Thursday, October 1, 2026 · Evening Edition

Today

By StaffNews Desk

Good morning. Tennessee tried to kill Christa Pike on Wednesday and failed. State officials could not carry out the lethal injection, and her attorneys say she is now alive and in critical condition after being given two separate doses of pentobarbital meant to kill her. Her lawyers warned the state this could happen and call what was done "torturous" and "predictable". This is the machinery of state killing working as designed: not a malfunction but a confession.

While the state tortures the condemned, the first family runs the government as a holding company. Trump will again host a gala for top investors in his namesake meme coin, what critics call another attempt to profit from his position, the same crypto dinner corruption sold as exclusivity. Ben Rhodes argues he has found one formula to milk cash out of his own supporters. It runs in the family: Jared Kushner, Trump's key negotiator on Gaza, owns a firm that is the biggest shareholder in a Tel Aviv company invested heavily in arms makers.

In California, Gavin Newsom showed the limits of Democratic defiance, vetoing two bills from Los Angeles lawmakers that targeted public employment for federal agents, days after signing a package meant to rebuff federal immigration enforcement. The war on Black America grinds on, as the death of Nolan Wells shows. And scrutiny of police is being priced out of reach: Oregon cops are charging a local newsroom $2.5 million for records about one officer accused of misconduct.

Elsewhere: Washington DC now bars landlords from refusing tenants' dogs by breed, size or weight — a small win for renters against landlord power. The Pentagon raised hostile-fire pay for the first time in over 20 years, and Trump diverted aid meant for Europe to Latin America, including tens of millions Congress approved for countries hit by the war in Ukraine. And Iran asserted victory over the US in a 14,390-word letter, reportedly readying a more forceful response if Washington resumes large-scale strikes.