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US

Fulton judge orders Giuliani to testify before grand jury next week

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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.

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Business

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

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

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.”

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!

The backstories and controversies that have ignited feuds involving athletes

Categories
Australia

Christmas could be in jeopardy for a third year as COVID-19 waves set to continue indefinitely, experts warn

Christmas could be in jeopardy for a third year as COVID-19 waves set to continue indefinitely, experts warn

COVID-19 threatens to thwart many Queenslanders’ Christmas plans for a third consecutive year, but the New Year brings the hope of next generation vaccines that may better dampen virus transmission.

With experts predicting COVID waves to roll on indefinitely, Queenslanders are being urged to prepare for a “new normal”, with mandatory mask wearing expected to continue in “vulnerable” settings, such as hospitals and aged care.

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard this week tentatively forecast the next COVID wave to begin in December, although he said it was impossible to predict its severity.

While the third Omicron wave has peaked, Princess Alexandra Hospital Director of Infectious Diseases Geoffrey Playford called on the public to remain vigilant by continuing to wear masks when unable to socially distance and to stay up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines to protect themselves and “keep our healthcare system going as best as it can”.

“We’re all aware in other societies, particularly in South-East Asia, and North Asia, that mask wearing has been a part of normal business, normal society for quite some time – well before COVID-19,” Dr Playford said.

“It may well be that’s where the rest of us go as well.

A young woman wearing a mask.
Masks will be the norm for the foreseeable future. (ABC News: Elizabeth Pickering)

“Humans are incredibly adaptable, and I suspect we will just get to a new normal that we’ll accept as the normal moving forward and we will adapt to that.

“I doubt it will get back to the old normal.”

Hospital balancing act an ‘enormous challenge’

As the fourth year of the pandemic looms in 2023, Dr Playford said the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic had left healthcare workers concerned about the management of other diseases, unrelated to COVID, moving forward.

Dr Geoffrey Playford stands in a hospital corridor.
The Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Dr Geoffrey Playford says hospitals have grappled with enormous challenges.(ABC NewsEmma Pollard)

“People’s cancer screenings, people’s cancer management, all the other non-COVID-related health conditions need to be managed as best as we can side by side with the COVID response,” he said.

“Patients who have COVID need to be managed in specific areas of the hospital and that’s over and above all the other pressures upon our healthcare system and our hospital beds.

“That’s been an enormous challenge trying to balance both.

“Although COVID is circulating within the community and will always circulate within the community … we shouldn’t just be accepting transmission without trying to reduce it as much as possible.

“That takes the pressure off the healthcare system and allows all the non-COVID-related conditions to get the appropriate management that they deserve.”

People in COVID face masks at the Brisbane Cultural Center
Queensland’s third Omicron wave is in decline.(ABC NewsAlice Pavlovic)

In Queensland on Tuesday, 710 people were taking up hospital beds with COVID – down about 36 per cent from the third wave peak of 1,123 on July 26.

The state also recorded 24 COVID deaths in the previous 24 hours, taking the total since the pandemic began to 1,677.

‘Variant-specific boosters’ and nasal vaccines set to roll out

Federal Health Department data shows 65.81 per cent of Queenslanders aged 65 and older have received four doses of a COVID vaccine – just above the national average of 64.87 per cent.

While the first generation of vaccines have not generated herd immunity – creating immunity within the population to effectively quell the spread of COVID – they have been highly successful in reducing hospitalization and death.

A man wearing a shirt, blazer and blue glasses standing in front of ferns.
Infectious diseases specialist Paul Griffin says more than 100 COVID vaccines are undergoing clinical trials.(Supplied)

Infectious disease physician Paul Griffin said 2023 should see the availability of second-generation COVID jabs, including a “variant-specific booster”, that may be better at hosing down infections.

“We’re going to get improved tools to combat this virus,” he said.

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Categories
US

For Garland, FBI search of Trump property makes it hard to avoid political fray

For Garland, FBI search of Trump property makes it hard to avoid political fray

When President Biden tapped Merrick Garland to lead the Justice Department last year, he selected a cautious appeals court judge known as a political moderate who could build consensus.

Garland, a former federal prosecutor, would attempt to rebuild trust in the sprawling and powerful law enforcement agency after the tumultuous Trump presidency, his supporters said. He would try to convince the public and lawmakers that he was an apolitical attorney general, even as he tackled some of the nation’s most contentious political issues.

But the FBI’s highly unusual court-approved search Monday of former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club put Garland square in the middle of a huge political firestorm. The search, part of a long-running probe into the possible mishandling of presidential documents, drew praise from Democrats who have been hoping the Justice Department would seriously investigate Trump and the ire of conservatives who decried the search as an abuse of power.

Trump called the court-authorized search for “prosecutorial misconduct” and the “weaponization of the Justice System.” Some of his supporters of him say the FBI’s action could galvanize Trump’s base if he runs for president in 2024.

Republican allies on Capitol Hill denounced Garland and pledged to turn the tables and investigate the Justice Department. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said the attorney general should resign or be impeached.

Merrick Garland’s goal is to restore the integrity of the Justice Department. His legacy will still be defined by Trump.

The partisan outcry was the opposite of what Garland has sought in his 17 months on the job, during which he has launched multiple high-profile civil rights investigations and efforts to fight gun trafficking and hate crimes, while also overseeing the sprawling investigation of the Jan 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol and the unprecedented efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Time and again, Garland has refused to discuss that probe or any other investigation in progress, whether or not it involves the former president. He has repeatedly pledged to follow the facts where they lead, and to hold anyone who breaks the law accountable, regardless of who that person may be.

At news conferences, I have dodges reporters’ queries about Trump, which inevitably comes up. Two of the four reporters permitted to ask questions at a news conference last week on charges filed against police officers in connection with the killing of Breonna Taylor chose to ask about investigations into Trump. Both times, Garland declined to answer.

For months, Trump’s critics — especially, but not limited to, the left — pummeled Garland for not moving quickly to investigate Trump on multiple fronts. In recent weeks and months, without fanfare, the Justice Department and US attorney’s office in Washington began obtaining communications from people in Trump’s inner circle and subpoenaing witnesses to appear before a grand jury, clearly indicating that Trump’s actions and conversations had become part of the scope. of the Jan. 6-related probe.

“You are undoubtedly going to have people saying that this is the ultimate political act,” said Donald B. Ayer, a deputy attorney general under President George HW Bush, said of the raid. “But that’s just nonsense. … He has a job to do.”

The Justice Department would not comment on whether Garland signed off on the FBI raid, and Garland has not discussed it. He made just one public comment on Monday, about the sentencing of three men convicted on federal charges in connection with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a young Black man killed while jogging in his Georgia neighborhood.

“The Justice Department’s prosecution of this case and the court’s sentences today make clear that hate crimes have no place in our country,” Garland said in a statement. “Protecting civil rights and combatting white supremacist violence was a founding purpose of the Justice Department, and one that we will continue to pursue with the urgency it demands.”

What might the Mar-a-Lago search mean for Trump legally?

Kristy Parker, a former federal prosecutor and counsel at the advocacy group Protect Democracy, said that while it’s inevitable the reaction to the search would be politicized, Garland’s silence before and after the search of Trump’s property was critical to him building trust in the process. She said it showed the attorney general wasn’t trying to appeal to any group during the investigation and has been letting the probe run its course.

“It is important to look at the manner of what is being done, and not just the substance of what is being done,” Parker said. “And it’s just as important to depoliticizing the department to ensure that no one is above the law as it is to try to avoid prosecuting the president or someone from the opposite political party.”

But some lawyers questioned why the Justice Department and FBI would execute such a high-profile search on a former president’s residence over missing documents, even if some of them are classified (sitting presidents have broad powers to declassify documents, further complicating the situation).

Stanley Brand, a former House counsel who represents some of the Jan. 6 defendants and witnesses, said that search warrants don’t always yield any blockbuster or useful information. He called the FBI search of Trump’s property a huge escalation in the investigation of documents improperly taken to Mar-a-Lago. If investigators don’t recover materials that showed that there were serious national consequences for the materials he potentially kept, Brand said, it could tarnish the Justice Department’s reputation.

“If they are trying to rebound from the perception that their decision-making was skewed from the Trump era, this is not going to help that,” Brand said. “Part of it depends on what happens hereafter.”

Categories
Business

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) profits rise by 11 per cent to $9.6 billion

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) profits rise by 11 per cent to $9.6 billion

The Commonwealth Bank has notched up a $9.6 billion profit and will lift its dividend, after the banking giant’s bottom line benefited from solid loan growth and cuts to its bad debt charges.

As CBA delivered its full-year results on Wednesday, chief executive Matt Comyn said households were in a strong position in a challenging economy, but the bank expected a softening in consumer spending amid rising costs of living.

CBA will pay a final dividend of $2.10 a share.

CBA will pay a final dividend of $2.10 a share.Credit:James Alcock

“Against many measures, Australian households and businesses are in a strong position given low unemployment, low underemployment, and strong non-mining investment. However inflation is high, and we have seen a rapid increase in the cash rate which is negatively impacting consumer confidence,” Comyn said.

“We expect consumer demand to moderate as cost of living pressures increase. It is a challenging time, but we remain optimistic that a path can be found to navigate through these economic conditions.”

In what Comyn said was a “strong” result for shareholders, CBA’s cash profits rose 11 per cent to $9.6 billion. The improvement in its bottom line was helped volume growth in its core businesses, lower costs, and a $357 million loan impairment benefit.

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CBA is increasing its final dividend by 10 per cent to $2.10 a share, and the payment will be fully-franked and paid on September 29.

The consensus forecast among analysts had been for cash earnings of $9.24 billion, according to Citi, and a final dividend of $2.09.

CBA’s result comes as investors are focused on how banks are being affected by rising interest rates, which have sparked fears of bad debts, and alongside a slowdown in the property market, which is a critical influence on banks’ loan growth.

Categories
Technology

Major changes are coming to WhatsApp. Here’s what you need to know

Major changes are coming to WhatsApp. Here's what you need to know

WhatsApp announced several new privacy updates on Tuesday, including the ability for users to check their messages without other people knowing.

The platform will soon allow people to control who can see when they’re online, prevent others from taking screenshots of certain messages, and leave groups without notifying entire channels.

WhatsApp has more than two billion users globally, and is owned by Facebook parent Meta.

Watch the latest News on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >>

Announcing the changes on Facebook and Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company would “keep building new ways to protect your messages and keep them as private and secure as face-to-face conversations.”

WhatsApp has long touted its use of end-to-end encryption, which means only the sender and recipient of a message can see its contents.

And like other private messaging platforms, it already allows users to send messages that disappear after set periods of time.

However, last year WhatsApp was heavily scrutinized after an update to its terms of service.

WhatsApp announced several new privacy updates on Tuesday. Credit: SOPA Images/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett

At the time, many users expressed concerns about a section of WhatsApp’s privacy policy that detailed what is shared with parent company Facebook, which has a troubled reputation when it comes to protecting user data.

The update sent some people flocking to Signal, another popular encrypted messaging platform.

Facebook tried to dispel confusion over the policy, saying that its data-sharing practices were not new and did not “impact how people communicate privately with friends or family”.

Now, two of the new features being introduced on WhatsApp — which will let you choose who can see when you’re active, and to leave groups silently — will start rolling out to all WhatsApp users this month.

The screenshot blocking tool, which will be made available on messages intended to be viewed just once, is still being tested and will be made available later, according to WhatsApp.

Instagram CEO defends recent changes.

Instagram CEO defends recent changes.

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Categories
Entertainment

Olivia Newton-John’s family indicates it would accept state funeral for Grease star

Olivia Newton-John's family indicates it would accept state funeral for Grease star

The family of Australian icon Olivia Newton-John is still in talks with the Victorian government about how the state will honor the late singer.

Newton-John, best known for her role as Sandy in the 1978 classic Grease, died on Monday, local time, at her ranch in southern California.

She had been diagnosed with cancer.

When asked during a press conference on Tuesday whether he would consider offering the family a state funeral, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he wanted to speak with them, citing Newton-John’s “amazing” contributions.

“I was honored to meet Olivia Newton-John on many different occasions, particularly in connection with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre,” Mr Andrews said.

“An absolutely supreme talent, a person of grace, a person of such energy and vitality.

“She took her cancer journey and used that to save lives and change lives.”

On Wednesday a spokesperson for the Premier said they were still talking to the family and no formal offer of a service had been made yet.

Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta dancing in a scene from Grease. Both are wearing black.
Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in an iconic scene from Grease.(Paramount Pictures)

Newton-John’s daughter Totti Goldsmith told Nine’s A Current Affair program on Tuesday the family would accept an offer of a state funeral.

“I think Australia needs it,” Goldsmith said.

Landmarks turn pink for Newton-John

Buildings in Melbourne bathed in a pink light
Buildings at Melbourne’s arts center were bathed in a pink glow in memory of Olivia Newton-John.(ABC News: Simon Tucci)

Born in the UK, Newton-John moved to the Victorian capital as a child.

The performer was a tireless campaigner for breast cancer research during her lifetime, having been diagnosed with the disease herself.

The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Center continues to operate at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne’s east.

Last night, landmarks including Flinders Street Station and the Melbourne Cricket Ground turned pink in honor of Newton-John’s legacy.

Buildings in Melbourne bathed in a pink light
The star moved to Melbourne as a child.(ABC News: Joseph Dunstan)

Visit ABC iview for our Remembering Olivia Newton-John collection.

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Categories
Sports

Australian legend Lauren Jackson will play for Opals at the World Cup after retiring in 2016

Australian legend Lauren Jackson will play for Opals at the World Cup after retiring in 2016

The remarkable comeback story of basketball champ Lauren Jackson has continued, with the 41-year-old included in Australia’s 12-strong Opals team for this year’s FIBA ​​Women’s Basketball World Cup nine years after she retired.

An emotional Jackson, who retired in 2016 through a chronic injury after a Hall of Fame career in Australia and the US, said she “didn’t honestly know” if her body would hold up to the rigors of international basketball again.

But Opals coach Sandy Brondello said Jackson would add “another dimension” to the team that has gone through some tough recent times in the wake of Liz Cambage’s controversial exit.

“Making the final cut to 12 is always difficult with so many great athletes pushing for selection” Brondello said.

“The training camp in New York demonstrated how much each of these athletes wanted to compete on home soil. The competition for a spot on the team was fierce.”

“Of course, the inclusion of Lauren is the talking point, but from my perspective, she has put in the work and deserves to be here. She will add another dimension to our team dynamic.”

Jackson began her comeback for local team Albury but is hoping to help the Opals add to the team’s rich World Cup legacy having won silver in 2018, bronze in 2014 and gold in 2006.

“There were a lot of emotions when Sandy rang me, I had a bit of a cry to be honest,” Jackson said.

“I have been working my body hard, and I didn’t honestly know if it was going to hold up to my intense training regimen, but it has and I’m feeling good.

“The whole team have been so welcoming and made me feel at home. The age difference disappears as soon as I step onto the court.

“I believe in this team and what we can achieve. If I can play a part if getting us onto the podium, then the hard work is all worthwhile.”

Shyla Heal was a notable omission from the final 12, with Bec Allen and Cayla George to return for their third World Cup appearance. Marianna Tolo, Steph Talbot, Sami Whitcomb, Tess Madgen and Ezi Magbegor will return for their second appearance and Sara Blicavs, Darcee Garbin, Anneli Maley and Kristy Wallace will make their debut.

Jackson will make her fifth World Cup appearance after last playing in 2010.

The squad is filled with international experience, with Allen (New York Liberty), Magbegor (Seattle Storm), Whitcomb (New York Liberty), Wallace (Atlanta Dream) and Talbot (Seattle Storm) all playing in the WNBA.

The Opals are ranked No.3 in the world and have drawn Group C, with pool matches against France, Serbia, Japan, Mali and Canada tipping off on September 22 in Sydney.

Australian Opals 2022 FIBA ​​Women’s Basketball World Cup team: Bec Allen, Sara Blicavs, Darcee Garbin, Cayla George, Lauren Jackson, Ezi Magbegor, Tess Madgen, Anneli Maley, Steph Talbot, Marianna Tolo, Kristy Wallace, Sami Whitcomb.

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