South Australian Treasurer Stephen Mullighan has delivered a consecutive surplus in this year’s state budget that came with some surprises. Health and housing took top priority in Mr Mullighan’s budget. Despite the the government spending big however South Australian’s will receive limited cost of living relief.

CommSec’s Tom Piotrowski says the European Central Bank raising its inflation forecast after cutting interest rates is an “unusual" move. The ECB cut interest rates on Thursday as was widely expected, and at the same time raised its inflation outlook for 2024 and 2025 declining to detail the rate-cutting path. “It’s not a traditional response to cutting rates,” Mr Piotrowski told Sky News Australia. “You would tend to think that you’d be expecting lower inflation outcomes.” Presented by CommSec.

Parts of New South Wales remain under severe weather warnings as the state is battered by heavy rain. The South Coast and Southern Highlands have seen more than 140 millimetres of rain since 9am Thursday. Sydney's south also received a drenching yesterday with Campbelltown and Mascot among some of the areas seeing the heaviest falls. Severe weather warnings are in place for the Illawarra and surrounds, while moderate flood warnings are in place for areas in the Sydney's northwest. Authorities anticipate Warragamba Dam to spill again between now and the end of the weekend.

Sky News host Caleb Bond discusses a dating app developed by Tokyo City Hall that will encourage Japanese people to have children to combat the country’s low fertility rate. “What an interesting idea - the local council is so worried about the fact that people are not getting married and have kids that they are starting their own dating app,” Mr Bond said. “I don’t know whether I would particularly want to use a government-issued dating app; I mean, I don’t really want the government involved in my dating life.”

The public’s “disdain” for reality TV star Kim Kardashian is starting to show, according to Sky News host Rita Panahi. This comes after Ms Kardashian was on the cover of this month’s Variety Magazine as one of the latest celebrities to feature in their ‘Actors on Actors’ series. “Is she in the right to be there ... I’m trying to find a way to stick up for poor Kim because she is getting attacked since that roast where she was booed mercilessly,” Ms Panahi said. “It’s really coming through just how much of the public has disdain for her.”

Sky News host Liz Storer discusses a dating app being developed by Tokyo City Hall in the hope of boosting the country’s fertility rate, which remains one of the lowest in the world. “They are taking this seriously as they should,” Ms Storer said. “Governments are just like how can we encourage and promote marriage, have kids, family … they are doing what they can to facilitate that, and I’m constantly ripping my hair out that Australia just seems to be watching it happen, year in year out, decade in decade out.”

Liberal Senator James McGrath has blasted Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, saying Australians would not trust him “to operate a toaster or a kettle”. “It is the weakness of a Prime Minister who is letting Australia slide into economic mediocrity and allowing Australians to not feel safe,” Mr McGrath told Sky News host Sharri Markson. “Because of an Immigration Minister who, quite frankly, we would not trust to operate a toaster or a kettle.”

Katter’s Australian Party’s Bob Katter has warned that if Australia gives the banks a “no cash society,” then they control “every aspect of your lives”.  “It is a freedom battle,” he told Sky News host Chris Kenny.  “Up here in North Queensland, I’m very proud of my fellow North Queenslanders because we’ve had a number of anti-cashless rallies.”

The amount of online scams targeting Australians has “increased pretty dramatically”, says Finder Head of Consumer Research Graham Cooke. “The overall number of scams reported – that’s gone up from 240,000 scams in 2022 to 300,000 scams last year,” he told Sky News host Steve Price. “This time of year it tends to be tax scams, these are scams pretending to be either somebody offering a tax refund or scams pretending to be directly from your MyGov account or the ATO.”

This week on Power Hour, the FBI admits Hunter Biden’s laptop is authentic, Meghan Markle faces brand trouble as the Sussexes look to save their “image”, and comedian Alex Stein confronts ‘Queers for Palestine’ protesters at a Dallas Pride rally.

English singer-songwriter Adele “lost it on stage” at her Las Vegas residency because she thought someone in the crowd was opposed to Pride, according to Sky News host Rita Panahi.  Adele called out a person in the audience after she thought the man had yelled out “Pride sucks”.  “I’ve actually seen accounts where people near that man said, that’s actually not what he said, he made a comment about work sucks, or something,” Ms Panahi said.  “The words were just misconstrued so that would make it an even more absurd outburst from her.”

Former US president Donald Trump being convicted during his hush money trial was “entirely predictable”, says UnHerd D.C. correspondent Emily Jashinsky. “It was a jury in Manhattan, so the likelihood that he was going to be convicted, I would have put money on it – I didn’t, but if I would have, I would have been right," she told Sky News Digital Presenter Gabriella Power. “It just looked like it was never going in Trump's favour, even though the legal questions about the underlying nature of the prosecution, I think, are extremely serious.”

Geopolitics expert Roger Gewolb says China sees “how weak” United States President Joe Biden is. “His latest escapade of basically backing off … his support for Israel and conflating the Israelis and Hamas as kind of equal combatants who should stop fighting really was appalling and will be seen as China as more weakness in the Obama and Biden camp,” Mr Gewolb told Sky News Digital Presenter Gabriella Power. “They’re going to push the envelope as far as they can.”

Chris Minns has slammed the “political posturing” from the Greens on Gaza as he urged politicians and people alike to “focus on social cohesion”. “Everybody has got a responsibility to not inflame tensions and flames in our community as well as respecting other cultures and faiths,” Mr Minns said. “We have done that successfully in this state for decades and I hate to see the fundamental principles or tenors of that rocked around by political posturing. “I think the Greens have been embroiled to some extent and you reap what you sow.”

Former US president Donald Trump has labelled the United States a “banana republic” in an interview on Fox News. It comes after Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts in his New York trial last week. The case dealt with hush money payments to Stormy Daniels and his attempt to hide salacious information from voters. In the interview, Mr Trump also said "no one has ever gone through" what he has gone through, and he has been "under siege". Trump’s campaign raised $53 million from online donations in the 24 hours after he was found guilty. It said a quarter of the donors were new to the campaign.

Israel has been accused of unlawfully dropping white Phosphorus over residential buildings in Lebanon. According to a report by Human Rights Watch Israel's forces deployed the substance in at least 17 towns since October last year. It comes as tensions build along the Lebanese-Israeli border, with both sides threatening an all-out war. An Israeli spokesperson vehemently denied the illegal use of white phosphorus in a statement to Sky News UK.

Sky News host Caleb Bond reacts to a drag queen questioning a pro-Palestine activist about the conflict in the Middle East. The drag queen during the video was seen educating the activist that being gay in Palestine was a punishable offence. “Isn’t it just great when you just watch them in real-time, those cogs going over in their head oh my god I have buggered this up so badly,” Mr Bond said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton have given a statement on indulgence on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. “Today, we mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day and we give thanks to all who stood for liberty, and we remember and honour all who fell,” Mr Albanese said. "D-Day was an unprecedented feat of collective willpower and daring," he said.

The Megyn Kelly Show host Megyn Kelly has blasted WNBA players over the treatment of Caitlin Clark in the league. “What a bunch of spoiled jealous brats,” Ms Kelly told Sky News host Paul Murray. “All I want to hear from them is thank you, that’s it that’s all they should be saying to Caitlin Clark. “Thank you so much for calling attention to our sport that no one cares about, nobody, no one cares about women’s basketball. "The only reason they're watching it now is because of that one woman.”

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has formally apologised on behalf of the state government to LGBTQ+ people for laws that criminalised homosexuality. NSW is the last state to issue an apology, and eight years behind Victoria and South Australia which formally apologised in 2016. The motion will also recognise the trauma felt by and endured by the LGBTQIA+ community, their families and their loved ones.