ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama is waging a last-minute legal fight to execute a man with nitrogen gas Thursday night, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to set aside a judge’s finding that the method violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Jeffery Lee, 49, is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. However a federal judge ruled Tuesday that nitrogen executions are unconstitutional and blocked the state from using the method to put Lee to death. The state filed an appeal Thursday asking the Supreme Court to set aside the ruling and allow the execution.

“If that ruling stands, it would be unprecedented in American history. Not only does it portend the first-ever permanent ban on a legislatively enacted method, but it would expand the concept of cruelty well beyond the bounds of the Eighth Amendment,” lawyers with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office wrote. The Supreme Court has never ruled that a state’s execution method violates the Constitution.

Lee’s lawyers asked the high court to keep the execution on hold, saying in a response that Alabama is asking it to intervene at the eleventh hour “to allow an execution that has been found unconstitutional to proceed.”

Prison officials said Lee did not request a final meal Thursday but had potato chips, Skittles, water and a Sprite in the hours ahead of his possible execution.

His case has put a spotlight on the nitrogen method and the sharp disagreements over its use.

The execution method involves strapping a respirator to the person’s face and replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death from a lack of oxygen. Nitrogen has been used in eight executions in the United States — seven in Alabama and one in Louisiana. Lee was scheduled to be the ninth person put the death by nitrogen.

U.S. District Judge Emily Marks ruled Tuesday, after an appeals court reversed her initial finding that the method was constitutional, that Lee had shown by a “preponderance of the evidence that the protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment.”

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision Wednesday night, rejected Alabama’s request to stay the ruling. The court earlier said the three minutes that it could take for an inmate to lose awareness is an “intolerable” time frame, “given the suffering that would likely take place under Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia protocol.”

A jury voted 7-5 that Lee should receive a sentence of life imprisonment. However, a judge overrode that recommendation and sentenced Lee to death. Alabama in 2017 ended the practice of judicial override and no longer allows a judge to disregard a jury’s sentencing decision in death penalty cases.

Bestselling author John Grisham called on Gov. Kay Ivey to honor the jury’s decision and commute Lee’s sentence to life without parole.

“The practice of a judge overriding a jury was declared unconstitutional and so indefensible that Alabama itself abolished it in 2017,” Grisham said in a statement. “Jeffery Lee’s jury made its decision, the Alabama Legislature later agreed that juries, not judges, should decide life or death sentences.”

Marks did not block the state from using its other authorized execution methods, lethal injection and the electric chair. However, it is unclear if the state could swiftly change the method.

President Donald Trump unexpectedly summoned reporters to the Oval Office to watch him sign a proclamation rolling back longstanding environmental regulations to permit more aggressive fishing in American waters, but before taking press questions he had one of his own to be answered.

“So, tell me, how do they define that? Because in most industries, like you have policemen, policemen, you call them fishermen and fisherwomen. I haven’t heard of that one before we, how are the women? Do they want to be designated as fisherwomen? Does anybody want to answer that question?”

One of the fishing industry representatives arrayed behind him chimed in to reply that one could use either term — or the gender-neutral term “fisher” if one wants to be “politically correct.”

The president interjected with another question, asking whether the term “fisher people” would work before dismissing the entire topic as “crazy.”

At that point, another attendee spoke up to cite Google results which he claimed had indicated that most women involved in the fishing industry prefer the term “fisherman” because “they feel like they’re strong individuals, and they can do the work of a man.”

Trump later returned to the subject of the regulatory rollback proclamation by grousing about how the “Obama-Biden administration’s radical environmentalists” had “drastically restricted access for fishermen and coastal communities.”

“What a bunch of dopes. Those decisions close off vast resources, and really, the richest fishing grounds, they say, anywhere in the world destroyed livelihoods and made the United States more dependent on foreign products,” he said.

He continued riffing about the supposed unfairness of the regulations and suggested that both Canada and Japan — the latter of which is nowhere near the Atlantic coast of the U.S. — were unfairly being permitted to fish off the coast of Maine.

“You weren’t allowed to fish, but Canada was, Japan was. They all came in fish, but our people weren’t allowed to fish there. That was put in by Barack Hussein Obama. Have you heard of him? Barack Hussein Obama and Sleepy Joe Biden, and it’s a shame,” he said.

The proclamation that was the impetus for Thursday’s Oval Office ceremony will restore commercial fishing access to approximately half a million square miles in the Pacific Ocean by rolling back protections for three of what were declared national marine monuments — the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument near Hawaii, the Islands Unit of the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument located east of the Philippines, and the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument in American Samoa.

Trump suggested the monument protections, which were established by the previous administration, had been wholly ruinous for the wealthy commercial fishermen and fishing executives he’d assembled behind him.

He asked them: “When they destroyed your whole life and your family and your business, and everything else, did you ever think you would have somebody who would come along and save it?”

The president’s latest action follows a similar proclamation last April, which restored fishing access to 400,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean that had been covered by the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

Following authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service, the girl was charged on Thursday evening (June 11) with three counts of attempted murder and two counts of possessing a bladed article on school premises.

She is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Friday (June 12).

Detective Chief Superintendent Jonathan Chadwick, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said: “These are extremely serious charges against a young girl and, working closely with Greater Manchester Police, we continue to support the victims and their families and offer support to the wider school community, who have been deeply affected by what happened.

“Although charges have now been secured, our investigation is still ongoing, and we continue to work with local policing colleagues in the Blackley area.”

Police were called to a school on Plant Hill Road, Blackley, on Tuesday following reports of a stabbing.

Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, the investigation was passed to Counter Terrorism Policing North West.

However, at this stage, it has not been declared a terrorist incident.

Alistair Warren MacLeod, 29, and Ryan MacLeod, 34, are charged with conspiracy to supply heroin, conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply ketamine.

Neither man was asked to enter a plea as the charges can only be tried by a judge and jury and only spoke to confirm their name, dates of birth and addresses.

Alistair MacLeod, of Moor Lane, Copmanthorpe, and Ryan MacLeod, of Hebron Road, Stokesley, were sent to York Crown Court.

They will appear before the higher court on July 13 for a plea and trial preparation hearing when they will be asked to enter their pleas.

Both were arrested as part of a police operation near Skelton, north of York, during which officers allegedly seized drugs worth £19,500.

Both were remanded in custody.

Officers were called to reports of a stabbing at a school on Plant Hill Road on Tuesday, June 9.

Following further enquiries, Counter Terrorism Policing North West has assumed responsibility for the investigation, supported by Greater Manchester Police.

Searches connected to the incident remain ongoing.

Detectives from the counter terrorism unit said they are keeping an open mind regarding the motivation behind the attack.

A 14-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of Section 18 assault and detained under the Mental Health Act.

After being assessed by health professionals, she was released back into police custody.

The three people injured in the incident have all been discharged from hospital and, police said, suffered no serious injuries.

The incident has not been declared a terrorist attack at this stage.

Chief Superintendent David Meeney, Commander for Manchester, said: “Our local detectives have been investigating this incident at pace ever since we arrested a schoolgirl suspect on Tuesday morning.

“She remains in custody in Manchester.

“This has included ensuring the suspect is checked by health professionals to make an assessment while under the Mental Health Act, and to explore all available evidence to understand why this incident took place.

“Since our last update, further information has come to light that we have made Counter Terrorism Policing North West aware of.

“I know this update will only continue to make our local community concerned by Tuesday’s events.

“There is no information to indicate any further threat, and our local officers continue to be in the area.

“We are here to listen and to act, so please speak to our officers with any concerns.”

Carley Buckley, 43, of Faraday Drive, Halliwell, has been charged with one count of handling stolen goods and one count of fraud by false representation.

The charges relate to an incident in Bolton on May 27, 2026.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed that Buckley has been bailed and is due to appear before Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court on August 12.

Court proceedings are ongoing.

Dwayne Johnson has detailed the nerve-racking health scare he had after discovering a lump on his left testicle.

During a new interview with Esquire, the 54-year-old actor, famously nicknamed “The Rock,” recalled noticing the lump when he was taking a shower. He made a doctor’s appointment two days later after hoping, to no avail, that the lump would get better.

“I didn’t even tell Lauren,” he said, referring to his wife of six years. “I didn’t want to worry her before I knew if it was anything to even worry about.”

The Moana star told the outlet that during his appointment, his doctor felt the lump and told him it was probably epididymitis, “an inflammation of the coiled tube at the back of the testicle,” according to the Mayo Clinic.

However, Johnson said that his doctor did warn him that the growth could be cancerous and urged him to have an ultrasound done. But since Johnson had a promotional event for his new Jumanji movie, alongside co-stars Kevin Hart and Jack Black, the test had to wait.

“So I had to live with that for those twenty-four hours, not knowing—and I had to be on all day, joking around, making speeches,” he added.

“By the way: I’m fine,” he said, confirming it was a case of epididymitis. “But I didn’t know that then, and the thing was really painful.”

The Smashing Machine star has spoken about his physical health issues in the past. During a 2025 appearance on The Mark Hyman Show, Johnson revealed that he had digestive tract problems for years.

“That was at the beginning of 2024, and I was just getting ready to launch into what would become a nine-month workload for me, nonstop work,” he said. “And I was thinking, ‘Holy s*** how am I going to get through this with my gut issues? I’m not digesting properly.’”

Host Dr. Mark Hyman said that the health issue occurred after Johnson took multiple rounds of antibiotics, which reduced the amount of Akkermansia — a bacterium that regulates the metabolism— in his body.

“We basically rehabbed your gut. Gave you probiotics and plant compounds—pomegranate, green tea, cranberry — to help rebuild,” Hyman said. “And we made you this amazing gut health shake with 10-plus ingredients personalized for you.”

Luckily, Johnson said he’s in a better place physically and emotionally, telling Esquire he’s “worked hard to just be at peace.”

“As dudes, as young men, teenagers, twenties, we’re trying to find ourselves. Then, in the thirties, that teenage bravado and confidence begins to wane because you’re like, Oh s***, I got to figure stuff out,” he said. “You hit your forties and you’re trying to figure who you are. Feels like you got your job locked down. Hopefully you got your family.

“But wait: Who am I? What’s my why? By the time I hit my fifth level—I’m fifty-three—I was working hard just to find what peace meant. Things in my world have become less presentational, less broadcast-y, more ‘I’m going to put in the work, and I’ll keep it as quiet as I can.’”

Midfielder Themba Zwane was shown a red card for violent conduct in the 84th ‌minute as South Africa finished with ​nine men, while Mexico defender ‌Cesar Montes was ⁠also sent off for a foul ⁠in stoppage time. Mexico face South Korea in Guadalajara ‌on Thursday, ​while South Africa ‌play the Czechia.