Friday, October 2, 2026

Christa Pike, 50, sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of classmate Colleen Slemmer, remains unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator at a Nashville hospital, her lawyers said Friday, two days after Tennessee's attempt to execute her by lethal injection failed despite two drug doses. Her attorneys said both arms were swollen and blistered on arrival and asked a court to preserve evidence of what they called a "botched" execution. Gov. Bill Lee has halted further executions this year and ordered a review.

John Anthony Proia III, 41, was arrested Thursday and indicted on one count of cyberstalking Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster married to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Prosecutors say he contacted her over 40 times by phone and text in about two months, leaving what the Justice Department called "disturbing messages about the victim and her husband."

Roughly 9,000 additional US forces are being deployed to the Middle East as President Trump considers resuming strikes on Iran. Trump said any war with Iran would end "very quickly," adding it would conclude "right after the election," if not sooner. The deployment adds to existing US naval forces, including a third aircraft carrier, already sent to the region.

U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September, below expectations, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Job gains for July and August were revised down by a combined 60,000. The weaker-than-expected report has increased market expectations that the Federal Reserve will skip an interest rate increase at its late-October meeting.

A federal judge ruled that President Trump illegally fired U.S. Attorney Roger Rogoff in western Washington in July and ordered him reinstated until a replacement is confirmed. The judge found the Justice Department's move was part of a broader effort to install preferred appointees and bypass Senate confirmation, continuing a pattern of similar rulings against the administration.

David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, announced on Friday that once the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery closes, the combined company will be named Skydance, after the studio he founded in 2006. Paramount and Warner Bros. will remain as sub-brands. Warner Bros.'s current CEOs were told Friday they would not stay on after the merger.

The FBI arrested Department of Energy electrical engineer Ashton Hamed Ellaboudy, 51, of Richland, Washington, at the Hanford nuclear site on Thursday. The Justice Department charged him with attempting to provide material support to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, alleging he bought materials for homemade explosives and drones and traveled to Yemen.

Democratic attorneys general, governors and mayors sued the Trump administration on Thursday over the EPA's repeal of rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. The states and cities argue the repeal was unlawful.

President Trump is expected to name Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton as the White House's artificial intelligence czar, multiple sources familiar with the matter said. Clayton would keep his DNI role while taking on the new title, helping shape AI policy and possibly regulation. The announcement could come as soon as Friday. A White House official said personnel announcements will come directly from the president.

The Kennedy Center Honors will take place Dec. 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., rather than at its namesake venue, for the first time in the ceremony's nearly 50-year history. The center's building remains temporarily closed pending a safety assessment, while a legal dispute continues over efforts by President Trump and his administration to add his name to the Kennedy Center.

Captain Smit Machchhar, an Indian pilot stabbed by his co-pilot during an attempted hijacking on a FlyDubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a video call that he fought to save the 182 people aboard, saying, "I was fighting for my life." UAE officials and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack terrorism. A passenger, Dr. Shota Musaev, helped treat Machchhar's wounds after the co-pilot was restrained.

Student protests over crumbling schools and teacher shortages have continued spreading across France, with riot police clashing with students amid blockades and tear gas. The New York Times reported more than 1,000 schools have been affected, while the BBC put the figure at over 600, up from roughly 400 reported earlier this week by Reuters. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu called an emergency Cabinet meeting Thursday; the government has blamed far-left groups for the violence.

Spain's Parliament voted on Friday to reject a government decree aimed at addressing the country's housing crisis, amid nationwide anger over rising living costs. The defeat follows the eviction of an 87-year-old woman and comes amid scandals affecting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's party and allies. The vote increases pressure on Sánchez, with speculation growing about a possible early election.

British police on Thursday arrested a 27-year-old man holding UK and Iranian nationality in Westminster, London, on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts. The arrest relates to a thwarted alleged attack earlier in the week targeting RAF Fairford, a US-operated air base owned by the UK.

Russian aerial strikes hit three bridges across the Dnipro River in Kyiv, killing one person and restricting traffic. The strikes targeted critical infrastructure in the capital. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko called the situation a "very dramatic situation," saying Russia's intensified strikes are tearing the city apart.

Joshua Kerry, 28, already accused of murdering former lawmaker Ann Widdecombe, was charged Friday with preparing acts of terrorism, including a plot against Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said. The charge was announced in a statement from the CPS.