USA TODAY is reporting that Tennessee officials failed to carry out the execution of death row inmate Christa Pike after she survived two doses of lethal injection drugs. It said state officials began the process of trying to execute Pike, then said hours later that she had been taken to a hospital. After the Department of Correction said it stood by its protocol, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called off executions for the rest of the year and ordered a "comprehensive, third-party review" of Pike's execution. USA TODAY said another Tennessee death row inmate received a one-year reprieve in May after a botched execution.
USA TODAY is also reporting that a Flydubai flight bound for Israel made an emergency landing Wednesday after a midair attack in which passengers overpowered one pilot who stabbed another, officials said. It said the incident has raised questions about whether something similar could happen on a U.S. flight and about the safeguards designed to prevent it. USA TODAY said the answer is more reassuring, and surprising, than readers might think. It said passengers stabilized the attack, and one even took control of the plane before it went down. A passenger's video shows a glimpse inside the aircraft after the attack, USA TODAY said.
Separately, USA TODAY is reporting that Congress passed a bill this week that could solve the penny problem for retailers as the coins are phased out. It said the Common Cents Act, approved Monday and now awaiting presidential action, will allow stores to round to the nearest five cents when neither buyer nor seller has exact change, meaning customers can still pay with pennies if they have them.
USA TODAY also is reporting that the U.S. and Iran resumed peace talks, with officials on both sides expressing a desire to reach a deal even as they blamed each other for the impasse. President Donald Trump rejected Iran's latest peace deal, USA TODAY said.
In other coverage, USA TODAY is reporting that senators headed home to campaign with control of the chamber up for grabs, following a final day in session filled with quibbling over data centers and election reform. It said Carnegie Mellon University received the largest donation in U.S. higher education history, most of which will fund a new campus in Miami. USA TODAY also reported that Chad Lowe and his wife, Kim Painter, mourned the death of their 13-year-old daughter, Fiona, and shared information for the national suicide helpline.