Christa Pike conscious and speaking after botched Tennessee execution
Christa Pike, the Tennessee death-row inmate who survived two doses of lethal injection last week, has regained consciousness and is able to speak, her attorneys said. Pike, 50, was taken from the execution chamber in an ambulance, placed temporarily on a ventilator and remains hospitalised in critical condition with severe injuries to both arms. She is the first woman the state of Tennessee has attempted to execute in 200 years.
Her lawyers said Pike remains shackled to her hospital bed, cannot move her arms or swallow, has a blood clot and has developed pneumonia. Medical staff asked that the shackles be removed and were denied, according to her attorneys. A judge has ordered Tennessee officials to preserve all evidence from the botched execution, and her lawyers told a Wednesday hearing they want transparency and are seeking to commute her sentence to life imprisonment without parole.
Texas carries out first US execution since Pike case
Texas has carried out the first execution in the United States since Christa Pike’s botched lethal injection, putting Jamaal Howard to death by lethal injection. Howard’s lawyers had asked a judge to halt the execution, citing the risk of another failed procedure and seeking information about the lethal-injection drug, the same medication used in Tennessee. A Texas court denied the request, and the execution proceeded.
Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan to die by firing squad
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 in the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, will be executed by firing squad on Dec. 3 at Fort Hood, the Pentagon said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recommended the execution and President Donald Trump approved it, according to chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. The execution would be the first by the US military since 1961 and the first by firing squad since the end of World War II.
Kagan and Soai win Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Henri B. Kagan of Paris-Sud University in France and Kensō Soai of Tokyo University of Science in Japan. They were honoured for discovering nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis, work that explains how chemical reactions can produce one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule. Their findings have been widely used in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Trump suggests Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego
President Donald Trump told a political rally in Nebraska that Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, saying the loss of the cities would be a “small price to pay” to keep the world safe. Iran does not possess nuclear weapons. The remarks drew condemnation from members of both parties: California Governor Gavin Newsom called the president “dangerous and deranged,” and Republican House candidate Jim Desmond, running in a San Diego district, also pushed back. A White House official said the comments were taken out of context.
Tropical Storm Isaias forecast to strengthen into hurricane
Tropical Storm Isaias formed early Wednesday in the warm waters off eastern Mexico and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane before reaching the US northern Gulf Coast later this week. Forecasters warned it could become a Category 2 hurricane by Friday and would be the first Atlantic hurricane of 2026, the latest first hurricane on record. Hurricane-threat warnings have been posted from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, and residents have been stockpiling water, food and other essentials.
Houthi attacks kill three at Saudi airports
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on Abha airport and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport that killed three people and wounded 36, Saudi authorities said. The dead included two women and a Sudanese man. The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed the ballistic missile launch platform used to strike Riyadh, and the attacks mark a sharp escalation in the conflict.
France suspends stun grenades at student protests
France has suspended police use of stun grenades at student-led demonstrations, the interior minister announced, after a 15-year-old pupil had his hand blown off up to the elbow by one fired by police. Eighteen internal investigations have been opened into allegations of police brutality since the high-school protest movement began in mid-September. Tens of thousands of people rallied across France on Tuesday demanding better conditions in high schools, and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu was scheduled to address the nation.
Former German spy chief held in treason case
August Hanning, who led Germany’s BND foreign intelligence service from 1998 to 2005, has been arrested on suspicion of espionage, treason and passing state secrets to a foreign intelligence service, federal prosecutors said. A former chief of staff was also arrested, accused of aiding and abetting attempted treason. A court ordered Hanning held in pretrial detention in what is being described as one of the biggest security breaches in German history.
Collins and Jackson face off in Maine Senate debate
Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson held their first debate in Maine’s Senate race. Collins sought to distance herself from President Donald Trump, saying she is “not exactly his favorite senator,” and cited votes against his agenda; she also said she opposes the Iran war and Canada tariffs. Jackson portrayed her as ineffective in pushing back against the White House. The two clashed over immigration enforcement, trade and abortion, and Collins is considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the midterms.
Arizona candidate says she was raped repairing sign
Arizona Democratic congressional candidate Bernadette Greene-Placentia said she was attacked and raped in August while repairing a damaged campaign sign. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said a report was filed on Aug. 31. Greene-Placentia said she is sharing her story to fight for victims of sexual assault.
Hollywood golden-age star Eva Marie Saint dies at 102
Eva Marie Saint, the Oscar-winning actress and one of the last survivors of Hollywood’s golden age, has died at 102, her family said. She won an Academy Award for her screen debut opposite Marlon Brando in “On the Waterfront” and starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.” Her six-decade career also included the role of Superman’s adoptive mother.