Good afternoon.
Donald Trump has proclaimed the first year of his second term in office a success, using his State of the Union address to say he inherited a country ruined by Joe Biden and quickly rebuilt it.
The president broke his own record for the longest State of the Union speech in history, clocking 108 minutes as he took repeated shots at the Democrats and hit out at the supreme court’s “unfortunate” tariffs ruling. Trump also claimed Iran was developing missiles that could threaten the US.
The Democratic congressman Al Green was ejected from the speech almost immediately for brandishing a sign that read “Black people aren’t apes!” as dozens of his colleagues boycotted the address to stage counter-events.
Top news
Inflation steady at 3.8% in year to January amid fears of another interest rate hike
Two men arrested in relation to alleged kidnapping and murder of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian
Signs of psychosis seen in Australian users’ interactions with AI chatbots, expert warns
Katherine Short, daughter of actor Martin Short, dies aged 42
In pictures
Citizen scientists have discovered what they believe is one of the largest coral colonies ever documented on the Great Barrier Reef. One veteran diver described it as “a very surreal underwater landscape … like a rolling meadow”.
What they said …
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“It’s such a whirlwind. I didn’t expect this so quickly.”
In 2024 Grace Kelly closed her Brisbane-based brand Joaen to reassess its viability. On Tuesday night during Melbourne Fashion festival, she won the National Designer award – the most prestigious award for emerging talent in Australian fashion.
Full Story
Ukrainian men on how four years of war has changed them
A DJ turned soldier explains how life has changed for Ukraine’s men while Tracy McVeigh and Shaun Walker report on the impact of the conflict and what could happen next.
Before bed read
Forget the fear of “public speaking”. Viv Groskop’s research has showed her that what a lot of people don’t like at all any more is “speaking to anyone in public” – and it goes much deeper than all of us hiding behind our phones. So she asked the experts how best to initiate a conversation with strangers and found the key is to lower the stakes.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: LAP. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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