News Vérité

Christa Pike, the convicted Tennessee murderer who survived two lethal injections and is now conscious and talking, was not alone in the crime for which she received the death penalty. She and two others tortured and murdered 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995 out of jealousy and anger. Her boyfriend and accomplice, Tadaryl Shipp, was also convicted of murder, but since he was 17, he could not be given the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison, plus 25 years. His lone parole appeal has been denied., but further appeals are possible. The third accomplice, Shadolla Peterson, copped a deal with prosecutors, pled guilty to being an accomplice, and was given six years’ probation. Today, a hearing was held regarding Pike’s sentence and whether the death penalty should be commuted. The judge, however, merely ordered that all evidence in the case be retained for future legal proceedings. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, following Pike’s botched execution, has ordered a halt to any further executions this year. If Pike is ultimately executed — and the case will probably end up before the Supreme Court — she would be the first woman executed in the U.S. since Amber McLaughlin in January 2023.

President Trump, jokingly or not, yesterday offered up California as a sacrificial lamb in the war with Iran, saying of the Iranians: “They can take out a city. Let ’em take out Los Angeles. Let ’em take out San Diego.” He said it would “a very small price to pay” to settle the war. The crowd in Nebraska cheered. This led California Governor Gavin Newsom — whom I not so affectionately refer to as Grabbin’ Gruesome — to call for the removal of Trump, using the 25th Amendment. He cited the reason as being that the president is “mentally ill,” adding that he is “dangerous and delusional.” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria snapped, “San Diego is not collateral damage.” The White House largely played down the comments as being said in jest. “The media freakout over ⁠President Trump’s comments is not rooted in reality. He was clearly stating US cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped,” White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung wrote on social media.

You gotta love Louisiana Senator John Kennedy for never mincing words or saying something just to uphold the party line. Now, he says he’ll jump into the 2028 presidential race if the leading candidates are all “goobers.” “If a bunch of, on my side of the aisle, if a bunch of goobers run, and I think they’re goobers and one of the goobers might win, and I think I could do a better job, I would consider running,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press. “But right now, I’m running for reelection.” Kennedy also had choice words for our sitting president: “The president, as we know… can be tempestuous. He can go from zero to a-hole in about three seconds.” So far, according to Real Clear Politics polling, the GOP field for the 2028 sweepstakes includes VP JD Vance at 39.7%, followed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 23.4%, Donald Trump Jr. at 11.1%, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) at 7.3%. Vance thinks Texas Senator Ted Cruz will probably throw his hat in the ring, but Cruz denies that; who can believe a politician’s denial? I’m personally anxious to hear Kennedy’s definition of goober, but I have my own.