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People across Australia are being asked to light a candle for independent MP Helen Haines at 8pm AEDT tonight. Ms Haines remains in a critical condition in hospital after being attacked in North East Victoria earlier this week. Nationals leader Matt Canavan has refused to rule out running for the lower house seat of Capricornia at the next election. It follows the member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, announcing she will retire from politics. A trial has heard former Sydney police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon told a friend he had shot two people and joked about how heavy the bodies were. Mr Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to the shooting murders of Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in early 2024. Press the 'Follow' or '+' button on this show page to add us to your playlist, so you never miss an episode. For more news, politics and current affairs podcasts go to ABC listen.

The cost of building the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro scheme has doubled again, with a new report finding it could reach $25 billion and not come online until 2029. Announced in 2017, Snowy 2.0 is Australia's biggest renewable energy project and was expected to cost $2 billion and be operating by 2021. Snowy Hydro and the Albanese Government say work must continue, while the Coalition wants Energy Minister Chris Bowen sacked, so what happens now?

Guests will find leaving an Airbnb rental is soon more like checking out of a hotel. The company is moving to ban hosts from asking to them to do check out chores, like stripping the beds or washing dishes. The changes will come into effect from November 20. Hosts are not happy, they're warning it could mean higher cleaning fees, higher prices - or even having listings pulled from the site.

You may have heard about the artificial intelligence bubble. In finance, a bubble is when the hype around something far outstrips its actual value and at some point it can pop in a big way. Then, as the famous American investor Warren Buffett, puts it: "'only when the tide goes out you find out who's been swimming naked". But are we all exposed? What happens to our hard earned superannuation, invested here and overseas, if the AI boom goes bust, and triggers a stock market crash?

Snowy 2.0's budget may have blown out again, with a new cost reassessment putting the price tag at 22 billion dollars, up from an original estimate of just 2 billion when the project was announced in 2017. There are big questions now about whether a full cost-benefit analysis will be made public, and what the latest figure means for Australian taxpayers and energy consumers.

Midterm elections are coming up in the United States, and they could seriously shake up Donald Trump's second term. Republicans currently control both the House and the Senate, but polling is telling an interesting story about whether that's about to change. What do the experts think is likely to happen, and what would it mean for the rest of Trump's presidency?

The family of a young Melbourne woman who's been missing in Las Vegas for four months have criticised US police efforts to find her.

Queensland's crackdown on illicit tobacco appears to be having an impact, with new data showing a significant jump in legal cigarette sales after tough new laws came into force in November. Other states are watching closely as they battle their own illicit tobacco problems, but not everyone agrees the Queensland figures tell the full story.

The Australian Federal Police has told a parliamentary inquiry that AI is speeding up the radicalisation of children. Police say children as young as 11 are being radicalised, in some cases within days, and that they come from any background. Experts say families should watch for children withdrawing from friends and keep conversations going, so what does that look like at home?

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released the first national data on hospitalisations linked to electronic bikes and scooters and it shows e-scooter hospitalisations have more than tripled since 2019.

Vodafone analysed millions of scam calls on its network during a one-year period, finding 98 per cent came from internet phone company Symbio. Symbio is owned by Aussie Broadband who says stopping the scammers is very difficult. Aussie Broadband has committed to working with Vodafone's owner TPG to reduce the volume of scam calls while Australia's Scams Prevention Framework is due to be introduced next year.

Over the past few months we've been hearing house prices are going down. The latest figures from real estate platform Domain confirm that trend.

Youth deradicalisation experts, the AFP and ASIO are calling for a societal approach to tackling rising threats, as the AFP warned of a 'tsunami' of youth crime hitting the country, due to rapid online radicalisation.

Independent MP Helen Haines remains in a critical condition in the Alfred Hospital, and her husband says she has had both legs amputated after the alleged attack. The man accused of the attack, Brendan Nugent, has appeared in the Wangaratta Magistrates Court, where no application for bail was made and he will remain in custody. The motive for the attack is still unknown and the case returns to court on February 4, so what happens next?

National Australia Bank has become the latest Australian bank to announce job cuts, saying it will shed about 2,500 people. The bank blames challenging economic conditions and a sharp drop in home lending, while more than 7,000 banking jobs have been axed across the sector. Experts say artificial intelligence is replacing human jobs, so should the banks be compelled to be more open about their restructuring plans?

The man accused of repeatedly ramming independent MP Helen Haines has faced court in Wangaratta. Brendan Nugent did not speak or enter a plea, and court documents show police have also charged him over cannabis cultivation and possession. His lawyer has revealed his client has a neurological condition. So what happens next, and what does the attack mean for the safety of MPs?

The jury in Russell Brand's criminal trial in London has now heard evidence from all six accusers. Mr Brand, who's 51, is on trial for three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one count of indecent assault relating to six women over a 10-year period from 1999 to 2009. He's pleaded not guilty and previously told police he never engaged in any non-consensual sexual activity.

Shock waves are still reverberating through the community of Independent MP Helen Haines after a horror attack on Monday. The 65-year-old has lost a leg after being rammed by a car outside her electorate office in Wangaratta in north east Victoria and remains in a Melbourne hospital in a critical but stable condition. Police allege 43 year old Brendan Nugent was driving the vehicle that struck Helen Haines He's been charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and the commonwealth offence of causing harm to a commonwealth public official.

Threats and harassment against Australian politicians have been rising for years, and the alleged attack against Independent MP Helen Haines has brought that danger into sharp focus. Senior figures including ministers, MPs, and security chiefs are now speaking out about the scale of the problem, from online abuse to serious threats of violence.

A wave of protests is sweeping parts of Europe, with people voicing their discontent about a range of social issues linked to the rising cost of living. It's leading to violence in the streets and some regions are imposing curfews as authorities try to restore calm. But upcoming elections across the region could lead to more unrest.

Indi MP Helen Haines is in a critical condition in a Melbourne hospital after being "attacked" near her electorate office in Wangaratta, north-east Victoria. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is leading cross-party condemnation of the incident, as he reveals counter-terrorism police are investigating. Victoria Police said a 43-year-old Tarrawingee man has been arrested following the incident.

Australia has just passed laws requiring mobile coverage almost anywhere in the country, including remote areas currently outside the mobile map. The new rules would rely on low-Earth-orbit satellite technology to deliver basic calls and texts, but there are real questions about cost, funding, and whether the industry can actually deliver it.

Australia's productivity problem is a familiar story, but there's a growing argument that the way we measure it is flawed. As the economy shifts away from manufacturing toward health, education, and care work, researchers say the official figures aren't capturing the full picture. The Productivity Commission agrees the challenge is real, and there's new evidence suggesting the gap between what we measure and what's actually happening could be significant.

The Greens have been in crisis management for days over reports of allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women by WA Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John. The Senator's denied the allegations, and has now blamed the public fallout on party "factionalism".

US President Donald Trump has reportedly sacked Katie Zacharia, less than a week after she took on the role of White House press secretary.

Kelly Clarkson has gone viral after claiming staff at a Brooklyn toy store refused to sell her a mechanical bird. The store's co-owner has a very different version of events, and what followed was a messy back-and-forth involving review bombs, fan pile ons, and questions about whether the bird was ever actually for sale. It's the kind of story that shouldn't matter, but somehow caught the world's attention.

Auctions in Victoria will look different from this weekend. New laws requiring vendors to advertise the reserve price one week in advance of an auction, will be fully in effect. The change will make the buying process more transparent, but some in the real estate industry say the move could leave people selling their homes out of pocket.

"Multiple allegations" of inappropriate behaviour in the presence of women have been made against Greens senator Jordon Steele-John. The WA senator says he "utterly rejects this characterisation" and is prepared to address the allegations. So, what do we know?

The unemployment rate has crept up to its highest level in five years, and it's a result some policymakers have actually been hoping for. So why would anyone want to see more Australians out of work, and what could it mean for your mortgage?

Military police are investigating the discovery of a hidden camera inside a female-only cabin on a navy ship. The incident has prompted Senator Jacqui Lambie to raise the alarm in the Senate, and she says it's far from an isolated case. It's also sparked a broader debate about whether the defence force can clean up its own culture, or whether an independent body needs to step in.

The relationship between the US and Ukraine appears to be fracturing. Kyiv's accusing Washington of withholding critical intelligence about Russian missile strikes and restricting Starlink services at a moment when Russia's attacks on civilian infrastructure are intensifying. At the same time, Donald Trump has lifted sanctions on Russian diesel and publicly called for Ukraine to replace its leader.

South Australia has made culinary history this week, with 11 eateries becoming the first in the nation to receive world-renowned Michelin stars. The red carpet was rolled out for the Michelin Man in Adelaide, dishing out 10 one-star ratings and, and one two star rating. So how did South Australia get all these Michelin stars?

The rape trial for British comedian and actor Russell Brand has begun in the UK. Brand has been has charged with three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault He's pleaded not guilty. So what do we know about the case?

Australians are once again getting smashed at the bowser. Petrol's bad enough at about 240 cents a litre across the country. But diesel is much worse, over 280 cents, which is a blow for the likes of farmers and people in construction who need it for their heavy vehicles. These high prices have left many asking: where to from here?

Ukraine has launched attacks on Russian data centres, knocking out services tied to Yandex, Russia's biggest search engine, and causing disruption across dozens of cities. President Zelensky's claimed the strikes took Russian propaganda bots offline. But does the claim stack up, and what does it mean for the long-running debate about Russia's influence online?

The new White House press secretary Katie Zaharia has made her debut at the podium, and by most accounts it didn't go well. With the midterm elections just weeks away, there's a lot riding on how effectively the Trump administration can get its message out.

Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung at a Rome hospital. There are questions now about what this means for the 71-year-old pope's future, and how the Catholic Church handles leadership when a pope is incapacitated.

New research has found recorded rates of sexual and family violence-related assault involving Australian children rose over the last decade with the sharpest increase in recent years. The study from the University of Sydney used data from national police-recorded assaults, hospitalisations, and child protection data from three Australian national agency databases.

Hundreds of French supermarket refrigerators have been targeted in a cyber attack that's caused fires and food losses. Paris prosecutors are investigating after hackers remotely raised fridge temperatures to as high as 50 degrees Celsius.

A new international dementia study predicts cases will skyrocket in coming decades, and women will be disproportionately affected. The new study from the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing at the University of NSW predicts women and people from low and middle income countries will experience higher rates of the disease.

There are fresh warnings about the pressure Australia's aging population is putting on our health system, with doctors bracing for a huge spike in older patients in the next few decades. A new report from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine says emergency departments are bracing for a more than 400 per cent increase in patients aged 85 and over by 2050. Doctors say the health system is already at a tipping point.

The Australian Greens' official research body is proposing a federal government-owned supermarket chain called Fair Go Grocers, which it claims could cut the average grocery bill by 22%. The plan would involve nationalising hundreds of Coles and Woolworths stores, but critics say the idea isn't workable.

The planned livestream of the US military execution of former army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan is drawing criticism in Australia, with politicians from One Nation to the Greens calling on the federal government to act. There are real questions about whether a ban would even be enforceable, and whether it amounts to censorship. And experts are also warning about the broader effects of making a state execution into public viewing.

Teenage boys who say they don't search for or engage with manosphere content are still being fed misogynistic videos via social media. While the federal government is drafting new laws to "switch off" social media algorithms, experts say it's not as simple as it seems.

The conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Iran backed Houthis in Yemen is escalating The international airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh has been hit by deadly air strikes The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attacks -and reported on Sunday that two air strikes also hit Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

Data centres used to be mainly clustered around Sydney and Melbourne. But the new generation of AI factories are bigger and way more power hungry. So now developers are scouring the bush to look for the perfect spot to build one of these server farms which will handle AI queries and training for the likes of Claude and Chat GTP.

The price of coffee beans has surged to record highs, and some major brands have quietly changed what's inside their products without making it obvious on the packaging. Australian food labelling rules don't require companies to identify the type of bean unless they make a specific claim about it, which means a recipe can change without much fanfare. So are coffee drinkers getting enough information to know what they're actually buying?

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are in an escalating dispute over Russian oil, and it's got Trump saying Ukraine should get a new leader. So why is the US appearing to side with Russia, and what's driving a deal that cuts against its longstanding stance on the war?

A 28-year-old woman who worked at a plague research institute in Siberia has died. The World Health Organization has asked Russia for more information about the death. Hear what a former White House pandemic expert says would worry him and what the WHO wants from Russia.

Firmus is a data centre operator backed by chip-making giant Nvidia and it has axed its plan to list on the Australian share market. The float had been billed as one of the biggest debuts in the history of the market, and it was a $44 billion float. So what went wrong?