GOP commentator Reid Rasner claims it is no surprise Tulsi Gabbard was chosen as US National Intelligence Director as she was a strong supporter of Donald Trump. “Not a surprise that she’s part of the transition team, she’ll do a fabulous job,” Mr Rasner told Sky News host Gabriella Power. “There’s no one I’m truly worried about right now that (incoming) president Trump has appointed.”

Actress and former co-host of 'The View' Rosie O’Donnell has a “classic case of Trump-derangement syndrome”, claims author and media personality Oli London. “She’s always saying she’s never going to speak about Trump again but she just can’t help herself going on ten-minute TikTok rants,” Mr London told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “Now she’s making her TikTok account private, she’s made a brand new account so Trump fans can’t see her videos.”

It is in the best interest of the United States for Australia to be “as strong as possible” as one of America’s closest allies, reveals Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham. “I can recall subsequently as trade minister to Scott Morrison literally handing Donald Trump a graph showing the trade surplus that the United States enjoys with Australia,” Mr Birmingham told Sky News Australia. “Some of the more recent data that I’ve looked at, that’s still a trade surplus running at around $27 billion in the US' favour. “Those facts matter and it’s important that Australians are able to put that evidence directly in front of the president and his key advisors to demonstrate that the US has nothing to fear from Australia but everything to gain from a strong Australia.”

Sky News Business Reporter Edward Boyd analyses Orica’s newly updated profits, claiming the explosives producer had done “well” over the last 12 months. Mr Boyd’s analysis follows the report Orica’s full-year profit is up 77 per cent to reflect a staggering $525 million. “Orica is one of the world’s biggest producers of explosives,” Mr Boyd said. “The key for Orica was selling higher-margined explosive products to its mining clients all over the world. “Demand is still really high for this product … they’ve done well over the last 12 months.”

Independent MP Dai Le has urged the government to “reassess” who they appoint as Australian Ambassador to the US. Mr Rudd has come under intense scrutiny over his comments about President-elect Donald Trump including calling the US leader a “traitor to the West” and “village idiot”. “To have an ambassador who cannot have that diplomatic relationship with the president of the day – it is concerning,” Ms Le told Sky News Australia.

Donald Trump was welcomed back to the White House by a very enthusiastic Joe Biden today, in an interaction that shocked the world.

Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto has spoken to United States President-elect Donald Trump over the phone. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s first meeting was supposed to be with Mr Subianto, but it has been delayed until breakfast tomorrow Peruvian time, Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell said. “We’re still kind of wondering why,” Mr Clennell said.

Melania Trump has declined to meet with outgoing First Lady Jill Biden at the White House on Wednesday. Mrs Trump's snub comes as her husband, President-elect Donald Trump, sat down with US President Joe Biden for a historic meeting one week on from his election victory. The incoming first lady cited US President Joe Biden’s administration's raid on her and her family's home at Mar-a-Lago. A source close to Melania revealed to the New York Post that the former model “ain’t going” to the White House. “Jill Biden’s husband authorised the FBI snooping through her underwear drawer. The Bidens are disgusting,” the source said. “Jill Biden isn’t someone Melania needs to meet.”

The Megyn Kelly Show host Megyn Kelly has blasted MSNBC host Joe Scarborough over his “lies” about President-elect Donald Trump. “Scarborough, in particular, started off as a politician and most politicians lie. He always did,” she told Sky News host Paul Murray. “He has no credibility, but he has a leftist audience that doesn’t care. They don’t care if they’re getting lied to.”

The Megyn Kelly Show host Megyn Kelly claims Republicans are looking for “loyalists” to join the Trump administration. “They want genuinely MAGA people who get it and believe it, but also competence,” she told Sky News host Paul Murray. “This time around, they’re trying to find people who are genuinely rooting for Trump and understand MAGA and have adopted it, but also know what they’re doing. And I feel like for the most part, they’re nailing it.”

The President-elect has picked Donald Trump loyalist and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to sit as the United States Attorney General. Mr Gaetz has reposted a message from Donald Trump, expressing his gratitude for the selection. Posting to Truth Social, Mr Trump says "Matt is a deeply gifted and tenacious attorney".

A video of an Israeli hostage inside Gaza has been released by the militant group Islamic Jihad. In it, Alexander "Sasha" Troufanov calls on Israel's government to secure a deal to release the hostages. His family has given permission to use the video.

The Federal government is facing more pressure to control its migration policy. New figures obtained by The Australian reveal an additional 100,000 people are on student-related visas this year, compared to 12 months ago. There was a 25 per cent increase in the number of people on bridging visas between June and September.

Southeast Queensland has been pummelled by a series of supercell storms with more than 105,000 lightning strikes recorded. The Weather system swept toward the coast from the Darling Downs, leaving a trail of destruction, including golf ball sized hail as well as wiping power to around 15,000 homes. Hervey Bay has seen more than 45 millimetres of rain since yesterday morning, while areas including Brisbane and Archerfield have seen more than 30 millimetres.

The Aga Khan emerald has sold for $AU13.4 million at an auction in Geneva. The 37-carat gem was a gift from the Aga Khan Prince to his wife, Nina Dyer, in 1960, just five years before her death at age 30. The gem has been bought and sold over decades, including by the French jewellery empire Van Cleef and Arpels. It is now the world’s most expensive emerald.

US President-elect Donald Trump has made a historic return to the White House to see President Joe Biden. The pair greeted each other in good spirits, as they vowed for a smooth transfer of power. It's the first time they fulfilled the tradition, after Mr Trump refused to host Mr Biden in 2020.

Sky News host Rita Panahi has mocked The View host Whoopi Goldberg for trying to pretend she is a regular “working gal” like other Americans.

Sky News host Paul Murray says Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are “truly” going to “prune” the federal budget. “Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are going to get together and they are going to live out the right-wing dream,” Mr Murray said. “Which is to truly take the prunes to a federal budget.”

Sky News host James Macpherson says people have already “started doing the work” for Elon Musk’s government efficiency role. Donald Trump has announced his billionaire ally Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will have roles in his administration. The pair will lead the Department of Government Efficiency, which the President-Elect said will "dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

MSNBC's prime-time viewership has plummeted by 54 per cent in the days following the US election. Sky News host James Macpherson claims left-wing media have “shot themselves in the foot” for telling “lies” during their coverage of the presidential campaign. “I can't imagine why people don’t want to tune into MSNBC right now, I mean who doesn’t want to turn on the television and hear that you’re racist, misogynist and watch TV hosts crying,” Mr Macpherson said.