Australia news LIVE: Gaza ceasefire talks collapse; Marles and Wong to meet UK counterparts in Sydney; Hulk Hogan dead at 71
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6.58am
Trump rejects wanting to destroy Musk's companies as Tesla shares plunge
Donald Trump denied he was seeking to ruin the business empire of his onetime ally Elon Musk as retribution for their dispute over the US president's signature tax law.
'I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE,' Trump posted Thursday on social media, though it was unclear exactly what comments he was responding to.
'The better they do, the better the USA does, and that's good for all of us. We are setting records every day, and I want to keep it that way!' the president added.
Shares of Tesla lost more than 8 per cent in New York during the first trading session since the company reported a steep decline in revenue and Musk warned of difficult times ahead for his electric vehicle maker. The stock had declined 18 per cent this year through Wednesday's close.
6.54am
Ghislaine Maxwell meets DOJ amid Epstein saga
Deputy US Attorney-General Todd Blanche held a meeting with sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's imprisoned associate Ghislaine Maxwell at the US attorney's office in Tallahassee, Florida, ABC News reported on Friday AEST.
The meeting was widely anticipated, after Blanche announced earlier in the week that he had reached out to Maxwell's lawyers to see if she might have 'information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims.'
Maxwell is serving a 20-year term at a federal prison in Tallahassee, after a jury convicted her of helping Epstein to abuse underage girls. She is appealing her sentence.
The meeting is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following fierce backlash from parts of President Donald Trump's base over an earlier refusal to release additional records in the Epstein investigation.
AP, Reuters
6.50am
What's making news today
By Daniel Lo Surdo
Hello and welcome to the national news live blog. My name is Daniel Lo Surdo, and I'll be helming our live coverage this morning.
Here's what is making news today:
Gaza ceasefire negotiations have collapsed in Qatar, with United States mediators returning home after blaming Hamas for the breakdown in talks. The departure of American negotiators follows the same move from Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu hours earlier, with US special envoy Steve Witkoff saying his team would 'now consider alternative options' to secure stability in the region.
Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong will meet their United Kingdom counterparts in Sydney, two days after this masthead confirmed Australia had paid the United States another $800 million towards the AUKUS submarine deal under review by the Trump administration. It comes as the Albanese government lifts its import ban on US beef, a key restriction raised by Trump for his proposed sweeping tariffs on Australian goods.
Professional wrestling icon Hulk Hogan has died at the age of 71. Hogan was pronounced dead at a Florida hospital after authorities responded to a call about a cardiac arrest on Thursday morning (local time), with local police saying there were 'no signs of foul play or suspicious activity' associated with Hogan's death. US President Donald Trump was among those paying tribute to Hogan, saying his cultural impact was 'massive'.
The Australian sharemarket is expected to retreat on Friday, as Wall Street hangs near its records in afternoon trading. The ASX fell on Thursday, with Macquarie shares among the biggest laggards on the bourse. It comes as Trump visited US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Thursday afternoon (local time), two days after Trump labelled Powell a 'numbskull' who will be 'out pretty soon'.
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Perth Now
26 minutes ago
- Perth Now
'Crisis of trust': Epstein furore to hurt Republicans
The uproar over disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is undermining public trust in the Trump administration, as well as Republican hopes of retaining control of Congress in the 2026 mid-term elections, two congressmen say. Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who want the House of Representatives to vote on their bipartisan resolution requiring full release of the government's Epstein files, said the lack of transparency is reinforcing public perceptions that the rich and powerful live beyond the reach of the judicial system. "This is going to hurt Republicans in the mid-terms. The voters will be apathetic if we don't hold the rich and powerful accountable," Massie, a hardline conservative from Kentucky, told NBC's Meet the Press program. Republicans hope to add to their current 219-212 House majority - with four seats currently vacant - and 53-47 Senate majority in November 2026, although the US political cycle traditionally punishes the party of the sitting president during midterm elections. The Washington Post reported that Trump was increasingly frustrated with his administration's handling of the furore around Epstein. Even so, the president was hesitant to make personnel changes to avoid creating a "bigger spectacle" as his top officials underestimated the outrage from Trump's own base over the issue, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources. Khanna said Attorney General Pam Bondi triggered "a crisis of trust" by saying there was no list of Epstein clients after previously implying that one existed. The change in position unleashed a tsunami of calls for her resignation from Trump's MAGA base. "This is about trust in government," the California Democrat told Meet the Press. "This is about being a reform agent of transparency." President Donald Trump has been frustrated by continued questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and 2019 death by suicide in prison. Massie and Khanna believe they can win enough support from fellow lawmakers to force a vote on their resolution when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. But they face opposition from Republican leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent lawmakers home a day early to stymie Democratic efforts to force a vote before the break. Johnson, who also appeared on NBC's Meet the Press, said he favours a non-binding alternative resolution that calls for release of "credible" evidence, but which he said would better protect victims including minors. "The Massie and Khanna discharge petition is reckless in the way that it is drafted and presented," Johnson said. "It does not adequately include those protections." Massie dismissed Johnson's claim as "a straw man" excuse. "Ro and I carefully crafted this legislation so that the victims' names will be redacted," he said. "They're hiding behind that." Trump has tried and failed so far to distract attention from the Epstein controversy six months into his second term. On Saturday, Trump repeated his claims without evidence that 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and other Democrats should be prosecuted over payment for endorsements from celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce and the Reverend Al Sharpton. Last week he accused former president Barack Obama of "treason" over how his administration treated intelligence about Russian interference in US elections nine years ago, drawing a rebuke from an Obama spokesperson. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Sydney Morning Herald
an hour ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Trump's latest clumsy deal has unintended consequences
The threat of a full-scale trans-Atlantic trade war has been averted with the deal, or at least the outline of one, struck between the US and the European Union at the weekend. As was the case with last week's deal with Japan, however, both sides have differing interpretations of what they've agreed to. There's no disagreement on the baseline tariff of 15 per cent on all EU exports to the US imposed by the deal, which the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said was 'the best we could get.' Before Trump regained office, the average tariff on EU exports was 2.5 per cent. Exactly what the new rate will apply to, however, isn't clear. Von der Leyen said it would apply to European cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, while Donald Trump said pharmaceuticals were 'unrelated to this deal.' The US has separate investigations of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors underway that could lead to sectoral tariffs on imports of those products – and another bout of confrontation and negotiation. The new baseline tariff was, Trump said, in exchange for the EU 'opening up their countries at zero tariff,' whereas the EU says the agreement for 'zero for zero' tariffs relates to certain strategic products and their parts, like chemicals, semiconductor equipment and some agricultural products, and is a framework agreement that could lead to a lowering of tariffs on other products in future. Loading The deal, like the handful of others the Trump administration has struck in recent weeks, has been described as a 'roadmap' for a detailed agreement rather than a conventional trade deal. There are, therefore, many grey areas in the agreement that will need to be filled in. The agreement, once there is a document to agree to, would also have to be ratified by the European Parliament and the 27 individual national parliaments of the EU's members before it could take effect. All Trump's bigger trade deals involve headlines rather than substantive detail. Like the deal with Japan, it envisages the EU buying a lot of US energy – $US750 billion ($A1.14 billion) of energy over the next three years, as well as weaponry. Trump also said the EU would invest $US600 billion in the US.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
Trump's latest clumsy deal has unintended consequences
The threat of a full-scale trans-Atlantic trade war has been averted with the deal, or at least the outline of one, struck between the US and the European Union at the weekend. As was the case with last week's deal with Japan, however, both sides have differing interpretations of what they've agreed to. There's no disagreement on the baseline tariff of 15 per cent on all EU exports to the US imposed by the deal, which the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said was 'the best we could get.' Before Trump regained office, the average tariff on EU exports was 2.5 per cent. Exactly what the new rate will apply to, however, isn't clear. Von der Leyen said it would apply to European cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, while Donald Trump said pharmaceuticals were 'unrelated to this deal.' The US has separate investigations of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors underway that could lead to sectoral tariffs on imports of those products – and another bout of confrontation and negotiation. The new baseline tariff was, Trump said, in exchange for the EU 'opening up their countries at zero tariff,' whereas the EU says the agreement for 'zero for zero' tariffs relates to certain strategic products and their parts, like chemicals, semiconductor equipment and some agricultural products, and is a framework agreement that could lead to a lowering of tariffs on other products in future. Loading The deal, like the handful of others the Trump administration has struck in recent weeks, has been described as a 'roadmap' for a detailed agreement rather than a conventional trade deal. There are, therefore, many grey areas in the agreement that will need to be filled in. The agreement, once there is a document to agree to, would also have to be ratified by the European Parliament and the 27 individual national parliaments of the EU's members before it could take effect. All Trump's bigger trade deals involve headlines rather than substantive detail. Like the deal with Japan, it envisages the EU buying a lot of US energy – $US750 billion ($A1.14 billion) of energy over the next three years, as well as weaponry. Trump also said the EU would invest $US600 billion in the US.
