Good afternoon. Australians are being urged to prepare for the most significant fire season since the black summer bushfires, activists targeting fossil fuel company Woodside have been hit with restraining orders, and $499 tickets to a reboot of the luxury Fyre festival are up for grabs.
Top news
Australians urged to prepare for most significant bushfire season since black summer | Experts are warning that areas largely untouched by the 2019-20 fires are at increased risk this fire season, including the Sydney basin, coastal regions and the Hunter.
Activists against Woodside hit with restraining orders | The fossil fuel company denies that orders granted after a protest at the CEO’s home are intended to prevent activists from speaking out about the company.
Daniel Andrews refuses to name those behind flawed Commonwealth Games business case | The Victorian premier has conceded that the business case and costings for the axed 2026 Games were “hardly the greatest piece of work” but says he is not suggesting “people didn’t do their best” amid criticism the bid should never have gone ahead.
Referendum date to be announced next Wednesday | The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, confirmed the announcement about the referendum date would be made on Wednesday 30 August in Adelaide.
‘Donald’s an idiot’ | Former US president Donald Trump is an “idiot” for not paying legal expenses incurred by his attorney in the Georgia election subversion case, according to his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. “Let me just be very clear: when it comes to paying money, he is truly an idiot,” he told CNN.
Doctors say there were no signs of infection when Dio Kemp first taken to hospital | Victorian toddler Dio Kemp died of sepsis eight days after she was first assessed at Monash medical centre. The two doctors who initially assessed her have told an inquest there were no signs she had the infection when she first presented at hospital.
One in 10 flights between Sydney and Melbourne are cancelled | Critics claim major airlines are selling tickets to Sydney services they never intend to fly, suggesting legislation that governs Sydney airport provides bizarre incentives for airlines to schedule then cancel certain services.
Disgraced crypto entrepreneur living off ‘bread and water’ in prison | In federal custody, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been living off “bread and water” because he’s not being provided with the vegan diet he requested, according to his attorney.
Tickets on sale for reboot of Fyre | The notorious music festival, the first edition of which turned out to be fraudulent, is getting a reboot, with tickets for a second attempt on sale now for $499. The original event was compared to “The Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies”.
Full Story
Are we on the cusp of a breakthrough on endometriosis?
Endometriosis causes tissue similar to the lining of the uterus to grow in other parts of the body. Millions suffer from it, but the disease still remains largely a mystery. But that could be about to change.
Gabrielle Jackson, associate news editor for audio and visual at Guardian Australia and the author of Pain and Prejudice, speaks to Jane Lee about why despair is turning to hope in the endometriosis community.
What they said …
***
“I started dating a zookeeper, but it turned out he was a cheetah.”
That is Lorna Rose Treen’s “stupid” one-liner that topped the poll for best joke of the Edinburgh fringe.
In numbers
Woolworths posts a $1.62bn profit, showing the supermarket used the pandemic and inflation to increase profit from sales despite the cost-of-living crisis.
Before bed read
When Gwyneth Paltrow put on a fat suit for the role of Rosemary in the Farrelly brothers’ 2001 blockbuster Shallow Hal, acting student Ivy Snitzer was hired as her body double. While Paltrow wore a fat suit for scenes featuring her face, Snitzer’s body was featured in closeups of Rosemary’s arms, torso and thighs. Two years later, she was starving to death.
Now 42, Snitzer tells of her life post-Shallow Hal.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: APES. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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