Information on Ghislaine Maxwell in unsealed Jeffrey Epstein documents “won’t impact” the socialite’s incarnation, according to NYU School of Law Professor Stephen Gillers. “She won’t face more charges, anything in the documents will have been known to the sentencing judge,” Mr Gillers told Sky News Australia. “There is nothing new there that will lead to a reconsideration of her sentence, even if it were possible - which it is not. “This is not going to affect her incarceration one way or the other.” Hundreds of pages of unsealed documents from a lawsuit connected to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein have been released. The documents include nearly 200 names, including some of Mr Epstein’s accusers, prominent businesspeople, politicians and more. Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While the documents include hundreds of names, being named does not implicate any wrongdoing.

Hikers struck by lightning in the Blue Mountains, a growing number of asylum seekers are arriving in Australia, Victoria's land tax set to bring a billion dollars more than expected, Victorian teens targeted in increasing sextortion scams, a U.S. judge has been attacked in a Vegas court hearing, and Paris hotel prices soar ahead of the upcoming Olympic games. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

New modelling shows Victoria’s new land tax is set to rake in nearly $1 billion more than expected. More than 800,000 investment, holiday home, and business property owners will be impacted by the state government’s COVID Debt Levy. Extra property taxes of up to $1,000 will apply over the next decade to help pay down $32 billion earmarked as ‘COVID debt’. New figures from the Parliamentary Budget Office reveal the tax will net a lot more than originally projected over the next four years. “What we have done is made a commitment to the people of Victoria that we will pay down the COVID debt,” Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said during a media conference on Thursday.

Author Douglas Murray says former Harvard president Claudine Gay delivered a “completely shambolic” performance at a congressional hearing on anti-Semitism. “Reaction to the resignation of the (former) president of Harvard Claudine Gay has been predictably divided,” Mr Murray said. “For some, the university’s first black head deserved to lose her job after accusations of plagiarism and a completely shambolic performance at a congressional hearing on anti-Semitism last month.” The former president resigned following public outrage over her testimony on anti-Semitism. Ms Gay was asked, "At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment – yes or no?" Ms Gay responded with, "It can be, depending on the context". “Amazing – all depends on the context apparently,” Mr Murray said. “Anyway, some people are ignoring that and are claiming there is actually a sinister racial agenda in this sacking.” Mr Murray was joined by author and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali to discuss the controversial issue.

Spiked Online Chief Political Reporter Brendan O’Neill says the last thing people need to hear is “this woe is me act” from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. “Lots of people are saying 2023 seemed to be their annus horribilis to use a phrase that the Queen once used,” he told Sky News Australia. “And I think that’s right. “We are going through a cost of living crisis, an energy crisis, there are wars taking place – the last thing we need to hear is this woe is me act.” Mr O’Neill said what people want from royals is “a bit of public duty, a sense of loyalty,” which the public never got from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Aviation Projects Managing Director Keith Tonkin says the crew of the Dash-8 plane appear to have made a “terrible error” in relation to the crash with the A350 aircraft. On Tuesday night, a Japan Airlines jet burst into flames following a collision with a smaller aircraft on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, despite the larger plane being given clearance to land. “It seems as though there’s been a terrible error made by the crew on the Coast Guard aircraft by taxiing onto the runway in front of the landing A350, that’s very regrettable no doubt,” he told Sky News Australia. “But there are lots of other things to think about in terms of the air traffic control procedures. “The communications, the weather, the crew, and all sorts of other different circumstances and factors that need to be considered and will be thoroughly investigated and reviewed before anyone starts making any findings about what happened and why.”

Spiked Online Chief Political Reporter Brendan O’Neill says people are sick of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “narcissism” and “self-pity”. “Lots of people are saying 2023 seemed to be their annus horribilis to use a phrase that the Queen once used,” he told Sky News Australia. “And I think that’s right. “The last thing we need to hear is this woe is me act from literal royals who live it up in mansions in California.” Mr O’Neill said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have never given the public “a bit of public duty, a sense of loyalty, a sense of respect for the country”.

Two explosions have killed at least 103 people in Iran after a large crowd gathered to commemorate the late Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a US drone strike in 2020. The blasts occurred in Soleimani’s southern hometown, near the Martyrs Cemetery at the Saheb al-Zaman Mosque in Kerman. Iran’s state television has reported that up to 211 people are injured, and many are in critical condition. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has slammed the explosion being committed by “evil and criminal enemies” of the country and has vowed a “harsh response”. The IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) reported that the first explosion took place about 700 meters from Soleimani’s grave at around 3 pm, with the second located around one kilometre away roughly 20 minutes later. Iranian Interior Minister, Ahmad Vahidi, has said that the second blast killed and wounded the greatest number of civilians caught up in the blasts. Around nightfall, crowds began gathering back at the cemetery where they began chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”. The European Union and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both denounced the explosions, with the EU releasing a statement following the attack. “The EU condemns in the strongest terms today’s bombing … This act of terror has exacted a shocking toll of civilian deaths and injuries,” they stated.

Wealthy retirees could pick up more of the bill for aged care. It is in a bid to make the system more sustainable. Aged care is one of the top three pressures on the national budget. The government’s aged care task force has been given a mission statement to make the system more sustainable. At the moment, the taxpayer picks up 96 per cent of the aged care costs, while the users of the system are only paying four per cent.

New revelations from a redacted copy of the Prime Minister's diary have raised concern over his comments. The comments in question are Mr Albanese claiming he had never been lobbied by former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce. Anthony Albanese met with Mr Joyce in late 2022, just six weeks after the airline began pressuring the government to block Qatar Airlines' expansion in Australia. All these discussions took place as the price of plane tickets continued to soar. The Prime Minister's office declined to share what was discussed with Mr Joyce in the 2022 meeting.

Another US child has been placed on the wrong flight. A 16-year-old was accidentally sent on a flight to Puerto Rico. Frontier Airlines were alerted to the mistake upon landing and the boy was immediately flown back to his beginning location of Florida. The airline then flew the boy out to his initial destination of Cleveland, Ohio. This comes just days after a six-year-old was flown mistakenly to Florida.

Rescue workers in Japan are facing a race against time to find survivors from the 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the region. At least 73 people were killed in the quake and freezing conditions as well as the isolated landscape are making rescue efforts difficult with dozens of people believed to still be trapped. On New Year’s Day of 2024, Japan was struck by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake which caused major infrastructure damage and made structures collapse. The quake’s severity triggered tsunami alerts in South Korea, North Korea, and parts of Russia’s far east coast. Initially, there was a major tsunami warning given to those living in coastal regions which was then downgraded to advisory, prompting many residents to flee the area.

Japan authorities have said the Coast Guard plane which collided with a passenger plane on a major Tokyo runway was not cleared for take-off. All 379 people aboard the Japan Air passenger plane miraculously escaped an inferno when it landed at Haneda airport. Five of the six people aboard the smaller Coast Guard plane died in the collision. Only the pilot survived. The Coast Guard plane was due to depart on a flight to provide earthquake aid to people on the country's west coast.

Hoover Institute Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson says a “reckoning” is coming in the United States because the country has been “hijacked” by activists. On Christmas Day, Mr Hanson wrote a piece that discussed whether the United States will meet their challenges or ensure its ongoing decline. “I think everybody understands that there’s a reckoning coming,” Mr Hanson told Sky News host James Macpherson. “We valued freedom and liberty over forced equality, and I think we have to get back to that. “We’ve judged people on the content of their character and their merit, not the colour of their skin. “We’ve been hijacked by a very small group of activists ... [that] seized power.”

Spiked Online Chief Political Reporter Brendan O’Neill says people are tired of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "whining". “I think people are sick and tired of this whining celebrity couple from California," Mr O’Neill told Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus. “We are going through a cost-of-living crisis, an energy crisis; there are wars taking place – the last thing we need to hear is this woe is me act from literal royals who live it up in mansions in California.” “People are sick of their whining, their narcissism, their self-pity. “What we want from royals is a bit of public duty, a sense of loyalty, a sense of respect for the country, and we’ve never got that from Harry and Meghan.”

The Courier Mail’s Damien Tomlinson says Queensland Premier Steven Miles being under fire for taking a Christmas holiday while the Gold Coast was being inundated with floods was a “standard set by the left” and he has to “conform” to that standard. Mr Miles cut his holiday short to front a press conference with Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate on Tuesday. “I think being a North Queenslander … we probably would prefer to see less of politicians during natural disasters, but the standard has been set by the left and the Labor government in Opposition, unfortunately,” Mr Tomlinson told Sky News host James Macpherson. “ScoMo’s sort of stumbling answer to that question about holding a hose, sadly, has set the standard, and now, unfortunately, politicians are judged by where they turn up and when. “So, Miles – as unfair as it is, and I think they’re all entitled to holidays – has to now conform to that standard which his own side has set.”

Hoover Institute Senior Fellow Victor Davis Hanson says the United States is at a “tipping point” and could enter a “late Roman-like decline” as problems continue to rise. The US Customs and Border Protection said almost 2.5 million people have illegally crossed the southern border in the last 12 months. “I think everybody’s very worried,” Mr Hanson told Sky News host James Macpherson. “We have eight million people that just crossed the border illegally and are residing here illegally. “Everybody knows they broke the law; everybody knows that the law should be enforced. “Apparently, everybody thinks that’s beyond our powers. “Everybody feels we’re at a tipping point: we either need a Reagan-esque or a Lincoln-esque character … or something to shake us out of it or we’re going to be into a late Roman-like decline.”

The Courier Mail’s Damien Tomlinson says Movie makers are rushing a Mickey Mouse horror movie to cinemas is a “credit” to the marketing team as they were able to get the movie out on the day the copyright expired. The initial copyright on Disney’s iconic Mickey Mouse has expired. The 1928 depiction of the character in Steamboat Willie entered the public domain 95 years after it was released. “Definitely looks goofy, as a lot of these slasher horror movies do,” Mr Tomlinson told Sky News host James Macpherson. “It’s a credit to the marketing team at that movie studio that they knew the deadline was passing, and they were able to get the movie out right on the day.”

The Spectator Australia Podcast host Will Kingston says the use of artificial intelligence in submissions to a Senate inquiry is a “blessing” for the Greens and will soon be writing the “entire Greens policy platform”. The Australian has revealed more than 10 per cent of submissions to a Senate inquiry into legalising cannabis were likely written by artificial intelligence. It is part of a broader increase in submissions to parliamentary inquiries produced entirely or in part by AI tools like ChatGPT. “This is a blessing for the Greens,” Mr Kingston told Sky News host James Macpherson. “ChatGPT will be writing the entire Greens policy platform before long. “I think it can create this volume of responses, but I think there’s also an opportunity for good writers to be able to be more persuasive.”

Australian energy bills are “three to four times higher” than before as the government’s green renewable “ideology” is not meeting the practical reality of what is coming out of people’s pockets, Nationals Leader David Littleproud says. “When you look at what’s driving inflation at the moment, keeping interest rates higher for longer,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News host James Macpherson. “It’s actually energy and food. “They’re intertwined because not only are they taking away farmers labour supply and the supply chain’s labour supply but they’re also driving up their energy costs. “Our energy bills – are three to four times higher than what they were previously and when you’ve got this reckless race to 82 per cent renewables that is tearing up the very thing it is there to protect – the ideology of this government is not meeting the practical reality of what is coming out of your wallet.”