Month: August 2022

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Australia

Bail act, Crown Perth and Metronet top priority list as WA Parliament resumes after winter break

Bail act, Crown Perth and Metronet top priority list as WA Parliament resumes after winter break

After a six-week winter recess, West Australian politicians will return to parliament today to start the last half of the sitting year.

Plenty has happened since they last agreed, including another COVID-19 wave and controversies involving the Agriculture Minister and Attorney-General.

Even still, the government insists a cabinet reshuffle is not on the cards, with its focus instead on five priorities for the 33 sitting days ahead.

At the top of their list for reforms are long-awaited changes to WA’s Bail Act, largely in response to the death of Annaliesse Ugle in 2020.

The 11-year-old took her own life after the man accused of sexual assaulting her was released on bail.

The reforms are currently sitting in the lower house and will change the act in a variety of ways, including when a person is charged with child sex offences.

A man wearing handcuffs
Labor will use its majority in parliament to pass long-awaited changes to WA’s Bail Act.(AAP Image/David Gray)

Once the new legislation is passed, anyone deciding bail in that situation will have to specifically consider a number of factors, including the “physical and emotional wellbeing” of the child victim.

Another provision will mean that where a child victim raises concerns about their safety and welfare if the accused is not kept in custody, the person deciding bail must be presented with that information by the prosecutor and take it into consideration.

When he introduced the bill into parliament, Attorney-General John Quigley said it struck the right balance “between elevating the voices and concerns of child victims of sexual abuse and maintaining the precepts of our justice system”.

Crown Perth reforms also high priority

It has been around five months since the WA government was handed the Crown Casino Royal Commission’s final report, containing 59 recommendations on how to clean up money laundering, criminal infiltration and problem gambling.

The first swathe of laws designed to start chipping away at those recommendations are yet to pass parliament but are on the priority list.

A sign showing the Crown Resorts logo in front of shrubs beside a road.
The reforms are aimed at tackling money laundering and problem gambling at Perth’s casino.(ABC News: Hugh Sando)

The bill is also still in the lower house, having been introduced just before parliament broke for the winter break.

Once passed, it will establish an independent monitor who will oversee the casino for a two-year remediation period, as recommended in the report.

Questions have been raised about the utility of that monitor though, with one gambling researcher raising concerns the casino would return to “business as usual” at the end of that two-year period.

The bill will also increase maximum penalties under the Casino Control Act from $100,000 to $100 million, and allow the minister to appoint an independent chair of the Gaming and Wagering Commission.

While there are more than a dozen other bills currently on the books for MPs to consider, the government is particularly keen to see three of them pass soon.

One will implement recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse by requiring about 4,000 organizations to report allegations or convictions of child abuse.

The silhouette of a child sitting on a bed with an adult sitting alongside them.
The WA government is keen to push through a bill to provide greater protection to child abuse victims.(abcnews)

That is on the list to be debated in the upper house this fortnight, and once passed will also give the state’s ombudsman oversight of how those organizations handle child abuse complaints and allow for independent investigations.

Another bill will provide greater protection for owner-drivers and other small businesses in the road freight sector, including minimum periods for contract termination.

Finally, there’s a bill to allow for the construction of a number of Metronet projects along the Armadale Line, including removing level crossings and raising tracks, and extending the line to Byford.

An artist's impression of the exterior of a train.
Metronet projects along the Armadale line will benefit from the proposed legislation.(Supplied: WA Government)

Opposition piles pressure on ministers

While that is what the government wants to focus on, the state opposition is keen to keep the pressure on a number of ministers who have been in the headlines for the wrong reasons over the winter break.

Among them is Alannah MacTiernan, who apologized after what she described as “clumsy” comments about foot and mouth disease, including that if it landed in WA it could make domestic milk and meat cheaper.

Then there is Mr Quigley, who had to correct evidence he gave in the defamation case between Mr McGowan and Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer earlier this year.

It led to Justice Michael Lee describing Mr Quigley’s evidence as “all over the shop”, although he did make the point that “being a confused witness is a quite different thing from being a dishonest one”.

A tight head shot of WA Attorney-General John Quigley during a media conference.
Justice Michael Lee described John Quigley’s evidence as “confused and confusing.”(ABC News: Eliza Laschon)

Even still, it prompted Deputy Liberal Leader Libby Mettam to yesterday label Mr Quigley a “lame duck.”

“But fair questions could be asked of other members and ministers in the McGowan government cabinet,” she said.

Opposition Leader Mia Davies also piled on the pressure.

Head and shoulder shot of Mia Davies speaking outside WA Parliament.
Mia Davies says several WA ministers have fallen short of the public’s expectations in recent weeks.(ABC News: Keane Bourke)

“The Premier has an Attorney-General that is confused and confusing, an Agriculture Minister who has lost the confidence of the industry, a Health Minister that has overseen the highest ever ambulance ramping in the state, and a Housing Minister with no housing,” she said.

“It just doesn’t add up when you consider the strength of numbers Labor have in the parliament and the wealth the Premier has at his fingertips as Treasurer.”

Metronet ‘behind schedule and over budget’

Ms Davies said the opposition would also “maintain its focus on a Labor Government that is failing to deliver on promises made to the people of Western Australia”.

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Categories
US

Billionaires are searching for critical minerals in Greenland as ice melts

Billionaires are searching for critical minerals in Greenland as ice melts


Nuussuaq, Greenland
CNN
—

Some of the world’s richest men are funding a massive treasure hunt, complete with helicopters and transmitters, on the west coast of Greenland.

The climate crisis is melting Greenland down at an unprecedented rate, which – in a twist of irony – is creating an opportunity for investors and mining companies who are searching for a trove of critical minerals capable of powering the green energy transition.

A band of billionaires, including Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates, among others, is betting that below the surface of the hills and valleys on Greenland’s Disko Island and Nuussuaq Peninsula there are enough critical minerals to power hundreds of millions of electric vehicles.

“We are looking for a deposit that will be the first- or second-largest most significant nickel and cobalt deposit in the world,” Kurt House, CEO of Kobold Metals, told CNN.

The Arctic’s disappearing ice – on land and in the ocean – highlights a unique dichotomy: Greenland is ground zero for the impacts of climate change, but it could also become ground zero for sourcing the metals needed to power the solution to the crisis.

The billionaire club is financially backing Kobold Metals, a mineral exploration company and California-based startup, the company’s representatives told CNN. Bezos, Bloomberg and Gates did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment on this story. Kobold is partnered with Bluejay Mining to find the rare and precious metals in Greenland that are necessary to build electric vehicles and massive batteries to store renewable energy.

Thirty geologists, geophysicists, cooks, pilots and mechanics are camped at the site where Kobold and Blujay are searching for the buried treasure. CNN is the first media outlet with video of the activity happening there.

A Kobold Metals worker in Greenland.

The Greenland coastline.

Crews are taking soil samples, flying drones and helicopters with transmitters to measure the electromagnetic field of the subsurface and map the layers of rock below. They’re using artificial intelligence to analyze the data to pinpoint exactly where to drill as early as next summer.

“It is a concern to witness the consequences and impacts from the climate changes in Greenland,” Bluejay Mining CEO Bo Møller Stensgaard told CNN. “But, generally speaking, climate changes overall have made exploration and mining in Greenland easier and more accessible.”

Stensgaard said that because climate change is making ice-free periods in the sea longer, teams are able to ship in heavy equipment and ship out metals out to the global market more easily.

Melting sea ice around Greenland has made it easier for the mining industry to ship equipment in and materials out.

Melting land ice is exposing land that has been buried under ice for centuries to millennia – but could now become a potential site for mineral exploration.

“As these trends continue well into the future, there is no question more land will become accessible and some of this land may carry the potential for mineral development,” Mike Sfraga, the chair of the United States Arctic Research Commission, told CNN.

Greenland could be a hot spot for coal, copper, gold, rare-earth elements and zinc, according to the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. The government of Greenland, according to the agency, has done several “resource assessments throughout the ice-free land” and the government “recognizes the country’s potential to diversify the national economy through mineral extraction.”

Sfraga said that pro-mining stance is not without regard for the environment, which is central to Greenland’s culture and livelihood.

“The government of Greenland supports the responsible, sustainable, and economically viable development of their natural resources to include mining of a broad range of minerals,” Sfraga said.

A Bluejay Mining employee digs during exploration for critical minerals in Greenland.

Stensgaard noted that these critical minerals will “provide part of the solution to meet these challenges” that the climate crisis presents.

In the meantime, Greenland’s vanishing ice – which is pushing sea level higher – is a great concern for scientists who study the Arctic.

“The big concern for Arctic sea ice is that it’s been disappearing over the last several decades its predicted to potentially disappear in 20 to 30 years,” Nathan Kurtz, a NASA scientist who studies sea ice, told CNN. “In the fall, what used to be Arctic ice cover year-round is now just going to be seasonal ice cover.”

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Categories
Business

Tourist charged $865 for a 10-minute pedicab ride in London

Tourist charged $865 for a 10-minute pedicab ride in London

A tourist in London has found out the hard way that some unscrupulous pedicab, or rickshaw, drivers are operating in the UK capital.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was charged a massive £500 ($A865) for a 10-minute ride last month.

The victim said he hailed down the rickshaw from Mayfair for a trip to nearby Soho.

He admitted that he had a few drinks inside him and said the driver distracted him as he put in his card details.

“I’d had a few drinks, and I should have realized but I blindly put my card in the machine,” he told The Local Democracy Reporting Service. “He was good at what he did.”

The man said more needed to be done to license pedicab drivers as currently they set their own prices.

“They obviously need to be regulated like taxis and they need to be licensed. At the end of the day, these guys could be anyone.”

New laws are due to be introduced to crack down on what the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps called “the Wild West of pedicabs or rickshaws.”

Westminster Council leader Adam Hug said unlicensed pedicabs “are a dangerous nuisance across the West End”.

“We’ve had enough of drivers blocking pavements, annoying residents and businesses late at night, and charging extortionate fares to visitors.”

It is not the first time that unlucky tourists have been forced to make huge payments to operators.

Two years ago, a 28-minute Uber trip across Coventry in the UK cost £606 ($A1048).

In 2018 in Paris, France, two unsuspecting tourists from Thailand were picked up by an unscrupulous taxi driver and charged an exorbitant fare.

They uploaded a video to YouTube showing their stand-off with a driver who charged them €247 ($A360) for the 45km journey from Charles de Gaulle airport into the city. The trip would normally cost €55. That driver was sentenced to eight months in prison.

Stuff.co.nz

See also: Don’t fall for this increasingly common rip-off overseas

See also: Ten things you need to know before your first trip overseas

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Categories
Technology

Netflix Has Some Great Games but No One Seems to Care

Netflix Has Some Great Games but No One Seems to Care

Since last year, Netflix has offered its subscribers access to free videogames. Now, data shows that less than one per cent of its users are actually playing any of these games. And while the streaming giant has announced more games coming to its service, very few of its over 200 million subscribers will likely care.

Back in November, Netflix began offering games as part of its subscription service, launching with five initial titles: Stranger Things: The Game, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Card Blast, Teeter Up, and Shooting Hoops. It’s since added more and now has over 25 mobile games that people can download through the Netflix app on either Android or iOS devices. Some of these games—like Into The Breach — are really good, too. And all of these games contain no ads or microtransactions.

As reported by CNBC, via data from app analytics company Apptopia, Netflix’s games have been downloaded just over 23 million times and have an average daily audience of 1.7 million. That might sound good on paper, but it’s basically nothing compared to Netflix’s 221 million subscribers. What this data seems to show is that about 200 million people who have access to Netflix’s library of games are currently not playing them or maybe don’t even know they exist.

Still, with a solid list of games that continues to grow, Netflix is ​​struggling to get anyone to care. Apptopia’s data shows that all of these games have a combined daily audience of 1.7 million. Meanwhile, there are hundreds of crappy mobile games that have twice that alone.

Last year, Netflix COO Greg Peters told investors it plans to be “experimental” and will “try a bunch of things,” while explaining that the company is focused on “the long-term prize” of creating popular games that are “connected” to hit Netflix shows and movies.

And while Netflix says it will double its current game library by the end of the year, with only one per cent of subscribers playing these games, it’s hard not to wonder how long before the streamer decides its foray into gaming is too expensive and not worth Item?

Remember, Netflix is ​​currently facing a problem with keeping users. Since the beginning of this year, the streamer has lost 1.2 million subscribers. In response to downward trending numbers, Netflix has cut jobs, spending, and canceled shows. Building and supporting a library of games that can compete with Game Pass or Apple Arcade isn’t cheap.

For example, earlier this year, Netflix paid over $US70 ($97) million to buy up the studio behind a stranger things puzzle game. That ain’t nothing and in a time when the company is looking to cut costs and compete against other Foggers, it’s questionable how long it will continue to finance this gaming experiment.

Categories
Entertainment

Kevin Smith: ‘It’s an incredibly bad look to cancel the Latina Batgirl movie’ | batgirl

Kevin Smith is one of a number of directors who have weighed in on the decision by Warner Bros to cancel the release of its completed Batgirl movie.

Speaking on his YouTube series Hollywood Babble-On, Smith said: “It’s an incredibly bad look to cancel the Latina Batgirl movie. I don’t give a shit if the movie was absolutely fucking dogshit – I guarantee you that it wasn’t. The two directors who directed that movie did a couple of episodes of Ms Marvel, and it was a wonderful fucking show and they had more money to do Batgirl than they had to do an episode of Ms Marvel and stuff.”

Batgirl was scrapped last week by Warner Bros Discovery. No explanation has been given, however, CEO David Zaslav said: “We’re not going to launch a movie until it’s ready.” Speculation that the film’s poor quality was the reason behind the move has been questioned by some in favor of the theory it was more cost-effective for the studio to bury the film.

Theories have been circulating that marketing and promotional costs would have been considerable, and the tax incentive for suppression could have outweighed the goodwill and potential profits that would have come from a release. However, Warner Bros are yet to comment on this speculation.

Batgirl co-director Adil El Arbi revealed on Instagram over the weekend that several high-profile Hollywood names had reached out to him and fellow director Bilall Fallah in the wake of the cancellation.

Arbi shared an email from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who had previously commissioned the pair on Ms Marvel.

“My friends, I had to reach out and let you know we are all thinking about you both,” Feige wrote. “Because of the wonderful news about the wedding (congrats!) and the disappointing news about Batgirl. Very proud of you guys and all the amazing work you do and particularly Ms Marvel of course! Can’t wait to see what is next for you. Hope to see you soon.”

Other directors who had offered their support included Edgar Wright and James Gunn. “Your kind words and experience mean a lot and help us through this difficult period,” wrote Arbi.

Both Wright and Gunn have had unfortunate experiences with superhero movies. Wright was for many years attached to Ant-Man, but left the project shortly before production due to “creative differences.”

Meanwhile Gunn was fired from directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 after unfortunate tweets by the director resurfaced, for which he later apologised. After many stars and fans voiced their support for Gunn, he was reinstated.

Categories
Sports

Cricket news 2022: Chris Lynn turns back on Big Bash League, signs for United Arab Emirates T20 tournament

Cricket news 2022: Chris Lynn turns back on Big Bash League, signs for United Arab Emirates T20 tournament

Australian cricketer Chris Lynn has officially turned his back on the Big Bash League, signing on for the inaugural International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates.

On Monday, Emirates Cricket announced that 54 international cricketers had agreed to participate in the newly-developed T20 league, which makes its debut in January 2023.

Lynn, one of the sport’s most destructive short-format batters, was the only Australian featured on a list headed by Ashes hero Moeen Ali and West Indies veteran Andre Russell.

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The 2023 ILT20 will have 34 matches, with all the teams playing each other twice before four playoffs fixtures across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

It’s understood the UAE league could offer players up to AU$700,000 for five weeks’ work.

“It’s exciting to see how well the squads are shaping up for the first season of ILT20,” Emirates Cricket General Secretary Mubashshir Usmani said in a statement.

“Each team will consist of 18 players including four UAE players and two other players from ICC Associate countries. The quality of the names announced today is outstanding and so is the interest in our league of top players from all around the world.

“We are very excited that a select number of UAE representative-players, from our current pool, will also be considered and signed on to participate in the league. It is also extremely important to note that these (UAE) players will form part of the team’s playing XI.

“One of the key objectives for ILT20 is to provide opportunities for players from UAE and other Associate nations to perform on the big stage, and, ECB extends its deep appreciation to the six franchises for their support of our vision to grow our game and create stronger, more competitive players.”

The announcement effectively confirms that Lynn, the highest run-scorer in Big Bash history, won’t sign for a BBL franchise this year.

In May, the Brisbane Heat elected not to renew the Queenslander’s $200,000 contract after a couple of underwhelming seasons in the domestic T20 tournament.

Lynn was not only one of the Heat’s foundation players, winning a BBL title with the Brisbane-based club in 2013, he also served as captain for several years.

According to The Agethe 32-year-old was unable to find another club willing to meet his asking price, although he had recently been in talks with the Adelaide Strikers.

The powerful right-hander has scored 3005 Big Bash runs at 34.54 at an imposing strike rate of 148.83.

Lynn has been in impeccable form this winter, recently smacking an unbeaten 113 from 57 balls in the T20 Blast to equal his highest individual score and set up a Northamptonshire victory.

Although the loss of Lynn is a massive blow for the BBL, Cricket Australia is reportedly on the verge of brokering a deal with superstar batter David Warner.

According to AustralianWarner has been offered a groundbreaking BBL contract above and beyond any previous player contract.

“I am very hopeful David will play BBL and I am hopeful that all of our best Australian cricketers will play in it,” Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive Todd Greenberg told the Cricket Et Cetera podcast this week.

“There’s a variety of reasons why. There’s absolutely no doubt that someone like David and others of his ilk could earn more in the coming Australian summer if they were to ply their trade overseas, but there’s a much broader discussion and a bigger picture we are trying to solve here and that’s the discussion I am having with several of our players this week.”

CA is desperate to ensure the sport’s biggest names will make an appearance in the BBL this summer; the competition has been starved of international-quality talent after the last two seasons were plagued by Covid-19.

Earlier this year, The Daily Telegraph reported that broadcaster Channel 7 had launched Federal Court action against CA in a bid to terminate its TV rights deal.

According to the News Corp report, Seven is adamant the cricketers that featured in last summer’s BBL were not of a high enough quality for the competition to meet the standard provisions stipulated in CA’s TV rights contract.

However, the Big Bash has already secured the services of former South African captain Faf du Plessis and Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan, while Australian stars Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Swepson, Nathan Lyon and Alex Carey have also signed for their respective BBL franchises.

“These leagues we are talking about at the moment are competing with our Australian domestic summer and that is the first time we’ve faced this, it is a unique challenge,” Greenberg said.

“The second thing is that the reasons they enjoy the benefits and remunerations that they enjoy under this model is because of those that came before them.

“David and others understand … and are very aware that if they play in this competition it increases the opportunity for the next broadcast deal to be secured at a higher number which maybe doesn’t benefit them specifically, but it benefits the next generation of Australian cricketers coming through.

“This is a real test of our players demonstrating the level of partnership.

“They understand they have to get the best players to play, which includes them and the best players from overseas, which is why we’ve agreed in this one-year deal to ensure that there is an international draft and salary cap – an opportunity to bring the best overseas players in.”

Because South Africa has withdrawn from next January’s three-match ODI series against Australia, the country’s international stars will be available for the second half of the BBL.

However, multi-format paceman Mitchell Starc has already decided he won’t be signing for any franchise due to the sport’s busy calendar, and Australian teammates Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins will most likely follow suit.

“I have always enjoyed the BBL when I have played it … but my approach with all franchise cricket hasn’t changed over the last seven years,” Starc told AAP earlier this month.

“My approach to the IPL, BBL, I have looked at the Australian schedule and wanting to be as fit and well-performed for that as I can.

“And franchise cricket has taken a back seat.”

Read related topics:Brisbane

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Categories
Australia

80th anniversary service of Kokoda campaign honors Queensland’s only surviving veteran of the 39th battalion

Kokoda veteran, George Turns sits looking forward, wearing his military medals and hatand

At 101, George Turner is one of the only surviving veterans of the 39th battalion so all eyes were on him at a ceremony marking 80 years since the Kokoda campaign in Papua New Guinea.

“I got to 101—lucky wasn’t I?” Mr Turner said.

“I was only about 20 when I was up there.

“I was a truck driver… one of two truck drivers… the other one was sergeant by rank. He got killed [in] the first bombing raid. He was sleeping beside me about six feet away.”

On Monday, Mr Turner attended a commemoration service at the Gold Coast, that marked the second engagement of the campaign 80 years ago.

During that battle, the 39th battalion advanced to retake Kokoda, but retreated two days later.

an elderly man in a wheelchair sits beside a smiling younger woman in a marquee.
39th battalion veteran George Turner with Moncrieff MP Angie Bell. (ABC Gold Coast: Kimberley Bernard)

Mr Turner attended the service with his sons and grandsons who have also had careers in the military.

“Many of the family have been in the military. We have five generations, four of them here,” said Ian Turner, Mr Turner’s son.

“There has always been a tradition of serving and to understand what that meant for the nation.

“It’s the whole battalion that Australia is recognizing more today than they ever did.”

Colorful wreaths lay on the green grass next to the foot of a guest at the 80th commemorations
Floral wreaths were laid during the 80th anniversary commemorations. (ABC Gold Coast: Kimberley Bernard.)

military importance

Governor-General David Hurley emphasized the importance of Kokoda to Australia’s military history.

“That battalion stood between Australia and the Japanese during the Second World War,” he said.

About 600 Australian soldiers were killed and 1600 wounded.

“It’s good to remember history … we shouldn’t forget what we’ve been through and the cost that was paid to allow us to be as we are today,” he said.

“We’re reflecting on that sacrifice, that service and what it’s allowed us to do as a nation.”

Two teenage boys sit and stare at the camera, dressed in army fatigues in front of a small wall of sandbags
Students participated in the anniversary service.(ABC Gold Coast: Kimberley Bernard)

Both flags flying

For Merv Wilkinson, the service was about remembering his father, warrant office John Dobell Wilkinson, who was a medic in the 39th battalion.

“Very brave and courageous soldier,” he said.

“He was a great man of great courage, integrity and service.”

Mr Wilkinson noted the Papua New Guinean flag flying at the ceremony.

“It’s absolutely crucial … that there’s a blend of not just the 39th but the Papua New Guinean soldiers as well,” he said.

“Being of mixed Australian-Papuan descent, I’m so pleased that both country’s flags are flying.”

a large stone sculpture with wreaths in front of it.
The commemorative service was held at the Kokoda Memorial at Cascade Gardens on the Gold Coast. (ABC Gold Coast: Heidi Sheehan)

Acting Consul-General of Papua New Guinea Jimmy Ovia said he was honored to be part of the 80th anniversary commemorations.

He spoke about the shared challenges of the Australian and Papua New Guinean soldiers.

“The carriers of Papua New Guinea played a very, very key role,” he said.

Mr Ovia said the treacherous mountain terrain was new for the Australian soldiers “so the carriers and those who knew the bush tracks helped guide the Australians” during the campaign.

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Categories
US

Trump Says FBI Raided His Mar-a-Lago Home: Live Updates

Trump Says FBI Raided His Mar-a-Lago Home: Live Updates

Former President Donald J. Trump said on Monday that the FBI had searched his Palm Beach, Fla., home and had broken open a safe — an account signaling a dramatic escalation in the various investigations into the final stages of his presidency.

The search, according to multiple people familiar with the investigation, appeared to be focused on material that Mr. Trump had brought with him to Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence, when he left the White House. Those boxes contained many pages of classified documents, according to a person familiar with their contents.

Mr. Trump delayed returning 15 boxes of material requested by officials with the National Archives for many months, only doing so when there became a threat of action being taken to retrieve them.

Credit…MediaPunch, via Associated Press

The FBI would have needed to convince a judge that it had probable cause that a crime had been committed to obtain a search warrant, and proceeding with a search on a former president’s home would almost surely have required sign-off from top officials at the bureau and the Justice Department.

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment, and Justice Department officials did not initially respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Trump was not at his home in Florida at the time of the raid, and was in the New York area.

Mr. Trump, who campaigned for president in 2016 criticizing Hillary Clinton’s practice of maintaining a private email server for government-related messages while she was secretary of state, was known throughout his term to rip up official material that was intended to be held for presidential files. One person familiar with his habits said that he included classified material that was shredded in his bedroom and elsewhere.

“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Mr. Trump said, maintaining it was an effort to stop him from running for president in 2024. “Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries.”

“They even broke into my safe!” he wrote.

Mr. Trump did not share any details about what the FBI agents said they were searching for.

The search took place on Monday morning, a person familiar with it said, although Mr. Trump claimed agents were still there many hours later.

The search was at least in part for whether any records remained at the club, the person familiar with the search said.

Aides to President Biden said they were stunned by the development and had learned of it from Twitter.

“After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Mr. Trump said, maintaining it was an effort to stop him from running for president in 2024. “Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World Countries.”

“They even broke into my safe!” he wrote. “What is the difference between this and Watergate, where operatives broke into the Democratic National Committee? Here, in reverse, Democrats broke into the home of the 45th President of the United States.”

The reported search came at a time when the Justice Department has also been stepping up questioning of former Trump aides who had been witnesses to discussion and planning in the White House of Mr. Trump’s efforts to remain in office after his loss in the 2020 election.

Mr. Trump has been the focus of questions asked by federal prosecutors in connection with a scheme to send “fake” voters to Congress for the certification of the Electoral College.

The current FBI director, Christopher A. Wray, was appointed by Mr. Trump.

The law governing the preservation of White House materials, the Presidential Records Act, lacks teeth, but criminal statutes can come into play, especially in the case of classified material.

Criminal codes, which carry jail time, prohibit anyone who “willfully injures or commits any depredation against any property of the United States” and anyone who “willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates or destroys” government documents.

Samuel R. Berger, a national security adviser to President Bill Clinton, pleaded guilty in 2015 to a misdemeanor charge for removing classified material from a government archive. In 2007, Donald Keyser, an Asia expert and former senior State Department official, was sentenced to prison after he confessed to keeping more than 3,000 sensitive documents — ranging from the classified to the top secret — in his basement.

In 1999, the Central Intelligence Agency announced it had suspended the security clearance of its former director, John M. Deutch, after concluding that he had improperly handled national secrets on a desktop computer at his home.

In January of this year, the archives retrieved 15 boxes that Mr. Trump had taken with him to Mar-a-Lago from the White House residence when his term ended. The boxes included material subject to the Presidential Records Act, which requires that all documents and records pertaining to official business be turned over to the archives.

The items in the boxes included documents, mementos, gifts and letters. The archives did not describe the classified material it found other than to say that it was “classified national security information.”

Because the National Archives “identified classified information in the boxes,” the agency “has been in communication with the Department of Justice,” David S. Ferriero, the national archivist, told Congress at the time.

Federal prosecutors subsequently began a grand jury investigation, according to two people briefed on the matter. Prosecutors issued a subpoena earlier this year to the archives to obtain the boxes of classified documents, according to the two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The authorities also made interview requests to people who worked in the White House in the final days of Mr. Trump’s presidency, according to one of the people.

Jonathan Martin contributed reporting.

Categories
Business

ASX set to open lower as Wall Street wavers

ASX set to open lower as Wall Street wavers

Major stock indexes on Wall Street gave up early gains and ended a choppy day of trading little changed Monday.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each slipped 0.1 per cent after shedding gains of 1 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.1 per cent higher. The Australian sharemarket is set to start the day lower with futures at 5.04am AEST pointing to a fall of 17 points, or 0.3 per cent at the open.

Wall Street has made an uncertain start to the week.

Wall Street has made an uncertain start to the week.Credit:NYSE

Small-company stocks outpaced the broader market in a sign that investors were confident about the economy. The Russell 2000 rose 1 per cent.

The market’s latest gyrations came as investors prepare for a busy week of economic updates that could help answer whether the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy and quell inflation are working, or whether the central bank will continue aggressively raising interest rates. Wall Street is worried that the Fed could hit the brakes too hard and cause a recession.

“Early indications of inflationary pressures appear to be easing, which will be an important catalyst for the market,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial.

The S&P 500 fell 5.13 points to 4,140.06, while the Nasdaq slid 13.10 points to 12,644.46. The Dow added 29.07 points to close at 32,832.54. The Russell 2000 rose 19.38 points to 1,941.21.

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The benchmark S&P 500 index is coming off three consecutive weekly gains. Investors remain focused on inflation and its impact on businesses and consumers, along with the Federal Reserve’s efforts to fight higher prices. The central bank has been aggressively raising interest rates to pump the brakes on economic growth and rein in record-high inflation. The Fed is expected to hike short-term interest rates by another 0.75 percentage points at its next meeting.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday released a survey of consumer expectations from July showing that there were “substantial declines” in inflation expectations for everything from food and gas to home prices.

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Technology

Classic Ford Falcon John Goss Special Uncovered In Australian Farm Shed

Classic Ford Falcon John Goss Special Uncovered In Australian Farm Shed


A rare Ford XB Falcon John Goss Special has been discovered in an Australian farm shed and is bound to get local enthusiasts talking.

Ford Australia introduced the John Goss Special to celebrate John Goss’ win at the Bathurst 1000 endurance race in 1974. It was based on the XB Falcon 500 Hardtop of the time and while Ford has never said how many examples it built, production is thought to have only run from July 1975 to November 1975. Estimates suggest that between 260 and 800 units were built.

This particular Falcon John Goss Special was found in South Australia by The Muscle Car Shop. Apparently, the car had been sitting in a shed since 1988 and has never been started since.

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The exterior of the car is finished in Polar White that is contrasted by Emerald Green across the hood, front bumper, rocker panels, wheel arches, rear bumper, and rear fascia. Various bright orange accents are also found across the exterior.

Photos shared to Facebook of the car show that it was covered in a thick layer of dirt but apparently doesn’t have any rust, something that will no doubt make it much easier to sell. No mention is made about any work that the car may need in order for its engine to start and for it to be driven, although The Muscle Car Shop is open to offers for those wanting to buy it.

Powering the Ford is a 302 cubic-inch (4.9-liter) Cleveland V8. This V8 was good for approximately 240 hp and 305 lb-ft (414 Nm) of torque when it was new and came coupled to either a four-speed manual transmission or a three-speed automatic driving the rear wheels. It is unclear which transmission this particular John Goss Special has but the car is certainly valuable. In fact, a restored example recently sold for AU$250,000 ($172,000).

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