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Australia

Call for help to identify man hit by train in inner Melbourne

Police are calling for help to identify a man who was critically injured when he was hit by a train inside melbourne.

The man has been in hospital for more than a month since he was hit by a train between Royal Park and Jewell railway stations in Brunswick on July 7.

The man, who is believed to be around 65 to 75-years-old, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and is still in a serious condition.

Police are trying to identify this man, who is in a Melbourne hospital after being hit by a train. (Victoria Police)

Police have been unable to establish his identity despite “extensive inquiries”.

The man had no phone, wallet or cards on him at the time of the incident.

He has been able to mumble the names “Roy” and “Ryan” from Coburg.

It is not clear whether he is referring to himself or someone he knows.

Police have released a facial composite image in the hope someone may recognize him.

He is described as Caucasian, about 175cm tall and of medium build.

train
The man was hit by a metro train. (TheAge)

He has a prominent mole below his left eye, no identifying scars and no tattoos.

It is unknown exactly what the man was wearing at the time of the incident, but he was wearing black runners with white soles, black socks and a black belt.

Anyone who recognizes the man or has information is urged to contact the police.

Categories
US

Federal court rules that House committee can access Trump’s tax records

A federal appeals court unanimously ruled Tuesday that a House committee can access former President Donald Trump’s tax records following a yearslong legal battle.

A three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the House Ways and Means Committee has the authority to obtain Trump’s tax records from the Treasury Department, upholding a district court ruling from late last year.

Trump’s lawyers are all but certain to appeal the ruling.

NBC News has reached out to a Trump spokesman and a member of his legal team for comment.

The court ruling adds to Trump’s legal woes following an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home on Monday. A source familiar with the matter told NBC News that the search was tied to classified information Trump allegedly took with him from the White House to his Palm Beach resort in January 2021.

Tuesday’s appeals court ruling is the latest twist in a multi-year legal fight over his tax records. A federal judge in December tossed out Trump’s lawsuit seeking to block the House panel from obtaining his tax returns, rejecting the former president’s claim that Congress had no legitimate need to look at the returns and that Congress was simply snooping around in an effort to embarrass him .

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., on Tuesday lauded the appeals court’s “long-anticipated” opinion. Neal first requested copies of Trump’s federal tax returns in April 2019, a request the Treasury Department initially refused.

“With great patience, we followed the judicial process, and yet again, our position has been affirmed by the Courts,” Neal said in a statement. “When we receive the returns, we will begin our oversight of the IRS’s mandatory presidential audit program .”

Neal had initially cited a federal law that requires the Treasury Department and the IRS to turn over individual tax returns when demanded by any of the three congressional tax committees.

“The Chairman has identified a legitimate legislative purpose that it requires information to accomplish,” the appeals court ruling states. “At this stage, it is not our place to delve deeper than this. The mere fact that individual members of Congress may have political motivations as well as legislative ones is of no moment. Indeed, it is likely rare that an individual member of Congress would work for a legislative purpose without considering the political implications.”

If he appeals, Trump would have to ask the full circuit court to rehear the case or appeal directly to the Supreme Court.

The House committee’s top Republican, Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, urged Trump to appeal the court’s decision.

The ruling “unleashes a dangerous new political weapon,” Brady said in a statement, arguing it would grant Congress the ability “to target and make public the tax returns of political enemies.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., meanwhile called the court’s decision a “victory for the rule of law,” in a statement Tuesday.

“Access to the former president’s tax returns is crucial to upholding the public interest, our national security & our Democracy,” Pelosi said.

daniel barnes and Kyle Stewart contributed.

Categories
Business

Power companies switch off support for key clean energy proposal

A key reform the federal government says is urgently needed to modernize the electricity grid and boost the take-up of clean energy has been plunged into uncertainty after both major fossil fuel and renewable power companies hit out at the plan.

The Energy Security Board (ESB), the Commonwealth’s policy adviser, is receiving pushback, including from Origin Energy and AGL, over a proposal to direct payments to companies to run generators or store power to back up renewables when the sun isn’t shining and wind isn’t blowing.

Major power companies are questioning ESB's proposal for a payment scheme to encourage more investment in clean power.

Major power companies are questioning ESB’s proposal for a payment scheme to encourage more investment in clean power. Credit:AP

The ESB has proposed that the so-called “capacity mechanism” be technology neutral, allowing plants powered by coal, gas or renewables to receive the payments. This has sparked concerns from some major power companies that incumbent fossil fuel generators would be propped up at the expense of investment in clean energy, or that consumers would pay higher bills than necessary.

It recently published industry feedback on the proposal, ahead of a meeting with state energy ministers on Friday at which the federal government will seek to speed up the creation of a capacity mechanism.

“Importantly, the capacity mechanism should not be viewed as a means of staving off coal closures, but work alongside a credible framework to help facilitate and manage orderly exits,” coal plant owner Origin said in its submission to the ESB’s capacity mechanism.

Another coal plant owner, AGL, said it was “particularly concerned at the potential for the proposed design to result in excessive costs for energy customers” and to dampen incentives for clean energy investment.

The ESB’s proposal is also opposed by clean energy companies, whose investment will be needed to deliver on the $300 billion required over the coming decade to expand the grid and link it to distant wind and solar farms as they replace coal plants.

However, some experts, including Grattan Institute energy director Tony Wood and former ESB chair Kerry Schott, are backing the ESB’s proposal, arguing the design can be shaped by energy ministers to prioritize clean power over coal.

Categories
Technology

GTA V ships nearly 170 million copies, makes up 44% of franchise sales

Grand Theft Auto V has shipped nearly 170 million copies worldwide across physical channels, continuing the game’s incremental monthly growth.

GTA V ships nearly 170 million copies, makes up 44% of franchise sales 123 |  TweakTown.com

VIEW GALLERY – 3 IMAGES

Even after 9 years with releases on 3 console generations, GTA V still isn’t slowing down. Take-Two Interactive has confirmed GTA V has sold-in nearly 170 million copies worldwide. Total franchise sales are now at 380 million, so GTA V makes up 44% of total GTA sales.

GTA V has sold copies of these entire franchises:

  • Assassin’s Creed (155 million+)
  • Final Fantasy (165 million+)
  • Resident Evil (127 million)
  • Monster Hunter (84 million)
GTA V ships nearly 170 million copies, makes up 44% of franchise sales 2 |  TweakTown.com

There’s two noticeable trends that arise from this data: GTA V has sold 5 million copies per quarter for six quarters in a row, and the PS5/Xbox Series X/S re-releases have not boosted game sales.

It’s also worth mentioning that the GTA trilogy remaster seems to have totally fizzled out in terms of sales. The trilogy remaster collection launched with a mighty 10 million units sold, but controversy has significantly affected continued sales of the game.

Rockstar Games will continue adding new GTA Online content to supplement GTA V as it works on the next major Grand Theft Auto game, which may release in its FY24 period.

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Categories
Sports

Serena Williams to retire after US Open

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that record. Obviously, I do. But day-to-day, I’m not really thinking about her.”

Williams later said in an Instagram post that it was time to move in a “different direction.”

Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2018.

Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2018.Credit:PA Pool

“The countdown has begun. I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different, but just exciting Serena.”

She also has a vast business portfolio to maintain.

For nearly a decade she has backed early-stage companies, including MasterClass, one of 16 unicorns – companies whose market value exceeds $US1 billion – to receive funding from Serena Ventures.

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On the court, Williams announced herself on the grandest stage by winning the 1999 US Open singles title, a tournament she would go on to win five more times.

Over the past two decades, she also claimed seven titles at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open and a further three at the French Open as she revolutionized the women’s game with a lethal mix of powerful serves, groundstrokes and athleticism.

Williams has had eight separate spells at the top of the WTA rankings, totaling 319 weeks as world number one.

“When Serena steps away from tennis, she will leave as the sport’s greatest player,” pioneer Billie Jean King said.

“After a career that has inspired a new generation of players and fans, she will forever be known as a champion who won on the court and raised the global profile of the sport off of it.”

Seven-time Grand Slam winner John McEnroe called Williams “an icon.”

“She’s in that level where Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tom Brady are,” he told USAToday. “Ella She’s like one of the all-time greatest athletes in the history of any sport-male or female.”

Williams also owns 14 women’s Grand Slam doubles titles with older sister Venus and has won four Olympic gold medals – singles (2012) and doubles (2000, 2008, 2012).

While she has earned a well-deserved reputation as tennis’ fiercest competitor, Williams played down expectations for her major final, after losing in the opening round at Wimbledon.

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“Unfortunately, I wasn’t ready to win Wimbledon this year. And I don’t know if I will be ready to win New York,” she wrote.

“I know there’s a fan fantasy that I might have tied Margaret that day in London, then maybe beat her record in New York… It’s a good fantasy. But I’m not looking for some ceremonial, final on-court moment.

“I’m terrible at goodbyes, the world’s worst. But please know that I am more grateful for you than I can ever express.”

The US Open main draw begins on August 29.

Williams said she and her husband, entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian, have been trying to have another child during the last year, a decision her four-year-old daughter Olympia is excited about.

“Sometimes before bed, she prays to Jehovah to bring her a baby sister,” Williams wrote.

The American won the 2017 Australian Open while she was two months pregnant but has no interest in being a pregnant athlete again: “I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out.”

“I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” she wrote. “But I’m turning 41 (in September), and something’s got to give.”

Reuters

Watch all the action from the US Open ad-free, live and on demand Stan Sportwith matches streaming in 4K UHD since August 30.

Categories
Australia

ACTU issues radical proposal to boost jobs, increase tax on businesses

Director of the Center for Future Work, Jim Stanford, who authored the ACTU’s jobs summit discussion paper, which is being published on Wednesday, said the RBA could easily drive the country into a recession as it used the “sledgehammer” of interest rates to drive down inflation.

“They are willing to cause a recession and throw hundreds of thousands of people out of work,” he said.

The ACTU believes the key focus of the Reserve Bank must change to full employment.

The ACTU believes the key focus of the Reserve Bank must change to full employment.Credit:Louie Douvis

Apart from changing the RBA’s role in the economy, the ACTU is pressing for a more active government role in the economy.

In what looms as a direct challenge to the new Labor government, unions believe there is a case for prices of key goods and services to be regulated to prevent “price gouging” and to reduce inflationary pressures. This would include the energy sector but could also extend to telecommunications or transport, which the ACTU says are “heavily concentrated” industries.

The ACTU believes all governments could do more to relieve pressure on the housing sector. It wants the RBA to end price speculation around property and policy changes such as an expansion of public housing, controls on rent and regulating housing credit to “more affordable” projects.

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It is pressing for the government to abandon the already legislated stage-three tax cuts, due to start in mid-2024, which will deliver large benefits to high-income earners.

An excess profits tax should be imposed on businesses enjoying windfall gains due to current high inflation while businesses that channel profits back to shareholders instead of re-investing the cash into infrastructure or productivity-enhancing technology should face financial penalties.

Unions will also use the summit to press the government to revitalize enterprise bargaining, arguing the industrial relations system is now “entirely broken”. It believes this re-regulation of the system would lift real wages in tandem with productivity.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus said working Australians had endured almost a decade of insecure work and stagnant wages. They were now facing high inflation that was contributing to real wage reductions.

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She said the nation’s top economic goal should be to give all people the chance of gaining secure and fairly paid employment.

“At the summit we have an opportunity to address the big problems that have remained unaddressed for a decade to kick-start wage growth, deliver secure jobs for Australian workers and see living standards rise again,” she said.

“Achieving this will require more than fiddling around the edges, it requires new ways of thinking about how our system is managed, who benefits from it and how to change it for the better.”

Unions are expected to have a strong presence at the summit, which has been dismissed by the Coalition as a “Labor talkfest”.

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But Liberal leader Dutton will be formally invited to attend by Treasurer Jim Chalmers who said the government was serious about bringing people together to find common ground on the nation’s economic challenges.

“There’s plenty of goodwill out there and a real appetite for co-operation. That spirit of co-operation can extend to the opposition if they are willing to accept it, and I hope they will,” he said.

“This is a working summit, not a soiree. We want participants to roll up their sleeves and bring fresh ideas to the table.”

Chalmers said the government wanted to also ensure independent MPs also had a presence at the summit, to be held on September 1 and 2.

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
US

Fulton judge orders Giuliani to testify before grand jury next week

The Fulton special grand jury appears to be interested in several events involving Giuliani in late 2020.

It’s subpoenaed witnesses who heard Giuliani’s falsehood-filled testimony before two Georgia legislative committees in Dec. 2020. It’s also interested in the appointment of the slate of “alternate” Trump electors, which Giuliani reportedly helped quarterback for the Trump campaign.

Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney talks to the lawyers during a court challenge to Rudy Giuliani’s subpoena to the Fulton County special grand jury examining Georgia’s 2020 elections at Fulton Superior Court Thursday, August 9, 2022. Steve Schaefer / [email protected] )

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney talks to the lawyers during a court challenge to Rudy Giuliani's subpoena to the Fulton County special grand jury examining Georgia's 2020 elections at Fulton Superior Court Thursday, August 9, 2022. Steve Schaefer / steve.schaefer@ajc.com )

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney talks to the lawyers during a court challenge to Rudy Giuliani’s subpoena to the Fulton County special grand jury examining Georgia’s 2020 elections at Fulton Superior Court Thursday, August 9, 2022. Steve Schaefer / [email protected] )

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Jurors have also interviewed Georgia elected officials who received calls from Trump, Giuliani and campaign officials, including House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge. Ralston previously told a north Georgia website that Giuliani had called him in Dec. 2020.

During Tuesday’s hour-long hearing, it quickly became clear just how much communications between Giuliani’s team and the DA’s office had broken down.

Thomas said he was brought on late last week after Giuliani’s New York attorney failed to make headway with the DA’s office. He said prosecutors did not reach out to Giuliani’s doctor to confirm the lawyer’s condition and eventually stopped returning phone calls.

Nathan Wade, a Fulton prosecutor, said Giuliani’s team initially said he couldn’t travel at all. A day later, Giuliani tweeted a smiling photo of himself with a young woman in New Hampshire. (Giuliani’s lawyer later clarified that he had been driven to New England.)

In a Monday court filing, the DA’s office also said it had received evidence that Giuliani purchased plane tickets to Italy and Switzerland for dates after his surgery. Thomas said those tickets were for a conference and other events scheduled before Giuliani’s procedure and that he ultimately canceled his trip.

McBurney said he will soon issue an order directing Giuliani to appear on Aug. 17th, barring more detail from Giuliani’s doctor about why driving or taking public transportation to Atlanta wouldn’t be feasible.

“That’s plenty of time to make the trip, a 13-hour drive,” he said. “New York is not close to Atlanta, but it’s not traveling from Fairbanks.”

Rudy Giuliani’s attorney Bill Thomas (L) and lawyer Nathan Wade for the DA shake hands before the start of a court challenge to Giuliani’s subpoena to the Fulton County special grand jury examining Georgia’s 2020 elections at Fulton Superior Court Thursday, August 9, 2022. Steve Schaefer / [email protected])

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Rudy Giuliani's attorney Bill Thomas (L) and lawyer Nathan Wade for the DA shake hands before the start of a court challenge to Giuliani's subpoena to the Fulton County special grand jury examining Georgia's 2020 elections at Fulton Superior Court Thursday, August 9, 2022. Steve Schaefer / steve.schaefer@ajc.com)

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Rudy Giuliani’s attorney Bill Thomas (L) and lawyer Nathan Wade for the DA shake hands before the start of a court challenge to Giuliani’s subpoena to the Fulton County special grand jury examining Georgia’s 2020 elections at Fulton Superior Court Thursday, August 9, 2022. Steve Schaefer / [email protected])

Credit: Steve Schaefer

Credit: Steve Schaefer

One question that was not answered during Tuesday’s hearing is whether Giuliani is a target of the investigation.

Thomas said the answer would shape the approach Giuliani’s team would take to their client’s testimony.

Regardless, it’s likely Giuliani will cite attorney-client or even executive privilege on many of the questions he would receive from prosecutors or jurors.

The 16 Republicans who claimed to be Georgia’s “duly elected” presidential electors were recently informed by the DA’s office that they’re targets of the probe and could be indicted. But McBurney recently ruled that the portion of the case involving one of the electors, state Sen. Burt Jones, would be handled by another, to-be-determined set of prosecutors after Fulton DA Fani Willis had a conflict of interest.

On Wednesday, attorneys for US Sen. Lindsey Graham are slated to appear before a federal judge to argue why their client shouldn’t have to appear in front of the special grand jury.


what’s next:

wednesday: Attorneys for US Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) are scheduled to argue in federal court why their client de ella shouldn’t have to honor his subpoena from the special grand jury.

next week: Hearings are scheduled in Colorado and New Mexico for subpoena challenges lodged by two lawyers affiliated with the Trump campaign, Jenna Ellis and John Eastman.

Aug 17: Barring more information from his doctor, attorney Rudy Giuliani is being ordered to testify before the grand jury.

Categories
Business

CBA increases profit to $9.7 billion, says most customers can cope with rising interest rates

The Commonwealth Bank has announced a 9 per cent increase in profits, despite a fall in its margins.

The bank made a net profit of $9.7 billion over the 2021-22 financial year and its preferred measure of cash profit, which excludes a range of one-offs, rose 11 per cent to $9.6 billion.

The increase in profits came despite a steep fall in net interest margin (NIM) — the gap between the rate the bank pays to borrow money and the rate it lends it out at and its main source of profits.

NIM fell 0.18 percentage points to 1.9 per cent, driven by lower home loan margins in an ultra-low interest rate environment.

Analysts expect the NIM to grow as the recent jump in interest rates is passed on in full to mortgage borrowers but only in part to savers.

The bank made up for falling profit margins on its loans by growing home lending by 7.4 per cent and business lending by 13.6 per cent, although its growth in home lending was slightly below its competitors.

CBA has expressed confidence that its customers will be able to keep up their repayments in the face of rapidly rising interest rates.

It said two-thirds of its customers had direct debits above their minimum required repayments at the current level of interest rates, although this would drop to a quarter if the cash rate rose to CBA’s forecast peak of 2.6 per cent.

The bank also noted that more than a third of its mortgage customers were at least two years ahead in their repayments, with around half at least three months ahead

However, 22 per cent are only paying just on time, while a further 15 per cent are less than one month ahead.

CBA’s economists are tipping home prices to fall at least 15 per cent from peak to trough, largely because rising interest rates are reducing borrowing capacity.

Most households can only borrow about the same amount or less than they could in 2016, while property investors have seen their borrowing capacity cut.

Commonwealth Bank shareholders will receive a final dividend of $2.10 per share, taking the full-year payout from the bank to $3.85.

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Categories
Technology

Apex Legends Season 14 kicks off with a wild battle pass trailer

The global launch for apex legends Season 14 is nearly upon us, and so is a slew of new cosmetics.

On Monday, developer Respawn Entertainment released another trailer for Apex Legends: Hunted. This one focuses entirely on what is included in the battle pass, such as skins for weapons and characters — keeping the “survival” motif going with everything. For example, Wraith now has the Veteran Voyager skin, which makes her look like some sort of dapper hunter from the 17th century. Meanwhile, Field Research Caustic is an alternative outfit that makes the mad scientist appear like he’s just starting experiments on people. Not really a softer side!

Watch the all-new trailer for Apex Legends: Hunted below. There’s also a high-quality YouTube mirror here.

Anyone curious about when the latest season goes live should check out GLHF‘s launch guide. Apex Legends: Hunted will have loads of sweeping changes to the charge rifle, spit fire, EVA-8, G7 Scout, and lots more. the overall level cap is rising while Kings Canyon is getting an overhaul as well.

Of course, the big draw of Season 14 is Vantage, the legend with an eye for sniping. She will likely have a profound effect on the competitive side of things.

Apex Legends: Hunted releases on Aug. 9, 2022, for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.

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Categories
Sports

NRL 2022: Ricky Stuart ban, suspension, press conference, video, Raiders, Panthers, Jaeman Salmon, Darren Lockyer

Darren Lockyer doesn’t buy the argument that, following Ricky Stuart’s “weak-gutted dog person” outburst, post-game press conferences should be scrapped.

Paul Gallen presented that argument in his latest column for Wide World of Sports, on the back of Stuart’s astonishing spray directed at Panthers playmaker Jaeman Salmon.

“Doing a media conference moments after a game is just stupid,” Gallen wrote.

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“It’s stupid and 99 per cent of the time it’s boring.

“The coaches go in there, and whenever they get asked a question about a contentious play they have the same answer.”

But Lockyer sees value in the coach and captain facing the press shortly after the game.

“Sometimes they televise it. I look at it in the AFL. Sometimes it’s quite enlightening watching them,” Lockyer said on Wide World of Sports’ QLDER.

“The passion, whether you’ve won or lost, is actually good to see.

“This is a slip-up from Ricky, it’s the wrong part.

“Changing the system based on what happened there — I think that would be wrong.

“I think it’s just a mistake by an individual that not many others would make.”

Stream the NRL premiership 2022 live and free on 9Now.

The NRL hit Stuart with a one-match ban and $25,000 fine, ruling the Raiders coach out of his side’s clash with St George Illawarra in Canberra on Sunday.

Raiders coach banned for ‘unacceptable’ spray

The suspension means as of Tuesday afternoon until next Wednesday Stuart is not allowed to enter Raiders headquarters, attend any training session or provide any coaching.

Those duties have been left to his three assistants.

Lockyer thought Stuart, an intense figure in rugby league, had “mellowed out”.

“We know Ricky’s a passionate person and at times he can boil over,” Lockyer said.

“We’ve seen it in the past.

“He’d been quite good the last sort of 18 months.

“I hadn’t seen a chair kicked on the sideline for a while.”

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