Surf Live Saving Australia Lifesaving Chair Chris Jacobson says “fatality numbers are up” over the summer period. 99 people died in Australian waters over the summer. The Surf Life Saving Drowning Report also shows there were more than 5,700 rescues across the country. “Unfortunately, this summer period, we saw 99 deaths occur across Australia,” Mr Jacobson told Sky News Australia. “[When] we look at previous years, we know that fatality numbers are up, particularly in the regional and remote areas.”

A coral bleaching event is unfolding in the Coral Sea as authorities continue to monitor conditions in the Great Barrier Reef. Researchers are becoming increasingly concerned with the warming ocean temperatures which are driving the event. “The aerial surveys are showing us that we now have widespread – often called mass coral bleaching across the surveyed reefs,” Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Chief Scientist Dr Roger Beeden said. It is the fifth mass coral bleaching event the Great Barrier Reef has faced over the last decade. Coral bleaching occurs when corals are under thermal stress. Sea surface temperatures across much of the marine park have been above the average warmest temperature for longer than eight weeks, and forecasts show they are set to remain high through the rest of the month.

Racing Dreams provides an in-depth look into the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival featuring some of the biggest events on the racing calendar including The Golden Slipper and The Championships. Tim Gilbert and Julie Snook have an access-all-areas pass to review the runners, jockeys, owners, and trainers to make sure you’re race day ready.

Melbourne and Adelaide under a heatwave warning, youth crime in Australia reaches a new peak, a missing Queensland woman has been found safe, calls for a pharmacy regulation overhaul as the cost of living crisis worsens, and Ireland votes to change 'sexist' terminology in its constitution.  See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

University of North Carolina Political Science Professor Martha Kropf says Nikki Haley “saw the writing on the wall” and “didn’t have much of a choice” but to end her presidential campaign earlier this week. 15 states across the United States went to the poll to vote on Super Tuesday – the single largest day of voting in the US presidential primary calendar. Nikki Haley won one state – Vermont – making it the second contest she had won in the Republican primaries, alongside Washington DC. Ms Haley ended her presidential campaign after her defeat but did not endorse Donald Trump for president. “What’s interesting with the Nikki Haley withdrawal is, also that right after that, Mitch McConnell endorsed Trump,” Ms Kropf told Sky News Australia. “There were many observers who thought Nikki Haley might actually stick it out until the end because former president Trump has so many legal issues, and maybe, at the convention, it would come back to her. “I think that she just saw the writing on the wall. “Trump has a lot of popularity here, particularly among primary voters, who tend to be a pretty small subset, but if you look across the Republican establishment, they seem to have decided that Trump is going to be their candidate, so I think Haley just didn’t have much of a choice.”

Thailand and the US have wrapped up Asia's biggest joint military drills. The exercise, called Cobra Gold, has brought together Southeast Asian forces, though the region remains divided over China. Almost 10,000 troops from 30 countries joined the 2024 military exercise. There is still deep division amongst several countries as they disagree with the West’s approach to China. Others share the West’s concerns over Beijing’s rising military power.

Donald Trump has posted a $138 million bond ahead of his defamation case appeal against E Jean Carroll. It will cover Ms Carroll's $125 million judgment plus interest if Mr Trump were to lose his appeal and refuse to pay. The bond prevents Ms Carroll from collecting on the judgment during the appeal, which could take years. In January, a federal jury ruled in favour of the writer who was claiming compensation for defamatory comments she alleged the former US president directed towards her. The jury awarded her damages over the defamatory statements it decided were indeed made by Mr Trump.

Figures released by PropTrack show only 39 per-cent of properties qualified as affordable for middle-income households. The data was tracked between July and December in 2023 and compared to the same period three years earlier. Just three per cent of all available rental properties nationwide were classed as affordable for households on incomes of $67,000. New South Wales has been named the worst state when it comes to affordable rentals. Experts believe rising immigration is making the housing situation worse.

It “feels like” Donald Trump is “pushing back on democracy” by running for president while facing legal charges, says University of North Carolina Political Science Professor Martha Kropf. “I’ll tell you that bothers me,” she told Sky News Australia. Ms Kropf expressed her astonishment at the former president’s rising popularity despite the legal cases. “And certainly, I’m surprised that he is coming back,” she said. Ms Kropf joined Sky News presenter Tim Gilbert to discuss the political layout in the United States ahead of the November presidential election.

Surf Life Saving Australia Chair of Lifesaving Chris Jacobson has urged families to have a plan for if things go wrong while swimming at unattended beaches. “Have you got a plan with your family for if someone is caught in that rip?” he asked Sky News Australia. “And then what you are going to do when they are in the rip? “And what tools you might have to assist you.” Mr Jacobson joined Sky News presenter Tim Gilbert to talk about water safety as Sydney’s hot weather continues after summer has ended.

Entertainment commentator Shane A. Bassett says Oppenheimer will most likely sweep the Oscars. “It’ll be Oppenheimer from start to finish,” Mr Bassett told Sky News Australia. “There’ll be a few surprises in the way that I think Poor Things and The Zone of Interest are the only two movies that might actually win against Oppenheimer. “There is 13 nominations – it (Oppenheimer) will win at least 11 I predict. “It will almost get a clean sweep.”

Mel Gibson has had a “resurgence” lately, says Entertainment commentator Shane A. Bassett. Mr Bassett joined Sky News Australia to discuss Mel Gibson’s latest film, Desperation. “His movies have been under the radar on streaming and people don’t really know about them,” he told Sky News Australia. “He’s had some good performances, including this one. “He’s back at the top of his game.”

The new scary film, Imaginary, has plenty of jump scares for horror fans, says Entertainment commentator Shane A. Bassett. “People will be on the fence with this movie, but I enjoyed it,” he told Sky News Australia. “This one is not family-friendly. “I jumped out of my seat at least three times during this film. “It has got jump scares, it is sort of wry in its delivery but there’s a creepy bear.”

Sky News host Steve Price has broken down the key points of US President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Mr Price said the President talked about "record unemployment under his leadership, but illegal immigration at a leaky border". "When he brought that up, the crowd started heckling. "As a Democrat, like the Australian Labor Party, he loves giving away taxpayers’ money. “Joe Biden announced … that for the next two years, every first homebuyer in the United States will get $US400 a month for the next two years to help pay their mortgages.”

NSW One Nation Leader Tania Mihailuk says the Labor government is “stuck in the 80s” when it comes to their mindset on nuclear. Ms Mihailuk pointed out Australia has the leading deposits of uranium. “We should be capitalising on this,” she told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. “We should be at the forefront of nuclear energy. “We’ve got the opportunity to do that.”

Sky News Digital Editor Jack Houghton has unveiled emails from the Director of the International Fact-Checking Network which prove the system is “compromised”. He said it all leads back to Angie Holan, the director of the International Fact-Checking Network, which was tasked by Meta to investigate these fact-checkers as an independent party. “After months and months of fighting with university lawyers under Freedom of Information laws, we can finally show you the emails that prove the system has been compromised," Mr Houghton said. “Angie Holan, who was heavily involved in censorship during the COVID-19 pandemic, personally wrote to the now disgraced fact-checkers at RMIT, saying she stood by them. “Ms Holan even shared our media questions with the fact-checkers so they could all get their stories straight.” Mr Houghton said Meta only works with fact-checkers who Ms Holan's organisation rubber stamps. “This means her shoddy standards and failures to properly investigate complaints is the standard for the world's entire fact checking apparatus.”

Comedian Alex Stein believes modern-day conservatism “needs to change” by being “more open and using different tactics” in order to win votes. “Modern-day conservatism needs to change … even though it is the GOP,” Mr Stein told Sky News host James Morrow. “We do want some traditionalism, but at the same time, I think that we need to have a populist movement that helps the American people because I would say more people would identify as conservative than they even realise. “Here in America, most people don’t even know who Kamala Harris is, so when you’re asking people ‘pick a side’, people don’t even really know what side to pick. “So when you’re a conservative and you’re pearl-clutching, we want to be more open and use different tactics.”

Comedian Alex Stein has slammed Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for “playing the victim” and putting her “personal agenda ahead of the American people”. Ms Ocasio-Cortez was filmed being confronted by pro-Palestine protesters outside a movie theatre for reportedly refusing to label the Israel-Hamas war “genocide”. Cortez shouted that their video would take her comments “completely out of context” before snapping at a protester. “It kind of just shows you, you notice how triggered she gets?,” Mr Stein told Sky News host James Morrow. “This is a serious subject – the Israel-Palestinian conflict – obviously, she’s not going to be able to fix it just herself. “But the fact that she just runs away from her constituents so scared instead of just trying to talk to them – she’s just a hypocrite to the nth degree. “This is typical of AOC’s playbook – she does get confronted, she plays the victim, but we need more people confronting our politicians – especially people like AOC that are arguably the most famous politicians. “She’s one that we definitely need to talk to and try to get a better understanding of how she actually put America first, instead of putting her personal agenda ahead of the American people.”

Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says he is “not sure” the Republican’s response to Joe Biden’s State of the Union was well received because of the “breathless sort of delivery”. Biden delivered his third State of the Union address on Thursday (local time). Republican Senator Katie Britt was chosen to respond to Biden’s State of the Union. “Katie Britt is a very talented woman, a very capable Senator,” Mr Mulvaney told Sky News host James Morrow. “I’m not sure this speech landed very well tonight, but, again, I’m a 56-year-old white male – maybe I wasn’t the target. “That breathless sort of delivery, I’m not sure it was as well received. “I’m not sure it provided a very effective response.”

Meghan Markle is on the hunt for a “new spin doctor”, according to Sky News host Erin Molan. “Gosh, they’d want to be bloody good,” Ms Molan said. “The Duchess is reportedly seeking a new PR guru to brush up her image in preparation for a relaunch into the UK. “Good luck.” Media commentator Melissa Hoyer joined Sky News Australia to discuss the Duchess of Sussex.