“For this government to be out there peddling garbage like they’re peddling at the moment that there’s some sort of equivalence – well, it’s just a bit rich.”
Staley declined to answer details and release the full email chain in which Guy’s private Hotmail account was included in a discussion about “the agreement”. Staley said the opposition would let police and integrity agencies do their work and cooperate fully.
Victoria Police confirmed the referral would be assessed. IBAC and the ombudsman declined to comment.
Munz, whose family was estimated to be worth $1.24 billion in 2019, made his fortune as the founder of plumbing supplies company Reliance Worldwide Corporation. The horse racing figure funded a High Court bid that unsuccessfully sought to provide the Victorian government’s COVID-19-related restrictions on movement were unconstitutional. Companies have controlled have made large donations to the Liberal Party, including a $100,000 donation in 2017-18.
In a statement, Munz said: “I do not know how many people received this unsolicited and unwanted email, but when I got it, I rejected it out of hand.”
loading
Integrity is a central election issue ahead of the November state poll, with the opposition attempting to cast the Andrews government as unethical after the IBAC and ombudsman found Labor had a rotten culture.
Coalition MPs expressed nervousness about the potential political damage that could be caused by the episode. In particular, they were worried that Guy was susceptible to attacks on political integrity because of the “lobster with a mobster” dinner, where he dined with an alleged mafia boss, and scandals as a planning minister in the Baillieu-Napthine government.
Victorian Government Services Minister Danny Pearson said Guy’s position had been severely compromised but said it was up to police and integrity agencies to consider whether he acted improperly.
loading
“Last time around, he ran a strong campaign on law and order, yet was found to be having dinner with alleged members of the mafia. This time around, he’s running a strong campaign on integrity, and he’s been shown to have none,” Pearson said.
In his referral letter to the agencies, Pearson said the “attempted entering into of an agreement involving the disbursement of funds in a political context for ‘supporting business interests’ naturally invites consideration” of a finding of potentially corrupt conduct.
Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan told reporters: “Matthew Guy really needs to come clean as quickly as possible with the Victorian community about his role in this extraordinary secret arrangement that would have sought to subvert the strict donation laws in our state.”
“Quite frankly, I think the sooner he answers these questions the better,” she said.
loading
“It’s a demonstration that he has completely committed himself now and for any future role,” Allan said.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
US Rep. Haley Stevens defeated US Rep. Andy Levin, a fellow Democratic member of Congress, who conceded after a bitter Democratic primary marked by inter-party scuffles and a proxy war over Israel.
Stevens, 39, of Waterford Township had 60% of the vote Tuesday evening and Levin, 61, of Bloomfield Township had 40%, with about 77% of votes counted.
“My friends, it’s not a mystery why we beat the odds. We stayed in Congress because we listened. I listened,” Stevens said in declaring victory in Birmingham shortly after 9 pm
“Let’s continue to do the work of the people, for Oakland County. Let’s show this country how we do it. Let’s continue to lead on education and say let’s continue to make a difference,” Stevens added.
“Let’s pass a national right to abortion care for the girls who are relying on us. Let’s do it for the moms who never thought they’d see this day. Let’s do it for the people.”
Levin conceded by phone shortly before 10:30 pm Tuesday and congratulated Stevens in a statement.
“I will support her and work with her and others to elect Democrats up and down the ballot in Oakland County and across Michigan and the United States on Nov. 8,” said Levin, who went on to praise his “people-powered” campaign .
“Unfortunately, I was also the target of a largely Republican-funded campaign set on defeating the movement I represent no matter where I ran. I am humbled by neighbors throughout Oakland County and friends new and old across the country who stepped up to help me fight back until the very last minute.”
Levin and Stevens, both two-term lawmakers, endeavored to take one another down in one of the most closely watched primary contests this summer, where spending outside ballooned to nearly $9 million as a pro-Israel group and others spent big to help Stevens.
The United Democracy Project, with ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has been the top spender in Democratic primaries this year, spending at least $24 million so far, according to OpenSecrets, including $4.1 million to boost Stevens, who is endorsed by AIPAC .
“Ultimately it was a triumph of geography and money, but I think also being the more moderate candidate in Democratic primaries is often where you want to be,” said Kyle Kondik of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
“There’s also a lot of outside money that came in and more that favored Stevens,” Kondik added. “But this seemed to be kind of the trajectory of the race, so this is not a surprise tonight.”
After she declared victory, Stevens said in an interview Tuesday night that she has “so much respect and admiration for anyone who seeks to run for office or for reelection.”
“I’m going to continue to honor my colleague and his family and the legacy that they come from,” Stevens said. “And I’m also going to continue to stand up for everyday working people of Oakland County, who require a congresswoman wants to do good things for them.”
After redistricting, Stevens and Levin both decided to run in the new 11th District, which covers Oakland County communities such as Pontiac, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Farmington Hills and West Bloomfield Township.
Stevens, a moderate, has run a campaign tailored to Oakland County interests like autos, manufacturing and small businesses, sounding very similar to her first two bids for Congress running in more conservative territory.
Her ads and other outreach largely focused on her record, including her work on former President Barack Obama’s auto task force, efforts to get more women and girls in science, technology and engineering career fields and work to address the nation’s semiconductor shortage and gun violence.
She won the endorsements of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and retiring US Rep. Brenda Lawrence of Southfield, who represents key parts of the new district.
In Auburn Hills, JoAnne Barnes, 68, said she was supporting Stevens’ reelection on Tuesday.
“She’s very passionate, personable and has done a wonderful job thus far,” Barnes said. “I haven’t heard about the Israel money controversy, but I don’t believe that will impact her much.”
Brittany Taylor, 33, of Pleasant Ridge said Tuesday she was “sad to have to choose” between Stevens and Levin, but voted for Levin because of his passion for abortion rights.
“What really felt me over the edge was when he was protesting for abortion rights” outside of the US Supreme Court after the high court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, Taylor said. “That was really powerful for me.”
Levin’s union background swayed West Bloomfield voters Lisa and Matthew Wigent, both 54. They said it set him apart from Stevens.
“Everybody is talking about reproductive rights, and it’s very important to me, but I feel like every single Democrat that I could possibly have would be strong on that issue at this time,” Lisa Wigent said. “But labor rights are very important to me and a lot of people aren’t talking about them, and I think that’s something where I would lean more towards Levin.”
Levin, a progressive, tried to draw a sharper contrast between the pair, emphasizing his record on union organizing, the Green New Deal and abortion rights. He was notably more aggressive in his approach to him, painting his opponent to him as a flip-flopper taking donations from corporate political action committees and voting based on what’s most politically convenient.
His messaging stressed his priorities of protecting workers and voting rights. He’s also hitting areas where his positions differ from Stevens, such as shutting down Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac and adopting a single-payer health care system.
Levin was endorsed by the climate-focused Sunrise Movement and progressive heavyweights US Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
He railed against the level of spending by AIPAC against him as the Jewish candidate, claiming it won’t tolerate any criticism of Israel. That won’t change Levin’s support for a two-state solution or political and human rights for Palestinians, he said, warning about the outsized sway of one Republican-funded lobby on a Democratic primary.
“I encouraged Rep. Stevens not to take this money, and many other people did. She took it anyway. She never even said a word about it,” Levin said earlier this week.
“I don’t think it’s OK for the future of the Democratic Party to allow our Democratic primaries to be funded by right-wing interest groups.”
Stevens noted her positions on Israel are in line with the majority of the House Democratic Caucus and said she would continue to affirm her belief in a strong US-Israel relationship.
“I think it’s unusual to make an entire campaign about outside spending, when my opponent is running on so many other values and principles,” she said. “I think people would have loved to hear from him on that.”
In the Republican primary, Mark Ambrose of Bloomfield Township led Matthew DenOtter of Waterford Township 70% to 30% in unofficial returns late Tuesday.
WAM Leaders also moved early into energy stocks and resources, although exposure to the latter was trimmed a few months ago on expectations that commodity prices had probably peaked. Haupt is now buying the mining sector after the recent commodity price fall.
The way WAM Leaders has adjusted its exposure to commodity prices – first up, then down, now up again – is a good example of what Geoff Wilson calls the “dynamic investing” style of the LIC, which on average was 96.4 per cent invested in equities during the 2022 financial year.
far from pick and stick
Haupt rejects suggestions this is more like trading than investing, arguing that at its essence, investing is about gathering data points and adjusting your view on companies, sectors and markets accordingly. He describes WAM Leaders as investing “in the tails” of markets, where sentiment is swinging from bullish to bearish much quicker than it usually does; as such, the LIC wants to be able to shift from being defensive to aggressive as quickly as appropriate.
“There’s such a wide dispersion of potential outcomes at the moment. So we’re having to be increasingly nimble,” Haupt says. “We’re getting data points daily, which change the probability of those events happening, so we’re responding. Our job is to respond to the environment.”
This approach is obviously different to the pick-and-stick style that many of the country’s LIC managers take. But given the frequency with which fund managers miss their benchmark – and the research that suggests this is in large part because of their inability to change their investment strategy as market trends shift – Haupt’s willingness to be flexible will rightly find admirers.
And he also points out that WAM Leaders has several long-term bets in its portfolio too, including insurer IAG (which Haupt expects will re-rate over time), Treasury Wine Estates (Haupt is a big fan of how CEO Tim Ford is navigating the shift away from China) and Telstra.
The latest data point for Haupt to digest is the Reserve Bank’s 0.5 percentage point interest rise on Tuesday, and the slightly more dovish tone to Governor Philip Lowe’s statement.
How the banking sector responds to this is important to Haupt’s holdings in NAB and Commonwealth Bank. WAM Leaders is tactically overweight on the banks at present, and Haupt expects CBA to post an impressive full-year profit result with improving margins next week. But he is wary of how hard the RBA, and indeed other central banks, will raise rates in a slowing economy.
“Policymakers are on a collision course with economic growth to fight inflation,” he says. “If they keep going the way they’re going, they’re going to cause carnage across risk assets.”
Not surprisingly then, WAM Leaders’ portfolio has a defensive stance at present, although cash accounted for just 2.9 per cent of it. Haupt says this is pretty typical; WAM Leaders moves heavily to cash only when it can see a big credit shock on the environment.
Haupt isn’t seeing one yet, but he’s watchful, given what he describes as glimpses of credit market stress, including inverted bond yields, the strong US dollar, and poor conditions in the European repo market. Add depressed bond market liquidity to this list, too.
“The problem is if people don’t trust other people’s collateral, then you get a liquidity crunch and that’s what happened during the GFC. So there is a possibility, and the odds are increasing every day, but they’re still fairly low at this point.”
Right on the heels of adding Thread to the Eve Motion sensor, Eve is back again with another upgrade to one of its existing products. The new Eve Aqua is now available and is the perfect way to convert a traditional outdoor faucet into one that supports HomeKit for automatically watering your grass, plants, and more.
If you’re building a new home today and looking for a sprinkler system, it’s best to get one that works with HomeKit out of the box. If you’re not looking to dig up your yard or want to retrofit an existing sprinkler system or outdoor hose setup, the new Eve Aqua is the perfect device for you. Once installed, the Eve Aqua smart water controller activates your irrigation system via your iPhone, Siri, or the built-in button and shuts off automatically after a preset period to avoid any surprises on your water bill.
The new Eve Aqua builds on its previous model by using a new design both internally and externally that add to form and function. The Eve Aqua has a space gray body and matte black front. It replaces previous internal system with a brass faucet connector and magnetic valve to improve durability, enjoy better leak protection, and has a near-silent operation compared to the previous model.
“Eve Aqua looks gorgeous and makes smart gardening easy, safe and joyful,” says Jerome Gackel, CEO, Eve Systems. “Thread eliminates the need for a digital bridge, while the brass faucet adapter ensures a rock-solid physical connection. And of course, our beautiful Eve app brings it all together, making scheduling, and monitoring consumption, a breeze.”
The new Eve Aqua is compatible with all traditional hose systems and multi-channel water distributors such as Gardena. Additionally, it offers seven watering periods out of the box. Using either a custom schedule or turning it on manually if you’re concerned about your plants or grass during a heatwave, you’ll have complete control of your watering through the Home app or the Eve iPhone app.
While the new body style looks fantastic for overall durability, the essential upgrade on the software side of Eve Aqua is with Thread. Thread technology is specifically developed for smart home applications to improve connectivity between products. You’ll create a mesh network as you build out your Thread network (HomePod Mini, other devices, etc.). Within this mesh network, lights, thermostats, outlets, sensors, and more can also talk to each other without the constraint of going through a central hub, such as a bridge or a router. That’s because a Thread network doesn’t need one. If a single device fails, the data packets are simply relayed to the next in the mesh.
Eve Aqua Specs
Hose Thread: 3⁄4in.
Temperature Operating Range: 4C–50C/39F–122F
Pressure: Min1bar/14.5psi–Max5bar/72.5psi
IPX4 Water Resistance
UV Protection
Powered by 2x Replaceable AA Batteries
Connectivity: Bluetooth Low Energy, Thread
Physical Dimensions: 77x95x128mm/3.03×3.74×5.04 in.
I’ll have a full review soon, but you can buy the new Eve Aqua today from Amazon or the Eve Store.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
The first season of Ten’s new reality game show hunted came to a close on Tuesday night, with contestants Stathi and Rob taking out a double win – earning half each of the game’s $100,000 prize money.
Speaking to news.com.au today, the two players opened up about their time on the show, revealing that life on the run was even harder than it appeared to viewers, with some key scenes not making the edit.
Namely, the apparent willingness of members of the general public to help panicked contestants, sometimes dressed in bizarre disguises and always trailed by camera operators, as they approached and announced: “I’M A FUGITIVE ON THE RUN, CAN YOU HELP ME?” Time and again, complete strangers were shown on-screen leaping into action, housing, transporting and feeding the fugitives – but the winners explained they actually experienced very little kindness from those they approached.
“Not a single person wanted to help you, when you’re out on the streets looking for help,” said Rob. “People would just look at you. You’d think that having a camera with you would help, but it didn’t.”
Rob estimated that around “90% of people” he and team mate Jake approached on the run would “tell us to piss off” – starting from their first minutes in the game, when they needed to find a phone to make their first call.
“From the moment we got out at Federation Square, (hunted) didn’t show the 30 or so people who said no to letting us use their phones,” he explained.
Stathi said begging a largely indifferent public for help quickly became one of the hardest elements of his 21 days as a fugitive.
“That rejection… it makes you doubt yourself and gets you into that paranoid mindset, which is exactly what you don’t need when you’re on the run,” he said.
How the finale played out
Three contestants were left in the game heading into Tuesday’s season finale: friends Jake and Rob, and Stathi, who lost his buddy and team mate Matt during Monday’s episode.
All three had to phone Hunted HQ 24 hours before the 21 days were up to be told the game’s ‘extraction point’ in Inverloch, on Victoria’s south eastern coast.
As soon as they called, their exact location was disclosed to the Hunters – yet another advantage for the Hunters, and one that some viewers decried as unfair.
Policeman Jake was soon tracked down to the address he was staying, leading to a dramatic foot race between he and two Hunters, who eventually captured him.
It was left to make-up artist Rob and humanitarian worker Stathi to make their way to the extraction point: a helicopter that had landed on the beach in Inverloch.
Both did so as stealthily as possible, with Stathi blending in with some local hikers as he made the approach along a coastal track, while Rob raced straight into the chopper from the car that had just dropped him off.
Both made it into the chopper with minutes to spare and with Hunters hot on their tail – making them the joint winners of huntedseason one.
Rob and Stathi revealed to news.com.au today that their helicopter rendevzous was the first time they’d properly met and been able to have a conversation – and Rob did joke that, as first to the chopper, he was tempted to ask the pilot to leave when he saw Stathi approaching.
Both players vowed to share their split of the $100,000 prize money with their fallen team mates, meaning both winners will go home with $25,000 for their 21 days on the run.
It’s a small prize, compared to the megabucks awarded to winners on other Ten reality shows like Australian Survivor ($500,000) and Amazing Race Australia ($250,000).
Truth about those drag disguises
Monday’s penultimate episode of the season saw Jake and Rob don elaborate drag disguises to evade detection from the Hunters – a tactic Rob employed again for the finale (although this time, the Hunters clocked his real identity on CCTV).
Rob said it wasn’t any easy move to make, admitting he was “terrified” the first time he stepped out in public in drag.
“It was a huge, huge thing to do. I had this sense of nerves, going out in public like that… I also didn’t want to misrepresent anyone either, dressed as a woman.”
Hairdresser Rob dressed himself and policeman Jake in wigs, make-up, breast plates and even facial prosthetics to transform into women for a visit to a local pub, where they successfully convinced members of the public to take them in for the night.
It was far and away the most elaborate disguise in a season that saw contestants try to go undercover in an array of cheap wigs, op shop dresses and in one occasion, even a nun’s habit. Then there was Stathi’s infamous “nonna” disguise – or, as he put it to news.com.au, “K Mart drag.”
602,000 viewers across the five metro capitals tuned in to the climax of last night’s finale – a respectable end for a season that opened three weeks ago to an audience of 619,000, then rose to a season high of 711,000 viewers for episode two.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk suggested she was keen to start negotiations to host the grand final again, saying the door was “always open” to the NRL.
“There’s always this argy-bargy leading up to a grand finale,” she said in Townsville on Wednesday.
“We will always have an open mind if New South Wales is not able to put that final on.”
V’landys was speaking at the unveiling of a suite of prizemoney increases for thoroughbred races in NSW, before quickly turning the blowtorch back on the NSW government.
The NRL believed they had an understanding with Perrottet for suburban stadiums at Brookvale, Cronulla and Leichhardt to be upgraded in response to the government scrapping an $800 million redevelopment of Accor Stadium, the country’s largest rectangular sporting venue.
Peter V’landys speaks at a Racing NSW press conference in Sydney on Wednesday.Credit:Rhett Wyman
He even took a swipe at the usefulness of the new Sydney Football Stadium, which is due to open next month when the Roosters and Rabbitohs play in the final round of the NRL’s regular season. I have described the $800 million build as “unnecessary”.
“It’s a 42,000-seat stadium,” V’landys said. “You’re going to get your honeymoon period for the next few weeks where it’s going to be full, but after that it’s going to be 10,000 or 15,000 [crowds].
loading
“They could have used that $1 billion and built suburban stadiums elsewhere. We want the money invested in suburban areas where they’re multipurpose facilities.”
Asked about his grand final threat, V’landys said: “One thing you’ll learn from me, I don’t bluff.”
Stream the NRL Premiership 2022 live and free on 9Now.
Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
The Australian Space Agency has confirmed debris found in the NSW Snowy Mountains belongs to SpaceX.
Key points:
Three pieces of debris have so far been located
Snowy Mountains residents have been told more pieces could be found
People are being told to contact a hotline if they do find more
Three pieces of space junk have so far been found in the region, which are considered to be the biggest pieces found in Australia since 1979.
Two pieces were inspected by technical experts from the Australian Space Agency and NSW Police on Saturday.
Police have since confirmed they were also aware of the third piece being found in the region.
This piece of space junk is estimated to be up to three meters long. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
Authorities believed the space debris belonged to SpaceX but had been awaiting confirmation.
“The agency has confirmed the debris is from a SpaceX mission and continues to engage with our counterparts in the US, as well as other parts of the Commonwealth and local authorities as appropriate,” an Australian Space Agency spokesperson said.
“The agency is operating under the Australian Government Space Re-entry Debris Plan which outlines roles and responsibilities for key Australian government agencies and committees in supporting the response to space re-entry debris.”
This third piece of space junk was also found in the NSW Snowy Mountains, near Jindabyne.(Supplied: Nick Lodge)
It comes after locals reported hearing a loud boom on July 9, which was considered to have been caused by the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which was launched in November 2020, re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.
Locals in the regions are being told that there’s a possibility more pieces could still be found.
“If the community spots any further suspected debris they should not attempt to handle it or retrieve it,” the agency said.
“They should contact the SpaceX Debris Hotline at 1-866-623-0234 or at [email protected].”
SpaceX has been contacted for comment.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Space junk has landed at two properties in the NSW Snowy Mountains.(ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Kansas voters resoundingly decided against removing the right to abortion from the State Constitution, according to The Associated Press, a major victory for the abortion rights movement in one of America’s reliably conservative states.
The defeat of the ballot referendum was the most tangible demonstration yet of a political backlash against the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that had protected abortion rights throughout the country. The decisive margin came as a surprise, and after frenzied campaigns with both sides pouring millions into advertising and knocking on doors throughout a sweltering final campaign stretch.
“The voters in Kansas have spoken loud and clear: We will not tolerate extreme bans on abortion,” said Rachel Sweet, the campaign manager for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, which led the effort to defeat the amendment. Told supporters that a willingness to work across partisan lines and ideological differences helped their side win. “The voters in Kansas have spoken loud and clear: We will not tolerate extreme bans on abortion,” Ms. Sweet said.
At a campaign watch party in suburban Overland Park, abortion rights supporters yelled with joy when MSNBC showed their side with a commanding lead.
“We’re watching the votes come in, we’re seeing the changes of some of the counties where Donald Trump had a huge percentage of the vote, and we’re seeing that just decimated,” said Jo Dee Adelung, 63, a Democrat from Merriam, Kan., who knocked on doors and called voters in recent weeks.
She said she hoped the result sent a message that voters are “really taking a look at all of the issues and doing what’s right for Kansas and not just going down party lines.”
The vote in Kansas, three months before the midterm elections, was the first time American voters weighed in directly on the issue of abortion since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this summer. The referendum, closely watched by national figures on both sides of the abortion debate, took on added importance because of Kansas’ location, abutting states where abortion is already banned in nearly all cases. More than $12 million has been spent on advertising, split about evenly between the two camps. The amendment, had it passed, would have removed abortion protections from the State Constitution and paved the way for legislators to ban or restrict abortions.
“We’ve been saying that after a decision is made in Washington, that the spotlight would shift to Kansas,” said David Langford, a retired engineer from Leawood, Kan., who wants the amendment to pass, and who reached out to Protestant pastors to rally support.
The push for an amendment was rooted in a 2019 ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court that struck down some abortion restrictions and found that the right to an abortion was guaranteed by the State Constitution. That decision infuriated Republicans, who had spent years passing abortion restrictions and campaigning on the issue. They used their supermajorities in the Legislature last year to place the issue on the 2022 ballot.
That state-level fight over abortion limits took on far greater meaning after the nation’s top court overturned Roe, opening the door in June for states to go beyond restrictions and outlaw abortions entirely. The Roman Catholic Church and other religious and conservative groups spent heavily to back the amendment, while national supporters of abortion rights poured millions of dollars into the race to oppose it.
Supporters of the amendment have said repeatedly that the amendment itself would not ban abortion, and Republican lawmakers have been careful to avoid telegraphing what their legislative plans would be if it passed.
“Voting yes doesn’t mean that abortion won’t be allowed, it means we’re going to allow our legislators to determine the scope of abortion,” said Mary Jane Muchow of Overland Park, Kan., who supported the amendment. “I think abortion should be legal, but I think there should be limitations on it.”
If the amendment had passed, though, the question was not whether Republicans would try to wield their commanding legislative majorities to pass new restrictions, but how far they would go in doing so. Many Kansans who support abortion rights said they feared that a total or near-total abortion ban would be passed within months
Abortion is now legal in Kansas up to 22 weeks of pregnancy.
“I don’t want to become another state that bans all abortion for any reason,” said Barbara Grigar of Overland Park, Kan., who identified herself as a moderate and said she was voting against the amendment. “Choice is every woman’s choice, and not the government’s.”
A Pew Research Center survey published last month found that a majority of Americans said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and that more than half of adults disapproved of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe.
Kansas has been a focal point of the national abortion debate at least since 1991, when protesters from across the country gathered in Wichita and blocked access to clinics during weeks of heated demonstrations that they called the Summer of Mercy.
At times, the state has seen violence over the issue. In 1986, a Wichita abortion clinic was attacked with a pipe bomb. In 1993, a woman who opposed abortion shot and injured Dr. George Tiller, one of only a few American physicians who performed late-term abortions. In 2009, another anti-abortion activist shot her and killed Dr. Tiller at his Wichita church.
In recent years, and especially in the weeks since Roe fell, Kansas has become a haven of abortion access in a region where that is increasingly rare.
Even before the Supreme Court’s action, nearly half of the abortions performed in Kansas involved out-of-state residents. Now Oklahoma and Missouri have banned the procedure in almost all cases, Nebraska may further restrict abortion in the next few months, and women from Arkansas and Texas, where new bans are in place, are traveling well beyond their states’ borders.
Kansas is reliably Republican in presidential elections, and its voters are generally conservative on many issues, but polling before the referendum suggested a close race and nuanced public opinions on abortion. The state is not a political monolith: Besides its Democratic governor, a majority of Kansas Supreme Court justices were appointed by Democrats, and Representative Sharice Davids, a Democrat, represents the Kansas City suburbs in Congress.
Ms. Davids’s district was once a moderate Republican stronghold, but it has been trending toward Democrats in recent years. Her re-election contest de ella in November in a redrawn district may be one of the most competitive House races in the country, and party strategists expect the abortion debate to play an important role in districts like hers that include swaths of upscale suburbs.
Political strategists have been particularly attuned to turnout in the Kansas City suburbs, and are seeking to gauge how galvanizing abortion is, especially for swing voters and Democrats in a post-Roe environment.
“They’re going to see how to advise their candidates to talk about the issue, they’re going to be looking at every political handicap,” said James Carville, the veteran Democratic strategist. “Every campaign consultant, everybody is watching this thing like it’s the Super Bowl.”
As the election approached, and especially since the Supreme Court decision, rhetoric on the issue became more heated. Campaign signs on both sides have been vandalized, police officials and activists have said. In the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, vandals targeted a Catholic church, defacing a building and a statue of Mary with red paint.
Before the vote on Tuesday, which coincided with primary elections, Scott Schwab, the Republican secretary of state, predicted that around 36 percent of Kansas voters would participate, up slightly from the primary in 2020, a presidential election year. His office said that the constitutional amendment “has increased voter interest in the election,” a sentiment that was palpable on the ground.
“I like the women’s rights,” said Norma Hamilton, a 90-year-old Republican from Lenexa, Kan. Despite her party registration, she said, she voted no.
Fast food giant McDonald’s winter menu has just got even better with the reintroduction of a fan favorite that will have burger lovers rejoicing.
Macca’s has reinstated the Quarter Pounder with Bacon, which features everything people love about the burger with a crispy new addition.
But, the fast food giant isn’t stopping there with a brand new take on the classic burger being introduced – the Quarter Pounder Deluxe.
A twist on the original, the Deluxe features crispy lettuce, fresh tomato, cheese, onion, tangy mustard and pickles on top of a juicy 100 per cent Aussie beef patty.
Tim Kenward, marketing director of McDonald’s Australia, said, “Macca’s is committed to offering great quality, great tasting food to our customers.
“The Quarter Pounder is one of our most iconic menu items and much loved for its delicious flavor combinations and ingredients.
“We are excited to give Quarter Pounder fans even more variety with the addition of the new Quarter Pounder Deluxe and Quarter Pounder with Bacon.
“From crispy bacon to fresh lettuce and tomato, there’s something for everyone in this range.”
In addition to this, for a limited time only, customers can get a vintage collectable glass with the purchase of any medium or large Quarter Pounder, Double Quarter Pounder, Quarter Pounder Bacon and Quarter Pounder Deluxe meals.
The new menu items and collectable glasses will be available across Macca’s restaurants nationwide, including via the MyMacca’s app and McDelivery, from August 3.
The burgers are on offer for a limited time only.
McDonald’s winter menu has seen the addition of the Mighty Angus, mozzarella sticks with chunky tomato relish and two new desserts: the Crème Brulée McFlurry and Crème Brulée Pie.
To celebrate Macca’s winter range, a few lucky people will get a rare peek behind the scenes at McDonald’s HQ, tasting not-yet-released menu items and grabbing some exclusive swag in a new competition.
Ten lucky winners will get the chance to be the first to try new products, fan favorites no longer available and access merchandise from the fast-food giant.
To enter, all people have to do is post their best influencer impression while unboxing their McDelivery to TikTok between 12.01am on July 26 and 11.59pm on August 7 with the hashtag #maccasnightinfluencer as well as tagging @mcdonaldsau plus three friends they’d like to enjoy a winter night in with.
Apple’s corporate mask mandate has essentially ended, as the company said in an internal memo that masks will no longer be required in most locations.
Apple’s COVID response team wrote in an email to employees saying they should stay abreast of specific site requirements from Apple and local authorities, but otherwise won’t be required to mask up at work.
“We recognize that everyone’s personal circumstances are different. Don’t hesitate to continue wearing a face mask if you feel more comfortable doing so. Also, please respect every individual’s decision to wear a mask or not,” the memo said.
Apple’s decision to drop its mask mandate for corporate employees comes at an odd time, as coronavirus cases have been spiking in much of the US thanks to the highly-contagious, but milder in effect, BA.5 variant.
Californians are already seeing relief from this latest wave, as numbers in the state have leveled out, data from NBC News shows. Bay Area authorities have still decided to reinstate mask mandates on public transport, beginning last week and running through the beginning of October.
Despite public transport fears, the Bay Area is actually faring better than other regions of California, having recently dropped below the state’s average for COVID infection rates after spending four months on top of charts. From late February to early July, the Mercury News reported, Bay Area infection rates were up to 50 percent higher than the rest of the state, placing the region among the most infected in the US.
Apple hasn’t been immune to COVID fears either, pausing its three days a week return plan in mid-May with no plans to bring it back. Apple employees didn’t take well to news that they were being told to return to the office, writing an open letter to leadership urging them to adopt more employee-friendly remote work policies.
As of early last month it appears Apple’s return-to-office plans are still on hold, but the few people working in the $5 billion Apple Park can do so a bit more comfortably until everyone else shows up. ®
