A Tennessee death row prisoner remained unconscious and on a ventilator Friday, days after the state’s attempt to execute her failed. Her attorneys say prison officials disregarded months of warnings that the lethal injection could result in a medical catastrophe.

Christa Pike was scheduled to die for the 1995 torture and killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. If carried out, the execution would have made Pike the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than two centuries. Instead, the attempt broke down Wednesday night.

Pike’s lawyers filed an emergency motion in Davidson County Chancery Court asking a judge to order the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve evidence from what they called a “botched attempted execution.”

The attorneys said the records are essential to establishing what occurred, safeguarding Pike’s legal claims and determining who should be held accountable.

“Christa remains critically ill and is receiving medical care for the devastating effects of Wednesday night’s events,” attorneys Stephen Ferrell and Luke Ihnen said in a statement Friday. “As detailed in today’s filing, Christa remains hospitalized following Wednesday night’s failed execution attempt.”

“She is critically ill, unconscious, intubated and receiving breathing assistance through a ventilator,” they said. “She is being treated for the serious effects of the pentobarbital administered during the execution attempt, including significant injuries to both arms.”

The emergency filing offers a detailed account of the events Pike’s attorneys say unfolded inside the execution chamber.

According to the motion, the execution team had difficulty securing intravenous access and used at least seven needles before administering two lethal doses of pentobarbital.

The filing says Pike directed staff toward possible injection sites. One needle allegedly came out bent at a 90-degree angle, while Pike could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing heavily throughout the procedure.

At one point, Pike reportedly told the execution team, “My arm feels like it’s about to burst open.” She later asked, “Does this happen like that?”

The motion says Pike was taken to a hospital with both arms “swollen, burned, and blistered.” It cites medical experts who have compared pentobarbital to “bleach” or “Drano,” describing the drug as highly caustic and capable of damaging skin, tissue and veins.

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Pike’s lawyers argue the problems encountered during the execution should have been anticipated.

In the months before the scheduled execution, they warned state officials that Pike’s thrombocytosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, small veins and history of difficult needle placement could make it substantially harder to establish and maintain IV access. They also cautioned that improperly delivering pentobarbital could cause “serious illness, needless suffering, and/or prolonged or lingering death.”

“Her concerns were called ‘speculation’; they were laughed off, scoffed at, and dismissed,” the motion says. “In the words of one media witness: we have a lot of questions and the Department of Correction has a lot of answers that it needs to provide to the public about what happened here. We agree.”

The attorneys also allege that members of the execution team failed to realize Pike’s IV lines had stopped functioning before giving her another dose of pentobarbital.

“Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms. Pike’s body,” the motion states. “Instead of remedying this failure, TDOC elected to prepare a backup set of syringes (if they were not also prepared earlier that day) and then administered another lethal dose of pentobarbital.”

Pike’s attorneys say preserving records, medical evidence and other materials from the failed execution is now crucial as legal proceedings continue.

“In light of the manifest violation of Ms. Pike’s constitutional rights, the actionable nature of that violation, and the reasonable foreseeability of litigation, the Defendants have an affirmative duty to preserve all relevant physical, written, and electronic evidence,” the motion states.

News Media reached out to the Tennessee Department of Correction and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office for comment.

“The Governor has appropriately called for an investigation. We need to know what happened,” a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office said.

Jared Kushner has responded angrily to CNN after the network examined potential ethical concerns surrounding his international investments and his role in Donald Trump’s administration.

CNN reported that Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and an unpaid outside negotiator, may face questions about a possible conflict of interest. He has been involved in the administration’s Gaza policy while holding investments in Israeli companies whose financial performance could be influenced by related negotiations.

Because Kushner serves as an external adviser rather than a formal government employee, he is not subject to the same financial disclosure requirements and scrutiny applied to many officials.

At the center of the controversy is Affinity Partners, the private equity firm founded by Kushner. Affinity is the biggest shareholder in Phoenix Financial, a major Israeli financial services company valued at more than $100 billion that manages pensions, insurance products and savings for millions of people.

After reviewing Israeli public filings, CNN reported that Phoenix has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest defense manufacturer, which itself holds interests in several other military companies.

Some of those defense businesses have publicly pointed to the Gaza war as a factor that benefited their operations.

Critics have consequently accused Kushner of benefiting improperly. CNN, however, said it “found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed.”

“For the last 10 years, I have ignored false and misleading stories about me and focused on the work,” Kushner, who rarely posts online, wrote in a forceful statement.

“But the cycle has gotten out of control where old lies get repeated as fact, new ones get added, and the record becomes increasingly distorted. So from time to time, I’m going to respond, not to every allegation.”

In another post addressing the report, Kushner called the CNN story “deeply misleading” and insisted that Affinity “does not own the defense companies highlighted in CNN’s story.”

His decision to serve as a volunteer envoy, rather than take an official government position, has allowed Kushner to avoid the more extensive financial disclosures that would normally be required of a federal employee.

According to CNN, Affinity first acquired part of Phoenix in 2024 and nearly doubled its investment shortly before Trump returned to office in January 2025.

By July 2025, Affinity’s stake was valued at more than $1 billion. The firm later sold part of its holding for more than $340 million, reportedly generating a substantial profit.

Kushner said on social media that Phoenix should be understood primarily as a financial services company, not a defense business.

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“Think of Phoenix as the Israeli equivalent of Vanguard or Fidelity. It manages the retirement savings of millions of Israelis. The savers don’t choose the individual investments, and neither do I.”

“I have no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells. It has performed very well for Affinity and our investors, up more than five times since our initial investment,” the president’s son-in-law added.

Serving as a negotiator for the White House, Kushner has been deeply involved in Gaza discussions since last spring. He has advised Trump on the US-Israel relationship and the future of Gaza. 

Many administration officials have lauded Kushner as fundamental in landing the Israel-Gaza ceasefire last fall. 

The private equity boss has also proposed plans to rebuild Gaza and make it a destination for tourists. 

Democratic lawmakers have vowed to investigate Kushner and his business dealings should they take control of Congress in the midterms. 

Maryland Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin has said the mix of private business and public diplomacy is ‘completely irreconcilable and unethical.’

The White House and a representative for Kushner were contacted for comment. 

CNN has been a frequent target of President Trump and the White House. 

Trump exploded at CNN star Kaitlan Collins as he arrived alongside Melania at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. 

‘You shouldn’t be here,’ the president told the journalist after the administration barred CNN from White House access on Friday.

‘It’s an honor to be here, I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me,’ Trump said as Collins questioned him on the Iran war. ‘You said you weren’t gonna cover me, you shouldn’t be covering me.’

The president said ‘we’re making a lot of progress, our country is doing really, really well’ before he walked off with Melania. 

The ferocious exchange came after the Trump administration barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over coverage Trump branded ‘fake news.’

The impasse tghen escalated as the three outlets sued the administration alleging the ban breached their First Amendment rights, while the TV pool, made up of ABC, CBS, Fox, CNN and NBC, said that they would boycott White House events in solidarity.

The price of this sandwich is no joke — it’s total baloney!

A New York City deli unveiled a sandwich named for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman on Friday, as the candidate promised to tackle the steep cost of lunch if elected.

“The Blakeman,” sold at Mario’s Meats & Gourmet Deli in Queens, features freshly roasted turkey, shredded lettuce, an oil-and-vinegar vinaigrette and spicy deli mustard piled onto a hero roll.

The sandwich currently sells for $15, but Blakeman said he would lower the price to $12 if voters elect him governor on November 3.

“When I become governor it’ll be $12,” he said at the deli. “Gotta make it affordable.”

Blakeman played up the sandwich-themed event as a way to “highlight how much more expensive it has become to operate a neighborhood deli and put a sandwich on the counter compared with five years ago when [Gov.] Kathy Hochul took office,” according to a press release from his campaign.

Joe Digangi, owner of the Flushing deli, said Blakeman’s focus on cutting costs resonates after a summer marked by punishing fuel bills.

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“My whole thing is with the prices of electric and gas. The summer was ridiculous for us. We were making money, yes, but it was going in one hand and out the other,” he said.

“So, he’s big on energy costs, big on trying to help us out with knocking out those energy costs… And I have a lot of refrigerators, a lot of air conditioners in here, so it’s just a constant, you know, $4,000, $5,000 bill every month,” he said.

Blakeman’s press release said small businesses such as delis are facing steep expenses for taxes, electricity, labor, insurance and rent — costs that “ultimately affect the prices customers see at the register.”

Addison Dick, a spokesperson for the New York State Democratic Party, countered that Blakeman should back up his criticism with action.

“New Yorkers know baloney when they see it – Blakeman still has no beef with Trump’s tariffs that are sending grocery prices skyrocketing and forcing New Yorkers to spend all their bread on basic necessities,” Dick said.

When asked why his namesake sandwich features turkey, Blakeman pointed to his wife.

“My wife wants me to eat healthy,” he said. “What can I tell ya? You gotta follow orders.”

— Additional reporting by Vaughn Golden

FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau has undertaken a sweeping modernization of its technology and cybersecurity operations to counter the malicious use of artificial intelligence by adversarial countries, including China and Russia—moving beyond the temporary fixes favored by previous leadership.

Speaking to News Media, Patel said the FBI was forced to rebuild its aging technological infrastructure from the ground up.

“Everybody that looks at the bureau thinks they must have the best tech and technology in the world,” Patel said. “We didn’t because prior leadership, all they did for decades was put a band-aid over a band-aid over a band-aid and never took the time to fix it.”

Artificial intelligence now plays a growing role in the FBI’s operations.

Patel said the bureau uses AI to search vast databases and rapidly sort through tips submitted by the public, helping agents respond more quickly to potential terrorist threats and school shootings. He stressed that the technology is intended to augment human decision-making rather than take the place of FBI personnel.

“We get tips from our private sector partners and American citizens, and those tips come into our database now finally,” said Patel. “Instead of an old game of telephone where 50 people have to call 50 people, and it takes three days to get us the information, it’s ingested immediately. It’s analyzed.”

After the information is analyzed, leads are distributed to FBI field offices, headquarters in Washington, D.C., is alerted, and agents are assigned to investigate, Patel said.

When Patel became FBI director, he said the agency had developed only two or three experimental AI applications throughout its history. That figure has since climbed beyond 140 use cases.

Calling AI a technology that “is here to stay” at the FBI, Patel said the bureau will continue operating within the law, preserve legal safeguards, and work with private-sector partners as its capabilities expand.

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence has drawn increased scrutiny as lawmakers debate how to regulate the industry. Earlier this week, dozens of technology executives attended a White House summit with President Donald Trump and signed a voluntary, “morally binding” agreement centered on self-regulation.

“I think I’m seeing tremendous self-policing. And they understand that they have to self-police,” Trump told reporters during an impromptu news conference outside the West Wing.

OpenAI recently dismissed three researchers who allegedly shared confidential company information with an outside AI safety organization, according to reports.

The terminations followed disclosures by OpenAI and other major AI developers about incidents involving rogue models that behaved unexpectedly or attempted to hack the systems of other companies.