Latest News Stories
Fatal stolen car crash in Melbourne’s Hoppers Crossing involving attempted carjacking and teen fatalities
A 15-year-old boy died after a stolen grey Skoda crashed on Derrimut Road, Hoppers Crossing, Melbourne, around midnight on Thursday/Friday. The car, allegedly stolen from Maidstone, was pursued by pol...
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- A 15-year-old boy died at the scene after a stolen grey Skoda crashed on Derrimut Road, Hoppers Crossing, around midnight on Thursday/Friday (ABC Articles 1,2,6; NEWSCOMAU Articles 3,7).
- The Skoda was allegedly stolen from a property in Maidstone between March 11–12 or Wednesday–Thursday (ABC 1,2,6; NEWSCOMAU 3,7).
- Seven teenagers (ages 14–17) were in the Skoda during the crash (ABC 2,6; NEWSCOMAU 3,7).
Donald Trump’s intervention on Iranian women’s soccer team asylum case in Australia
The core story involves Donald Trump’s late-night intervention on the Iranian women’s soccer team asylum case in Australia, where he criticized Australia’s handling of the players’ return to Iran and ...
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- Donald Trump posted on Truth Social/X at 1:30am Canberra time on Tuesday, criticizing Australia for allowing Iranian women’s soccer players to be forced back to Iran and offering US asylum, with a one-word instruction: ‘ASYLUM!’
- Trump initiated a phone call with Australian PM Anthony Albanese within 90 minutes of his post, around 2am Canberra time, and later praised Albanese’s handling of the situation
- Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke arrived in Brisbane on Tuesday morning with five Iranian soccer players already granted visas, offering protection to the rest of the team by midday
Murder-suicide involving a Queensland mother, baby, and man in Logan, Australia
Police in Logan, Queensland, confirmed the deaths of a 38-year-old woman named Kate Paterson and her one-year-old daughter April after their bodies were found in a Belivah home on Thursday morning. A ...
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- The bodies of Kate Paterson (38) and her one-year-old daughter April were found dead in a home on Belivah Rd, Belivah, Logan on Thursday morning
- A 39-year-old man (believed to be April’s father) was found injured after being struck by a car near a supermarket on Beaudesert Beenleigh Rd, Bannockburn at about 7:30am Thursday
- The man sustained neck injuries and was treated at Princess Alexandra Hospital, later assisting police with investigations
Margot Robbie’s dramatic new hairstyle at Paris Fashion Week for Chanel
Margot Robbie made headlines at Paris Fashion Week for Chanel in November with a bold new long bob and wispy fringe, a dramatic departure from her previous looks as Cathy in Wuthering Heights and Barb...
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- Margot Robbie attended Paris Fashion Week for Chanel on Monday night
- Robbie wore a dramatic long bob with a wispy fringe at the event
- Deanna Parker Attwood is a three-time Australian Hairdresser of the Year winner and art director of Wieselmann Salon in South Melbourne
Perth man extradited to SA over alleged murder of Adelaide chef Caleb Leriano
A 24-year-old Adelaide chef named Caleb Leriano died after a car crash in Morphett Vale on March 11, 2025, with injuries police say were caused by an assault before the collision. A 22-year-old man fr...
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- Caleb Leriano, 24, died after a car crash in Morphett Vale, Adelaide, at 1:30am on March 11, 2025, in a red 2003 BMW
- His injuries were deemed inconsistent with the crash, suggesting an assault prior to the collision
- A 22-year-old man from Brabham, Perth, was arrested and charged with murder in relation to Leriano’s death
80-year-old former AFL player and TV host Sam Newman suffers two TIAs and undergoes surgery after medical emergency in Melbourne
Sam Newman, the 80-year-old former Geelong AFL player and Footy Show co-host, suffered two transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), commonly called mini strokes, in Port Melbourne last month. During the inc...
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- Sam Newman, 80, experienced a transient ischemic attack (TIA) in Port Melbourne, Victoria, last month
- Newman lost speech temporarily and strength in both arms for five minutes during the TIA
- Newman was accompanied by his partner, former aerobics champion Sue Stanley, when the incident occurred on Bay Street, Port Melbourne
AI firm Anthropic’s legal battle with the US Pentagon over supply chain risk designation
Anthropic, a high-value AI firm valued at $350 billion, is locked in a legal and political battle with the US Department of Defense over its refusal to allow its AI model Claude to be used for domesti...
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- Anthropic was valued at approximately $350 billion as of recent reports
- Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei co-founded the company in 2021 after leaving OpenAI, where he was vice president of research
- The Pentagon formally declared Anthropic a supply-chain risk on Thursday, the first time an American company has been targeted with this designation
SA Liberal Party candidate Carston Woodhouse removed days before election over controversial podcast remarks
The South Australian Liberal Party removed Carston Woodhouse as their candidate for the Wright state seat days before the March 21, 2025, election after his controversial remarks on an American evange...
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- Carston Woodhouse is the Liberal Party’s candidate for the SA state seat of Wright in Adelaide’s north-eastern suburbs
- Woodhouse made comments on the American evangelical Christian podcast ElijahFire in 2024–2025, including calling Islam 'poisonous and wrong', same-sex marriage 'not real', feminism 'demonic', and gender transitioning an 'illusion'
- Woodhouse described homosexuality as opening 'demonic realms' and said abortion should not be allowed even in cases of rape or incest
Australian soccer player Adrian Segečić switches international allegiance from Australia to Croatia ahead of World Cup
Adrian Segečić, a 21-year-old Australian attacker with junior international experience, officially switched his allegiance to Croatia ahead of the World Cup after his switch was finalized on Friday an...
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- Adrian Segečić, a 21-year-old attacker, officially switched his international soccer allegiance from Australia to Croatia on Friday, visible on FIFA’s change of association platform by Saturday
- Segečić had represented Australia at under-17, under-20, and under-23 levels but never earned a senior cap for the Socceroos
- Under FIFA rules, Segečić cannot switch back to Australia once he plays a match for Croatia; a request to FIFA’s Football Tribunal would be required if he wanted to reverse the decision without playing
Victoria introduces entry fees for Twelve Apostles to manage overtourism and fund conservation
The Victorian government is introducing an entry fee for visitors to the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road to address overtourism and fund conservation efforts. The fee will apply at the new $12...
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- The Victorian government plans to impose visitor fees on the Twelve Apostles, a landmark on the Great Ocean Road, starting with the opening of the $126 million Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre in late 2026 (or end of 2026 per Article 2).
- About 2.2 million people visit the Twelve Apostles annually, with projections of 3 million visitors by 2032 (Article 1).
- Over 6 million tourists visit the Great Ocean Road each year (Article 2 and Article 3).
Georgie Gardner announces departure from Nine News after 25 years
Georgie Gardner, a veteran Nine News journalist with nearly 25 years at the network, announced her departure after anchoring the Sydney 6pm weekend news. Her final bulletin is scheduled for April 17, ...
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- Georgie Gardner announced she is leaving Nine News after nearly 25 years, with her final bulletin on April 17
- Gardner joined Nine in 2002 and currently anchors Sydney’s 6pm weekend news
- Nine’s TV division revenue was down 14% in its half-yearly results reported last week
Grace Tame’s canceled speaking engagements amid controversy over pro-Palestinian chant
Grace Tame, a child sexual abuse survivor and former Australian of the Year, announced in March 2024 that she would not be speaking at any events for the rest of the year due to a smear campaign trigg...
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- Grace Tame announced at the No to Violence conference in Hobart on March 2024 that this is her last speaking engagement for the year due to a 'smear campaign'
- Tame led the chant 'globalise the intifada' at a Sydney protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s visit in February 2024
- The Australian Jewish Association requested cancellation of Tame’s appearance at an International Women’s Day event in Bendigo in February 2024, but the organiser Be.Bendigo declined
Republican Senator Thom Tillis criticizes White House adviser Stephen Miller’s influence in Trump administration
Republican Senator Thom Tillis publicly criticized White House adviser Stephen Miller during a March 7 interview on CNN, calling him a persistent problem in the Trump administration due to his outsize...
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- Republican Senator Thom Tillis stated on CNN’s State of the Union (March 7) that Stephen Miller ‘should go’ and called him a ‘big problem’ in the Trump administration
- Tillis said Miller has ‘outsized influence over the operations of the cabinet’ and that qualified cabinet members are ‘doing less than what they want’ due to Miller’s direction
- Tillis criticized Miller for repeatedly causing ‘embarrassments’ for the President, including the false claim that the US should target Greenland
NAPLAN online testing disruption affects 1.3-1.4 million students nationwide
Over 1.3 to 1.4 million students across Australia faced a major disruption to NAPLAN testing on March 13 when technical issues prevented them from accessing the online platform nationwide. The outage ...
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- More than 1.3 million students across Australia had NAPLAN testing paused on March 13 due to technical issues with the online platform (ABC, NEWSCOMAU, GUARDIAN, SMH).
- Testing resumed by Wednesday afternoon (11:30am–12:00pm) after a nationwide outage prevented students from logging onto the online NAPLAN platform (ABC, NEWSCOMAU, GUARDIAN, SMH).
- The issue began at approximately 9:20am and was reported to schools by ACARA at 9:31am (ABC, SMH).
Georgia teacher killed by student during prank gone wrong involving toilet paper
A beloved Georgia teacher named Jason Hughes, 40, was fatally run over by an 18-year-old student, Jayden Wallace, during a toilet paper prank gone wrong on March 6 in Gainesville. Five teenagers—inclu...
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- Jason Hughes, a 40-year-old math teacher and athletics coach at North Hall High School in Gainesville, Georgia, was killed on March 6 after being run over by an 18-year-old student, Jayden Ryan Wallace, during a toilet paper prank gone wrong.
- Five teenagers—including Wallace—were arrested: Wallace charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, criminal trespass, and littering; the other four charged with criminal trespass and littering.
- Wallace and two others stopped to help Hughes after the incident before emergency responders arrived, but Hughes died at the hospital.
Media mogul Antony Catalano charged with assault, dragged through apartment and hospitalized victim
Antony Catalano, 59, the co-owner and chairman of Australian Community Media, was charged with assault, false imprisonment, and threats to kill after allegedly dragging a woman through an apartment by...
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- Antony Catalano, 59, co-owner and chairman of Australian Community Media (ACM), was charged with assault, false imprisonment, and making threats to kill on April 26, 2024, in Melbourne Magistrates' Court
- Catalano allegedly dragged a woman through an apartment by her hair and ankles, then held a clothes iron to her head, causing her to fracture her coccyx (tailbone) and requiring hospitalisation for several hours
- Catalano was granted bail on April 26, 2024, after Magistrate Rohan Lawrence described the evidence as 'relatively strong' and noted a jail term was possible if charges were proven
Northern Territory flood disaster relief payments and community impacts in Katherine and surrounding areas
Northern Territory flood victims in Katherine and surrounding communities are facing significant challenges accessing disaster relief payments after unprecedented wet season flooding. Both articles co...
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- Disaster payments have been expanded to include residents in Litchfield and Coomalie LGAs, Beswick/Wulugarr, and Jilkminggan due to wet season flooding around Darwin River Dam (Article 1)
- Immediate relief payments of up to $611 per adult and $309 per child are available to residents of Katherine, Beswick, and Jilkminggan (Article 1, Article 2)
- Temporary accommodation grants of $1,160 are part of the disaster relief payments (Article 2)
Review and analysis of the 2024 video game Marathon by Bungie, focusing on its 90s-inspired design and competitive gameplay.
Marathon is a 2024 extraction shooter by Bungie, released after delays tied to an artwork-theft scandal and poor alpha feedback, arriving as Sony’s first new game since their $3.6 billion acquisition ...
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- Marathon is a 2024 online sci-fi extraction shooter developed by Bungie, released on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 5 for £34.99.
- The game is set on the fictional planet Tau Ceti IV and features a futuristic aesthetic heavily inspired by 1990s cyberpunk and retro-futurism.
- Bungie’s Marathon was delayed indefinitely after negative feedback from an April 2025 alpha playtest and an artwork-theft scandal.
Youth advocate Cody Schaeffer pleads guilty to assaulting teens through charity work
Cody Schaeffer, a former youth advocate and charity founder, pleaded guilty to assaulting five teenage boys aged 14 to 17 between 2021 and 2023. Schaeffer, then aged 27–30, met victims through his cha...
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- Cody Haywood Schaeffer pleaded guilty to six counts of common assault in Brisbane Magistrates Court on 2024-03-20 (or equivalent date)
- Schaeffer was aged between 27 and 30 during the offenses (2021–2023) and targeted victims aged 14 to 17
- Victims were hogtied, blindfolded, gagged, and had their feet beaten with coat hangers at Schaeffer’s home in Alexandra Hills, Brisbane
AFL tribunal upholds suspensions of Brisbane Lions players Harris Andrews and Darcy Gardiner ahead of Sydney clash
The AFL tribunal upheld suspensions for Brisbane Lions players Harris Andrews and Darcy Gardiner after their respective striking incidents against Western Bulldogs. Andrews, a co-captain, was banned f...
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- Harris Andrews was suspended for three matches by the AFL tribunal for a careless strike that concussed Western Bulldogs forward Arthur Jones during a marking contest at the Gabba on 2024-04-06
- Darcy Gardiner was suspended for one match for a high contact strike against Western Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton, assessed as high contact, medium impact, and careless conduct
- The AFL tribunal upheld both suspensions, meaning Andrews will miss games against Sydney, St Kilda, and Collingwood, while Gardiner will miss only the Sydney match