Newsweek is reporting that an underwhelming jobs report is giving President Donald Trump a headwind ahead of the midterm elections. In its newsletter The 1600, it said Republicans are playing defense roughly a month out from the contests, and that Trump and Vice President JD Vance may try to limit losses by holding rallies in states and districts the GOP would normally hold easily. It said polls will likely tighten over the final month, as they tend to in a polarized electorate. Newsweek described the election as unusual, noting Democrats running behind in some blue states and Republicans trailing in solidly red states because of weak candidates.
Newsweek is also reporting on a botched execution in Tennessee. It said the state attempted Wednesday night to put to death Christa Pike, a 50-year-old woman convicted in the 1994 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a crime that drew attention amid the Satanic Panic of the era. It said Pike remained alive roughly 36 hours later after surviving a double injection of pentobarbital. Her legal team said that 40 minutes after the supposedly lethal dose, Pike had lost consciousness but still had a heartbeat and was audibly snoring, and that she was taken to a hospital for life-saving care, Newsweek reported.
Newsweek said Tennessee has paused executions while it investigates what went wrong. It said the case underscores its view that capital punishment is arbitrary and cruel, does not deter crime, and is costly and agonizing for everyone involved, including victims' families. It said the state should not execute its people regardless of the crimes committed.
Newsweek also cited Amnesty International and the Death Penalty Information Center in listing countries that carry out the most executions per capita: China, North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United States.