WSIU-TV (Carbondale, IL)

MIAMI — Isaias strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane as it barreled toward the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday, prompting orders for tourists to abandon beaches for safer spots inland, sending locals scurrying for gas and groceries and leading fishing crews to secure their boats before the potentially destructive storm's arrival.

Democratic challenger Paul Nolley used a candidate forum with Republican U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood to paint the incumbent as a member of the Washington elite, more concerned with currying favor with special interests and corporations than helping people in his district. LaHood, who has represented the area since 2015, largely focused on legislative achievements that benefited his district and at times both stood tall with the Trump administration and disagreed with it.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Christa Pike has begun walking and eating again at a hospital a week after surviving Tennessee's attempt to execute her with lethal drugs, her attorneys said Thursday. Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital as the state sought to giver her a lethal injection eight days ago for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. The drug didn't kill her, and her arms were left burned and blistered, according to her lawyers.

Updated October 9, 2026 at 12:35 AM CDT WASHINGTON — The firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be livestreamed, the Pentagon said Thursday, a stunning revelation about plans for the first military execution in more than 65 years after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had described it as being "public." The Army announced this week that the execution would take place at Fort Hood on Dec.

OpenAI said in a blog post on Thursday that it banned Russian and Iranian accounts that were using the company's artificial intelligence tools to help with influence operations in multiple countries. The operatives said they managed to get their false narratives picked up by news outlets, and in once case, prompted a response from a member of the European Parliament, according to internal reports the operations produced using OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT.

CORONADO, Calif. — After more than 10 months at sea, thousands of sailors Thursday poured out of the the USS Lincoln on San Diego Bay to thunderous cheers, streaming tears and emotional hugs, marking a homecoming that included new dads who met babies born while they were away on a historic deployment supporting the Iran war.

For the 2nd time in the past 4 seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates finished with a better record than the St. Louis Cardinals. In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson recaps the season for both teams and how it left him excited for 2027. Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, co-author, with his son Stephen, of The Slide: Leyland, Bonds and the Star-Crossed Pittsburgh Pirates and the editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader.

People on Alabama's Gulf Coast have been preparing or evacuating as Hurricane Isaias is likely to make landfall late Friday as a possible category 2 hurricane with winds around 100 miles per hour. Copyright 2026 Alabama Public Radio

American doctors in Gaza tell NPR they saw patients suffering because of Israeli restrictions on aid.

Facing legal challenges and public backlash at home, American tech giants are looking abroad for new opportunities in Australia. But the reception down under may not be quite as warm as they hope.