Primary school teacher jailed for ‘calculated’ abuse of young girls
A former Cairns state primary school teacher has been jailed for 17 years for dozens of child exploitation offences involving children from the school where he worked. ⌘ Read more

Death of 10yo in state care may have been accident not suicide, inquest told
An inquest hears the 2024 death of a 10-year-old Indigenous boy while he was under the care of the Department of Communities may have been an accident, not suicide. ⌘ Read more

Was the Airbus A320 Recall Caused By Cosmic Rays?
What triggered that Airbus emergency software recall? The BBC reports that Airbus’s initial investigation into an aircraft’s sudden drop in altitude linked it “to a malfunction in one of the aircraft’s computers that controls moving parts on the aircraft’s wings and tail.” But that malfunction “seems to have been triggered by cosmic radiation bombarding the Earth on the day of … ⌘ Read more

Proposed testing changes for imported raw prawns labelled ‘short-sighted’
The federal government is being accused of allowing “trade to trump biosecurity”, over proposed changes critics claim will “weaken” and “roll back” testing of potentially diseased raw prawn imports. ⌘ Read more

Man found not guilty of Melbourne woman’s murder due to mental impairment
The family of a Melbourne woman who was brutally killed by her partner say they’re distraught after the man was found not guilty due to mental impairment. ⌘ Read more

Nant whisky founder not guilty plea over alleged fraud
The founder of a Tasmanian distillery behind an alleged investor fraud scheme has pleaded not guilty to 736 criminal offences. ⌘ Read more

NRL proposes lengthy bans for Tonga officials following Katoa head knocks
Three Tonga team officials are facing two-year suspensions following the NRL’s investigation into the incident that forced Eli Katoa out of the 2026 season. ⌘ Read more

Driver jailed over single-vehicle crash that killed three friends
A young driver who crashed his car near Tarago, killing his girlfriend and two friends, has been sentenced to more than six years in jail. ⌘ Read more

More than 30 zinc sunscreen brands using formula that failed preliminary SPF testing
It’s been almost two years since Craig Jones first ran preliminary tests on his zinc sunscreen. When he discovered it wasn’t providing the SPF it was supposed to he threw it out and set out on a quest to find out why. ⌘ Read more

Man accused of raping aged care resident tells court of break-in
Hayden Carl Skinner tells the District Court in Coffs Harbour that the open doors of the facility inspired a “spur of the moment” break-in to settle a drug debt. ⌘ Read more

Rajwinder Singh found guilty of Toyah Cordingley’s 2018 murder
It took a jury in the Supreme Court in Cairns seven hours to reach the unanimous guilty verdict after an almost four-week retrial. ⌘ Read more

Trump makes history hosting Kennedy Center Honors — here’s how we got here
Donald Trump has made the Kennedy Center a touchstone in a broader attack against what he claims is “woke”, anti-American culture. ⌘ Read more

How childcare paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith could have been stopped
A review has identified 18 points or “missed opportunities” where Ashley Paul Griffith’s offending could have been disrupted or stopped, had a different action been taken. ⌘ Read more

Why picking up her phone made Samantha question her ability as a new mum
Readers share how they approached their online and social media use in the weeks immediately after giving birth. ⌘ Read more

Labuschagne praises Aussies’ makeshift opening pair as Khawaja call looms
Marnus Labuschagne says Australia’s opening partnership is making the rest of the batting order improve, as selectors deliberate over Usman Khawaja’s Test future. ⌘ Read more

Toddler’s septic tank death ‘likely would have been prevented’ with maintenance
A coroner’s report has found there were multiple missed opportunities to improve or replace the public housing septic system, which the NT government had responsibility for. ⌘ Read more

Man in coma after allegedly smashing head into ambulance windscreen
A 25-year-old man is in a coma and cannot attend court after he allegedly smashed an ambulance windscreen with his head while naked. ⌘ Read more

Perth man guilty of making ‘upskirt’ videos of women, girls
A man who made ‘upskirt’ videos of women and girls in public places in Perth is found guilty of multiple charges. ⌘ Read more

Dolphin Sands resident ‘frustrated’ by bushfire communication
More questions have been raised about the official warnings ahead of a bushfire that destroyed 19 homes in a tiny Tasmanian seaside community where there is one road in and out. ⌘ Read more

All of Russia’s Porsches Were Bricked By a Mysterious Satellite Outage
An anonymous reader shared this report from Autoblog:

Imagine walking out to your car, pressing the start button, and getting absolutely nothing. No crank, no lights on the dash, nothing. That’s exactly what happened to hundreds of Porsche owners in Russia last week. The issue is with the Vehicle Tracking System, a satellite-based sec … ⌘ Read more

Queensland man charged with allegedly displaying Nazi symbols
Police allege the 43-year-old UK citizen was advocating for violence online and had swords bearing swastika symbols seized from his Queensland home. ⌘ Read more

Coalition puts heat on Wells over trips to cricket and AFL with family
The Coalition is applying more heat to Sport Minister Anika Wells over flights she claimed for herself and her husband to attend two Boxing Day cricket test matches in recent years, and several AFL Grand Final events. ⌘ Read more

Qld facing fresh legal challenge over controversial puberty blocker ban
The action is being taken on behalf of the same mother of a transgender teenager who previously successfully fought the state’s first ban. ⌘ Read more

Teenager allegedly involved in fatal Melbourne stabbing faces court
Police charge an 18-year-old man with offences including intentionally causing injury and affray, following the incident that claimed the life of a 40-year-old in Ascot Vale on Sunday afternoon. ⌘ Read more

One of PNG’s rare conjoined twins dies after urgent surgery
Surgeons have separated a rare set of conjoined twins after they were urgently airlifted from Papua New Guinea to Australia, but only one of the boys has survived. ⌘ Read more

Men jailed for gang rapes at bucks weekend have convictions quashed
Marius Hawell, his brother and a friend have had their convictions thrown out on grounds of appeal, after being handed jail sentences of between nine and 14 years. ⌘ Read more

Thailand launches air strikes amid new clashes with Cambodia
Thailand launches air strikes along its disputed border with Cambodia, after both countries accuse one another of breaching a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump. ⌘ Read more

Breaking: Government will not extend energy bill relief
Jim Chalmers says the end to the “temporary” subsidy was a “hard” decision but recognises pressures on the budget. ⌘ Read more

Can This Simple Invention Convert Waste Heat Into Electricity?
Nuclear engineer Lonnie Johnson worked on NASA’s Galileo mission, has more than 140 patents, and invented the Super Soaker water gun.
But now he’s working on “a potential key to unlock a huge power source that’s rarely utilized today,” reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. [Alternate URL here.]

Waste heat…

The Johnson Thermo-Electrochemi … ⌘ Read more

Pedestrian killed as car crashes into Melbourne medical centre
Police are investigating the death of a male pedestrian after a car crashed into a building in Niddrie, in Melbourne’s west, with a 63-year-old driver taken to hospital under police guard. ⌘ Read more

Water leak at the Louvre damages hundreds of works
The leak occurred after a valve was accidentally opened in a heating and ventilation system, allowing water to seep through the ceiling of the Mollien wing. ⌘ Read more

Breaking: Cleveland Dodd’s care in youth detention ‘inhumane’, coroner finds
Western Australia’s first recorded death in youth detention was predictable, a coroner has found, finding the care of 16-year-old Cleveland Dodd was “inhumane” and “reminiscent of 19th century jails”. WARNING: This story contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died. ⌘ Read more

South Australian prisons in lockdown day after alleged bashing of prisoner
All South Australian prisons are in lockdown a day after a prisoner was allegedly assaulted, but the Department for Correctional Services says the industrial action was pre-planned. ⌘ Read more

Why Meetings Can Harm Employee Well-Being
Phys.org republishes this article from The Conversation:

On average, managers spend 23 hours a week in meetings. Much of what happens in them is considered to be of low value, or even entirely counterproductive. The paradox is that bad meetings generate even more meetings… in an attempt to repair the damage caused by previous ones…

A 2015 handbook laid the groundwork for the nascent fiel … ⌘ Read more

EU Urged to Soften 2035 Ban on Internal Combustion Engine Cars
Friday six European Union countries “asked the European Commission to water down an effective ban on the sale of internal combustion engine cars slated for 2035,” reports Reuters

The countries have asked the EU Commission to allow the sale of hybrid cars or vehicles powered by other, existing or future, technologies “that could contribute to the goa … ⌘ Read more

Benin president says situation ‘under control’ after coup attempt
Patrice Talon says the West African nation’s government will punish those responsible for a coup attempt. ⌘ Read more

College Students Flock To A New Major: AI
AI is the second-largest major at M.I.T. after computer science, reports the New York Times. (Alternate URL here.) Though that includes students interested in applying AI in biology and health care — it’s just the beginning:

This semester, more than 3,000 students enrolled in a new college of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
At the Unive … ⌘ Read more

Breaking: Ashton Hurn confirmed as new SA Liberal leader
South Australian Liberal MP Ashton Hurn has secured her party’s leadership months out from the next state election. ⌘ Read more

Breaking: Paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith could have been ‘detected and disrupted earlier’
The Queensland government in January ordered a review into how one of the country’s most notorious paedophiles was able to offend for so long. ⌘ Read more

How would your social feed look if you controlled what you saw?
Sexual violence prevention group Teach Us Consent is pushing for Australians to have the choice to “opt-in” to social media algorithms. ⌘ Read more

‘We just cried’: Stenson breaks marathon record in emotional scenes
Jessica Stenson breaks the Australian marathon record before an emotional phone call to the former record holder, Sinead Driver. ⌘ Read more

‘Everything destroyed’ as Indonesia’s Aceh grapples with disease after floods
Hit by deadly floods, Indonesians in the region around Aceh Tamiang are grappling with worsening diseases and a lack of medical care at the lone hospital in the area. ⌘ Read more

No Rise in Radiation Levels at Chernobyl, Despite Damage from February’s Drone Strike
UPDATE (12/7): The New York Times clarifies today that the damage at Chernobyl hasn’t led to a rise in radiation levels:

“If there was to be some event inside the shelter that would release radioactive materials into the space inside the New Safe Confinement, because this facility is no longer sealed t … ⌘ Read more

Kremlin praises Trump’s national security strategy
The strategy argues the US should revive the 19th century Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Western hemisphere to be Washington’s zone of influence. ⌘ Read more

England coach says team ‘over-prepared’ for Brisbane Test, as players head for Noosa getaway
England coach Brendon McCullum claims his team trained too hard for the Gabba Test, which ended in a bruising eight-wicket loss that leaves the tourists’ Ashes hopes in tatters. ⌘ Read more

How the internet reacted to the Aussies going 2-0 up
Mitchell Starc was the hero, again, as the English were comprehensively outplayed in Brisbane — but how did the internet react? ⌘ Read more

Looking back on 25 years of hitchhiking in the Pilbara, Kevin has many tales to tell
At 12 years old, Kevin Guiness was rebuilding engines on an outback cattle station. Now, the Yindjibarndi elder reflects on what kept him going. ⌘ Read more

WA power producers accused of overcharging on wholesale electricity
The cost of electricity is being driven up by some Western Australian power producers breaking the rules and charging more than they’re allowed, the state’s economic watchdog alleges. ⌘ Read more

McIlroy completes Australian Open mission even if he did not lift trophy
Rory McIlroy’s appearance at the Australian Open in Melbourne has gone a long way to restoring the prestige of the tournament. ⌘ Read more

Legal challenge to police designated area declaration for Melbourne CBD
A legal challenge is launched against a “designated area” declaration for Melbourne’s CBD that gives police greater powers to search people without a warrant. ⌘ Read more