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Supreme Court clears way for Christa Pike execution in Tennessee

Illustration accompanying article: Supreme Court clears way for Christa Pike execution in Tennessee
  • The US Supreme Court on Wednesday evening vacated a Sixth Circuit stay, clearing the way for Tennessee to execute death-row inmate Christa Pike.
  • Justice Brett Kavanaugh granted the state's application to lift the stay; the order included no explanation.
  • Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented; Sotomayor wrote that the state should not be allowed to expedite execution before Pike's pending legal challenges can be considered.
  • If carried out, Pike's execution would be the first of a woman in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
  • Pike, 50, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
  • Tennessee's governor this week denied a clemency request, and the Supreme Court earlier this week refused to hear a separate appeal from Pike.
 2026-09-30 · 3 MIN READ

London councils seize 3,393 ebikes in 2026, exceeding all of 2025

Illustration accompanying article: London councils seize 3,393 ebikes in 2026, exceeding all of 2025
  • London boroughs have seized 3,393 ebikes so far in 2026, 23% more than all of 2025, according to freedom of information responses obtained by the Guardian.
  • Lime, the California-based rental operator, accounted for more than 2,000 of the seizures; Forest ranked second at 978, followed by Voi at 103.
  • Living Streets campaigner Zak Viney said irresponsibly parked ebikes prevent people from "walking and wheeling on the street safely."
  • RNIB's Erik Matthies said some blind people have stopped making journeys they previously made because of pavement obstructions.
  • The English devolution act, passed in April, gives TfL new powers to create a London-wide licensing framework for dockless ebike operators.
 2026-09-12 · 3 MIN READ
Illustration accompanying article: Federal judge blocks Trump bid to limit birthright citizenship