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Welcome, readers, to Afternoon Update.
Former independent presidential hopeful and vaccine denier Robert F Kennedy Jr has been announced as Donald Trump’s nominee as US secretary of health and human services (HHS) in a move that one Democratic representative said “will cost lives”.
Trump has previously said he would let Kennedy “go wild on food” and “go wild on medicines” if re-elected, as well as wanting him to take care of women’s health. There has also been speculation he may be given influence over children’s health, too, which would particularly alarm proponents of vaccines.
Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit organisation focusing on consumer advocacy, labeled RFK Jr a “clear and present danger to the nation’s health.” It’s the latest in a whirlwind of nominations for Trump’s administration.
The appointments in the forthcoming administration are being felt in Australia, too, with the former ambassador to the US Dennis Richardson accusing some presenters at Sky News Australia of running a campaign to undermine the current ambassador, Kevin Rudd, and end his tenure as the country’s top diplomat to the US.
- Myer cancels Christmas windows launch due to protest threat | Pro-Palestine protesters have called off a planned “Crash the Christmas Windows” protest outside Myer’s annual Christmas windows display in Melbourne’s Bourke Street mall after the retail company cancelled its launch event.
- Labor and Coalition accused of cooking up ‘secret deal’ on electoral rules | Independents have accused the Albanese government of attempting to “rig” electoral rules in a “major party stitch-up” after the announced details of Labor’s electoral reform bill.
- Sydneysiders tasked with hunt for funnel-webs as breeding season begins | A social media post from the Australian Reptile Park that listed the world’s most venomous arachnid as “wanted” generated hundreds of likes – and some bemusement – this week, but the yearly callout is likely to have saved hundreds of lives: the collected little spiders are raised for their venom, which is used to create vital antivenom.
- Kristian White was not trained on not using Tasers on elderly people, court hears | A police officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old nursing home resident was not trained on the “exceptional circumstances” when a Taser should not be deployed, his manslaughter trial has heard.
- Cop summits ‘no longer fit for purpose’, say leading experts | Future UN climate summits should be held only in countries that can show clear support for climate action and have stricter rules on fossil fuel lobbying, according to a group of influential climate policy experts.
- Hiker discovers first trace of entire prehistoric ecosystem in Italian Alps | The discovery, including the well-preserved footprints of reptiles and amphibians, in the Valtellina Orobie mountain range in Lombardy dates back 280m years to the Permian period, the age immediately prior to dinosaurs, scientists say.
- Nick Kyrgios overcomes injury woes to return to court for Australian Open tilt | The 29-year-old firebrand will make his long-awaited return to competitive tennis at the Brisbane International, having been mostly sidelined with career-threatening wrist and knee injuries since the 2022 US Open quarter-finals.
- Nacc chief rejects calls to quit over robodebt decisions, vowing to ‘put things right’ | Paul Brereton told a governance forum on Friday that he accepted the independent Nacc inspector’s finding, but suggested he was being made a scapegoat and insisted neither he nor his agency would be influenced by public pressure.
- The Onion buys Infowars to make it ‘very funny, very stupid’ | The satirical news outlet the Onion has bought Infowars, the rightwing media platform run by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, at a court-ordered auction. The Onion plans to rebuild the website and feature well-known internet humour writers and content creators.
