The Briefing

Friday Headlines:
US Senate committee votes to hold Dr Fauci in contempt of Congress
15-year-old charged with manslaughter over death of Melbourne shopkeeper
Alan Jones’ alleged victim denies making up sex abuse claims for money
ABC Apologises to Gina Rinehart over ‘violent’ skit
Millions of Aussies told to brace for icy temps
Brisbane’s Ekka kicks off tomorrow
Deep Dive: Discussion around Ariana Grande’s weight reached a fever pitch this week.
Photos from her tour, press appearances, and her new music video for Petal, show her shrinking frame, prompting fans to worry over what is going on behind the scenes.
The public discourse hasn’t gone unnoticed. Also this week, Ariana announced that she will be taking a break from public life at the end of her album tour in September. Her representative told People Magazine that this decision came after “endless, ongoing public scrutiny”.
Do we have a responsibility to raise concerns over Ariana’s weight loss? Editor of Mediaweek Natasha Lee says yes.
In this episode of The Briefing, Natasha sits down with Justine Landis-Hanley to discuss her article in Mediaweek, in which she shares her experience dealing with an eating disorder while working on Australian television, and argues that we’ve been scared into silence.
Link to the article: https://www.mediaweek.com.au/silence-isnt-always-kindness-ariana-grande-debate
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Thursday Headlines:
Labor’s 5% first-home deposit scheme has been used to purchase 1500 properties converted to investments
Federal government will force states to make AI data centres run on renewable energy
Israel issues evacuation orders for first time since June ceasefire, starts striking Lebanon
Omar Musa wins Miles Franklin literary award
NASA warns about space debris after SpaceX junk slams into the moon
Deep Dive: Every year in Australia, dozens of women and children are killed in violent circumstances - and in 2026 the toll is already climbing fast.

Behind those numbers is a support system that campaigners say is buckling: refuges at capacity, transitional housing waitlists stretching years, and women turned away from help at the very moment they need it most.
Sherele Moody is one of the country's foremost researchers on femicide and child deaths, and the founder of the Red Heart Movement where she records the names and stories of women killed across the country, and pushes for a system that takes their safety seriously.
In this episode of The Briefing, Sherele Moody sits down with Chris Spyrou to unpack why billions in spending isn't stopping the deaths, why she's calling for a Royal Commission into femicide, and what a properly funded response to violence against women would actually look like.

Help is available:
1800 Respect national helpline: 1800 737 732
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Wednesday Headlines:
Albanese under pressure to do more on gambling ads reform
Tony Burke delays migration cut announcement
Competing drone videos in Russia, Ukraine war
Alan Jones trial continues
Jetstar to charge for carry-on baggage lockers
Deep Dive: Five months into the United States' war on Iran, Donald Trump keeps insisting that a deal, or a decisive victory, is within reach. So why does neither ever arrive?
Trita Parsi's answer is blunt: the President is chasing a knockout blow that doesn't exist.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with Parsi, who is an expert on US-Iranian relations and Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft - about who can really outlast whom and whether Trump has walked into a new forever war.
Trita’s last chat with Chris from March: Why the Iran war can’t end ‘soon’
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Tuesday Headlines:
Sportsbet and TAB execs to be grilled at Senate inquiry into gambling reform today
One Nation climbs in the polls as Hanson refuses ABC and Guardian entry to Victorian press conference
Ralph Carr unmasked as rapist after suppression order lifted
Kmart sells out of dupe Meta camera glasses amid global privacy concerns
Ariana Grande steps back from public life amid scrutiny over her weight
Deep Dive: For years, Australia watched from a distance as bird flu tore through wildlife on every other continent - before it finally reached our shores in June.
What began with a few lone migratory birds is now spreading through our native populations, and while conservationists welcome the more than $113 million already invested to get us prepared - they say now that it's here, more needs to be put on the table.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with Jack Gough, CEO of the Invasive Species Council, who's urging the Albanese Government to commit at least $200 million to help our wildlife survive what's coming. He explains what that money would go towards, what species are most at risk, and how the strain can move from low risk in humans to a higher one.
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Five months after the Kyle and Jackie O Show was pulled off air, Kyle Sandilands will be back behind the microphone with a paid subscription show that launches next week.
In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou sits down with the veteran broadcaster for a wide-ranging chat about what really brought down the most expensive act in Australian radio.

Sandilands responds to the workplace bullying allegations at the heart of his former co-host's lawsuit against their old employer, explains why he chose to settle his own multi-million-dollar case rather than fight on, and reflects on the mistakes that have marked his 25 years on air - the moments, he says, that taught him where the line sits.

Then it's over to you: we put your questions to him, and he talks up a possible reunion with Jackie, floats getting Karl Stefanovic on the payroll, and names the controversial figure he's booked for the show's first week.
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