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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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H.R. 10087: Cancer Care Planning and Communications Act
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.
H.R. 10105: Stop ICE Price Gouging Act
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.
H.R. 10106: VISITOR Act
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.
H.R. 10096: Task Force on the Impact of the Affordable Housing Crisis Act of 2026
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.
H.R. 10083: Water Technology and Resilience Reauthorization Act
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.
H.Res. 1483: Expressing support for the recognition of August 17 through August 23, 2026, as “Warehouse Worker Recognition Week”, celebrating the workers in the logistics industry.
Bill Text: This resolution's text is now available.
Ibac charges police officer accused of repeatedly hitting Indigenous man with Taser during Melbourne arrest
Victorian corruption watchdog alleges weapon was used to hit man’s head, with another officer accused of kneeing him in same incident last year Two Victorian police officers have been charged with assault after allegedly using a Taser and knee to repeatedly strike a man in the head during an arrest last year. In a statement, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission said it had charged the two officers after an investigation into the force used during an arrest of an Indigenous man in Melbourne’s east last August. Continue reading...
Surrogate mother who fled to Texas gives birth to baby with severe heart defect
McKenna West initially agreed to an abortion after diagnosis, but then fled to state where abortion is illegal and broke contact with biological parents, attorney alleges A surrogate mother who traveled to Texas, where abortion is illegal, claiming she was pressured to end the pregnancy after the discovery of a severe heart defect, gave birth on Wednesday to a baby boy. The child’s biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed of California, confirmed the birth through their lawyer, while denying they forced McKenna West, who is from Alaska, to undergo an abortion, the Texas Tribune reported . Continue reading...
Reformers were ‘spectacularly unsuccessful’ in taking over NSW Liberals, Catholic schools boss says
Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney tells Icac corruption inquiry that Christain factional group driven by ‘a calling … a duty’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A factional ally of the federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, has told a corruption inquiry a group of Christian Liberal power brokers who allegedly solicited illegal political donations were “spectacularly unsuccessful in their ambitions”. The Catholic Schools NSW chief executive, Dallas McInerney, told the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption on Thursday that the Reformers’ model was never correct. Continue reading...
Telstra CEO gets $700,000 pay rise to $6.8m despite Australia-wide outage
Telco board cuts senior executive bonuses by total $1.3m after tech fail that affected millions Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Telstra has paid its chief executive, Vicki Brady, $6.8m for the year ending in June, after docking 20% of her bonus in response to the network’s nationwide outage in July. The company reported financial results on Thursday. Its board met on Monday and decided to cut Brady’s bonus by $607,000 – but she still took home a $700,000 pay rise as she was awarded a total of $6.1m the year before. Continue reading...
David McBride leaves prison on parole after being jailed for leaking Afghanistan war documents
Attorney general grants former army lawyer’s release after 27 months in jail Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast David McBride, the former army lawyer jailed for his role in stealing secret defence documents about the Afghanistan war and leaking them to the media, has been released from prison in Canberra on Thursday. McBride was sentenced to a maximum five years and eight months in jail in May 2024, but is being released on parole after serving his full non-parole period of 27 months. Continue reading...
Travis Kelce says wedding to Taylor Swift was 'the best night of my life' in first official comments
Kelce’s remarks on his marriage to Swift at Madison Square Garden comes weeks after the event, which remains shrouded in mystery American football star Travis Kelce has described his secretive early July wedding to pop sensation Taylor Swift as “the best night of my life.” “I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and, you know, had fun with us,” the Kansas City Chiefs player told a briefing. Continue reading...
Arrest of ebike rider attempting to evade police after driving recklessly – video
Recent data compiled by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission shows 19 pedestrians were killed across the US in crashes with ebike riders from 2017 to 2024. That’s roughly the average number of pedestrians killed by motorists every day of 2024 Continue reading...
Nurses fainting in ‘inhumane’ conditions due to extreme heat, union warns
RCN calls for more air conditioners as Burnham faces pressure to recognise urgency of adaptation to climate crisis Nurses are collapsing during shifts amid “inhumane and impossible” conditions caused by extreme heat, their union has warned, as Andy Burnham promised to grapple with “the bigger questions” of climate adaptation. Amid growing pressure from Labour backbenches to fully acknowledge the urgency of adaptation measures as the climate crisis bites, Burnham said he was for now focusing on the immediate crises caused by an ongoing summer of extreme heat. Continue reading...
Minnesota man killed his wife and child before dying by suicide, police say
Police said they believed deceased man was assailant in domestic-related homicide at daycare center A man killed a woman and their child inside a small in-home daycare center they own in Minnesota before taking his own life, police said on Wednesday. Hopkins police department said in statement they responded to a report of a stabbing at the residence on the 200 block of Tyler Avenue North around 9am in the Minneapolis suburb of Hopkins. Inside, they found two adults and a child dead. Continue reading...
Pay with a glance at a screen as biometric technology company begins push into Australian retail
Customers will be able to pay using face and palm scans, potentially speeding up transactions – but rollout of the technology is likely to be slow Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The company behind 300,000 Eftpos terminals across Australia is hoping shoppers will want to make payments by simply glancing at a screen, as biometric technology pushes further into retailing. Verifone is selling the innovation as “pay for your coffee with a smile”, promising faster checkouts for people who opt in to having their face or palm-vein – the veins in people’s hands – biometrics used for Eftpos transactions in Australia. Continue reading...
US army helicopter crashes in Texas, killing two people and sparking wildfire
Military official says AH-64 Apache had been on a routine training flight near Fort Hood when it went down An army Apache helicopter crashed in a central Texas field on Wednesday, killing both people on board and sparking a wildfire that forced several homes to be evacuated, a sheriff’s official said. Officials from nearby Fort Hood announced that the AH-64 Apache helicopter had crashed. Cliff Coleman, spokesperson for the Bell county sheriff’s office, confirmed that both occupants had died. Continue reading...
Ignore the doomsdayers – property investing in Australia is far from broken
Investor loan applications may have fallen since the start of the year, but the slump already appears to be turning around Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Ignore the doomsday warnings about the government’s tax changes – property investing in Australia is a little bruised, but it’s far from broken. The country’s biggest mortgage lender, Commonwealth Bank, reported a bumper $11bn full-year cash profit on Wednesday, backed by robust demand for its lending products, especially mortgages. Continue reading...
Karoline Leavitt: six key takeaways from 20 months as Trump’s press secretary
Trump’s most prominent spokesperson won regular plaudit from her boss for her unflinching defense of his agenda Donald Trump’s most prominent spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, is leaving the White House . The US president announced on Wednesday that his press secretary would depart at the end of the month. Leavitt, who has served in the role since Trump’s returned to power in January 2025, won regular plaudit from her boss for her unflinching defense of his agenda, but faced frequent criticism for amplifying misinformation and curbing press freedom. Continue reading...
It must have been love, but it’s over now: sex toy placed in trash bin triggers DC bomb squad
After person is spotted disposing of suspicious device, police with K-9 unit halt major roadway for two hours A stretch of a major Washington DC roadway was brought to a standstill during Wednesday morning’s rush hour after the city’s bomb squad responded to a suspicious device – only for police to later identify the object as a sex toy. The situation unfolded at about 7 am as many commuters were on their way to work. Authorities initially told WUSA9 that a witness had reported seeing someone place a suspicious package inside a trash can near the Tenleytown fire station. Continue reading...
Israeli militants besiege two Palestinian families in their West Bank homes
Settlers and soldiers cut off water and electricity to homes, and block medical care in campaign of terror Israeli militants have besieged two Palestinian families in their homes since the weekend, aiming to take over their properties in the West Bank village of Qusra through a campaign of terror. A group of settlers and soldiers set up a tent outside the home of Yousef Hassan on Sunday afternoon, trapping him inside with his wife and two young daughters. Continue reading...
The doctor who helps put prisoners to death – Stateside with Kai and Carter
On 13 August, three states are set to carry out executions by lethal injection. It’s the first time since 2010 that three people will be put to death on the same day in the US. In Tennessee, the execution of Darrell Hines is in the spotlight, because the last lethal injection in the state was botched. Ed Pilkington speaks to Kai Wright about the doctor at the center of that botched execution, whose identity was revealed inadvertently last year. Ed explains how his reporting has lifted the lid on a role that is usually hidden away from public view, and what it tells us about the American death penalty today Continue reading...
Australia politics live: tech giants face law to pay for news content; Australia joins call for Iran to end death penalty
News bargaining bill expected to pass parliament after Labor and Coalition agree on terms that will force tech companies to contribute to media outlets. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Thousands of students are expected to rally in Students Say No to Pauline Hanson protests across major cities and towns, Australian Associated Press reports. “I’m hoping this will be the start of a real kind of movement,” said Australian National University student, Yerin Park , who is organising the Canberra protest. Continue reading...
Wisconsin primary provided snapshot of Democratic party – can it now win?
Democratic socialist Francesca Hong fell just short as David Crowley strives for unity for November’s general election Democratic socialist Francesca Hong was on course to win the party’s nomination for Wisconsin governor on Wednesday by a clear margin, according to the polls – presaging the latest in an extraordinary wave of leftwing victories across the country, challenging the party’s establishment. It was not to be. In a photo finish after a messy campaign, David Crowley eked out a win by a few thousand votes over Hong, raising questions over the limits of the progressive movement that has swept through Democratic contests in recent months. Continue reading...