Toforest Johnson’s death penalty reduced to life in prison without parole over doubts about his conviction

Toforest Johnson, an Alabama death row inmate, will no longer face execution after the state’s Republican governor commuted his sentence amid increasing doubts about his conviction.

Kay Ivey, the Alabama governor, commuted Johnson’s sentence to life in prison without parole in the 1995 murder of William Hardy, a Jefferson county deputy sheriff. Johnson has long maintained he is innocent, and several former public officials, as well the local district attorney, have argued he should receive a new trial.

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© Photograph: Johnson Family/AP

© Photograph: Johnson Family/AP

© Photograph: Johnson Family/AP

Toforest Johnson’s conviction in the 1995 killing of a sheriff’s deputy relied on the testimony of a woman who was paid a $5,000 reward by the state for providing information.

© Vasha Hunt/Associated Press

El Niño will likely shift weather patterns to bring more rain, but much snow still isn’t forecast for the northern states

Winter in the United States looks like it will generally be wetter and warmer, but not necessarily snowier, according to the federal government’s seasonal outlook and other meteorologists’ forecasts. You can thank or blame El Niño.

El Niño is likely to shift weather patterns to bring more moisture, but with it higher temperatures. That should help erase persistent western drought, but it is unlikely to make northern snow-lovers happy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Thursday.

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© Photograph: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu/Getty Images

Though Democrats have a strong edge heading into the midterms, some races have openings for Republicans

While marquee races from Maine to Michigan get all the attention, and draw in a ton of money, a significant batch of lower-profile contests across the US could result in upsets.

Democrats have a strong edge heading into November’s US midterm elections, polls show. In recent days, election prognosticators have shifted even more races in favor of Democrats.

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© Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

After making landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a Category 2 hurricane, Isaias weakened considerably and headed north. Now, parts of the Southeast are at risk of flash floods.

© Zack Wittman for The New York Times

After making landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a Category 2 hurricane, Isaias weakened considerably and headed north. Now, parts of the Southeast are at risk of flash floods.

© Zack Wittman for The New York Times

Hundreds of thousands of people lost power, but towns near the landfall site in Florida were relieved that the hurricane damage was not worse.

© Zack Wittman for The New York Times

Many people in the storm’s path escaped the worst, but 4 people were killed and there was plenty of damage.

© Zack Wittman for The New York Times

Boarding up windows and filling sandbags and fuel tanks are part of routine hurricane preparation for residents of the Gulf coast. Isaias strengthened into a category 3 hurricane on Friday morning as it barreled toward the US Gulf coast, and states of emergency have been declared in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. Isaias is forecast to make landfall on Friday night, somewhere along the Alabama-Florida line, with surging seas up to 7ft (2.1 meters) and waves as high as 30ft

• Hurricane Isaias barrels toward Gulf coast as category 3 storm

• Isaias strengthens to become first Atlantic hurricane of 2026 season

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© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

Tennessee’s unsuccessful attempt to end the life of Christa Pike is spurring more scrutiny over capital punishment techniques, and whether the death penalty should exist at all.

© South Carolina Department of Corrections, via Associated Press

President Trump is doggedly lending his support to Republican candidates facing a rough midterm season. He is the same campaigner he has always been, but his crowds have changed.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times