Good afternoon. Donald Trump’s picks for his forthcoming second administration have continued to raise eyebrows, with a fresh round of loyalists and controversial media personalities nominated for high-profile positions.
Trump has nominated Mehmet Oz, best known globally as Dr Oz, to serve as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator. The failed Senate candidate and TV personality’s medical advice has proved so controversial a 2014 study declared half of it “baseless or wrong”.
Linda McMahon, co-chair of Donald Trump’s transition team, has been named as the president-elect’s pick for education secretary. McMahon is a former executive of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which she co-founded with her husband, Vince McMahon. The McMahons were named in a lawsuit in October alleging she and other leaders of the company knew about and failed to stop the sexual abuse of young boys by a ringside announcer. An attorney for the McMahons told USA Today Sports that the allegations are “false claims” stemming from reporting that the couple deems “absurd, defamatory and utterly meritless”.
Elsewhere, Trump is reportedly keeping his controversial adviser Kash Patel, who has frequently railed against the “deep state”, in the running to be the next FBI director.
Top news
Report finds increase in bullying at Rio Tinto | Reports of rape and attempted rape have increased inside the mining company, according to a report documenting efforts to make the workplace safer and change the culture at the company, which employs 57,000 globally.
Heatwave warning sparks power and fire concerns | South-eastern Australia will endure its first big heatwave of the season in the coming days, elevating fire risks and potentially straining the power grid in some states, with the Australian Energy Market Operator predicting a shortfall in electricity supplies for New South Wales and Queensland.
Rail union delays strike for Pearl Jam concert | Sydney trains will run on Thursday after the Rail, Tram and Bus Union agreed to the small concession amid its ongoing wage dispute with the NSW government. Extra bus and other services will be rolled out from Friday to Sunday – here’s everything you need to know about the shutdown.
Two men charged over death of missing Melbourne woman | The mother of Isla Bell has paid tribute to the 19-year-old after human remains were found at a rubbish tip in the city’s outer east. Marat Ganiev, 53, appeared in court charged with murder, with another man charged as an accessory.
Police investigating Queensland grandmother’s ‘unusual’ death | Police have located a car belonging to Wendy Hansen at a Brisbane train station, but authorities still do not know how or why she travelled from her home near Bundaberg to Coffs Harbour in NSW, where her partially buried remains were found on a beach in June.
‘Colesworth’ named ANU’s word of the year | The portmanteau, referring to the power and market share of Australia’s dominant supermarket chains, beat out the Raygun-inpired “breaking”, “climate trigger” and “yimby” as the university’s pick for a word or expression that has gained prominence this year.
Jimmy Lai testifies in Hong Kong trial | The pro-democracy media mogul has taken the stand for the first time since being charged with foreign collusion under the city’s punitive national security law, telling a court the Tiananmen Square massacre spurred him to “participate in delivering freedom”.
Fears over Russian hybrid warfare escalation | US and European officials believe Russia’s response to Ukraine’s use of US-made long-range missiles on Russian targets may come not on the battlefield but through assassinations and sabotage elsewhere in the world. Here’s what we know on day 1,001.
Flat-capped jewel thieves still at large | Dutch police have said they remain confident of arresting four men wearing Peaky Blinders-style caps who stole jewels worth tens of millions of euros in broad daylight from an art fair in 2022, despite a search of a Belgian river failing to yield any clues.
In video
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has carried out the sixth test launch of its Starship rocket, with the US president-elect, Donald Trump, joining Musk in Texas to watch the flight. The launch was a success but the company was unable to pull off a repeat of its October test where giant robot arms caught the rocket’s booster as it fell back to the launchpad, opting instead for a fiery splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
What they said …
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“This is an attempt to censor and silence debate” – Matt Canavan
The Nationals senator says he won’t back down after the Greens sought to remove his abortion-related bill from the Senate notice paper. The Greens senator Larissa Waters has sought to have the human rights (children born alive protection) bill discharged from the notice paper, where it has sat without debate for two years.
In numbers
Richard Flanagan’s Question 7 has been named winner of the Baillie Gifford prize for nonfiction – however, in his acceptance speech, Flanagan said he would not accept the £50,000 prize money until the fund manager shared a plan to reduce its investment in fossil fuel extraction and increase investments in renewables.
Before bed read
Ripple Effect Band: the all-female rock group singing in a language spoken by about 50 people
Playing a saltwater blend of reggae and blues, the band are the first all-female group from Maningrida in Arnhem Land, where music is traditionally a male pursuit. The band has written the first songs to ever be recorded in the Na-kara language, which is spoken by about only 50 people.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: REH. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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