Month: August 2022

Categories
US

Beto O’Rourke drops F-bomb on gun control heckler while discussing Uvalde shooting

Beto O'Rourke drops F-bomb on gun control heckler while discussing Uvalde shooting

Update: 4:56 pm with Abbott spokesman saying heckler was not affiliated with governor’s campaign.

Beto O’Rourke is defending the F-bomb he dropped Wednesday night while confronting a heckler who he said was laughing during his remarks about the Uvalde mass shooting that killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers.

The incident occurred during a rally in Mineral Wells as O’Rourke began talking about the need to curb mass shootings like the one that happened May 24 at Robb Elementary School. A man in the crowd could be seen and heard laughing as O’Rourke talked about Uvalde, prompting the Democratic nominee for governor to respond with an expletive.

“It may be funny to you, motherf—–, but it’s not funny to me,” O’Rourke said to the heckler.

The moment caused a stir on social media, and the Democrat’s campaign addressed it.

“There’s nothing funny about 19 kids being shot to death in their classrooms, and there’s nothing okay about refusing to act so it doesn’t happen again,” said Chris Evans, O’Rourke’s chief spokesman.

In a tweet after the Mineral Wells rally, O’Rourke defended his stance.

“Nothing more serious to me than getting justice for the families in Uvalde and stopping this from ever happening again,” he tweeted.

Mark Miner, the chief spokesman for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, said Thursday that the Mineral Wells heckler was “not affiliated in any way” with the governor’s reelection campaign.

Though O’Rourke was criticized for using expletives on the campaign trail during his race against Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, the Mineral Wells crowd applauded wildly after the moment Wednesday night.

It wasn’t the first time he had an exchange with a heckler over Uvalde, either. He addressed someone laughing at an event in Snyder last month when Uvalde came up.

O’Rourke, a former El Paso congressman, is running for governor against incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The Uvalde massacre has been a flashpoint in the campaign, with high emotions over mass shootings in El Paso and elsewhere in Texas. During a news conference after the shooting, O’Rourke confronted Abbott and was escorted out of the room.

The full video of the town hall in this tweet includes the explicit language that may offend some.

Categories
Business

ASIC chairman sounds alarm over crypto investing boom

ASIC chairman sounds alarm over crypto investing boom

Longo says ASIC has been working closely with the government on new regulations, including the issue of unregulated financial advice provided online, which has become a popular source of information for new investors.

Of those surveyed, 41 per cent said they received their investing information from social media platforms such as Facebook, Reddit, TikTok and YouTube. ASIC recently cracked down on social media ‘finfluencers’ who had been providing unregulated financial advice through such channels, a move some warned could see useful money tips unnecessarily removed from the web.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies proved popular with investors during the pandemic.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies proved popular with investors during the pandemic.Credit:Bloomberg

ASIC’s head of markets Calissa Aldridge said unregulated online financial advice would continue to be a point of focus for the market watchdog, but acknowledged the rise of social media advice was helping younger investors get a footing.

“We need to recognize that access to a broad range of channels and information has actually been, on the whole, helpful for investors. We’ve had lots of new entrants who have been able to quickly upskill and delve more deeply or more broadly into a range of products,” she said.

Angel Zhong, an associate professor of finance at RMIT, said the survey’s findings of investors’ heavy reliance on finfluencers and limited knowledge of consumer protections justified ASIC’s crackdown earlier this year.

loading

“However, as this survey was conducted last year, the effectiveness of the crackdown on finfluencers remains to be seen. Some finfluencers did do a good job in improving financial literacy in an engaging way,” she said.

“The absence of finfluencers, limited knowledge of inexperienced investors and lack of good information sources for investment may have an adverse impact on retail investors’ financial and mental wellbeing, especially during recent market crashes.”

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.

Categories
Technology

Nobody Is Playing Netflix’s Games

Nobody Is Playing Netflix's Games

It’s been nearly two years since Netflix began its big push into gaming, and the streaming giant’s presence as a household name isn’t quite translating. According to recent findings from analytics company Apptopia, 99 percent of the service’s users have never touched a single video game on the platform. If you’ve played any of their titles, congratulations: You are the one percent.

Although perhaps not shocking, this news is eyebrow-raising. Netflix lost some 970,000 subscribers last quarter, and it seems the company is unlikely to recoup them by recruiting gamers. The stats obtained by CNBC via Apptopia reveal that games on the platform have an average of 1.7 million daily users—a fraction of Netflix’s subscriber base of 221 million. The total number of downloads for those games is about 23.3 million.

Tech giants dipping into gaming is hardly new. Amazon and Google have tried their hand by hiring all-star talent and working on in-house studios. Yet despite their best efforts, big companies with money have been unable to brute force their way to success. Video games are a yearslong endeavor requiring the hard work and talent of teams that can range from a handful of independent creators to hundreds of developers across the globe. Even when they produce decent games, as Netflix has, it takes more than a few titles to lure people away from their PlayStation, Switch, Steam, or Xbox ecosystems—or even the new season of Bridgerton—to play them. Netflix knows that its biggest competition for attention on your phone comes down to apps like TikTok.

Part of the problem, for Netflix at least, might be about awareness. Despite acquiring outfits like Oxenfree creator Night School Studio and Dungeon Boss developer Boss Fight Entertainment, the company’s investment into games doesn’t show in the way it markets and promotes them. (Just look at sites publishing well-read how-tos for finding Netflix games.) The streamer doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to luring eyes to some of its more original ventures. The largely unknown fan site it launched in December had barely begun to germinate when it cut the majority of staff. It’s canceled dozens of shows after just one season—a list that continues to grow. With games, it seems, Netflix barely let users know they were there at all.

It would be easy to say the streaming giant isn’t gaining gamers because their offerings are bad, but they’re not. Titles like sci-fi strategy game Into the Breach and card game Exploding Kittens are established hits that have done well on other platforms ahead of their mobile releases for Netflix. Originals that expand the company’s streaming universes, like its stranger things games, have built-in fanbases. Critics have positive things to say, seemingly in spite of themselves. The games just haven’t been given time to gain traction.

Netflix did not respond to requests for comment about Apptopia’s findings or its handling of current titles, though the giant has been clear about its continued ambition for mobile gaming. The company has plans to offer roughly 50 games by the end of 2022, including new releases such as telling lies creator Sam Barlow’s next title, immortality. Netflix is ​​fond of iteration and its self-described “crawl, walk, run” model. Obviously, gaming is still in that infant stage.

.

Categories
Entertainment

‘It became a mainstay’: How Issey Miyake helped define Melbourne style | australian fashion

EITHERne evening during Melbourne design week, I was drinking warm prosecco in a dimly lit third-floor office that overlooked Russell Street in the city’s centre. A friend had asked me to accompany her to the exhibition opening being held there. Of course, the office belonged to an architecture firm.

The crowd was stylish in a typically Melbourne way. There were black-rimmed glasses, workman’s jackets and designer sneakers in every corner. But as I scanned the photographers and brand directors in attendance, I realized at least half the room was wearing the floating, sculptural silhouettes of Issey Miyake, easily distinguishable by the tiny, perfect pleats that somehow give form and also take it away.

Miyake died this week at the age of 84, leaving behind a formidable legacy. He founded his studio de el in the early 1970s and was one of the first Japanese designers to present collections in Paris. He began to experiment with pleating in the late 1980s, finally patenting the heat-pressing technique that created permanent pleats in polyester in 1993.

A model wears Issey Miyake from Melbourne boutique Shifting Worlds during Melbourne fashion week in 2019.
A model wears Issey Miyake from Melbourne boutique Shifting Worlds during Melbourne fashion week in 2019. Photograph: Mackenzie Sweetnam/WireImage
A model wears Issey Miyake from Melbourne boutique Shifting Worlds during Melbourne fashion week in 2019. (Photo by Mackenzie Sweetnam/WireImage)
An Issey Miyake design from Shifting Worlds. Photograph: Mackenzie Sweetnam/WireImage

This formed the basis of Pleats Please, the line of clothing that is arguably his most recognisable, with its loosely tapered pants, tops with the shoulder and sleeve rounded into one, and rippling calf-length shift dresses. This look, often accessorized with his signature Bao Bao bag, has become synonymous with Melbourne style (to the point of occasional parody).

That each shape can be worn with something sporty such as a sneaker, or something delicate like a strappy sandal, is a credit to the joy, universality and freedom Miyake determinedly imbued in his garments.

Nayna wearing her Issey Miyake Bao Bao bag at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Nayna wearing her Issey Miyake Bao Bao bag at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Photograph: @naynav / Instagram

Robyn Healy, a professor of fashion design at RMIT University, says this fluidity is why his designs have been part of Melbourne’s fashion culture since the early 1980s. “Dressing in clothes that were not based on European traditions of making, gender or season alignment appealed to Melburnians,” she says. In contrast to the body consciousness one might typically associate with Australian style, residents of the country’s self-proclaimed cultural capital “were attracted to clothing that draped, wrapped or hung around the body”.

Shifting Worlds staff member Su wearing Issey Miyake Pleats Please pants on the shop floor.
Shifting Worlds staff member Su wears Issey Miyake Pleats Please pants on the shop floor in Melbourne. Photograph: Shifting Worlds

Lucinia Pinto carried Issey Miyake at several boutiques she owned across the city from the 1970s to the early 2000s. She is firm in her belief that his designs influenced the way Melburnians dress. “The clothing appealed to people who appreciated art… So, it became a mainstay of Melbourne architects, for instance, who loved the detailed construction and the fit.”

In 1997, she collaborated with Miyake to open Australia’s first and only Issey Miyake store in South Yarra. She describes it as a vaulted space, made up of lime-green wall panels and a white vinyl floor. “It was the perfect backdrop for her work which was a mixture of tailored and pleated items, many of them Melbourne-black, but others in electrifying colours.”

Five years later Pinto closed all of her boutiques, making Miyake harder for Melbourne’s creative class to find – at least until the advent of online shopping.

Now, two decades later, the soft shapes and amorphous hemlines are available at Shifting Worlds on Elizabeth Street. Maya Webb, the store’s owner, attests to the longevity of the clothes – some of her clients of her still have Miyake pieces they bought from Pinto in the 1990s. “Miyake designs seem to be held on to in a way that other brands aren’t,” she says.

A Melbourne fashion festival attendee wears an outfit by local label Gorman in a style reminiscent of Issey Miyake's designs. (Photo by Naomi Rahim/WireImage)
A Melbourne fashion festival attendee wears an outfit by local label Gorman in a style reminiscent of Issey Miyake’s designs. Photograph: Naomi Rahim/WireImage

She believes Melburnians love Miyake because “it fits so well into a ‘casual luxury’ category” that suits a city defined by its culture, not its beaches.

Pinto describes Miyake’s work as “a joyful, sculptural ‘dance’ of fabric to partner the human form”. Fashion that sits in the nexus between construction and art has had a lasting impact on local designers. From the ruching and necklines of Permanent Vacation to the draping and form of Alpha60, Miyake’s influence is evident.

Alpha60’s creative director, Georgie Cleary, says: “He managed to combine art, fashion and innovation so seamlessly in his designs, and this is something we continually strive for.”

Categories
Australia

Koala sighting near Lithgow raises hopes of unmapped colony after Blue Mountains bushfire destruction

Koala sighting near Lithgow raises hopes of unmapped colony after Blue Mountains bushfire destruction

Unexpected sightings of koalas near the Blue Mountains have given hope a disease-free colony is recovering after the Black Summer bushfires.

A koala seen this week at Hassans Walls, near Lithgow, is the first time the native species has been reported in the area for five years.

It follows sightings in the past 12 months in the Newnes Plateau, Wollemi National Park, and Kanangra-Boyd National Park.

More than 80 per cent of the World Heritage-listed Greater Blue Mountains Area was burned during the 2019/20 bushfires, sparking fears and unmapped koala populations had been destroyed.

Local Margot McGinnes said she was “extremely surprised” to see a koala while walking in an area “generally not known to have koalas”.

“It was just a magnificent sighting. It really was very, very exciting,” she said.

A women in a pink jacket and another women in a black jacket looking up at some trees
Margot McGinnes (pink jacket) and Kate Smith spotted the koala while walking along Hassans Walls.(Supplied: Margot McGinnes)

Research group Science for Wildlife has been studying koala populations in the Blue Mountains and Lithgow area.

CEO Kellie Lee said it was a promising development for the recovery of the species in the region “because that area was really badly hit” and indicated a possible koala colony near Lithgow.

“We weren’t sure there would be any koalas left,” Dr Lee said.

A satellite map of Lithgow and Blue mountains indicating koala sightings.
The cartoon koala indicates the recent sighting, the first near Lithgow for five years.(Supplied: Science for Wildlife)

“It is suggesting that there could be another colony or perhaps that the Newnes Plateau colony might be connected up with koalas close to Lithgow.

“The fact they are popping up in these areas where they are just not common is a good sign they are out there and expanding.”

Disease-free koalas

Earlier this year, the New South Wales government listed koalas as an endangered species amid fears the animal could become extinct by 2050.

A close up of a koala eating leaves.
Early testing indicates the koala population near Lithgow is free of diseases.(ABC News: Curtis Rodda)

Habitat destruction, bushfires, road accidents, and chlamydia are all reasons behind the decline.

Chlamydia causes blindness, and cysts in koalas’ reproductive tracts lead to infertility or, in some cases, death.

The antibiotics used to treat the disease can destroy the koalas gut, leading some to starve to death even after being cured.

Dr Lee said the koalas they had found were disease-free, making them crucial for the native species survival.

“All of our testing so far has come back negative so we haven’t seen any signs of chlamydia in these populations,” Dr Lee said.

“That is obviously very good news and one less threat that they are facing.”

.

Categories
Business

Too much COVID stimulus, not enough budget savings: Saul Eslake

Too much COVID stimulus, not enough budget savings: Saul Eslake

Eslake is the latest in a string of economists including former Treasury official Steven Hamilton and the Grattan Institute’s Brendan Coates to criticize the RBA’s interest rate settings over recent years. Those criticisms have fed into a review of the RBA ordered last month by Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Eslake said the RBA had made two significant mistakes: putting a date on how long it would keep interest rates at record lows, and assuming inflation would only rise due to faster wages growth.

He said the bank had, through its quantitative easing program, created another looming problem that would flow directly to the federal budget bottom line.

The bank may end up passing on $10 billion in interest to commercial banks that had money sitting with it, while all the government bonds bought by the RBA have very low interest on them.

The gap between what it had to pay commercial banks and the interest it earned on its own debt holdings meant the RBA’s ability to pay dividends to the federal government might be “wiped out”.

loading

Over the past five years, the RBA has paid $9.5 billion in dividends to the federal government, including $2.6 billion in 2020-21 despite making a loss of $4.3 billion.

Eslake said the lack of dividends would be just one of the problems for the government as it sought to repair the budget, which is carrying almost $900 billion in gross debt, noting tax reform would have to be considered.

“Much of the ‘budget repair’ task will need to be accomplished from the revenue side – ideally through tax reform, not via ‘bracket creep’,” he said.

There may be some respite for home buyers, with figures out of the United States showing inflation in the world’s largest economy was flat in July. Annual inflation fell to 8.5 per cent from 9.1 per cent.

Oxford Economics chief US financial economist Kathy Bostjancic said the Federal Reserve might downsize its expected interest rate increases over coming months if inflation pressures continue to ease.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.

Categories
Technology

Kirby’s Dream Buffet Rolls Out Worldwide Release Date

Kirby's Dream Buffet Rolls Out Worldwide Release Date

Kirby Dream Buffet
Image: Nintendo

update [Thu 11th Aug, 2022 13:05 BST]: It’s official! Nintendo has confirmed that Kirby’s Dream Buffet is hitting the eShop worldwide on the same day — 17th August! What a lovely little summer treat.

Pre-orders are now available on the eShop (North America, UK) and it will cost £13.49 — so probably closer to $15 in the US.

In Kirby’s Dream Buffet, you’ll be able to play with three other friends through a plethora of food-themed levels and minigames — think Fall Guys, but even cuter.

Here’s a summary of the game from the eShop:

Bump, battle, and boost your way to sweet victory

Have a feast of fun with family and friends in Kirby’s Dream Buffet™ for the Nintendo Switch family of systems.

Roll through a smorgasbord of food-themed stages in delicious 4-player competition as a rounder-than-usual Kirby. Anyone can take the cake in Kirby’s Dream Buffet! This digital game is available exclusively for Nintendo Switch.

Instead of eating enemies to gain his Copy Abilities, Kirby now gets them from food! A burning boost can come from a pepper, or frosting will give Kirby the spins!

You can also dress your Kirby up, and pop a Kirby Car cake on his head. We have our priorities right here.

To cap it all off, here’s a brand new overview trailer to celebrate the game’s release date!

original article [Thu 11th Aug, 2022 11:35 BST]: We got a tasty little surprise during today’s Kirby concert. The upcoming Kirby’s Dream Buffet — which was only announced last month — is coming to the Switch eShop on 17th August in Japan.

You’ll have to make sure you have some room for some tasty treats and all of that Kirby adorableness as the pink (and blue, and yellow, and green, and so on…) puffball will be rolling onto our consoles next week . The game will cost 1500 yen, so around about £9 / €10 / $11.

While this has only been confirmed for Japan at the time of writing this, we expect we’ll be hearing something very soon for Western audiences — we hope the same day!

We’ll update this post as soon as we know! In the meantime, check out the game’s launch trailer below!

Are you excited to play Kirby’s Dream Buffet? Let us know!

.

Categories
Entertainment

Britney Spears ‘violated’ by Kevin Federline posting videos online

Britney Spears 'violated' by Kevin Federline posting videos online

Britney Spears’ lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, is coming to his pop star client’s defense after her ex-husband Kevin Federline leaked videos of her allegedly arguing with her teenage sons.

“Britney Spears is a brilliantly talented, extremely hardworking icon, who is rightfully beloved and respected by millions around the world,” the former federal prosecutor exclusively told Page Six.

“The same, unfortunately, cannot be said about Mr Federline, who for reasons that are inexplicable, decided to give a gratuitous interview that has hurt the mother of his children.”

Mr Rosengart adds that the singer, 40, has “faithfully supported” sons Sean Preston, 16, and Jayden James, 15, and “loves them dearly”.

“Whether he realizes it or not, Mr Federline has not only violated the privacy and dignity of the mother of his children, he has undermined his own children, whose privacy he should protect,” the high-powered lawyer, who helped free Britney from her 13-year conservatorship, said.

“Putting aside his ITV interview, Mr Federline’s abhorrent, ill-advised decision to post an old video of his 11 and 12-year-old children was cruel, bottom of the barrel stuff.”

Mr Rosengart has also claimed in his statement to Page Six that Federline, 44, may have broken the law by posting videos in which Spears did not know she was being recorded, since California is a two-party consent state.

“In addition to demeaning himself and violating societal norms, he has now also created various legal issues for himself including, but not limited to, implicating cyber-harassment and cyber-bullying statutes, among other things,” the LA-based lawyer said.

I have told Page Six it has been his “honour” to work with Spears to “suspend her father as conservator, to help her gain her freedom and dignity, and to help protect her from the type of bullying she endured in the past – and we will not tolerate bullying in any area”.

Mr Rosengart also said he is working with Instagram to “ensure” that Federline “adheres to its rules and we are exploring all appropriate relief against him”.

“In the meantime, as Britney herself poignantly said, whatever is occurring between her and her boys should remain private,” he said. “We urge Mr Federline to act with a measure of grace and decency and to cease from publicly discussing private matters, which benefits no one.”

Federline’s lawyer did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment on Mr Rosengart’s statement. Overnight, Federline deleted the three clips from his Instagram of him.

Just hours before, the former backup dancer, who was married to Spears from 2004 until 2007, shared the videos on his platform with the caption, “I cannot sit back and let my sons be accused in this way after what they’ve been through . As much as it hurts us, we decided as a family to post these videos.

“This isn’t even the worst of it. The lies have to stop. I hope our kids grow up to be better than this.”

A source from Spears’ camp exclusively told Page Six in response to the posts at the time, “Kevin is disgusting. He is weaponizing the kids by releasing the videos. But in these clips, Britney is just being a mum.”

The internet widely agreed, with people on social media commenting how Spears appeared to only be trying to discipline her children.

One person wrote, “The fact that Britney Spears has to remind her own kids that she is a WOMAN and she deserves RESPECT tells us all we need to know about Kevin Federline’s parental influence. That man is pure evil and he’s raised those kids in his image of him. Truly tragic.”

Another tweeted, “Dear Kevin Federline. You released a ‘scathing’ video of a mum being a mum. Sometimes mums – gasp – have reactions. They might discipline by taking things away or ask for respect. This is shocking but sometimes mums will argue with their kids.”

Spears herself gave insight earlier this week into how difficult it has been for her to co-parent with Federline after he shared in a preview for an ITV interview that Sean Preston and Jayden James have chosen “not to see” their mother for “a few months”.

The singer called the claims “hurtful” on Instagram, saying it “concerns” her. She added later that her sons de ella would act “hateful” towards her when visiting.

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission

.

Categories
Australia

Bandicoot numbers boom in Dunbogan and Camden Haven after 2019 bushfires

A small brown marsupial, with short ears and brown fur.

Residents in the township of Dunbogan on the NSW Mid North Coast have been noticing an increasing number of small, conical holes appearing in their gardens and lawns.

They are created each night, under the cover of darkness, and those in the know are quick to point out what’s been digging around.

Bandicoots are experiencing a boom in the town and surrounding Camden Haven region, south of Port Macquarie.

Andrew Marshall, with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), lives on a rural property near Dunbogan and sees the small nocturnal marsupials outside his home most evenings.

He said it was the highest number of bandicoots he had seen in decades and the increase came after the region’s severe 2019 bushfires.

“In the past couple of years, it’s been very evident there has been a massive increase in the number of bandicoots … probably three to five-fold on the numbers we were seeing before the fires,” he said.

Mr Marshall said conditions after the fires had allowed bandicoots to thrive.

A small mammal with long nose and little arms standing upright spotlighted by flash in dark
A long-nosed bandicoot, which is among those being spotted in larger numbers in the Camden Haven region.(Supplied: Barbara Wilson)

“The bush has come back after the fires; the undergrowth is really dense and I think the bushfires probably also removed a large number of the local predatory animals,” he said.

“Things like foxes and feral cats, and the fires have potentially also displaced things like dingoes or wild dogs.

“In the coastal strip, where I am, the species that are doing really well include the northern brown bandicoot and we occasionally also see the long-nosed bandicoot.”

New green shoots emerge on a blackened eucalypt tree.
New growth is already emerging in the Lake Innes Nature Reserve.(ABC Mid North Coast: Emma Siossian)

Species adapts after hardship

Professor in Ecology at the University of Sydney Chris Dickman said certain bandicoot species typically did well after bushfires.

“It has been observed before, there have been some studies in the Top End and also the Myall Lakes area and in Victoria,” he said.

A small brown marsupial among barks on the ground.
A southern brown bandicoot.(Supplied: Ken Stepnell, Department of Planning and Environment)

Professor Dickman said the northern brown bandicoot in particular readily adapted to different environments.

“It does well after fires … it occurs from north of the Hawkesbury all up the east coast and across the top end to the Kimberley,” he said.

“They are quite mobile and very opportunistic.

“After a fire has gone through it opens up the habitat and provides new food sources that animals like bandicoots can access.

“The heavy rains [on the Mid North Coast] after the fires have probably also led to an increase in the complexity and density of the undergrowth and an increase in food sources.

“The bandicoots can move in and do quite well, that is if there aren’t many foxes and cats in the area.”

Professor Dickman said monitoring elsewhere in NSW had shown predators were not bouncing back as quickly after the 2019-20 fires.

“In some areas, like the Blue Mountains, there’s been a lot of monitoring happening after the big fires. Fox and cat activity hasn’t seemed to be as extensive after the fires as we might have expected,” he said.

Prolific breeders

Two eastern barred bandicoots being held in humans hands
The eastern barred bandicoot remains on the endangered species list but new populations are thriving after successful breeding and release programs.(Supplied: Zoos Victoria)

Professor Dickman said when conditions were right, bandicoots were also prolific breeders.

“They can produce three, four, even five litters a year and have a gestation period of just 12 or 13 days — incredibly short,” he said.

“They give birth to these baked-bean-sized youngsters that attach in the pouch and within a couple of months they are weaned, and the female is free to breed again.”

Learning to live with bandicoots

Professor Dickman said it was encouraging to see some east coast bandicoot species thriving, as other species had not fared so well.

“The east coast bandicoots are doing pretty well in general, including the northern brown bandicoot and common long-nosed bandicoot, and the southern brown bandicoot, which is not doing quite so well, but is still about in reasonable numbers from Sydney and south into Victoria and South Australia,” he said.

A small round hole in a sandy dirt.
A bandicoot hole at a Dunbogan nature reserve.(Supplied: Suzanne Siossian)

“Those species are exceptional because bandicoots, as a group, have done exceptionally poorly over the past couple of hundred years, with many species pushed to extinction.”

While not everyone enjoys having bandicoots in their backyard, Mr Marshall said they did a great job removing pests and turning the soil, helping plants regenerate.

“The bandicoots are digging up other grubs and insects, which would otherwise be damaging my garden,” he said.

“They leave the little conical holes and piles of dirt as a reminder they are there but, at the same time, the ground is pretty healthy.

“I’m happy to have bandicoots in my garden.”

dunbogan nature reserve
Bandicoots are often spotted at this Dunbogan nature reserve and experts say they help keep the vegetation healthy.(Supplied: Suzanne Siossian)

.

Categories
US

Merrick Garland: DOJ filed motion to unseal Mar-a-Lago warrant and property receipt

Merrick Garland: DOJ filed motion to unseal Mar-a-Lago warrant and property receipt

Garland also said he “personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter.”

I have noted that the department did not comment on the search on the day that it occurred. I pointed out that the search was confirmed by Trump that evening. He said that copies of the warrant and the warrant receipt were provided to the Trump lawyers who were on site during the search.

“The Department filed the motion to make public the warrant and receipt in light of the former president’s public confirmation of the search, the surrounding circumstances and the substantial public interest in this matter,” Garland said. “Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the law evenly without fear or favor. Under my watch, that is precisely what the Justice Department is doing. “

The statement comes after days of silence from the Justice Department with regard to the search, as is the department’s normal practice for ongoing investigations. Garland stressed that some of the department’s work must happen outside of public view.

“We do that to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans and to protect the integrity of our investigations,” he said, while explaining that he would not provide more detail about the basis of the search.

Trump and his legal team have not yet reached a decision on how to respond to the Justice Department’s motion to unseal the warrant, a source familiar with their thinking told CNN.

In a pair of posts to Truth Social following Garland’s statement, Trump continued to claim that his attorneys were “cooperating fully” and had developed “very good relationships” with federal investigators prior to Monday’s search at Mar-a-Lago.

“The government could have had whatever they wanted, if we had it,” Trump said. “Everything was fine, better than most previous Presidents, and then, out of nowhere and with no warning, Mar-a-Lago was raided, at 6:30 in the morning, by VERY large numbers of agents, and even ‘safecrackers. ‘”

The Justice Department has been instructed by the court to confer with Trump about his request to unseal certain warrant documents from the FBI Mar-a-Lago search and to tell the court by Friday 3 pm ET if he opposes their release.

Justice Department asks court for documents to be released

The FBI executed a search warrant Monday at the Palm Beach, Florida, resort as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents, that may have been brought there.

Newly filed court documents outline what the Justice Department has officially moved to do Thursday.

“On August 8, 2022, the Department of Justice executed a search warrant, issued by this Court upon the requisite finding of probable cause… at the premises located at 1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach, Florida 33480, a property of former President Donald J. Trump,” the motion reads.

“At the time the warrant was initially executed, the Department provided notice directly to former President Trump’s counsel. The Department did not make any public statements about the search, and the search apparently attracted little or no public attention as it was taking place. Later That same day, former President Trump issued a public statement acknowledging the execution of the warrant.In the days since, the search warrant and related materials have been the subject of significant interest and attention from news media organizations and other entities,” the Justice Department writes.

DOJ then argues for unsealing the search warrant, citing “the intense public interest presented by a search of a residence of a former President.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks on FBI search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago

The filing confirms that the search warrant was “signed and approved by the Court on August 5.” On Thursday, the DOJ filed “the redacted Property Receipt listing items seized pursuant to the search,” according to its unsealing motion.

“Former President Trump, through counsel, was provided copies of each of these documents on August 8, 2022, as part of the execution of the search,” the filing adds.

Earlier this year, officials from the National Archives arranged the retrieval of 15 boxes of presidential documents from Mar-a-Lago. In June, federal investigators served a grand jury subpoena and took away sensitive national security documents.

Then, according to sources, prosecutors developed evidence that there were potentially classified documents with national security implications remaining at the property.

FBI officials under attack

Republican lawmakers have lashed out at the department, calling the search politically motivated. Several lawmakers on the right have called for increased oversight of the department, and some have even suggested defunding the FBI or that agents planted evidence at the Florida estate.

Violent threats also have exploded online since the search. Posters have written things like “Garland needs to be assassinated” and “kill all feds.” The biography and contact information of a federal magistrate judge who appears to have signed the search warrant used to execute the search at Mar-a-Lago has been wiped from a Florida court’s website after he too became the target of violent threats.

In a message reviewed by CNN on Thursday moments ahead of the public statement, FBI Director Chris Wray told the bureau’s employees their “safety and security” was his “primary concern right now.”

Feds removed documents from Mar-a-Lago in June with grand jury subpoena

“There has been a lot of commentary about the FBI this week questioning our work and motives,” Wray said. “Much of it is from critics and pundits on the outside who don’t know what we know and don’t see what we see. What I know — and what I see — is an organization made up of men and women who are committed to do their jobs professionally and by the book every day; this week is no exception.”

In his public comments, Garland also called out the “unfounded attacks on the professionalism of the FBI and Justice Department agents and prosecutors.”

“I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked. The men and women of the FBI and the Justice Department are dedicated patriotic public servants,” he said. “Every day, they protect the American people from violent crime, terrorism and other threats to their safety while safeguarding our civil rights. They do so at great personal sacrifice and risk to themselves. I am honored to work alongside them.”

This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Gabby Orr contributed to this report.

.