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Suspect Arrested Over Alleged Plot to Attack Texas Capitol, Officials Say

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Suspect Arrested Over Alleged Plot to Attack Texas Capitol, Officials Say

A Texas man was arrested Wednesday after authorities said he allegedly plotted a violent attack on the state Capitol.

Benny Caldera Jr., 40, was arrested at his home in Converse, Texas, during the early morning hours. He was booked into the Bexar County Jail on a felony charge of making a terroristic threat against a public servant.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said it received “credible information” Tuesday indicating that an individual was planning a “violent attack” at the Capitol on Thursday.

Benny Caldera Jr. and the Texas Capitol

Benny Caldera Jr. faces a felony charge of making a terroristic threat against a public servant. (Bexar County Jail; Getty Images)

DPS special agents investigated the report with the FBI and law enforcement agencies from the surrounding area.

At approximately 3 a.m. Wednesday, DPS SWAT officers arrested Caldera at his residence. The agency identified him as the “main suspect” and took him to the county jail.

“Outstanding work by @TxDPS. Proud of our @FBISanAntonio team for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our state and local partners. Within HOURS of the tip, @TxDPS had the main suspect in custody — with @FBISanAntonio and local law enforcement assisting. Threaten Americans or our institutions and law enforcement will move FAST,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post on X.

Texas State Capitol

DPS said Tuesday that it had received “credible information” about a planned “violent attack” targeting the Texas Capitol on Thursday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

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Caldera was released after posting $75,000 bond.

Authorities have not disclosed what the alleged attack was supposed to involve or provided details about the information that led to the investigation. DPS has also not named any other potential suspects.

DPS leaders informed Texas lawmakers about the reported threat and Caldera’s arrest. The agency said the Capitol would remain open during its normal operating hours.

An increased DPS presence will be maintained at the Capitol to safeguard employees, state officials and visitors.

The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), part of the U.S. Department of Justice, is displayed at the J. Edgar Hoover Building on August 8, 2026 in Washington, DC.

DPS special agents investigated the reported threat with the FBI and local law enforcement agencies. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

The investigation is ongoing.

“Texas DPS and the FBI stopped a planned attack on the Texas Capitol. Texas will NOT tolerate threats of violence against our Capitol. Thank you, @TxDPS, for a job well done,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote on X.

News Media contacted DPS seeking further details.

Expert Warns Migration Leaves Aussies Competing for Fewer Jobs

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Expert Warns Migration Leaves Aussies Competing for Fewer Jobs

Australia’s job market has become “dismal”, with jobseekers facing intense competition driven by rapid immigration, an overemphasis on university qualifications and a shortage of open positions, according to a recruitment specialist.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the unemployment rate climbed from 4.5 per cent in July to 4.6 per cent in August, marking its highest point since the Covid pandemic.

The number of unemployed people rose by 28,200 during the month, reaching 722,900.

Tammie Ballis, a leading recruiter who runs Realistic Careers in Sydney, said she believed “too much immigration too quickly” had added to the surge of applicants competing for the same jobs.

“We have seen too many people enter the job market in a short amount of time, and it is unfair to both immigrants and Australians,” she told the Daily Mail on Thursday.

“Hundreds of people are now applying for the same jobs.

“Employers simply cannot work through every application. That means even candidates with the right experience may be overlooked because of the sheer number of applicants.”

Many jobseekers already hold university degrees, but Ms Ballis said some were struggling because they lacked hands-on experience.

Recruitment expert Tammie Ballis described Australia's job market as 'dismal', claiming fierce competition, an overreliance on university degrees and a lack of vacancies are to blame

Recruitment specialist Tammie Ballis has described Australia’s employment market as “dismal”, citing fierce competition, an overreliance on university degrees and a shortage of vacancies

“Young people are leaving university believing they are qualified when employers do not necessarily see them that way. Employers want experience,” Ms Ballis said.

“In my opinion, unless a degree is required to work in a profession such as medicine or engineering, TAFE and practical experience are better options.

“Going to university after gaining a solid amount of work experience is the better path.”

Ms Ballis also argued that uncertainty in the employment market was encouraging workers to remain in their current roles, further reducing the number of vacancies.

“People know the job market is tough, so they are staying where they are. That means less movement and fewer jobs becoming available,” she said.

“The economy is not performing strongly either, and companies have introduced recruitment freezes — a complete pause on hiring.

“In some cases, when an employee leaves, the company may decide not to replace them.”

Although the challenging employment conditions are affecting Australians across the workforce, Ms Ballis said young university graduates were among the groups facing the greatest difficulties.

The Australian population passed 28 million in June this year, reaching that level 25 years earlier than projected (stock image)

Ms Ballis, who operates Realistic Careers in Sydney, said she believed the rapid arrival of too many immigrants had intensified competition among applicants for the same positions

“Young people are turning to retail and gig-economy work to make ends meet,” the recruiter said.

“Those seeking to start new careers are finding it particularly difficult because they are competing against candidates with years of experience.”

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To deal with the struggling job market, Ms Ballis encouraged employees to stay in their role unless it was ‘unbearable’.

‘You’re in the best position if you are comfortable and can tolerate your job,’ she said in a TikTok.

‘You can then look for other jobs slowly, because you’re not desperate, not in a hurry, can take your time and can apply effectively.’

Ms Ballis added that those who opted to rush into a new role could ultimately regret the move.

‘I wouldn’t be jumping on anything too soon because you might not like where you’re going and you can’t go to your old job,’ she said.

She also reminded workers that newer employees could have their employment terminated first when redundancies are announced. 

Ms Ballis also said many workers choose to stay in their jobs due to the difficult job market, resulting in fewer vacancies

Ms Ballis also said many workers choose to stay in their jobs due to the difficult job market, resulting in fewer vacancies

Join the discussion

Is Australia making it too hard for young people and immigrants to get a decent job?

For those looking for their next job opportunity, Ms Ballis said there were a few things to remember.   

‘Have an easy-to-read CV, ring the phone number on the job advertisement, reach out to recruitment agencies to get contract work if possible and network,’ she told the Daily Mail. 

‘If you don’t have the experience required, start from the bottom and work your way up. 

‘It is taking longer to get a job in this market, and it will probably get worse. 

‘You are just a CV until you get an interview.’

Many Australians agreed with Ms Ballis’s assessment of the job market, with some sharing their own struggles with finding work. 

‘I’ve applied for about 40 jobs and only had one interview, but wasn’t happy with the pay, so just staying where I am. Australia is in trouble,’ one said. 

Another added: ‘I was sworn at and could not tolerate it any more, but held on for dear life for all the reasons you mentioned. However, mental health does have a price.’

‘The country is cooked,’ a third said.

The Widower Ending Explained: Is Thomas Randolph Still in Prison?

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Netflix has perfected the art of turning real-life horror into compulsively watchable true crime. Its latest entry, The Widower: ’Til Death Do Us Part, examines the unnerving story of Thomas Randolph, a charismatic man who married six times and outlived four wives—three of whom died under suspicious circumstances.

Randolph’s story may already be familiar to viewers who watched NBC producer Dan Slepian’s five-hour 2021 series Dateline: The Widower. The case was also covered in Investigation Discovery’s The Black Widower: The Six Wives of Thomas Randolph, now streaming on HBO Max. But in this 91-minute film, Slepian moves from behind the scenes to center stage. He recounts his extraordinary access to Randolph and to criminal proceedings that stretched across nearly two decades. The documentary revisits Randolph’s alleged crimes, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the earlier series and brings the case up to date with its latest developments.

The film begins with Slepian calling the case “bizarre, insane and surprising”—a description that could apply to countless Netflix true crime productions. In this instance, however, the evidence speaks for itself. Randolph faced the death penalty twice, with 20 years separating the two cases, as the number of dead wives surrounding him continued to grow. Over a decade, Slepian interviewed Randolph repeatedly, sometimes speaking with him by phone for hours. The documentary later identifies Randolph as a textbook narcissist, a characterization reflected in the “cocky” self-image he displayed whenever Slepian’s cameras were rolling.

Thomas Randolph in a blue checkered shirt holding a phone horizontally near his face.

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

A word about Slepian is warranted. The veteran Dateline producer is a respected journalist known in part for advocating for people who were wrongfully imprisoned. The documentary is surprisingly restrained about noting that he received a 2024 Pulitzer Prize nomination for the podcast series The Sing Sing Chronicles, which profiles six people who were wrongly convicted.

That background helps explain why Las Vegas detectives contacted Slepian after Randolph’s sixth wife, Sharon Causse, was shot and killed at home in 2008. In a 911 call, Randolph claimed that a handyman, Mike Miller, had shot Causse, forcing Randolph to kill Miller in self-defense. Slepian was allowed to accompany Las Vegas detective Dean O’Kelley during the investigation, gaining unusually broad access to the crime scene and meetings with prosecutors. He also filmed a bizarre police reenactment in which Randolph acted out his version of the night Causse died—a highly theatrical scene that the camera captures in full.

Slepian and O’Kelley discovered that Randolph had purchased life insurance policies on Causse and had initially been named the sole beneficiary of her will. Causse later changed the document to benefit her daughter, Colleen Beyer, after growing fearful of her husband’s aggressive behavior. Beyer emerges as one of the documentary’s central figures and its emotional anchor.

The investigation then turns to Randolph’s earlier marriages. His first and fourth wives are still alive. His second wife was shot and killed in a death investigators believed had been staged to look like suicide; Randolph was acquitted at trial and avoided the death penalty. His third wife died from cancer. His fifth wife died in a hospital following heart surgery, though some people suspected Randolph had played a role in her death. Causse was his sixth wife. Life insurance policies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars had been taken out on each woman, and Randolph collected money after several deaths. He even won a malpractice settlement from the hospital where his fifth wife died.

The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part Ending Explained: Does Thomas Randolph Go To Jail?

The documentary gains momentum as Slepian and O’Kelley travel across the country, collecting accounts from Randolph’s surviving wives, members of Miller’s family and former friends. Some say Randolph offered them a cut of the insurance proceeds if they killed his current wife. Slepian was also filming in 2009, several months after Miller and Causse were killed, when police arrested Randolph at his mother’s home. Officers used a Taser after he refused to follow their orders. Moments later, Slepian interviewed him in the back of a police vehicle as Randolph recovered from the shock.

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Thomas Randolph, wearing handcuffs, a blue shirt, and a maroon sweater, speaks during an interview in "The Widower".

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

For the next seven years, Randolph remained incarcerated while repeatedly hiring and dismissing attorneys just before trial, creating fresh delays each time. Beyer struggled with the trauma of losing her mother and with the absence of any meaningful resolution. Slepian continued visiting Randolph in prison, conducting interview after interview. In 2017, Randolph was convicted and sentenced to death. Slepian’s final interview with him was a tense attempt to secure a confession. Randolph offered none.

Slepian’s crew filmed the entire trial from inside the courtroom. “I thought, ‘This is finally over,’” he recalls. “But that did not last very long.”

Randolph had predicted during one of Slepian’s interviews that the conviction would not stand. He was proved right in 2020, when the Nevada Supreme Court overturned the verdict, ruling that evidence from Randolph’s earlier death-penalty case had improperly influenced the jury. “He played the system like a fiddle,” Slepian says with a sigh. Beyer was devastated.

Where is Thomas Randolph Now? Did Netflix’s The Widower Get Out of Jail?

Randolph’s second trial did not take place for another three years. This time, prosecutors were barred from presenting information about the Utah case, but the outcome was the same: Randolph was convicted again. Beyer and O’Kelley were in the courtroom, and Slepian’s camera records their visible relief. In the film’s closing commentary, Slepian argues that the justice system is fundamentally broken. Innocent people can struggle for years to get their cases heard, he says, while someone like Randolph—whom the evidence overwhelmingly implicated—could exploit the same system through delay and manipulation.

Randolph has continued fighting. According to the film’s postscript, he sought a third trial, but the Nevada Supreme Court rejected that effort in September 2026.

Randolph, now 71, is serving a 60-year prison sentence.

John Serba is a freelance film critic from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Werner Herzog hugged him once.

Pete Hegseth Boasts of Reshaping the Military as U.S. Fights War With Iran

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Pete Hegseth Boasts of Reshaping the Military as U.S. Fights War With Iran
CHARLIE D’AGATA:

00:00:19

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth started the day with what he described as physical training at the Pentagon, then moved to remove roughly one in five of the military’s most experienced generals and admirals across the services. Critics have called the move a purge. Hegseth has characterized it as accountability that is long overdue.

CHARLIE D’AGATA:

00:00:41

Hegseth has already pushed out nearly 20 senior officers, along with the secretaries of the Army and Navy, and blocked several women and minority officers from advancing to higher ranks. Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, who served under President Biden, said the effects of Hegseth’s actions could take a generation to reverse. “We don’t have an excess of generals sitting around with nothing to do, and we don’t have overly inflated positions,” Kendall said. “What he’s doing is a political stunt, frankly, that is going to have a very negative impact.”

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CHARLIE D’AGATA:

00:01:11

Hegseth has celebrated what he calls the removal of “woke culture” from the Pentagon, including diversity quotas, gender pronouns and identity-focused observances. He has said the military should instead focus exclusively on what he calls the warrior ethos.

CHARLIE D’AGATA:

00:01:24

The defense secretary’s effort to reshape the military comes as the United States is at war with Iran, preparing to expand its presence in Europe and conducting missions in the Caribbean. Kendall said the challenges facing the armed forces require more than physical conditioning and a warrior ethos. “We’re in an intellectual contest just as much as we are in a physical contest with our adversaries,” he said, arguing that the military must place as much emphasis on strategic thinking as it does on physical readiness. The developments also came as the U.S. military announced the completion of a long-planned troop withdrawal from Iraq, more than two decades after the 2003 invasion and following the end of a 12-year campaign against ISIS. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, however, are already celebrating the withdrawal as a victory. Tony? Charlie, thank you.

Australians Warned Café Prices Will Rise Across the Country

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Australians Warned Café Prices Will Rise Across the Country

Businesses will be banned from charging customers a separate fee for card payments under reforms promoted as a measure to relieve cost-of-living pressure.

However, the policy has drawn sharp criticism from small businesses, which say absorbing the cost will put further strain on already shrinking profit margins.

The Reserve Bank of Australia reforms take effect on Thursday. Retailers will no longer be permitted to add a card surcharge, leaving them to absorb the expense or incorporate it into the prices of their goods and services.

For Monarch Cakes, a 92-year-old institution on Melbourne’s Acland Street in St Kilda, the change is likely to mean higher prices for the first time in several years.

Bakery manager Nikki Laski described the surcharge ban as the final blow in the business’s efforts to keep prices steady for its loyal customers.

‘We’re going to have to raise the prices,’ she told AAP.

‘We were due to anyway because everything else has gone up.

‘But this is going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.’

Bakery manager Nikki Laski says the increased burden on small businesses could force some to close

Bakery manager Nikki Laski says the added pressure on small businesses could force some to shut their doors

Most experts agree the scrapping of fees is a positive result for consumers

Most experts agree removing card surcharges will ultimately benefit consumers

Large retailers such as Coles and Woolworths were already absorbing card payment costs because they had the financial capacity to do so, Ms Laski said.

‘It’s the small businesses that do that because they have to in order to survive,’ she said.

The RBA is also seeking to reduce the pressure on businesses by lowering interchange fees. These charges are paid by a merchant’s bank to a customer’s bank whenever a card transaction is processed.

The central bank expects the new cap of 0.30 per cent, down from 0.80 per cent, to cut business payment costs by about $660 million a year.

Financial comparison website Finder said experts were divided over how the changes would affect prices at the checkout. Even so, most agreed consumers would be better off overall.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese endorsed the surcharge ban on Wednesday, describing it as another cost-of-living measure introduced by his government.

‘I think when people turn up and tap, be it at a coffee shop or a pub or buying a sandwich for lunch, they expect the price that they see to be the price that they pay,’ he said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the reforms would save consumers $1.6 billion in card surcharges and deliver annual savings of $910 million for businesses.

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Restaurant owner John Iodice says he won't be passing the surcharge on to customers

Restaurant owner John Iodice says he does not plan to pass the surcharge cost on to customers

Ms Laski said the reforms might appear to be a win for shoppers, but warned that everyone would suffer if the small businesses providing those services could not afford to stay open.

‘That whole seven cents off your coffee might mean that your favourite coffee shop closes,’ she said.

John Iodice, who runs the nearby St Kilda bar and eatery The Vineyard, told AAP he couldn’t realistically pass the surcharge on to customers even if he wanted to.

‘Imagine it – we’ve got a happy hour, $10 for a pint, but now we’re going to have $10 and 15 cents?’ he said.

‘I’m going to put, ‘Monday night steak special, $20 and 20 cents’?

‘Obviously, we’re going to just cop it.’

Across the road at St Kilda’s Wedge Cafe, owner Rami Omran had already raised the price of his coffees at the start of September, in part due to the impending changes.

The decision wasn’t just based on the surcharge ban, but also on increases in other fees and compliance costs, he told AAP.

Cafe owner Rami Omran says the credit card surcharge will now come out of his pocket

Cafe owner Rami Omran says the credit card surcharge will now come out of his pocket

Join the discussion

Should small businesses be forced to absorb card fees, even if it means raising prices for customers?

He called an outright ban on card surcharges ‘silly’.

‘People can pass on all these other charges, but not that for some reason,’ he said.

‘People can run the biggest scam of all time, which is the weekend and public holiday surcharges.’

To Mr Omran, customers didn’t care in the first place about paying the surcharge, which will now come out of his pocket.

‘Everyone just tapped.’

Tennessee Death Row Inmate Christa Pike Still Alive as Execution Plans Descend Into Chaos

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Tennessee Death Row Inmate Christa Pike Still Alive as Execution Plans Descend Into Chaos

Christa Pike was reportedly still alive and snoring after receiving two doses of lethal-injection drugs during a troubled execution on Wednesday night.

Pike, 50, had been scheduled to die at 10 a.m. for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, who was killed in what prosecutors described as a jealous rage.

The execution was delayed for several hours after the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a stay, ordering that it be halted “until further order of this court.”

The US Supreme Court lifted the stay shortly before 6 p.m. local time, allowing Tennessee officials to proceed. Pike’s execution marked the state’s first execution of a woman in more than two centuries.

She was given two syringes of pentobarbital at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, shortly before 7:30 p.m. However, she was still breathing and reportedly alive as of 9 p.m., according to The Tennessean.

“She’s alive and snoring,” attorney Kelley Gleason said. She explained that the information came from another member of Pike’s legal team, Randy Spivey, who was inside the death chamber.

Late Wednesday night, officials had not clarified whether Pike remained alive or had died following the apparent failure of the execution procedure.

An ambulance and other emergency vehicles were later seen arriving at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.

Pike (pictured in court in 2007) was still 'alive and snoring' after she received both syringes of lethal injection drugs on Wednesday night

Pike, pictured in court in 2007, was reportedly still “alive and snoring” after receiving both syringes of lethal-injection drugs Wednesday night

She was convicted at the age of 18 in March 1996 for brutally stabbing and beating Knoxville Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer (pictured) to death

She was convicted in March 1996, at age 18, for the brutal stabbing and beating death of Knoxville Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer, pictured

Emergency responders were seen rushing to Riverbend Maximum Security Institution following the botched execution

Emergency responders were seen arriving at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution after the troubled execution

Witnesses said the curtains to the execution chamber opened at 7:26 p.m. Pike sang with her spiritual adviser before delivering her final statement.

Shortly afterward, Pike was heard saying that her arm felt as though it were about to burst.

The curtains closed at 7:46 p.m., with witnesses reportedly hearing Pike snore. Those witnesses were removed from the room shortly before 9 p.m.

“We have a lot of questions,” one reporter said during a news conference. “And the [Tennessee Department of Corrections] has a lot of answers it needs to provide the public.”

Tori Gessner, a WKRN reporter who has witnessed multiple executions, said the events were highly unusual. “Nothing about today was normal, typical, at all,” she said.

Pike’s attorney Amy Harwell was also pursuing emergency relief before the Tennessee Supreme Court.

“Ms. Pike has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring,” her attorneys wrote in an emergency motion filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The filing came about a month after Pike’s lawyers argued during a Knoxville hearing that her thrombocytosis could heighten the risk of clotting and pain during the execution.

They also warned that Pike’s veins were difficult to access, raising concerns that the procedure could be prolonged and increase her suffering.

Pike's attorneys argued at a hearing in Knoxville that her thrombocytosis could increase clotting and pain during the execution process

Pike’s attorneys argued at a hearing in Knoxville that her thrombocytosis could increase clotting and pain during the execution process 

State prosecutors disputed those claims, with hematologist Dr Richard Mansour testifying that Pike’s recent medical history showed her veins were accessible.

He also noted that medical staff had successfully completed nearly all recent blood draws with just a single needle stick.

In the end, Senior Judge Mark Ward concluded that the evidence did not show Pike’s veins or blood disorder would create a substantial risk of severe pain. 

Pike’s attorneys had also previously asked for an all-female firing squad to kill her or to be hanged, the New York Post reported.

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Having Pike be restrained and handled by men could retraumatize her because of past sexual abuse, her lawyers had claimed, noting that she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

‘[Lethal injection administered by men] will increase the likelihood that an Eighth Amendment violation will occur,’ Ferrell said.

‘There is an increased risk of pain and suffering.’

According to the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, Pike was a victim of child sexual abuse, multiple rapes and attempted suicide at age 12.

When she was 17, she was allegedly grabbed by a stranger by the side of the road and raped. Police never arrested a suspect.

She allegedly killed Colleen Slemmer almost one year to the day after the rape.

Pike is pictured being escorted from Knox County Criminal Court on March 30, 1996, after being sentenced to death for the murder of Colleen Slemmer

Pike is pictured being escorted from Knox County Criminal Court on March 30, 1996, after being sentenced to death for the murder of Colleen Slemmer

Pike was assisted by her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp (pictured)

Their classmate Shadolla Peterson (pictured) also helped kill Slemmer

Pike was assisted by her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp (left), and their classmate Shadolla Peterson (right)

Pike was convicted at the age of 18 in March 1996 for brutally stabbing and beating Knoxville Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer to death. 

She initially demanded she be spared a lethal injection because of her Buddhist beliefs. Earlier this month, she asked for an all-female firing squad to carry out her killing, with her lawyers citing the abuse she experienced as a child.

Her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, and an accomplice, Shadolla Peterson, also helped lure Slemmer to a wooded area before the couple tortured her to death. 

The pair carved a pentagram into the teen’s chest, and Peterson testified that he saw Pike also carve something into Slemmer’s head, police evidence showed. 

Pike also took a piece of her skull as a souvenir, according to investigators. 

Slemmer attempted to run for her life but the couple captured her again and continued the gruesome torture that lasted about 30 minutes to an hour, Pike estimated. 

Pike and Shipp were both found guilty of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to death, and he received a life sentence with the possibility of parole. 

Peterson, then 18, served as a lookout for the couple during the deadly attack and was granted probation in exchange for her cooperation. 

Pike was scheduled to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years. She is pictured attending a virtual court hearing in August

Pike was scheduled to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years. She is pictured attending a virtual court hearing in August

An ambulance is pictured arriving at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution on Wednesday night

An ambulance is pictured arriving at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution on Wednesday night

Pike has not denied her guilt, but her attorneys and supporters argued that a death sentence is not appropriate for a crime committed at that age by a teenager with untreated mental illness after a childhood of brutal sexual abuse and neglect. 

In a clemency petition, the lawyers argued that Pike’s untreated mental illness and background made her unable to ‘put the brakes on.’ She had told police that she initially only wanted to fight Slemmer but ended up killing her in the frenzied attack.

‘I was a mentally ill 18-year-old kid. It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I’d done. Even more to accept how many lives I affected. I took the life of someone’s child, sister, friend. It sickens me now to think I had the ability to commit such a crime,’ Pike said in a statement included in her clemency petition.

Assistant federal defender Stephen Ferrell further argued that more is known today about adolescent brain development and that Pike’s death sentence is an outlier. 

Still, Governor Bill Lee said he decided not to intervene in the case ‘after deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike’s request for clemency and after a thorough review of the case.’

Following the ruling, Pike refused to select a last meal, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction.

Inmates are typically given $20 to spend on their last meal, according to The Tennessean. The state still planned to provide Pike with a meal before the procedure.

Christa Pike Still Alive After 2 Lethal Injection Attempts as Tennessee Execution Descends Into Chaos, Lawyer Says

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Christa Pike Still Alive After 2 Lethal Injection Attempts as Tennessee Execution Descends Into Chaos, Lawyer Says

Christa Pike, Tennessee’s first woman scheduled to be executed in more than two centuries, remained alive after receiving two syringes of lethal-injection drugs as her attorneys sought an emergency stay.

Pike, 50, was secured to a gurney inside Tennessee’s death chamber in Nashville shortly before 7:30 p.m. CDT. The US Supreme Court had rejected her request to halt the execution about an hour earlier, according to The Tennessean.

Witnesses who gathered to observe the historic execution said Pike was still speaking in complete sentences as officials prepared to administer the death penalty.

WKRN reporter Tori Gessner recalled Pike saying, “My arm feels like it’s about to bust. One spot is really throbbing.”

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After Pike was given two syringes containing pentobarbital, she did not appear to die. Her attorneys then urgently petitioned the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee for another stay.

“Ms. Pike has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring,” her attorneys wrote in the emergency filing.

This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.

Pete Davidson Recalls Taking Six Drugs at Once Before Rehab

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Pete Davidson Recalls Taking Six Drugs at Once Before Rehab

Pete Davidson is opening up about the 2023 period when his substance use reached its lowest point — and how his mother’s fear ultimately pushed him toward rehab.

“It was K [ketamine]. I was getting liquid and cooking it,” Davidson, 32, told Variety on Wednesday, September 30, describing the drugs he used after portraying himself in the autobiographical Peacock series Bupkis. “And I would do acid and shrooms and whippets and smoke weed all day and eat pills every day.”

The actor left Saturday Night Live one year earlier, saying the show had given him structure and routine. While working on Bupkis, however, he said he was “constantly living” in his “own crap” and past trauma, turning to drugs as a way to numb the pain.

Davidson said his daily drug use became particularly frightening because he no longer experienced it as a typical high. “It got scary because I didn’t feel high,” he recalled. “I felt high when I wasn’t doing it, so I was like, this is a huge problem.”

Pete Davidson's Quotes About His Sobriety Struggles Through the Years

Pete Davidson has never avoided discussing the most painful and chaotic chapters of his life. After years of publicly documented addiction struggles and multiple stays in rehab, the former Saturday Night Live star says he is now in the healthiest place he has ever been — and credits one devastatingly honest phone call from his […]

Davidson has spoken openly about losing his father, Scott Davidson, a firefighter who died during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City. He said a deeply emotional conversation with his mother, Amy Davidson, became the moment that convinced him to get clean.

“She told me her biggest fear was waking up one day to see on the news that something bad had happened to me,” the comedian recalled. “I reached a point where I couldn’t do that to her anymore.”

Taking his mother’s concerns seriously, Pete stepped away from season 2 of Bupkis and admitted himself to rehab.

How Pete Davidsons Co Occuring Disorders Inspire Him to Help Others

Launched in 2013, the harris project is a nonprofit focused on preventing and treating co-occurring disorders (COD), which involve both mental health challenges and substance use. Us Weekly has partnered with the harris project on The Missing Issue, a special edition examining the experiences of celebrities who struggled […]

Davidson also acknowledged that he had contributed to the public scrutiny he disliked most. “I was part of the problem of what I hated the most, which was the invasiveness around my personal life,” he said. “I was just lobbing it up and continuing the narrative.”

Although his mother’s fears helped prompt his decision to enter rehab, Pete emphasized that he had already reached a point where he wanted to change his life.

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“When I turned 30 and I was there, it was a real low point. Nothing much was going on with my career and I was like, ‘This f***in’ sucks. I can’t do it anymore,’” he said, explaining why he ultimately chose sobriety for himself. “And it can’t be for anyone or for a job. You really have to want it, and when you’re done, you’re done.”

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Pete Davidson. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Netflix

The How to Rob a Bank star said he is now sober, aside from having “four beers a year.”

“I don’t f*** with drugs anymore. It’s been two or three years from doing really hard stuff and about a year or more from weed,” Pete said. He added that cannabis was unexpectedly the most difficult substance for him to quit.

Fatherhood has become one of his strongest reasons for protecting his sobriety. Davidson said avoiding drugs is “easy” now “because I have a kid.”

“Anytime there’s ever a thought, I look at my phone background and go, ‘Oh yeah, no,’” Pete said, referring to his 9-month-old daughter, Scottie, whom he shares with his ex-girlfriend, Elsie Hewitt.

Elsie-Hewitt-and-Pete-Davidson_1768170012_3808008525784663981_14395656

Pete Davidson’s perspective changed dramatically after becoming a girl dad, although he admitted that some parts of fatherhood have surprised him. “I haven’t done stand-up in 5 months because I just had a baby; it’s a lot of fun,” Davidson, 32, said during his Saturday, April 11, comedy show […]

Pete named his daughter after his late father and said her arrival completely reshaped his priorities.

“Scottie is my whole life. I was living or dying on this business and what I thought people thought of me,” he admitted. “It was all validation and ‘If I do this, then I’ll do that.’ But as soon as I saw her for the first time, I was like, ‘Oh my God, none of this f***in’ matters at all. It’s a job.’”

Pete now views his career differently. “If I get to do cool stuff, great; if not, cool, I get to be home more with my kid,” he said.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

DNA Breakthrough Frees Douglas Stewart Carter After 41 Years

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DNA Breakthrough Frees Douglas Stewart Carter After 41 Years

A man who spent decades on death row has been released on bail after prosecutors acknowledged that new DNA testing failed to connect him to evidence recovered from the crime scene.

Douglas Stewart Carter, 71, left the Utah County Jail on Sept. 28 after serving 41 years for the 1985 killing of Eva Olesen, whose nephew was Provo’s police chief at the time. Carter’s attorney said his client spent most of those years on death row.

Newly analyzed DNA taken from the handle of the knife used to kill Olesen, along with blood found on a doorknob, does not match Carter, Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray wrote in a September court filing, according to the Associated Press.

Carter is living temporarily outside prison under GPS monitoring while awaiting a July 2027 trial. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty this time. He is staying near the family that adopted his son as an infant.

Defense lawyer Neal Hamilton has asked prosecutors to drop every charge against Carter and open an investigation into what he describes as a wrongful conviction.

“Doug is taking the future one moment at a time,” Hamilton said. “Long-term planning is not something he has allowed himself to indulge in.”

Hamilton added, “The state of Utah didn’t just steal 41 years of his life. They stole his hopes and dreams. Doug’s first night of freedom was a lot to process. He is moving slowly, trying to savor what he can without overwhelming himself.”

What Happened to Eva Olesen?

On Feb. 27, 1985, Olesen’s husband discovered her body inside their Provo home, according to a 1995 Utah Supreme Court opinion. She was naked from the waist down and her hands had been bound behind her back.

Olesen, a 57-year-old teacher, had been stabbed 10 times and shot at close range. The firearm was never found, while the knife used in the attack came from her kitchen, the court opinion said.

Carter came under suspicion after police questioned him about an unrelated offense and later learned that his wife, Anne, had told someone she rushed home after hearing about the homicide to find out whether her husband was involved, according to the court opinion.

Carter denied killing Olesen but eventually signed a confession, which he later said had been coerced. Investigators also pointed to inconsistencies between his account and his wife’s. Two witnesses claimed Carter had “bragged” about the killing, the court opinion noted.

Although there was no physical evidence tying him to the crime—hair recovered at the scene did not belong to a Black person, while blood on Carter’s clothing was not Olesen’s—he was convicted and sentenced to death. Carter pleaded not guilty.

Carter’s case remained unresolved for decades. In 2022, a judge ordered a new trial, according to the Associated Press.

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The Utah Supreme Court affirmed that decision in 2025, citing “numerous constitutional violations,” the AP reported. The witnesses later alleged that authorities had coached them to falsely implicate Carter in the murder.

“The defense maintains that physical evidence and eyewitness accounts pointed to a white male as the perpetrator,” Hamilton said in a Sept. 28 news release, “while Carter, a young Black man, was prosecuted for the crime.”

The latest DNA development came in July, when the state crime lab created a “suspect DNA profile” from evidence collected in the case, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. DNA testing was not available when Olesen was killed in 1985.

“No DNA testing was done before June of 2026,” Hamilton told Oxygen. “The items were submitted for testing in October of 2025, but DNA profiles were not identified from the evidence until June of 2026.”

Still, Gray cautioned that the results, according to the Associated Press, “does not necessarily exonerate Carter of the murder.”

For now, Hamilton said, Carter’s family is “smothering” him with love and attention as he adjusts to life outside prison.

“Doug has a lot of healing to do,” Neal said. “He is slowly starting that process. It would be immensely helpful to that healing process if he didn’t have to continue worrying about being wrongfully convicted, again.”

Olesen’s family said they “will not comment on the guilt or innocence of any individual” in a statement released by the Utah County Attorney’s Office and published by ABC News and other outlets. 

“The latest developments have raised difficult questions,” the statement read, “and once again left our family without the sense of resolution we had hoped for after so many years.” 

Olesen’s daughter-in-law Theresa Olesen said her family has “serious concerns” about Carter’s freedom. 

“By golly we were hoping for a concrete match,” she told CNN during Carter’s Sept. 28 bond hearing. “It doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.

“There are other factors and hopefully the investigation will continue,” she told the outlet. “We just want justice for Eva. And if he had any part of it, we want that to be known.”

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TikTok Couple Charged With Arson After $10K House Fire

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TikTok Couple Charged With Arson After $10K House Fire

A couple known for their TikTok videos was arrested Tuesday after authorities accused them of starting a fire inside an abandoned West Virginia house, a blaze that may have caused more than $10,000 in damage to a neighboring church.

Dakota Harper, 21, and Felicity Eatmon, 22, each face a first-degree arson charge and a conspiracy charge tied to an offense punishable by up to life in prison, according to records from Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

The two have built a following by sharing videos together online, with approximately 28,000 followers on TikTok.

dakota Harper appearing in court

Dakota Harper appeared Tuesday for an arson arraignment in Kanawha County, West Virginia. (WCHS)

A video showing Harper at his arraignment has since gone viral for highlighting his stature. According to court records, Harper stands at 3-foot, 9-inch height and weighs 43-pounds.

During Harper’s appearance in Kanawha County court, he sat down before an officer came up behind him and moved his chair closer to the table. Only the top of his head was visible above the desk.

Eatmon, who has described herself as Harper’s fiancée in the couple’s social media posts, appeared in court with him. Court records list her height as 5 feet, 1 inch.

WCHS-TV reported that firefighters were called around 11:15 p.m. Sunday to the West Side of Charleston, where the fire broke out.

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mugshots of man and woman

Authorities said surveillance video showed the couple allegedly putting a burning piece of paper inside the vacant property. (Kanawha County Magistrate Court)

According to the complaint cited by the outlet, video appeared to show Eatmon hand Harper a piece of paper. Harper allegedly ignited it and placed it inside the house.

Investigators said the structure was abandoned and lacked working utilities. Portions of the property were still smoldering Monday morning, according to reports.

The fire also caused substantial damage to the nearby Canaan United Methodist Church, the complaint states.

abandoned home near churd

An abandoned Charleston, West Virginia, home was set on fire Sunday night, reportedly damaging a church next door. (Google Maps)

Harper and Eatmon remain in custody, with bond set at $10,000 for each suspect.
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