Wearing the same suit he wore to their last father-daughter dance, the shattered parent of a Parkland school massacre victim said Wednesday that there are times when he finds it difficult to go on.
Testifying at the sentencing trial of killer Nikolas Cruz, Anthony Montalto told jurors that the loss of his daughter, Gina, 14, continues to suffocate him in pain.
“Life without Gina is nearly unbearable,” he said as tearful spectators looked on in the gallery.
The teen was among the 14 students and three staffers gunned down in 2018 by Cruz with an AR-15 rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in one of the worst mass shootings in the nation’s history.
“The pain I feel every day since she was murdered is unimaginable,” Montalto said. “My daughter was always trying to make things better for others.”
The father tearfully described his daughter’s attributes and accomplishments, recalling the heroic time when she saved a toddler from drowning despite only being 10 years old at the time.
Montalto said his daughter noticed a 2-year-old boy struggling to stay afloat in a pool while their family was on a vacation.
Anthony Montalto, the father of Parkland school shooting victim Gina Montalto, had on the suit he wore to a father-daughter dance while testifying at shooter Nikolas Cruz’s sentencing trial on August 3, 2022.Amy Beth Bennett/Pool via REUTERSMontalto said at Cruz’s trial that life without his daughter Gina is “unbearable.”Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, PoolJennifer Montalto holding a photo of her daughter Gina while giving her victim impact statement.Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool
She rushed over and hoisted the toddler above the water line as her parents rushed over.
Moved by Montalto’s act, the boy’s thankful mother bought her a small gift as a token of her appreciation.
“Gina proudly displayed her turtle gift in her room to this day,” her father said before choking back tears.
“She was kind, compassionate and caring. those are just a few of the qualities that made her so special,” he said.
Family friend Isabel Dalu holding up a photo of Parkland victim Cara Loughran while on the stand.Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool
The straight-A student’s death has also deeply traumatized her younger brother, Anthony, who struggles to make sense of her absence, according to their father.
“He and Gina were best buddies,” Montalto said, again struggling to speak. “Playing together and filling our house with laughter. Now there is a deadening silence. Broken only by the deep sighs and soft sobbing that accompany what used to be happy memories of our children playing.”
Max Schachter, father of 14-year-old victim Alex Schachter, told the court that the loss of his son — who was killed sitting at his desk at just — has left him in pieces.
Max Schachter, the father of 14-year-old victim Alex Schachter, testified that his family was broken after the shooting.Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool
“Our family is broken,” he said. “There is this constant emptiness. I feel I can’t truly be happy. If I smile, I know that behind that smile there is the sharp realization that I will always be sad and miserable because Alex isn’t here.”
When preparing his eulogy after his death, the father said he went through Alex’s belongings and found a poem he wrote for an English class. I read it for the jury Wednesday.
“It might be hard to breathe at times,” the poem read. “But hold on tight and don’t let go. It might be too much at times, the twists at times, but get back up and eventually it all comes to a stop and you won’t know when or how.”
Jurors will decide if Cruz gets the death penalty or life without parole. On Thursday, the jury is set to walk through the school where the shooting took place, according to the Sun Sentinel.
People planning to attend one of American comedian Chris Rock’s upcoming shows must abide by a strict set of rules or prepare to be “immediately ejected”.
The threat has raised eyebrows online ahead of the beginning of his Australian tour next week, with ticketholders given firm orders surrounding the event’s phone-free policy.
Holders of tickets, which cost between $134.85 and $217.05, have been told “no mobile phones, smart watches, cameras or recording devices will be allowed at the venue”.
Anyone who dares bring their phone into the venue can expect to be swiftly booted, the Ticketek booking site warns.
“Anyone caught with a mobile phone in the venue will be immediately ejected,” the site reads.
Stream more entertainment news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends October 31, 2022 >
All devices will be stripped from audience members when they arrive, and secured in a YONDR pouch that will be unlocked by a special device at the end of the show.
Guests will be required to take their unusable phones to their seats and hold them throughout the show.
Afterwards, they will line up to have the pouch unlocked at an unlocking station before leaving the venue.
Guests will also need to print physical copies of their tickets to gain entry because digital ticketing won’t be available, Ticketek warned.
Someone who purchased tickets for Rock’s show at Sydney’s Aware Super Theater expressed concern over the strict rule in a post to Reddit on Thursday.
“Just got tickets to see Chris Rock, terms on the tickets say all phones and smart watches will be secured and you’ll be ejected if caught using them,” they wrote.
“I’d kind of like to be able to be reached by the person watching the kids, what the f*** is with this?”
The ticketholder’s concern was addressed by another Reddit user, who claimed the same system had been in place for other comedians, musicians and movie premieres.
“I’ve had to do it many times (comedians like Dave Chappelle, musicians like Jack White, film premieres). There’s usually a designated place where you can get your phone unlocked and check it if required,” they wrote.
The Ticketek event page states that guests “may access their phones at designated YONDR unlocking stations in the lobby” during the show if they need to.
“We appreciate your co-operation in creating a phone-free viewing experience,” the page reads.
Rock made global headlines earlier this year after being slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars for making a bald joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia.
The comedian broke his silence last month during a performance alongside Kevin Hart and Dave Chappelle at Madison Square Garden, according to ETOnline.
“Yeah, that sh*t hurt, motherf***er – but I shook that sh*t off and went to work the next day,” he said.
After remaining mostly silent for months, the comedian-actor addressed getting smacked while headlining stand-up shows in New York and New Jersey, the new york post reported.
“Anyone who says ‘words hurt’ has never been punched in the face,” he said.
During the event, Hart brought a live goat onstage and introduced it as “Will Smith”.
Ticketek has been contacted by news.com.au for comment.
Erik ten Hag said it was “unacceptable” for Cristiano Ronaldo and other Manchester United players to leave Old Trafford before the end of Sunday’s friendly against Rayo Vallecano.
After taking a strong team to Oslo to face Atletico Madrid on Saturday, United wrapped up their pre-season preparations against another Spanish side the following day.
Watch the world’s best footballers every week with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. LIVE coverage from Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Carabao Cup, EFL & SPFL. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
United drew 1-1 with Rayo at Old Trafford as star man Ronaldo made his first appearance of pre-season, playing the first 45 minutes.
The 37-year-old missed the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia due to a family issue, and the wantaway forward was pictured with Diogo Dalot leaving Sunday’s game before full-time.
Ten Hag did not speak to the media after the match but has now expressed his annoyance to broadcaster Viaplay.
“There were many more (as well as Ronaldo) who went home,” the United boss said. “This is unacceptable for everyone,” he said. “I tell them that it’s unacceptable, that we are a team, a squad and that you should stay until the end.”
Ten Hag will take charge of his first competitive match as United manager on Sunday, when they face Brighton at home in the Premier League.
It comes a week after Ronaldo returned to training for talks with the coach about his future at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo, who missed the club’s pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia for personal reasons, wants to leave the club he rejoined last year.
I have arrived at United’s Carrington training base with his agent Jorge Mendes. Former United manager Alex Ferguson was also seen arriving.
New United manager Ten Hag said earlier this month that Ronaldo was “not for sale”.
“We are planning for Cristiano Ronaldo for the season and that’s it and I’m looking forward to working with him,” he said.
“I have read it, but what I say is Cristiano is not for sale, he is in our plans and we want success together.” The former Real Madrid and Juventus player finished as United’s topscorer last season with 24 goals.
But the campaign was a huge disappointment for the club, who finished sixth in the Premier League, missing out on Champions League qualification.
In a separate letter, the NSW Department of Education said inquiries had been sent to King’s regarding the use of school funds.
loading
“As this matter is the subject of ongoing inquiry, it is not appropriate to comment further,” a spokesperson said. “The Department of Education routinely requests information from non-government schools to ensure compliance with not-for-profit funding requirements.”
It is understood the school is required to respond to the state government this week.
King’s, which has about 2000 students and is located in North Parramatta, charges fees that range from $24,000 for pre-school to $40,000 for year 12 and $69,000 for tuition and boarding in high school.
The school did not respond to questions on the letters from the state and federal governments. King’s previously defended a controversial trip by his headmaster and his wife to the Royal Henley Regatta, saying it was standard practice among independent schools to fly principals overseas, and traditional for principals to go business class. One estimate put the cost of flights and accommodation at $45,000, but the school later said that cost was “grossly exaggerated”.
Paul Kidson, an education leadership academic at the Australian Catholic University and a former independent school principal, said that regardless of how much money private schools receive from Commonwealth and state coffers, schools must be responsible and accountable for the expenditure.
“It should be done in a way that is both transparent and gives confidence about the appropriateness of spending,” he said.
“The issue about transparency is critical. Independent schools get funding from three main sources, the Commonwealth, limited amounts from the state government, and the rest of it from parent fees and other private sources. And a school like King’s will get the vast majority of its funding from fees,” he said.
“But at a time when society is looking to schools for what they contribute to who we are as a community, we should be working even harder to build confidence and trust in the schools, not erode it.”
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
The extreme rainfall and flash flooding that killed at least 37 people in Eastern Kentucky this week, washing away houses and cars and turning streets into raging rivers, is one more example of how climate change is poised to overwhelm infrastructure across the United States in the years you eat
“We have dozens of bridges that are out — making it hard to get to people, making it hard to supply people with water,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on Sunday. “We have entire water systems down that we are working hard to get up.”
With the electricity knocked out in many areas that set rainfall records, residents who survived the flooding were left to swelter without air conditioning amid the latest heat wave to hit the area this summer.
Janey Camp, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Vanderbilt University, told Yahoo News that the combination of climate change and the nation’s aging and neglected infrastructure are putting millions of people at risk of severe flooding.
“Nobody’s immune. I think Kentucky shows us that. It doesn’t matter if you’re in an urban area like Nashville or if you’re in rural Appalachia,” Camp said, adding, “We’re seeing more of these intense precipitation events, where there’s a lot of water dumped on an area in a short amount of time. And the infrastructure wasn’t designed to handle that amount of precipitation.”
On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that the Biden administration would make just over $1 billion in grants available for states to harden infrastructure against threats like flooding and extreme heat.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at an event on funding climate resilience in Miami on Monday. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
“In recent days, deadly floods have swept through Missouri and Kentucky, washing away entire neighborhoods, leaving at least 35 dead, including babies, children,” Harris said of the still-rising death toll. “As has been reported, four children from one family. So, the devastation is real. The harm is real. The impact is real.”
Camp said that action, the funding of which came from the 2021 bipartisan Infrastructure Law, was overdue.
“We have a lot of aging infrastructure, especially when you think about storm water. A lot of communities don’t even have their own department for managing storm water, it kind of falls to public works or the water department,” Camp said. “Only in recent years, the past decade or so, have we really started thinking more about storm water. Now we’re being hit with these extreme storm events where the stormwater infrastructure, or any infrastructure put in place to help convey water away from an area, is being exceeded.”
Climate scientists have shown that for every degree Celsius of warming, the Earth’s atmosphere holds 7% more moisture. When conditions are right, that moisture can unload in the form of extreme precipitation events like the ones that dumped 12 inches of rain in Eastern Kentucky last week and another foot of rain days later in Illinois. In fact, three so-called 1,000-year rain events hit the nation’s midsection in a matter of days this past week.
“It’s almost as if you need to be hit by something, unfortunately, before the community wakes up and starts doing things differently,” Camp said, adding, “We can look at trends. We can look at the down-scale climate data and say, ‘Hey, some of these things are starting to happen more.’ What we are seeing in a lot of areas, especially in the Southeast, is more precipitation. year event, it’s an anomaly, but we’re seeing these happen more frequently.”
A car destroyed by flooding in Central Appalachia in Kentucky on July 30, 2022. (Wang Changzheng/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Cities and towns across the country are required by FEMA to formulate hazard mitigation plans, and many do so using Hazus, the department’s computer tool, which is described as providing “data for estimating risk from earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and hurricanes.”
While that’s a good start at assessing risk, Camp said, the problem is that many communities don’t examine the worst-case models that climate change is making much more commonplace.
“In all reality, nobody’s running a 1,000-year event in their analysis. They’re running a 100-year event and maybe a 500-year event, to check the box and meet FEMA regulations for their hazard mitigation plan,” Camp said. “We need to quit looking at the past and start looking to the future And that’s challenging in a lot of communities, because they don’t have a lot of resources or expertise to do that.”
Indeed, communities like the ones ravaged in Appalachia didn’t have the budget to upgrade infrastructure to meet the threat of climate change. But if the Biden administration’s allocation of $1 billion in grant funding for infrastructure upgrades sounds like too much money, experts say far more money will be needed. As if to bolster that point, initial damage estimates for the recent flooding in Kentucky have been quoted at $1 billion.
We learned last week inflation is officially 6.1% – way above the average over the past 20 years of 2.5%. This is right in the middle of the Reserve Bank’s 2-3% target band.
But although the rate is now 6.1%, not everyone faces it. It depends on what you buy.
And there’s one big anomaly right now.
The “basket” of goods and services whose prices the Bureau of Statistics uses to work out the consumer price index is dominated by one item, one most Australians rarely buy.
It is what the bureau calls “new dwelling purchase by owner-occupiers”.
This is mostly the cost of building a new home (excluding the cost of the land) and also the cost of major renovations, but not repairs.
We rarely build a house, and rarely pay up front
Even though very few Australians pay this cost in any given year, and some never pay it, it makes up almost 9% of the total basket, a heavier weight than any other single item in the Consumer Price Index.
By way of comparison, bread – a product most households buy every day – makes up only 0.53% of the index. “New dwelling purchase” makes up 8.67%.
New dwelling purchase gets such a big weight because it is so expensive, sometimes as much as half a million dollars or more. Like most other items in the consumer price index, bread is cheaper.
We buy bread more often, but it scarcely counts
Normally when the price of “new dwelling purchase” isn’t moving by much (or by much more than other prices) it doesn’t much move the index.
But material and labor shortages mean that over the past year alone, the cost of new dwelling purchase has jumped by more than 20%. In the June quarter it was responsible for almost a third – 0.5 points – of the 1.8% increase in the entire consumer price index.
If your interest is the change in household cost of living, the inclusion of the cost of buying a new house is a problem as the very few people who pay it mostly don’t pay it upfront. They take out a loan which they pay off slowly.
Measured differently, costs didn’t rise 6.1%
Before 1998 the bureau used a different so-called “outlays” approach to measuring inflation that measured payments made to gain access to goods and services.
The resulting weight of housing in the index was much lower.
The bureau still uses the outlays method to calculate separately-published living cost indexes published on Wednesday.
Using these indexes, ANU modeling suggests about 80% of households had a living cost increase below the consumer price index of 6.1%.
The median (typical) increase over the past year is 4.7%, meaning half of households had increases in living costs below 4.7%.
Half of us faced less than 4.7%
Among the households whose living costs have climbed by less than 6.1% would be almost all of those headed by people on the JobSeeker unemployment benefit.
The cost of living for these households climbed by 5%.
Yet in September this year the benefit will increase in total by the increase in the consumer price index, meaning that for once the living standards of households receiving those benefits will move ahead.
Wage earner living costs have increased by just 4.6%, suggesting wage increases in line with the consumer price index would also leave them ahead.
Read more: Inflation hasn’t been higher for 32 years. What now?
Our modeling suggests high income families suffered a cost of living increase of only 4.5%, compared to 4.9% for lower income families.
For the moment, the lower living cost indexes are a better guide to changes in the cost of living than the consumer price index.
In time, as the increases in the cost of new dwellings subside, the difference will become less stark. Indeed, as mortgage rates increase over the year growth in the living cost indexes might exceed the consumer price index.
Read more: What’s in the CPI and what does it actually measure?
According to multiple recent rumors, Apple is expected to introduce a more expensive Apple Watch “Pro” this year in addition to the regular new Series 8 models. And as we’re only a month away from Apple’s new product announcements, the current Apple Watch Series 7 Edition is now sold out in the US and a few other countries.
Based on Apple’s website, most models of the Apple Watch Series 7 Edition are now sold out. As noted by MacRumorsthe product is unavailable in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries – although you can still find the 45mm version in some configurations.
In most cases, the Apple Watch Series 7 Edition is listed as “Currently Unavailable” in Apple’s online store. It’s also hard to find one of these models available by choosing the in-store pickup option, which suggests that the current generation Apple Watch Edition is indeed out of stock. This comes ahead of the announcement of the new Apple Watch Series 8 and the first Apple Watch Pro.
For those unfamiliar, Apple Watch Edition is a more expensive version of the Apple Watch made of titanium. In previous years, Apple Watch Edition was also available in gold and ceramic. However, despite the more premium materials, the Apple Watch Edition has exactly the same hardware as regular Apple Watch models.
Apple WatchPro
This year, it seems that Apple will take a different approach with the Apple Watch lineup. While Apple Watch Series 8 should be a minor upgrade compared to the Series 7, the company has also been working on a new model called “Apple Watch Pro” made for extreme sports. This Pro model will have a more rugged design and a different form factor than the current Apple Watch.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently reported that Apple Watch Pro will have a 7% larger display that will also allow Apple to put a larger battery inside it. More than that, this watch should be made of titanium, just like the Apple Watch Edition, so that it will be more durable than Apple Watches made of aluminum and stainless steel.
Gurman also reported that the Apple Watch Pro is expected to cost from $900 due to the larger display and premium material, which puts it close to the price of the Apple Watch Edition, which starts at $799. With that in mind, it won’t be a surprise if Apple discontinues the Edition models in favor of the new Pro model.
Considering that the Apple Watch Series 7 Edition is now sold out in multiple countries, this sounds even more likely.
Of course, Apple Watch Pro will also have the new body temperature sensor expected to be introduced with Apple Watch Series 8. However, none of this year’s models will have a faster chip compared to the Apple Watch Series 7, which has the same CPU as the Apple Watch Series 6.
Apple will likely introduce the new Apple Watch family in September along with the new iPhones. And if you’re looking to get a new Apple Watch for a great price, be sure to take a look at Amazon’s special deals.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Heidi and Mike were fan favorites on Beauty and the Geekand one of the few couples to spark a romance together during their time on the show.
Here we watched their relationship blossom, with the pair sharing a kiss on their first date and Heidi even taking Mike home to meet her family.
Catch up on the latest episodes of Beauty and the Geek on 9Now.
But Mike revealed to 9Entertainment that since they left the show the pair have decided not to continue exploring a romantic connection.
“Things pretty much ended as soon as things ended on the show. We went back and it kind of just ended from there,” he revealed.
“She just said she wasn’t ready to keep things going.”
Heidi and Mike still remain good friends. (Nine)
But despite the pair deciding to end things, the Geek assured that there’s no bad blood between them and that they still talk every day.
“I still love her, but not in the way that everyone wishes. We’re still really good friends and that’s all that matters… as long as I didn’t lose her, I didn’t care,” he said.
Mike and Heidi have even caught up several times since the show ended.
“I’ve been to Melbourne three times since the show ended and I’ve caught up with her every single time, so there’s nothing bad between Heidi and I,” he said.
READMORE:Aaron and Karly reveal their surprising prize money plans after winning Beauty and the Geek 2022
(Nine)
But when asked if he would ever want to get back with the Beauty, Mike revealed that he’s just focusing on himself at the moment. However he didn’t rule out the possibility of it happening later down the track.
Throughout the Beauty and the Geek experience, we watched Mike and Heidi share a romantic connection after the Geek took her on her first-ever date.
I have prepared a romantic fine dining experience for her, and even a hand-written love letter. The date ended with a slow dance and their first kiss.
From there, the couple continued to grow closer, and Heidi even took him home to her family farm during the Life Swap Challenge.
It was a momentous day for Heidi, as it was the first time she took a partner home to meet her family.
But sadly, their on-screen journey came to an end in Episode 9 after they failed to impress with their video skills during the TikTok Challenge.
Despite their Beauty and the Geek journey coming to an end, Mike sees Heidi as a life-long friend.
In Pictures
All of the best Mixer looks from Beauty and the Geek 2022
All of the cast return for the Grand Finale.
ViewGallery
Catch up on the latest episodes of Beauty and the Geek on 9Now.
Australia has suffered a historic three-goal loss to Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games, rocking their gold medal campaign in Birmingham.
The Diamonds had been expected to sail through their Pool A matches and meet the second ranked team in Pool B in the semi finals.
But they coughed up a six-goal lead heading into the final term to suffer their first ever loss to the Sunshine Girls.
A brilliant 47 goals from international superstar Jhaniele Fowler and some remarkable defensive efforts from Shamera Sterling ensured Jamaica nailed a 57-55 win.
Fox Netball’s Catherine Cox said the Diamonds “just shut up shop” in the last quarter as Jamaica ran home with the win.
“Australia couldn’t win the ball back – it was some brilliant defensive work from Jamaica. They really just lifted another level in the fourth quarter,” she said.
Questions will be asked of coach Stacey Marinkovich’s selections, with just Sunday Aryang entering for four minutes in the second term and Sarah Klau coming on to a rejigged defensive line with four minutes remaining in the match.
Gretel Bueta finished the pick of the Diamonds attack, despite being silenced in the final quarter by Sterling, with 36 goals from 39 attempts.
Steph Wood’s night ended with 19 goals at 86%.
QUARTER BY QUARTER MATCH REPORT
Australia opted to start Gretel Bueta at goal shooter, with Steph Wood and Liz Watson out in front of her. Kate Moloney got the nod at center with Ash Brazill, Jo Weston and Courtney Bruce rounding out the defensive trio.
For Jamaica, Jhaniele Fowler started at GS, with Beckford and Williams at GA and WA respectively. Nicole Dixon-Rochester was center with Super Netball trio Jodi-Ann Ward, Latanya Wilson and Shamera Sterling the starting defenders.
The world’s best shooter started the match with a bang, with five quick goals to open up the first break of the match for Jamaica.
Courtney Bruce kept her West Coast Fever teammate in Fowler as high as she could, but Shanice Beckford was brilliant around the edges to keep feeding from close range.
GAMES WRAP: Aussie men stunned as Titmus, McKeon finish on top in 25-gold blitz
FULL MEDAL TALLY >
Browning finishes 0.06 off a medal! | 00:25
Bruce and Jo Weston got early tips, but it was Jamaica who were able to convert while down the other end the connection to Gretel Bueta just fell away.
“The Diamonds are stunned here,” commentator Sue Gaudion said.
Australia scored just three goals in the opening seven minutes, before Steph Wood went from range and leveled up scores.
A Jodi-Ann Ward intercept gave Jamaica the lead once again as the long ball caught Weston’s eyes down.
“They exposed the Diamonds defense again,” Gaudion said.
A quick double play by Bueta ensured the Aussies took the lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first term.
Coach Connie Francis was left less than impressed when the Sunshine Girls threw away a brilliant Sterling intercept.
“But that is the issue – the conversion of those brilliant moments,” commentator Cath Cox said.
By the first break, it was Australia leading by one goal.
The Aussies went unchanged for the second term – the first time this tournament coach Stacey Marinkovich has opted for no changes after a break.
A big Sterling rebound gave Jamaica the first opportunity, but they couldn’t convert as Courtney Bruce’s brilliant hands over disrupted play.
“There’s plenty of feeling out there,” Cox said.
“Courtney Bruce giving the death stare to Beckford.”
The Aussies chanced their luck feeding Bueta with Sterling in hot pursuit but the move continued to pay off.
When Shanice Beckford found the top of the circle, the Sunshine Girls opted for a rare straight ball feed to Fowler.
“On the circle edge, feeding to Fowler – unbeatable,” Cox praised.
A rare mistake by Bueta saw the replay called, but once again Jamaica couldn’t convert as Khadijah Williams was penalized for footwork.
“It’s the simple things letting Jamaica down isn’t it,” Cox said.
Sunday Aryang was introduced at goal defence, joining her Fever teammates Bruce and Fowler in the goal circle.
And she almost had the immediate impact, getting a tip on a high ball to Fowler, but ultimately couldn’t stop the conversion.
Beckford had a brilliant intercept in front of Ash Brazill and suddenly the margin was back to one.
“Connie Francis willing them on,” Gaudion praised.
Wood backed her teammate Bueta when she went with the feed from the transverse, and the Firebird didn’t let her down with beautiful hands.
“The courage to let that go over the best goal keeper in the game… look at that take,” Cox praised.
By half time, it was Australia leading 30-29.
Weston returned to the court as some bad hands by Wood allowed the Sunshine Girls to draw level early in the third.
Jamaica managed to pull down another deflection but once again threw it away in the midcourt.
“That long outlet ball, if they just shortened it up and do one safety ball, I reckon they’d get themselves on the attack,” Cox said.
A rare shooter contact call on Fowler handed Australia the chance to pull away. Sterling’s cheeky pickup when Bueta put the ball down to set the penalty didn’t go unnoticed by the umpire as suddenly the lead was back out to four.
The physicality stepped up in the third, with Brazill getting under the skin of Adean Thomas and sent sprawling into the goal circle off the ball.
Once again, a Ward pick up on the circle edge ended up sailing over Fowler’s head as another turnover was wasted.
A second straight rejection from Sterling was called for obstruction as the crowd started to find their voice.
A misdirected midcourt ball ensured another turnover as the Diamonds extended the lead to six – the biggest of the match.
A strong take by Bueta over Sterling in the dying seconds pushed Australia out to a 46-40 lead at the final change.
Marinkovich went unchanged once again for the final term as Jamaican wing defender Jodi-Ann Ward came through with the deflection to help her side close within three.
Williams’ return at WA lifted the Sunshine Girls’ attack in the final term as they looked to find their rhythm to Fowler once more.
And when Wood couldn’t regather the short ball, and got done for replay, Jhaniele Fowler made the Aussies pay seconds later to close within one goal.
Liz Watson overcooked the lob to Bueta, and remarkably the Sunshine Girls took the lead with eight minutes to play.
“We haven’t seen that this game – that is the pressure. Mistakes like that have been few and far between for the Diamonds,” Cox said.
Despite Jamaican assistant coach Rob Wright pleading with his defenders to shut down Wood’s influence, it was Bueta they silenced as Wood had to step up.
And the Lightning star was up to the challenge with three successive mid-range shots.
Another Diamonds turnover, this time from Weston to her Vixens’ teammate Watson, gave Jamaica a two-goal buffer as injury time was called.
Weston headed to the bench, Bruce pushed out to GD and Sarah Klau was introduced for her first minutes of the night.
When Shamera Sterling came up with the big rejection and regather, Jamaica pushed out the lead with just a minute to play.
And in remarkable scenes, the Sunshine Girls held on in the thrilling final seconds with Shanice Beckford landing the final goal of the match.
In the end, it was Jamaica who claimed the win 57-55.
Tobias Friedrich Moran, accused of murdering his former German backpacker girlfriend, will be released on bail as prosecutors decided not to proceed with a detention application.
The 42-year-old was freed by a magistrate today and can now return to Western Australia from where he was extradited.
Bail conditions stipulate he must report to police three days a week and must not communicate via any encrypted websites.
Tobias Moran, formerly known as Tobias Suckfuel, has been danced but will not be released today. (9News)
Magistrate Margaret Quinn in the Downing Center Local Court earlier on Thursday accepted submissions from Moran’s barrister there was no new evidence connecting him to the murder of Simone Strobel in 2005.
And while the Crown submitted new witness statements taken from people in Germany showed that he lied about the state of their relationship, that evidence was not currently before the court.
The magistrate said evidence showed the couple had been fighting, drinking a lot and perhaps on some drugs about the time of the alleged murder.
“(But) it doesn’t appear in this case to be any direct or indirect evidence connecting him to the offence,” Quinn said.
“It’s not the strongest circumstantial case I have seen.”
German backpacker Simone Strobel was found dead in Lismore in 2005. (9News)
His wife has offered $200,000 in security if he fails to show up in Lismore court when required, while another $250,000 has been offered as an undertaking.
Moran is charged with murdering his then partner and acting with intent to pervert the course of justice between 11pm on February 11, 2005 and 3.30pm the following day.
Police allege Moran suffocated or smothered his girlfriend in a camper van in Lismore and disposed of her body nearby.
Moran reported the school teacher missing before she was found days later 100 meters from the camper van.
Her body was too decomposed for a coroner to determine the cause of death, but it is believed to be asphyxiation.
Tobias Moran, formerly known as Tobias Suckfuel, had been traveling around Australia with Simone Strobel in 2005. (Supplied)
The magistrate disagreed with the Crown’s submission that Moran had not co-operated with police, acknowledging he had refused to show up for an inquest in 2007.
But he had submitted plenty of DNA samples to police, one of which was lost, and most recently put himself forward for extradition, she said.
Police last week confirmed they were communicating with German authorities about two arrest warrants for suspects who had been “persons of interest from the very beginning”.
Moran’s sister Katrin Suckfuel and friend Jens Martin were also traveling with the pair.
