Christa Pike conscious and speaking after botched execution attempt

NEW YORK — Christa Pike, a convicted murderer on death row in the state of Tennessee, is conscious and talking after her failed execution, her lawyers said on Tuesday.

"Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking and continues to receive critical medical care." Pike was due to be executed last week. However, according to the authorities, after she had been administered the two doses of pentobarbital stipulated in the protocol, she remained alive.

Despite severe damage to her arms, Pike was handcuffed and shackled to the hospital bed, her lawyers said in a statement. "Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery," they said.

"She is the only person known to have survived a complete execution attempt in the U.S. Christa is a survivor and will take recovery one day at a time." Her lawyers have called for Pike not to be executed and instead to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

—dpa

Gov. Ron DeSantis says crackdown on Medicaid fraud saved Florida $230 million

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A state-focused crackdown on Medicaid fraud has uncovered “bad actors” and saved Florida as much as $230 million, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.

DeSantis said his administration has attacked Medicaid fraud by expanding the state’s use of data analytics, claims monitoring, background screening, site visits, and using other tools to uncover fraudulent billing practices.

“We have put 250 providers on payment restrictions or suspended their payments entirely, and more than 220 providers were terminated from Florida Medicaid for fraud, waste, or abuse, accounting for more than $230 million in billing,” the governor said at a news conference in West Palm Beach. “These actions are focused on bad actors who exploit the program, not legitimate providers delivering necessary care to Floridians.”

Since January, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration has conducted more than 400 provider site visits as part of its heightened Medicaid Integrity efforts, DeSantis said. The agency has focused particular attention on areas such as applied behavioral analysis for people with autism, durable medical equipment and adult daycare.

—South Florida Sun Sentinel

What is pneumonic plague? What to know as possible disease in Russia raises alarm

The death of a Russian lab worker, possibly from pneumonic plague, has sparked concern around the world. A worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Shelekhov died of an unknown pneumonia, Forbes reported.

Russian authorities have reportedly quarantined 200 lab workers as a result, according to the publication. Some Russian officials suggested the woman may have died of plague. A World Health Organization official said the risk to the general population “appears to be low,” Forbes reported.

Pneumonic plague is a virulent form of plague that can be passed from human to human. Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, usually found in small mammals and their fleas, WHO said. There are three basic kinds of plague: bubonic, pneumonic and septicaemic.

Bubonic plague, the most common, is spread by the bite of infected fleas. Septicaemic plague can develop when bacteria multiply rapidly in the bloodstream and can develop from the other two kinds of plague. It is fatal if left untreated.

—The Sacramento Bee

German far right wins first top post as it seeks to lead state

Germany’s far-right party secured a bigger-than-expected majority for the top parliamentary post in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, giving it a firm foothold as it builds support to take power in a regional government.

The Alternative for Germany installed its candidate, Tobias Rausch, with 48 votes in the 83-seat assembly in Magdeburg on Tuesday. The secret ballot gave him four more ballots than had been publicly pledged ahead of the session, fueling speculation that the AfD won some support from the Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats.

It was a demonstration of the far-right party’s growing clout as it capitalizes on frustration with Germany’s traditional parties and pushes to lead the first far-right state government in the country’s post-World War II history. The party’s candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, said he’ll seek a vote in December to become Saxony-Anhalt’s state premier — and has made overtures to CDU lawmakers who might break ranks.

Thorsten Frei, a Merz ally and the CDU’s parliamentary caucus leader in the national parliament, said the additional votes for the AfD were cause for “grave concern.” But he called accusations that his party offered backing to Rausch “pure speculation.”

—Bloomberg News