Residents board up windows and National Guard troops deploy as hurricane Isaias nears US Gulf Coast
MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Isaias is packing swift winds and expected to bring a storm surge with devastating floods to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Residents on Thursday boarded up windows and stacked sandbags, vehicles clogged a highway leading away from the coast and thousands of National Guard soldiers were deploying in anticipation of Isaias. The National Hurricane Center say the storm's maximum sustained winds have increased to 105 mph. Isaias is expected to make landfall along the northern Gulf Coast late Friday. It is most likely to strike along the Alabama-Florida state line and bring life-threatening storm surge across Pensacola bay.
Christa Pike is walking with help and eating after failed execution attempt, her attorneys say
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Lawyers for Christa Pike say the Tennessee woman has begun walking and eating again at a hospital, a week after surviving the state's attempt to execute her with lethal drugs. The 50-year-old inmate survived two doses of pentobarbital on Sept. 30. She was convicted of the 1995 beating and stabbing death of a classmate. For the first few days after the failed execution, she was unconscious and on a ventilator at a hospital. Her lawyers said Thursday that she took some limited first steps at midweek and was being helped as she walked. They also said she was eating again and regaining some mobility in her arms.
The long-deployed USS Lincoln returns home to San Diego Bay
CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier has returned home to San Diego Bay after a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea supporting the Iran war. The carrier’s extended deployment drew the nation’s attention following reports of crew stress and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages, including food and hygiene products. The Navy initially downplayed any problems, and President Donald Trump commented that the Lincoln’s lengthy deployment was “not nearly long enough.” The carrier left San Diego in November, arrived in the Middle East in January to support Iran operations, and spent 265 days at sea, a record for uninterrupted time at sea.
Pentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution would be “public.” Hegseth, speaking to the conservative TV outlet Real America’s Voice News on Wednesday, said, “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public.” Officials in the Pentagon clarified Thursday that the execution will be livestreamed and that more details would follow. The Army has said the execution of Hasan will take place at Fort Hood on Dec. 3. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a shooting at the military base in 2009.
The Trump administration is suspending Microsoft from a green card program, alleging fraud
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is suspending tech giant Microsoft from a program to apply for green cards for workers who come to the U.S. to live and work using H-1B visas, accusing the company of fraud. Vice President JD Vance said Thursday, “If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants.” Vance spoke in a White House news conference announcing the decision. The H-1B program has long been a target of President Donald Trump’s supporters who say the program undercuts American workers and is rife with abuse. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft hasn’t responded to a request for comment.
Trump says US will not resume military strikes on Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the U.S. will not resume military strikes on Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Trump has hinted that was confident that an end game to the war cold come in the days before or after the election, while also suggesting he remained open to resuming full-scale military operations against Iran. But Trump in a social media post on Thursday said the U.S. “will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections to be held in the United States on November 3rd.”
New US indictment charges Maduro with overseeing machine of repression, torture of Americans
NEW YORK (AP) — A new U.S. indictment charges former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro with torture and other crimes. The indictment was unsealed Thursday in New York. Maduro was previously charged with participating in a conspiracy to send cocaine into the U.S. He and his wife, Cilia Flores, now also face allegations of human rights abuses during his reign as president of the oil-rich South American nation. On Thursday, Flores’ lawyers unsuccessfully urged a judge to free her from jail and put her under house arrest because of heart problems. Maduro and Flores have been behind bars in New York since early January when U.S. forces seized them from their Caracas home. Both have pleaded not guilty in the drug case.
Army finds systemic failures behind DC midair collision and calls for safety fixes
A U.S. Army report found systemic breakdowns that led to last year’s midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C. The military has also recommended numerous steps it should take to prevent future tragedies. The Army highlighted how the air traffic controller at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport could have prevented the crash, but it also acknowledged its own failings. The report recommended that the Army look beyond Washington to study every major city where its helicopters operate to ensure similar risks aren’t present, and that is underway.
MLB proposes shortening regular season to 154 games in 2029, expanding Division Series to best-of-7
NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball proposed to shorten the regular season to 154 games from 162 games starting in 2029 and to expand the Division Series to best-of-seven in bargaining with players. Owners also proposed to allow higher-seeded teams in the first two rounds of the postseason to pick their opponents beginning next year and to make Monday a day off for most teams starting in 2029 except for those in one or two nationally broadcast games. Cutting regular-season games would reduce the opportunity for players to set season and career records.
Hayden Panettiere's ex Wladimir Klitschko gets legal status to protect their daughter's inheritance
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California court has granted Wladimir Klitschko legal authority to protect his daughter Kaya's inheritance following her mother Hayden Panettiere's death. Klitschko filed an urgent petition, stating that Panettiere's property was being taken by federal agents and a nonfamily member. Klitschko, a former world champion boxer, has had full custody of Kaya, who lives with him in Ukraine. The court granted him temporary guardianship of Kaya's estate. Klitschko's lawyer said items were being sold at a pawnshop, and assets were at risk. Panettiere died from an accidental overdose in August.
