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A 12-year U.S. military mission in Iraq comes to an end, Ukraine races to counter a faster generation of Russian drones, and the Yankees and Padres move on in October.

Elsewhere, California bans child marriage, Swiss glaciers suffer another brutal year, and a trove of Iris Murdoch artwork emerges from an Oxford attic.

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The Big Read

Tennessee's Attempt to Execute Christa Pike Fails

Tennessee's attempt to execute Christa Pike failed overnight, and she was taken to the hospital after two syringes of pentobarbital were administered. Her legal team filed an emergency motion while the execution was still underway, saying she had lost consciousness but still had a heartbeat.

One of her attorneys said Pike, 50, was "being provided life-saving measures" in hospital. She was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, and had been set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.

A Third of States Are Now Cutting Fuel Taxes

About a third of US states have put some form of fuel-tax relief in place, many of them acting within the past week as pump prices climb because of the war in Iran. Ohio lawmakers passed a 90-day gas tax holiday on Wednesday with broad bipartisan support.

Regular gasoline averaged $4.43 a gallon on Wednesday, up roughly 50% since the war began, with diesel at $6.41, a few cents below last week's record. Governor Mike DeWine will suspend Ohio's 38.5-cent gasoline and 47-cent diesel taxes, drawing $725 million from the general fund to cover roads and bridges.

The Last US Troops Leave Iraq

The US military announced on Wednesday that its withdrawal from Iraq is complete, closing a 12-year campaign against Islamic State. The last American forces left an air base in Irbil, in the northern Kurdish region. US troops first invaded in 2003, departed in 2011, and returned in 2014.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the military "will continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to our Iraqi partners." Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi called the departure the start of "a new phase, one defined by Iraq's sovereignty." Trump described it as orderly.

World View

Japan raised its permanent residency fee twentyfold to about $1,270, adding income, pension and language requirements and producing seven-hour queues outside Tokyo's immigration bureau.

Nepal's landslides killed about 30 more people, with 240 homes damaged and hundreds of trekkers airlifted off the Annapurna Circuit weeks after August's catastrophic floods.

Pakistan launched fresh air strikes on Afghanistan, killing nine civilians, the Taliban said, while Islamabad said its "well-planned and calibrated" attack hit terrorist camps and killed 22 militants.

Need To Know

The Senate confirmed Keith Sonderling as labor secretary in a 47-41 vote Wednesday, elevating the department's acting chief since April after Lori Chavez-DeRemer left for a private-sector job amid allegations.

A former fraternity leader got two months in jail over an Arizona hazing death, with Carter Eslick sentenced after pledge Colin Martinez, 18, died of alcohol poisoning.

California has banned child marriage, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing a law that sets 18 as the minimum marrying age from January; the practice stays legal in 32 states.

Money & Markets

The 10-year Treasury yield, a key mortgage benchmark, climbed to 5.33%, its highest level since April 2002, as a global government bond sell-off deepened on Thursday morning.

Apple was the one tech megacap missing from Trump's AI lunch at the White House on Tuesday, as neither Chairman Tim Cook nor CEO John Ternus attended.

South Korea will invest $200 billion in US energy, Trump announced, including $54 billion for Alaska LNG and a six-gigawatt gas-fired plant in Texas.

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Future Frontiers

Swiss glaciers lost 5.5% of their ice this year, the second-biggest drop on record, with monitors warning Alpine glaciers have no chance of surviving long-term under such conditions.

Jet-powered drones are outrunning Ukraine's air defenses, sending manufacturers racing to build new interceptors fast enough to catch them.

Care robots built by Cera now remind London retirees about their medication, with 24 residents at Hazelhurst Court using the droids, which a carer calls a tool, not a replacement.

The Score

The Yankees eliminated the Red Sox for the second straight year, outscoring Boston 18-2 in a two-game Wild Card sweep to set up a division series with Tampa Bay.

Gavin Sheets homered as a pinch-hitter, and five San Diego pitchers combined on a five-hitter to sweep the Cubs 4-1, holding Chicago to eight hits across two games.

Chicago's White Sox finished Houston 7-3 to take their Wild Card Series in two games, a year after losing 100 games for the third straight season.

Philadelphia forced a decider, beating Atlanta 4-3 to level their National League Wild Card Series at one game each.

Life & Culture

Dame Esther Rantzen, the British broadcaster, died Wednesday at age 86, remembered for 21 years presenting the BBC's "That's Life!" and for founding Childline, the children's helpline, in the 1980s.

Nearly 80 artworks by Iris Murdoch turned up in an Oxford attic, where the Booker Prize-winning novelist's paintings and sketches sat for decades before going on display in West Sussex.

Nathan Fielder's Elizabeth Holmes documentary premiered at the New York Film Festival Wednesday, with fans lining up at 3 a.m. for the nearly three-hour film shot secretly over three years.

Deep Dive

The Worst US Measles Year Since 1991

What it is: Pennsylvania reported a fifth measles-associated death on Wednesday, an unvaccinated person from Lancaster County, as the United States endures its worst year for the disease since 1991. The state released no further details about the person. Its earlier deaths were an 18-year-old in Mifflin County, a 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County, and two infants in Lancaster County. None were vaccinated, and the infants were too young to be.

The detail: Pennsylvania's outbreak has reached 943 illnesses across 39 counties this year, and these are the state's first measles deaths in 35 years. Lancaster County's coroner said his office did not handle the latest death and has not been given details. Nationally, there have been eight measles-associated deaths in two years, more than the combined total of the previous three decades.

Why it matters: The country eliminated domestic spread of measles in 2000 by keeping vaccination rates high, and infections have surged in recent years as that coverage slipped. It has fallen below the 95% needed to prevent outbreaks, pushed down by parental waivers, gaps in healthcare access, and widespread disinformation.

What to watch: International health officials meet in November to decide whether the United States and Mexico have lost their measles-free status, held here for 26 years. Administration health officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have questioned the established safety of vaccines while cutting funding for local efforts to raise vaccination rates.

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Today's Trivia

Walt Disney World opened in Florida on this day in 1971. Which of its parks was the first to open?

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Extra Bits

The Princess of Wales rode a rural minibus, collecting 94-year-old Stella Drewett in a West Sussex village to mark the volunteer service's 50th anniversary.

A cafe in northern Serbia has six alpacas working as hosts, roaming among the tables at a resort whose owner got the idea at an alpaca cafe in Slovakia.

Nigerians attempted two Guinness World Records in the past week alone, with a man dancing for seven days and a movie premiere drawing more than 51,000 people.

On This Day

"In God We Trust" first appears on US paper money (1957) · NASA opens for business, replacing NACA (1958) · Walt Disney World opens near Orlando (1971) · Muhammad Ali beats Joe Frazier in the "Thrilla in Manila" (1975) · EPCOT Center opens, and Sony and Philips launch the compact disc in Japan (1982)

"Man, this is the closest I've ever been to dying." — Muhammad Ali, to his corner after the ninth round in Manila

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