CommSec’s Tom Piotrowski says the latest inflation figures in the United States “don’t” give the Federal Reserve “enough confidence” to cut rates. “One of the features of the session overnight was that US Federal Reserve Chairman, as part of a panel discussion, offered some comments,” Mr Piotrowski told Sky News Australia. “To paraphrase what he said is that presently given the latest inflation figures that the US has seen, they don’t give the Fed enough confidence to be cutting rates. “That’s the conclusion that the markets had already drawn last week. “It’s why you’ve seen interest rates shoot up.” Presented by CommSec.

Sky News host Caleb Bond has slammed the “left in the US” for trying to “impugn Trump’s character” with his New York hush money trial. Former US president Donald Trump’s hush money trial has begun in New York City. It is the first time a US president has faced trial in a criminal court. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. “We know the point of all of this, of course, is it’s not a trial really about whether or not he did anything wrong in terms of using that money or covering it up – it’s a trial of Donald Trump’s character,” Mr Bond said. “They’re doing everything they can – the left in the US – to try and impugn Trump’s character.”

Israel’s war cabinet is set to meet for the third time in three days to decide on its response to Iran’s drone and missile attack. Saudi Arabia is the latest country to call for a de-escalation of tensions. An Israeli drone strike has killed a Hezbollah commander in South Lebanon. Israel insists it will not be rushed into a decision on how to retaliate. “We cannot stand still from this kind of aggression,” Israel Defence Forces Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. “Iran will not get [off] scot-free.”

Former Liberal MP Nicolle Flint says “people are hurting” as Labor loses its lead over the Coalition in the polls due to the cost-of-living crisis. Ms Flint joined Sky News host Paul Murray to discuss Labor losing its lead over the Coalition in the latest polls. “I sincerely hope for the good of the Australian people – that cost-of-living goes down. “But I just cannot see how that’s going to happen under this Albanese-Labor government. “People are hurting, migration is hurting them, housing is hurting them, detainees running riot in the communities, worrying them and they’re concerned about law and order.”

Sky News host Liz Storer says Australia needs “more men” like ‘Bollard Man’ who fended off the knifeman during the Bondi Junction stabbings on Saturday. Footage was captured of the Bondi stabbing offender Joel Cauchi being confronted by the French national holding a bollard on an escalator. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Frenchman Damien Guerot showed “such bravery” during the attacks and welcomed him as an Australian citizen despite him dealing with visa applications. “We need more men like this in Australia,” Ms Storer said. “Can we clone him?”

Sky News host James Macpherson says the Biden administration has recently passed legislation to ensure levels of forever chemicals “don’t exceed four parts per trillion in drinking water”. Mr Macpherson said a report out this week states that forever chemicals are “allowed in Australia’s tap water” at “140 times the maximum level now considered safe by the United States”. Forever chemicals are called that because they “never break down in the environment and they take years to leave the human body”. “The forever chemicals … are known to cause serious illnesses such as cancer and birth defects. “The Australian health department says they’re currently looking again at the levels of chemicals in tap water”.

According to a new financial review poll Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has a “higher unfavourable rate” than Peter Dutton, says Sky News host Paul Murray. Mr Murray said according to the poll the two-party preferred is “50-50” for the Labor and Liberal parties. “The Labor party’s primary vote now 31 per cent. “The Liberal National Party generally speaking can win an election if they’ve got a primary at 40. “The Greens are going backwards and everything else remains stable.”

Shadow Defense Minister Andrew Hastie says Australian people need “strong national security leadership”. Mr Hastie joined Sky News host Sharri Markson to discuss the Labor government’s handling of national security. “Australia is a young democracy, we’re only 123 years, and this is probably our most severe test when it comes to social cohesion. “Anthony Albanese is giving weak national security leadership. “He’s using weak language, he’s using weak values, he’s not articulating Australian values, and our community needs strong direction from him.”

Sky News host Sharri Markson discusses the Albanese Labor government’s “shocking policy” surrounding the Nature Positive laws. “Speaking of shocking policy from the Albanese government,” she said. “The Environmental Protection Agency is now going to be able to issue stop work orders. “To anyone breaking green laws. “It will also have the power to audit businesses, penalties for offenders will be hiked too.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told a French national he is “welcome to stay” in Australia after he fought the Bondi Westfield attacker with a bollard. Mr Albanese said during a press conference the man is “welcome here”. “You are welcome to stay as long as you like,” Mr Albanese said. “This is someone we would welcome becoming an Australian citizen. “We thank him for his extraordinary bravery.”

Mathematic skills across the country have been falling for two decades, according to Sky News host Rita Panahi. “At the end of last year, almost half of Australia’s 15-year-olds were failing to achieve national standards in key areas of math, science and reading,” Ms Panahi said. “It is math that is declining most rapidly of the three over the past 20 years.” Ms Panahi’s comments come as ANU is set to introduce professors to teach ‘Indigenous mathematics’. “Since the original curriculum was apparently too racist and Western-centric,” she said.

Questions have been raised over whether people with psychiatric disorders should be forced to undergo treatment after a man stabbed several people in Bondi Junction in a shopping centre. Joel Cauchi was shot dead on Saturday by a police officer after he stabbed several shoppers in a Westfield. Police are still investigating whether there were signs which could have been detected to prevent the tragedy and a possible motive for the terror attack. “I think the question here is more to say being mentally unwell – having a psychiatric disorder is not illegal,” says Child and Adolescent Psychologist Clare Rowe. “Unless you are scheduled under the Mental Health Act of which there is several reasons that you can schedule someone – that is hold them against their will and treat them,” she told Sky News host Rita Panahi.

Victoria has recorded the lowest-performing math students in the country, according to The Age. “It is not just Victoria,” Institute of Public Affairs Colleen Harkin told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “Our results across the board are astoundingly poor. “We have a third of the nation’s children who are not meeting the minimum benchmark in the core skills of literacy and numeracy. “We only have 15 per cent of our students who are considered to be exceeding expectations.”

Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood says car marker Tesla’s shares have “slumped heavily overnight”. Tesla said it will cut ten per cent of its global workforce in the “face of falling sales and tighter margins,” Mr Greenwood said. “At the end of last year, Tesla had 140,000 employees,” he said. “It is being squeezed by falling demand in the US. “The Tesla share price, which is down 35 per cent this year, fell 5.59 per cent overnight and even further in after-hours trading.”

Tesla is set to lay off more than ten per cent of its workforce after a fall in electric vehicle sales. “Nobody saw this coming,” The Daily Telegraph’s Tim Blair told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. “Except everyone with a brain. “It’s as though they’ve reached a market cap. “Everyone who’s able to recharge their electric vehicles at home, everyone who’s able to afford electric vehicles in the first place … they might have just hit about every person who’s in those sort of sectors.”

Nationals Senate leader Bridget McKenzie says the Greens lashing out at outgoing Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci's threatening contempt is “technically allowable”. “These are really good, serious questions; indeed, the Senate can hold people in contempt,” she said. “It can also attach penalties to that, being civil and indeed jail time. “I think the last time one of the houses of parliament did this was back in the 50s and sent some guys to jail. “It is technically allowable.”

Social media users have reacted to former US president Donald Trump releasing a "powerful" election ad ahead of the first day of his Manhattan hush money trial on Monday. Donald Trump's campaign released a video ahead of his hush money trial in Manhattan court. Trump posted the video to Truth Social ahead of his criminal trial, framing it as a battle for the freedom of all Americans. In the video, Trump is quoted: “they’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you, and I just happen to be standing in their way". No jurors were confirmed on the first day; 50 were dismissed for potential bias, with 32 remaining from an initial pool of 96. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts related to the alleged cover-up of the $130,000 payment to Daniels.

Outgoing Woolworths Chief Executive Brad Banducci is probably “not going to end up in jail,” says competition lawyer and former ACCC chair Allan Fels. Mr Fels’ comments come after the Woolworth boss was warned by Greens Senator Nick McKim during the supermarket Senate inquiry that he could face prison time for being in contempt. “He’s not going to end up in jail – he shouldn’t have a sleepless night,” Mr Fels told Sky News Australia. “I think the ultimate answers to these questions will be found in another inquiry – the ACCC inquiry. “Which has got much deeper powers to it to investigate, to get to the bottom of things, to measure profits and markups and so on.”

Former Labor senator Stephen Conroy says a lot of Australians are “hurting” with cost-of-living. The chief executives of Coles and Woolworths have been grilled in a Senate inquiry in Canberra. This comes amid accusations and whistleblower testimony of the big supermarkets’ price gauging of both customers and suppliers. The inquiry’s focus is on whether these supermarkets are benefitting from the cost-of-living crisis. Mr Conroy told Sky News Australia that people are looking for “answers” on the supermarket prices.

A new word has been created to describe gender-neutral Latino people. The previous word that was made to describe the gender-neutral Latino community was Latinx, and it has now been changed to Latine. Author of Black Victim to Black Victor and the founder of Wrong Speak Publishing, Adam Coleman, discusses whether the term will become popular. “Thee big problem that the media has is that they have an elitist problem and an ideology problem, and often those two things mix,” Mr Coleman told Sky News Australia. “So, what we’re seeing here is that the media pushing something that adheres to the ideology – makes the non-conforming, gender non-conforming people feel comfortable, when in reality it makes 99 per cent of the population squirm,” Mr Coleman said. “This is ridiculous – it’s absurd, and nobody asked for it except for the ideologues, so this is rightfully being mocked."