It is Friday. You know what that means.

🌧️ Today's weather: Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, with a high of 89 and a low of 66.

Today’s newsletter is 893 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike's attorneys said she was "in critical condition" and "receiving life-saving care" yesterday, a day after she survived an execution attempt during which the state administered two doses of the lethal injection drug.

• A death penalty expert told the Associated Press that Pike's survival after receiving the execution drug was unprecedented.

The latest: Gov. Bill Lee told reporters yesterday there were "very few answers" about what had gone wrong. He ordered a review of the failed execution and halted other executions for the rest of the year.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the frontrunner to succeed Lee as governor next year, blasted the "botched process" in a statement and pushed for the state to "bring back the electric chair."

Pike's attorneys told reporters yesterday that Lee's pledge to launch an investigation did not go far enough. They urged him to commute her death sentence.

What they're saying: Attorney Randy Spivey, who was inside the prison during the execution attempt, said prison officials spent about an hour trying to establish IV access. He counted at least seven needles used in Pike's left arm alone.

• Pike complained of sharp pain during the lethal injection. Spivey said he noticed her right arm turning purple, especially after the second round of chemicals.
• He said the lawyers had also been told of blistering and burning around the injection sites.

Between the lines: Federal public defender Stephen Ferrell said the lawyers had warned courts months earlier about medical problems with Pike's veins that made it harder to establish an IV.

The state's response: Lee called the latest failed execution "a tragedy" yesterday.

• "It's deeply disturbing to me that that has happened in this state," he told reporters, according to Reuters.

The big picture: This isn't the first time Tennessee's prison officials have faced scrutiny for their approach to the death penalty. After a 2022 execution was halted over failures to properly test the drugs, Lee paused all executions so the state could investigate and overhaul its lethal injection protocol.

• Executions resumed last year.

But more problems surfaced in 2026. Tennessee prison officials abruptly stopped another inmate's execution in May after staff had difficulties finding a vein for an IV line used in the lethal injection.

Zoom out: Pike was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1995 beating death of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Her legal team does not contest her guilt.

• Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, traveled to Nashville this week to witness the execution.
• "It was a mess," she told NBC News early yesterday. "They went to try to execute her, and she didn't die."

Martinez vented her anger with the governor and prison officials: "They f----- up."

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Monday is the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 election that will determine Tennessee's next governor and who represents Nashville in Congress.

The details: Eligible Tennessee voters can register online with a driver's license or state-issued ID.

• Paper applications must be postmarked or hand-delivered by the deadline.
• Davidson County residents can deliver applications to the election commission at 1281 Murfreesboro Pike.

Already registered? You can check your registration information through the state's voter lookup tool and update your address online.

• Don't forget: Redistricting earlier this year scrambled the boundaries of congressional districts. You can confirm your current district online.

What's next: Early voting runs Oct. 14–29. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

See the sample ballot

🏀 Nashville hosted two NBA training camps this week: the Memphis Grizzlies practiced at Belmont, while the Atlanta Hawks set up at Vanderbilt. (Nashville Scene)

🏒 The Predators and Hatch Show Print teamed up on 1,000 limited-edition posters made with materials from game-used pucks and skate laces. Sales benefit the Predators Foundation and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. (NewsChannel 5)

🚜 Tennessee lawmakers want farmers and loggers facing record-high diesel prices to be allowed to temporarily use tax-exempt diesel to haul their harvests on public roads. (Tennessee Lookout)

For years, Miranda Lambert says, the women on Music Row faced a tougher path than the men.

• But recently, she says, country music has opened up to more female artists and become more "balanced."

Zoom in: While talking to the New York Times, Lambert reflected on a multi-year stretch of her career when it felt like "there were no females at all" and she and Carrie Underwood were the only big female stars in the male-dominated genre.

• "I feel like we should get a ribbon for surviving that," Lambert told the New York Times' Popcast. "That was a hard time, honestly."

Flash forward: Lambert, who co-wrote and co-produced fellow star Ella Langley's monster hit "Choosin' Texas," credited changes in how fans consume music with shifting the landscape and creating "room for every damn body."

What she's saying: "All the voices can be heard, all the messages can be heard. You don't have to love them all, but at least there's a way to hear them."

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Our picks:

👍 Nate is proud of son Maddux for a successful first driving lesson on the gritty Nashville roads.

📚 Adam is not cooking nearly enough to justify his rapidly expanding cookbook collection.

This newsletter was edited by Jen Burkett.