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.
- 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.
