iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Steven Hale @iamstevenhale.bsky.social · 23h

I got back home a bit ago from Tennessee's execution of Christa Pike. We sat in the witness room for nearly 2 and a half hours as she received two rounds of pentobarbital. She was taken away in an ambulance shortly after that and I can't say for sure if she is dead or alive at this moment.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Steve Cavendish @scavendish.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A lawyer for Christa Pike confirmed to the Banner that she had been administered both doses of pentobarbital and was still alive. It appears the State of Tennessee has another botched lethal injection.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Chris Polansky @chrispolansky.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Governor of Tennessee on capital punishment earlier this year, via this @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social story: kffhealthnews.org/health-indus...

"It's one of the most difficult things that we do in this state," Lee said later.
"But I am committed to making sure that it is done in the way that it should be."

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Steven Hale @iamstevenhale.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Key bit of the 6th Circuit order is here. Pike’s attorneys are arguing for her ineffective assistance of counsel claim to be reconsidered based on the state’s recent acknowledgment of her childhood abuse, which was not investigated by her original attorneys.

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Catherine Sweeney @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

“Health care professionals who... take part in Tennessee’s executions are those willing to set aside their professional ethics. The problems that we have seen, such as in Mr. Carruthers’s case, are the predictable result of working with such unscrupulous actors.” kffhealthnews.org/health-indus...

kffhealthnews.org

After Failed Execution, Health Workers Say State’s Rules Flout Medical Ethics - KFF Health News

The death penalty is legal in 27 states, and lethal injection is the primary method. That means involving medical professionals to store, test, and inject the drugs. After a botched execution in Tenne...

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Catherine Sweeney @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

After May's failed execution, there have been a LOT of calls for Gov. Bill Lee to commission an independent investigation. He did that in 2022 and paused executions for years. But this week, he said that's not happening this time. wpln.org/post/after-f...

wpln.org

After failed execution, Gov. Lee says no moratorium, no protocol changes for lethal injection

It's unlikely Gov. Bill Lee will call a death penalty moratorium before Tennessee's next execution. Calls for a temporary suspension, investigation and

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Nashville Scene @nashvillescene.com · 30/06/2026

Via the @nashvillebanner.bsky.social: Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol appears to include reduced training in IV placement — the part of the process prison staff failed to complete before aborting the execution of Tony Carruthers last month.

nashvillescene.com

Tennessee Reduced Training in IV Placement in New Lethal Injection Protocol

Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol adopted a year-and-a-half ago appears to include reduced training in IV placement. That’s the part of the process prison staff failed to complete last month befor...

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Catherine Sweeney @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Here’s a roundup of recent TN lethal injection news: wpln.org/post/gop-law... • GOP lawmakers want an independent investigation, like the one in 2022 • The people set to be executed in Aug+Sept are taking different strategies seeking reprieves • Attorneys want moratorium til Burns is decided

wpln.org

GOP lawmakers seek investigation into Tennessee's failed execution

Tennessee Republican senators are calling on the state to launch a formal investigation into the botched execution attempt of Tony Carruthers in May. Several legal battles are also challenging Tenness...

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Steve Cavendish @scavendish.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

The Banner's spring membership campaign is underway. Your dollars go directly into funding our journalism like in depth reporting on Metro and state government, the courts , criminal justice, education and more. Your support helps make our work free and available to everyone.

nashville-public-media.fundjournalism.org

Join | Nashville Public Media

Nashville Public Media is supported by people like you. Support Nashville Public Media today.

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Catherine Sweeney @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Hosting today and the music embed for some of our funding credits was this banger. youtu.be/Wt88GMJmVk0?...

youtu.be

Eve - Let Me Blow Ya Mind (Official Music Video) ft. Gwen Stefani

YouTube video by EveVEVO

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Joshua Eaton @joshuaeaton.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

In other words, more people who get paid to have opinions and fewer people who actually work for a living.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

This morning, I recorded a video on TikTok about why DHS’s arguments for the power to enter homes without judicial warrants in immigration cases are bunk. Nine hours later, TikTok still says my video is “under review,” and can’t be shared. Well, here’s a link: georgetown.box.com/v/Vladeck-IC...

Screenshot of a TikTok video with error message at top saying “your video is under review and can’t be shared right now.”

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 22/01/2026

You and I are watching protests and babies being tear gassed on social media. They are not. And part of that is because the media they consume - like the NYT - isn't really showing it.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Nashville Severe Weather @nashseverewx.com · 21/01/2026

Secondly, we are 100% supported by donations, using two methods Patreon and Paypal. The website costs us money every single month and has never generated a penny. Now that that's behind us, back to regularly scheduled programming. And, thanks for being here. Really. (3/3)

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Catherine Sweeney @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

WPLN was part of this lawsuit. The current protocol doesn't allow media to see almost any setup. A curtain obscures the chamber until after the IV line is established and meds are running. A judge says the curtain has to be open from the time they enter til TOD announced. wpln.org/post/tenness...

wpln.org

Tennessee judge grants expanded media access to state-run executions

A judge has ruled that Tennessee prison officials must grant expanded access to media members to view state-run executions. The ruling Friday comes after a coalition of news organizations sued on clai...

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

My love for em dashes is as old as the hills and as mighty as my inability to make a transition between thoughts literally any other way and I will be damned if I let the clankers take that from me

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Steven Hale @iamstevenhale.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

As expected, Gov. Bill Lee has announced that he will not grant Harold Nichols clemency.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Steven Hale @iamstevenhale.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

New story out this morning about this week's scheduled execution in Tennessee, the state's third this year.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Liam Adams @liamsadams.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Tennessee faith leaders gather at Downtown Presbyterian Church to protest the upcoming execution in Tennessee on Thursday, and are emphasizing recent statements from TN’s Catholic and Episcopal bishops opposing the state’s death penalty.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Rainesford Stauffer @rainesford.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

There are so many terms that I'm convinced exist solely on the internet that articles to use to avoid saying "people are working multiple jobs because they can't afford to live on one."

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Catherine Sweeney @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

From earlier this year: In 2019, 117 women who were infected with Hepatitis B gave birth in Tennessee, according to the CDC. The state’s overall infection rate more than doubled from 2006 to 2013, according to a state viral hepatitis report released in 2023. wpln.org/post/wpln-di...

wpln.org

WPLN discusses: Federal vaccine news is leaving everyone confused — including doctors

Tennessee ranks among the top five states in the nation for Hepatitis B infections, and policy changes in Washington could make it harder to protect

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

JAMA @jama.com · 03/12/2025

💬Viewpoint: Eliminating universal hepatitis B birth dose vaccination risks an estimated 8% increase in annual perinatal #HepatitisB infections in the US, increasing preventable chronic disease burden. ja.ma/3Me0zHh

A "JAMA" article, published online December 3, 2025, titled "Universal Hepatitis B Vaccination at Birth—Risks of Revising the Recommendation" by Michael S. Abers et al., discusses ACIP's review and a possible vote to eliminate the birth dose recommendation.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

The Haunted Bookshop @thehauntedbookshop.com · 27/11/2025

Communities need used-book shops. As the trends in our world are increasingly standardized and entrenched by "predictive" technologies that stifle innovation and reduce human actions into economic categories... We need a full range of possibilities for readers and communities to explore and share.

On the left, a narrow, glass-fronted display case with a mix of letterpress, hand-bound, antiquarian, and collectors' books; stretching off to the right, 8-foot bookcases laden with literary and contemporary commercial fiction, about one thousand books out of the 6-7 thousand in that section. LED lighting and light-colored wood cases and flooring keep the room feeling relatively spacious despite the sheer quantity of books.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Karen K. Ho @karenho.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

it feels incredibly ridiculous I spent a good chunk of my career working on developing skills and experience in feature writing when there are very few jobs doing this anymore and then learning how Olivia Nuzzi got her job at Vanity Fair despite truly terrible ethics and questionable writing skills

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Sarah Weinman @sarahweinman.com · 22/11/2025

This is a wonderful time to support journalists who do the work, don’t fuck sources, and actually have moral clarity.

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Catherine Sweeney @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Latest on TN executions: - Harold Wayne Nichols scheduled for lethal injection Dec. 11 - His attorneys want records TDOC refuses to hand over. A Knox Co. judge wants to review the docs, gave a Dec. 3 deadline - TDOC fighting records release in a separate challenge - Media witnesses selected today

SELECTION OF OFFICIAL MEDIA WITNESSES

NASHVILLE – In accordance with state law, representatives from the following news media agencies have been selected to witness the execution of inmate Harold Wayne Nichols #146457. The witnesses were selected from seven applications received from recognized Tennessee news organizations to serve as statutorily required witnesses.
The witnesses are:
1. Travis Loller - Associated Press
2. Kirsten Fiscus Bodenbach - The Tennessean
3. Steve Cavendish - Nashville Banner
4. Nicholas Hill – WDEF
5. Michelle Heron – WRCB
6. Holly Lehren – WTVF
7. Catherine Sweeney - WPLN

The selection was conducted in accordance with the Rules of the Tennessee Department of Correction Adult Services Division, Chapter 0420-3-4, under the authority of TCA 40-23-116.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Jona 🧑🏾‍🏫🌺🌳🍁🏳️‍⚧️📚 @jonanightingale.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

If every book I read this year costs $15.99 each… I would have spent over $3,000 on books alone. Instead, I borrowed them from my library. Go support and help your local library

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Steven Hale @iamstevenhale.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Tennessee’s three Episcopal bishops have released a joint statement on the death penalty. The state is set to execute Harold Nichols on Dec. 11.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 18/11/2025

It shouldn't need to be said that it isn't "insubordinate" in the United States for a free press to ask questions about government leaders. And in the United States, the president isn't allowed to silence news outlets for asking questions he doesn't like. This isn't Saudi Arabia. Yet.

Trump called the inquiry about Khashoggi from ABC News reporter Mary Bruce a “horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question,” adding that “I think the license should be taken away from ABC, because your news is so fake and it’s so wrong.”

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Joan Alker @joanalker1.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

While Medicaid is by far the biggest player for children's coverage, the Marketplace has become increasingly important. New brief from @urbaninstitute.bsky.social finds that 453,000 children will become uninsured if subsidies expire. ccf.georgetown.edu/2025/11/14/n...

ccf.georgetown.edu

New Data Highlight Risks to Children and Parents if Enhanced Marketplace Subsidies Expire

Marketplace subsidy enhancements which have been in place since 2021 are set to expire at the end of December 2025, and their fate is currently uncertain. Since 2014, when Affordable Care Act (ACA)…

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Catherine Sweeney @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

If you drape an electric blanket on the couch before sitting on it, it’s like heated seats

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Rainesford Stauffer @rainesford.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

Man, there are a lot of pieces that were published this past week that make me even more furious than usual that so many people who are dedicated to telling meaningful stories are unemployed or scrambling to pitch while...all that gets published, amplified, paid for, and inflicted on readers.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Billie Jean Sweeney @billiejsweeney.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

When ppl speak of elite impunity and a draw a direct link to complicit elite media, this is what we’re talking about.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Eva Holland @evaholland.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

I will no doubt read and enjoy all your very good Nuzzi jokes, but I also want to say earnestly, so many of us (myself included) are on the verge of being pushed out of this industry and it's genuinely so dispiriting to see the worst among us, ethics-wise, get such preferential treatment.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

public health guy @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

there’s going to be a strong impulse to dunk on these patients. please pause and think how devastating & tragic the consequences are. no one deserves this

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Caitlin Rivers @cmyeaton.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

CDC flu data is back! I’m so happy I could cry. H3N2 is predominating, especially the new subclade K. This supports the emerging hypothesis that we will have a big flu season. More to come.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Joe Sonka 😐 @joesonka.lpm.org · 14/11/2025

Hemp farmers and business holding a press conference outside of Mitch McConnell’s office in Louisville slamming him for slipping in language to the CR that they say will completely destroy their industry and livelihood.

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Catherine Sweeney @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Thanksgiving is one of the most boring parts of white American culture? And turkey???

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

The SNAP fight at the Supreme Court is officially over. Trump's Department of Justice acknowledges that SNAP is now fully funded through the end of the fiscal year and thus withdraws its request for an additional stay. The end of the shutdown mooted the case before SCOTUS could touch the merits.

Honorable Scott S. Harris
Clerk
Supreme Court of the United States
Washington, D.C. 20543

Re: Rollins, et al. v. Rhode Island State Council of Churches, et al., No. 25A539

Dear Mr. Harris:
On November 7, we filed in the above-captioned case an application for a stay of the orders
issued by the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, along with a request for
an immediate administrative stay of those orders as this Court considered that application. Those
orders required the government to redirect billions of dollars in order to fund full SNAP payments
for the month of November by November 7. On that day, this Court issued an administrative stay
of the district court’s orders; and on November 11, this Court extended that stay through midnight
tonight. Since then, Congress has passed, and President Trump has signed, a bill that put an end
to the government shutdown. That law, among other things, fully funds SNAP through the end of
the fiscal year. See Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military
Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, H.R. 5371, 119th Cong. div. B, tit.
IV (enacted Nov. 12, 2025). Because the underlying dispute here is now moot, the government
withdraws its November 7 stay application in this Court.

Sincerely,

D. John Sauer
Solicitor General

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Anita Wadhwani @anitawadhwani.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Harold Wayne Nichols, sentenced in the rape and murder of a college student, declined to choose between lethal injection or electric chair. The default is lethal injection, which has had a troubling history in TN wpln.org/post/tenness... @catherinejsweeney.bsky.social @wpln.bsky.social

wpln.org

Tennessee schedules next lethal injection as questions linger about the last one

The next man scheduled for execution in Tennessee — Harold Wayne Nichols — has officially declined to choose a method of execution. He had two options:

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

The notion abusers need to resort to conspiracies and subterfuge is more comforting than the truth that many people will readily look the other way when confronted with sexual violence if doing otherwise would even slightly inconvenience them

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Cethan Leahy @cethanleahy.com · 12/11/2025

Well, it's a little clearer now why billionaires are so invested in technology that produces better written emails.

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Reposted by Catherine Sweeney

Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Fall 2017: Then-NYT reporter literally warning Epstein that someone is "digging around again."

From:
Thomas Jr., Landon
Sent:
9/27/2017 2:47:47 PM
To:

Subject:
Got another call from Connelly..
Importance:
High
Jeffrey Epstein [jeevacation@gmail.com]
He is digging around again -- not clear if its another book/or expanded paperback version. Was asking me all sorts of questions about why you hired Ken Starr. I told him I had no idea - I think he is doing some Trump-related digging too.
Anyway, for what its worth...
Landon Thomas, Jr.
Financial Reporter
New York Times
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/t/landon_ir thomas/index.h
tml

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