Traumatized witnesses reveal Christa Pike’s hair-raising question after botched execution
Media witnesses to the botched execution of Christa Pike described how the satanist killer lifted her head and asked if the pain was normal after a second round of the lethal drug cocktail was administered.
Pike, who would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years, somehow survived the double dose of the highly potent sedative, Pentobarbital, Wednesday – with reporters describing how the failed execution played out unlike anything they had ever seen.
“They went through two rounds, and she was still breathing at the end, it was very ragged, she lifted her head up and was looking around at one point. She said there was a spot that was burning and hurting and asked if that was normal,” Catherine Sweeney of WPLN said at a press briefing after the execution was put on hold.
https://nypost.com/2026/10/01/us-news/christa-pikes-question-after-failed-execution-witnesses/
Seattle minimum wage climbs again toward $22 as restaurants close
Seattle is set to push its minimum wage to $22.14 an hour by 2027 after already hiking pay floors in 2025, even as hundreds of restaurants shut down under the rising labor costs.
The city began applying the same minimum-wage rule to employers and small businesses in 2025, with automatic yearly bumps for inflation. The rate moved from $19.97 to $20.76 that year. Officials now project it will reach $22.14 in 2027.
Breitbart News reported the scheduled climb and the damage already visible on the ground. Fox News tallied 450 Seattle restaurant closures in the first half of 2025 alone, roughly 16 percent of the city’s total.
Owners did not speak evasively about the cause. Higher mandated wages drove labor costs past what many small shops could carry.
https://americanalmanac.com/seattle-minimum-wage-climbs-again-toward-22-as-restaurants-close/
Migration from Muslim countries slashed by 96% since Donald Trump returned to White House
Migration from Muslim-majority countries to the US has been slashed by more than 96 per cent since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
According to figures released by the State Department, immigrant visas and refugee admissions from 45 majority-Muslim countries stood at 21,096 in December 2024 – Joe Biden’s final month in office.
But in February 2026, just over a year into the President’s second term, that number plummeted to just 808 – a reduction of 96.2 per cent.
The number of visas handed to family members of US citizens from those nations also dipped by around 95 per cent.
https://www.gbnews.com/politics/us/donald-trump-migration-muslim-countries-96-white-house
California recognizes two Muslim holidays
Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation Sunday adding two Muslim holidays to the state’s official calendar.
California will now recognize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The first is celebrated by Muslims worldwide, marking the beginning of the month of Ramadan — the annual month of fasting.
Eid al-Adha celebrates the end of hajj, the annual pilgrimage to the holy sites of Mecca and Medina that all able-bodied Muslims are required to take at least once in a lifetime.
LAist reports public schools and community colleges may close during the Muslim holidays, through existing local procedures. And state employees may get paid vacation during the holidays.
https://www.kalw.org/bay-area-news/2026-09-29/california-recognizes-two-muslim-holidays