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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Martin Farrer

Morning Mail: White House tries to salvage tariffs, NSW’s flood waste blight, Demon out of French Open

White House trade counsellor Peter Navarro spoke with reporters at the White House on Thursday.
White House trade counsellor Peter Navarro spoke with reporters at the White House on Thursday. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

Morning everyone. Donald Trump is asking the US supreme court to save his beloved tariffs from so-called “activist judges” in a US trade court who have ruled his big tariffs policy is illegal. We have the latest from Washington.

At home, the government says preparation for the social media ban on teenagers is “broadly on track” but we have inside word about concerns about gaps in the testing. We look at the big, mouldy problem of waste left after the New South Wales floods, and the Demon crashes out in a Paris five-setter.

Australia

  • Flood zone | An estimated 60,000 tonnes of waste including ruined furniture, broken electricals and sodden, mould and bacteria-breeding carpet has been washed up in the NSW floods. But with landfill sites stretched to capacity, council officials face a headache about how to dispose of the detritus.

  • Battery battle | Activists in Adelaide will keep fighting to stop Elon Musk’s Tesla setting up a battery factory in the suburbs despite a city council decision to override community objections.

  • Flood risk | Extreme floods in outback Queensland earlier this year could spell trouble over the protection of Australia’s native species in the most remote and changeable landscapes.

  • Tech trial | The technology trial for Australia’s social media ban is “broadly on track”, the government says, but insiders are concerned under 16s could circumvent the systems being tested.

  • Exclusive | Two years after sex work was decriminalised in Victoria, a legal service dedicated to helping workers with legal issues, such as making sure they get paid, is at risk of closure due to lack of funding.

World

  • Glacial melt | Almost 40% of glaciers in existence today are already doomed to melt due to climate-heating emissions from fossil fuels, a study has found.

  • Trump plea | The Trump administration intends to ask the US supreme court to immediately pause what it characterised as a bid by “activist judges” to block Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Here’s our explainer and you can also follow events in Washington live. Trump reacted angrily when asked about a phrase investors are increasingly using about how the president backs down to market pressure – Trump Always Chickens Out, or Taco. The Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, pushed back against the president’s demands for interest rate cuts during a face-to-face meeting overnight, and issued an unusually blunt statement.

  • Settlement secret | Israel has said it will establish 22 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, including the legalisation of outposts already built without government authorisation, after a security cabinet vote held in secret last week.

  • Mother charged | A South African woman has been sentenced to life imprisonment alongside two accomplices for trafficking her then six-year-old daughter, in a case that gripped the country.

  • Tory ‘abyss’ | The UK Conservatives are “sliding into the abyss”, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said, as he described Nigel Farage and Reform as the main challengers to his Labour government.

Full Story

Back to Back Barries: Albanese’s pressure points

Barrie Cassidy and Tony Barry examine if Anthony Albanese is meeting the expectations of his voting base and look at the tension and problems to come for the Coalition.

In-depth

The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has promised to unveil a “Plan B” to replace the hole in his housing plans after the idea of building 25,000 homes at the Rosehill racecourse site was stymied. So where will that plan B be? Could it be Glebe Island? Olympic Park? Randwick Barracks?

Not the news

The A-League’s stars have aligned – for once – with tickets for the grand final between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City sold out in the city on Saturday night. Not only is it the first derby showdown for the city’s clubs, there is the added advantage of no NRL or AFL in Melbourne on the night either, leaving the city clear for football.

Sport

  • Women’s Origin | Queensland salvaged pride in the Women’s State of Origin series by claiming the third contest 18-14 thanks to a second-half comeback in Newcastle that prevented the Blues from securing a first clean sweep in the three-match series.

  • Tennis | Alex de Minaur crashed out of the French Open in five sets after a brilliant comeback from the Kazakh maverick Alexander Bublik.

  • Football | The Manchester United winger Amad Diallo has said he “does not regret” making an obscene gesture to fans in Kuala Lumpur, claiming they had insulted his mother.

Media roundup

Half of NSW’s Closing the Gap spend of $222m had “no tangible output”, an audit has found, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The surge in the value of Commonwealth Bank shares puts boss Matt Comyn on track for a $40m payout, the Fin Review says. And the SMH says Tony Abbott is making his views felt over factional politics in the NSW Liberals.

What’s happening today

  • Politics | Final Senate results expected in NSW from the AEC.

  • Sydney | Findings of the inquest into the death of a three-month-old infant, KP, who died in suspicious circumstances from unknown causes in 2022.

  • Art | The winner of the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize for contemporary Australian artists under 40 is expected at 11.30am.

Sign up

If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.

Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.

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