New South Wales Liberal Party President Jason Falinski has called for legislation to give parents “more power” over the use of social media by children. The US Congress has voted in favour of new legislation that could lead to social media app TikTok being banned in the United States. The Australian government seems reluctant to follow suit. “I think it’s absolutely something we should look at,” Mr Falinski told Sky News Australia. “On a broader subject … eminent scholars … are linking the use of social media by teens and pre-teens to the decline in mental health. “We’ve really got to empower parents somehow through legislation to give them more power over use of social media by children. “I’m saying this because the research on this is incredibly compelling around mental health problems that teens are suffering right now.”

Following Meta’s decision to stop paying for Australian news content on Facebook, in a defiant move against Australian government legislation, the Sky News investigations team examines the unprecedented market power and influence of the global tech behemoth and its societal impacts. 'Tech Tyrants: Facebook’s War on Australia' unpacks the fallout from Facebook’s decision, with Investigative Reporter Jonathan Lea speaking with the leaders of the nation’s biggest commercial media giants, Executive Chairman of News Corp Australia Michael Miller, and CEO of Nine Entertainment Mike Sneesby, on the threat to all news organisations and their ability to deliver trusted news to the audiences and communities they serve.

NSW and ACT households have been warned of potential power outages. It comes as Transgrid workers launch strike action. The 24-hour walkout is over a potential 24 per cent pay rise over the next three years. Reportedly, negotiations between the energy operator and unions have stalled. The Electrical Trans Union says Transgrid’s maintenance operations would be heavily disrupted by the strike.

US Analyst Michael Ware says the fatigue of war and destruction in Gaza may eventually lead to a two-state solution. People will be just tired of all this horror – they want a real end to it … a forever end,” Mr Ware told Sky News Australia. “Israel is now threatening its new relationships with all these Arab states that have recognised it or who are willing to recognise it. “It may not be in the Israeli people’s interests to deny the Palestinians. “The way the ball of history bounces, this actually may lead us toward a two-state solution.”

Another Melbourne Tobacconist goes up in flames, the NSW Premier demands equal GST distribution, the CSIRO takes a swipe at Peter Dutton's nuclear energy claims, Adelaide secures the December cricket test series, an Australian woman is killed in a Bali landslide, Donald Trump's motion for dismissal of case is dismissed, and a man is shot dead in a New York subway.  See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong spoke at a press conference on Friday announcing the Australian government is restoring funding to UNRWA to support civilians in Gaza. The government had paused its funding to UNRWA after Israel made allegations its staff were involved in the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas, resulting in the firing of several staff members and investigations into others. “Successive Australian governments have funded the United Nations Relief and Works Agency or UNRWA since 1951, this is because it does lifesaving work for communities in the occupied Palestinian territories,” Ms Wong said. “After taking office, the Albanese government doubled Australia’s annual funding to UNRWA to $20 million each year – we took a decision to pause $6 million of additional funding which was taken after serious allegations were made resulting in UNRWA’s dismissal of staff alleged to have been involved in the Hamas terrorist attacks of the 7th of October. “The best available current advice from agencies and the Australian government lawyers is that UNRWA is not a terrorist organisation and that existing in additional safeguards sufficiently protect Australian taxpayer funding. “After consideration by the National Security Committee this week, Australia is unpausing our contribution to UNRWA.”

Prince William has commended his wife’s artistic skills while visiting a youth centre in west London. The Prince of Wales was making cookies with children in the centre when he revealed Princess Kate was the artistic one. “It’s really not that impressive,” he said during his cookie-making attempt. “My wife is the arty one.” William visited the new youth centre while Kate remained out of the public eye, still recuperating from her operation.

The NSW government hints at tougher asbestos penalties, NSW and the ACT warned about power outages due to workers strike, January sees record migration intake, extra police set to patrol Adelaide precincts, a Sydney man has won last night's $40 million Powerball lotto without even realising, and the AFP says Kensington Palace suggests Kensington Palace is no longer a trusted source of information.  See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

A Florida judge has declined former US president Donald Trump’s attempt to dismiss charges over his retainment of classified documents. US District Court Judge Aileen Cannon denied Trump’s motion on Thursday, citing “unconstitutional vagueness”. Trump’s attorneys have pushed forward two motions, with Cannon only dismissing one and her yet to rule on the second. The second motion to dismiss is based on the President Records Act, according to Fox News. According to Defence Attorney Todd Blanche, the Presidential Records Act gives an acting president the power to take classified documents. The act also allows presidents to take classified documents home, as Trump did at his Mar-A-Lago estate. The former president was initially accused of illegally taking sensitive documents after he was voted out in 2021 but pleaded not guilty.

Australia’s GST system is broken and New South Wales “keeps being ripped off”, says NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman. “This should have come as no surprise to Chris Minns,” Mr Speakman told Sky News Australia. “His own budget papers last year explicitly stated the GST revenue of NSW was subject to a higher degree of uncertainty. “The Premier has been asleep at the wheel and awaits the Grants Commission report in the last day or two before he actually talks tough. “I think NSW is being ripped off – the system is broken – it’s perverse.”

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli says his party is “under no illusions” over how difficult it will be to win votes in upcoming by-elections. Both Inala and Ipswich West are holding their by-elections on Saturday, March 16. “By-elections are typically in that order of three or four per cent, we saw that recently in Dunkley”, he told Sky News Australia. “We’re dealing with seats where the Labor Party win easily on primary votes so we are dealing with Labor Party heartland. “But it is a really good opportunity for people to send a message and we’ve spent a bit of time here and I can tell you overwhelmingly people are not happy with the direction of the state government.”

Sky News host James Macpherson says Kamala Harris is the “only person on earth” who can make Joe Biden look good. “Well, if you’ve ever wondered why we have Kamala Harris as the Vice President of the United States, the answer is pretty obvious,” Mr Macpherson said. Mr Macpherson’s remarks come amid the US Vice President’s latest reason why Americans shouldn’t vote for Donald Trump. “If he is re-elected, the former US president has openly said he intends to weaponise the Department of Justice against his enemies,” Ms Harris said. “If Trump weaponises the Department of Justice, he’ll simply say, ‘I learnt from the best’,” Mr Macpherson added.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has presented a “very big statement” by accusing Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of losing his way in their war against Gaza, says US Analyst Michael Ware. “We certainly haven’t heard President Joe Biden call for Netanyahu to stand down even though President Biden has said his government has gone over the top in this war,” Mr Ware told Sky News Australia. “When a Democrat Senate Majority Leader, a vehement Jewish-American supporter of Israel himself, stands up and calls for a change in government. “I think that is the voice of the Biden government’s angst with the leader of Israel. “They say his high tolerance for civilian casualties risks making Israel an international pariah.”

Share market numbers are going to be down by a “decent margin,” says CommSec’s Tom Piotrowski. “The futures are telling us we will be down by about 1 per cent,” he told Sky News Australia. “So, that is a reflection of the hotter-than-expected inflation figures that we saw in the US. “There is nothing compelling here when it comes to the narrative about cutting rates.” Presented by CommSec.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns and his Treasurer are leading a revolt against federal GST allocations approved by fellow federal Labor ministers. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has slammed the GST distributions as “absurd” as the Minns’ government proposes an allocation based on a state’s population. Mr Mookhey will meet his federal counterpart on Friday where he will make the case for per capita GST distribution. Chris Minns has criticised Western Australia's GST guarantee, despite the Labor led state being the richest in the country. Despite the New South Wales led push, the Prime Minister has ruled out making any changes to GST.

Queensland's Liberal National Party is on track to deliver the Sunshine State a majority government if an election was to be held in March, according to Newspoll. The polling company’s latest data shows the state Opposition has surged ahead of Labor by eight points since the 2020 election. LNP Leader David Crisafulli is leading Steven Miles as better Premier by 6 per cent with preferential data for the two Party leaders at 43 and 37 per cent respectively. The potential win would translate to an 18-seat loss for the Labor Party and could break Labor's 'Red Wall' effect across the mainland. At least 81 per cent of Queenslanders outside the southeast believe it's time for a change of government.

Sky News host Sharri Markson says the US Congress has “overwhelmingly” voted in favour of a new legislation that would see a ban on TikTok. The lower house of Congress voted 352 to 65 in favour of the bill. Members of Congress in the White House claim TikTok is a “national security threat” due to its ties to the Chinese Communist Party, and lawmakers want to force the app's Beijing-based owner ByteDance to divest. The bill will now head to the Senate for a vote. The TikTok CEO denies the Chinese government controls the app or accesses Americans’ user data.

Sky News Australia host Caleb Bond says it is a “disgrace” anyone signed off on an LGBTQ+ club at a US school that didn’t require consent from parents. It comes as a teacher of a school in California reportedly created a “secret” LGBTQ+ club for students aged six, seven and eight years old. “You work that stuff out for yourself,” Mr Bond said. “You don’t need to be led off to some little secret club in a school to find that out unless someone wants to put something in your head. “The fact that anyone signed off on it in the first place is a disgrace.”

Swedish Police have forcibly removed Greta Thunberg and a dozen other environmental activists who were blocking entrances to the parliament building. The group were protesting against political inaction on climate change. Police removed individuals from the sit-down protest, driving them away in a police van. Sky News contributor Prue MacSween called the 21-year-old climate activist a "parody of herself". “Will someone just give the girl a job, if she’s able to do it," Ms MacSween told Sky News host Rita Panahi. “I mean it’s just pathetic and so sad.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says Bob Hawke was the “last honest” federal Labor leader. Mr Dutton joined Sky News host Chris Kenny to discuss the future of energy in Australia. The Opposition Leader said Bob Hawke was “able to put his cards on the table”. “As recently as 2016 – strongly in favour of nuclear power because he knew that the latest generation of nuclear power is nothing like what we saw in the 60s or 70s or 80s. “It is zero emissions.”