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Welcome back. It’s Friday and I’m getting my caffeine fix at my desk, though I'd much rather be enjoying a morning coffee at this cafe in the company of alpacas. In the news today: A third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops head to the Mideast; Christa Pike is in critical condition following Tennessee's failed execution attempt; and what Trump’s homelessness policy means for the nation's most vulnerable. Also, a look at Earth’s driest desert that’s unexpectedly burst into bloom.
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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops head to Mideast as Trump weighs new Iran strikes
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The U.S. military is dispatching roughly 9,000 troops aboard a group of ships to the Middle East, a U.S. official said Thursday. The troop movement, which includes a third aircraft carrier, underscores the rapidly evolving dynamic of President Donald Trump’s war against Iran as he ponders his next move. Read more.
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- Trump has threatened that a post-midterm election escalation — despite his initial promises to Americans of a campaign that would last a matter of weeks— remains a viable option. Further complicating matters, Trump told reporters Thursday that early indications suggest that Iran is linked to the FlyDubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain and tried to crash an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday. Trump added that if the link to Iran is established, the United States would retaliate.
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Christa Pike is in critical condition after Tennessee’s failed execution attempt, her lawyers say
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Christa Pike was receiving “lifesaving care” at a hospital Thursday, her lawyers said, a day after a failed attempt to execute her pushed Tennessee’s governor to halt further executions this year and order an independent review. Read more.
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The Associated Press was among those who witnessed her failed execution, which one death penalty expert described as unprecedented. It was not immediately clear what went wrong. Attorney Randy Spivey said the execution team worked for an hour to administer the lethal drugs. Spivey called the process cruel and torturous. May Martinez, whose daughter was murdered by Pike and her boyfriend in 1995 and who traveled to Nashville to watch the execution, was also upset. “I didn’t get justice for my daughter,” Martinez told The Associated Press on Thursday.
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Trump’s shift from ‘Housing First’ is causing upheaval for homelessness programs and many they serve
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The Trump administration is shifting federal policy and dollars away from the “Housing First” approach, a model rooted in the belief that people need a stable place to live before addressing their other issues such as substance use disorder and job readiness. Across America, nearly 750,000 people were homeless last year, according to an estimate compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Read more.
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Many opponents of Housing First policies don't think services including addiction and mental health treatment should be optional. “Housing First has failed our most vulnerable and enabled addiction,” HUD said in an email.
Housing organizations across the U.S. that depend on federal funds are now reluctantly making changes to comply with new government policies that favor the “Treatment First” approach and short-term “transitional” housing which favors mandatory services for addiction and serious mental illness — changes they fear will push people with extreme health risks back on the street.
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Flowers cover the Atacama Desert after rains near Copiapo, Chile, Sept. 24. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)
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That's all for today. Know someone who would enjoy Morning Wire? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. - Nadja
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