Good afternoon. A mass shooting in the US state of Maine has killed at least 16 people, with the shooter still at large at the time of writing.
A man is reported to have opened fire at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston – Maine’s second-largest city. Authorities have identified 40-year-old Robert Card as a “person of interest” and have urged residents to stay in their homes with their doors locked. US president Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, which will make it America’s 36th mass killing this year. Here’s a wrap of what we know so far.
Top news
Penny Wong challenged over Israel-Gaza stance | The foreign minister has acknowledged “widespread suffering” of civilians in Gaza but stopped short of calling it collective punishment in a fiery Senate exchange with the Greens senator, Jordon Steele-John (pictured right). Anthony Albanese earlier announced a further $15m in aid for Gaza.
Biden says Israeli settlers in the West Bank ‘pouring gasoline on fire’ | The US president has called for an immediate end to Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, as Israel kept up its strikes on Gaza in preparation for a long promised ground invasion. More than 6,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and there are fears the toll could further soar if Israel pushes ahead with its invasion. Read this analysis on why an Israeli invasion of Gaza will fail.
Sydney woman found dead at school | Police are searching for Paul Thijssen, a sports coach in his early 20s at St Andrew’s Cathedral school in Sydney, after a young woman was found dead in the school’s gym bathroom just before midnight last night. The victim was Lilie James (pictured), a water polo coach at the school, a friend of her family confirmed. Police said the woman was found with “serious head injuries” in a scene described as “confronting”.
Cleo Smith detective leaked information to journalist | Cameron Blaine, the WA detective who shot to fame after finding the abducted four-year-old in November 2021, leaked details of the investigation to a 22-year-old journalist while the pair maintained an intimate relationship, Western Australia’s corruption watchdog has found. The detective resigned yesterday ahead of the watchdog’s report.
Windsurfer body-slammed by whale | Jason Breen, 55, was windfoiling at Mona Vale beach in Sydney when a humpback whale soared out of the water and landed on top of him. Watch the video.
Gen Z viewers want less sex on screen | Less sex and more friendship – that’s the verdict of gen Z on their preferences for US media, according to a UCLA study. A survey of 1,500 adolescents between the ages of 10 to 24 found that 51.5% of adolescents wanted to see more content centred around friendships and platonic relationships, rather than romantic ones.
Meta profits | Meta soared past analyst expectations in its third-quarter earnings report, with revenue of A$54.43bn, beating the expected A$53.49bn. Shares jumped in after-hours trading, with results boosting investor confidence after Meta spent several years in volatility as it attempted to restructure its business model and expand beyond the social media products it built its empire upon.
Scientists discover why dozens of elephants dropped dead | In 2020, 350 elephants mysteriously died in Botswana, with a further 35 dying in similar circumstances in Zimbabwe. Tests have now shown that the cause of death was a little-known bacterium called Pasteurella Bisgaard taxon 45, which resulted in septicaemia, or blood poisoning.
Trump ally elected as House speaker | Mike Johnson, the Louisiana congressman known as “Maga Mike”, was elected congressional House speaker by his Republican colleagues after more than three weeks of leadership chaos. Johnson is a staunch Trump supporter and election denier, and according to this analysis, a threat to democracy.
In pictures
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What they said …
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“Even though we haven’t raised interest rates since our last interest rate rise in June, we’ve made it very clear that we might need to go again.” – Michele Bullock, RBA governor
Westpac joined the other big four banks to predict the RBA would lift its cash rate at the Melbourne Cup Day meeting on 7 November.
In numbers
The cuts, which are due to come into effect in July 2024, are the third phase of the 2019 legislated tax plan – proposed by the Morrison Coalition government but also backed by the then-opposition led by Anthony Albanese. The plan means everyone earning between $45,000 and $200,000 would pay the same 30% tax rate, abolishing some higher tax brackets.
Before bed read
A Melbourne Cup Day rate rise would not be tough on inflation, it would just be cruel, writes columnist Greg Jericho.
“The problem for the RBA – and those who think it should raise interest rates – is that when we look at the main drivers of inflation, there is not much that interest rates will affect. Petrol prices, the cost of building houses, rents, electricity prices, property rates and charges, insurance, tobacco, medical and hospital services, beer, and water and sewerage prices are driven mostly by international factors, or government regulatory interactions.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: MOTH. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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