sister of leader Kim Jong-un, denounced South Korea, raising tensions between the two Koreas.
Two Iranian men charged over alleged Manchester Jewish community bomb plot
Two Iranian men have appeared in court charged with preparing to commit an act of terrorism over an alleged plot targeting Manchester's Jewish community. Rahman Salehi and Salam Ahmadyan were arrested on 20 September, the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Prosecutors told the court the pair identified Heaton Park synagogue, which had previously been subjected to a fatal terrorist attack, as a target for an alleged homemade bomb plot. The charges remain allegations.
Tens of thousands protest across Spain over housing crisis
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Madrid and dozens of other Spanish cities on Saturday to demand action over a mounting housing crisis. The protests followed parliament's rejection of two government affordable-housing decrees, with more than 50 demonstrations reported nationwide.
Demonstrators waved posters calling for a general strike. Public anger has been fuelled by the forcible eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal and the government's failure to pass emergency housing legislation.
Latvia ruling party leads exit polls but coalition partners falter
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs' pro-Ukraine and pro-Europe United List party led parliamentary election exit polls by an unexpectedly wide margin on Saturday. Public broadcaster LSM projected the centrist party would win 35.6% of the vote, while coalition partners stumbled and populist forces gained ground.
The result suggests Kulbergs will have to form a new ruling coalition despite his party's strong showing. Around 1.5 million people were eligible to vote in Latvia's 11th parliamentary election since regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
England demolishes Croatia 7-0 in Nations League match
England routed Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka in the UEFA Nations League. Harry Kane scored twice, extending his scoring streak to six consecutive away games for England, and Bukayo Saka also netted twice in the lopsided victory.
Elsewhere in the Nations League, France were held 1-1 by Italy at the Stade de France in Zinédine Zidane's first home match as coach.
Shop clerk and son charged over Ole Miss kratom deaths
Federal authorities investigating the deaths of two University of Mississippi students have charged a store clerk and his son with selling an illegal kratom product. Aidan Hamilton and Robert Strang died last month after apparently ingesting kratom, an herbal substance that acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses.
A Mississippi drug task force had previously urged people to avoid kratom after authorities found packages of kratom derivatives while investigating the deaths on 21 September.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard's partner Ken Urker found dead in Louisiana
Kenan "Ken" Urker, 34, the on-and-off partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and father of her daughter, was found dead inside his Louisiana home on his 34th birthday on Thursday. The Lafourche Parish sheriff's office described the death as an apparent drug overdose.
Blanchard was convicted for her role in the murder of her abusive mother. Her ex-husband, Ryan Anderson, said he was "shocked" by Urker's death and would be there for Blanchard and her daughter "if she needs me."