Dr Anthony Fauci has admitted the social distancing laws forced on Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic “sort of just appeared”. The revelation came this Wednesday during a closed-door interview with the House Select Committee on Coronavirus Pandemic. In the committee hearing, Fauci would also admit the lab leak hypothesis, which was regularly suppressed, was not a conspiracy theory. The committee, headed by Brad Wenstrup, is investigating government officials' actions, including Fauci's, during the pandemic. The investigation looked at officials who suppressed questions surrounding the origins of COVID-19 from the lab leak in Wuhan, China.

Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges. The US President's son is facing nine charges, relating to his alleged failure to file and pay income taxes.

An Alice Springs woman says she will leave the town after her car was stolen. They entered through the backdoor and took her keys from her handbag on the kitchen bench. The youths who stole her car early on Thursday morning were later seen joyriding through Alice Springs CBD. "My car was brand new, two months old and ... the window has already been smashed," Lily Huynh said. It has been 12 months since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Alice Springs.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a briefing with his cabinet about how best to respond to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The virtual cabinet meeting is currently underway. The meeting follows an earlier National Security Council gathering. The Times newspaper is reporting the US and UK are preparing to launch military strikes against the Iranian-backed militants. Houthi rebels claim their attacks are meant to send a message to Israel to stop its conflict in Gaza.

Another Melbourne tobacco store has gone up in flames. The incident marks the second time in 24 hours a tobacco store has been set alight. Reportedly, a car was rammed into the shop before being set alight. The blaze occurred around 4:20am on Friday morning. It took firefighters almost 30 minutes to control.

At least four people have escaped a house fire in Melbourne’s west. The incident occurred at Wantirna South just after 11pm Thursday night. Around 14 fire trucks and 50 firefighters attended the scene. Reportedly, nobody has been injured. The cause of the fire is still yet to be determined.

The driver of a Kia sedan who was hit and killed by a truck in Melbourne on Thursday has been identified. Father of two, Yunesh Naidu was exiting a shopping centre just 1km from his home when the tragic incident occurred. The 52-year-old was crushed by a 30-tonne truck. It is alleged the truck ran a red light before the collision. The 27-year-old truck driver stopped at the scene and is being questioned by police.

At least 15 people have been killed after a day of violent protests in Papua New Guinea. The country’s government is working to restore order by deploying more than 1,000 troops to Port Moresby should violence erupt again. Prime Minister James Marape has declared a two-week state of emergency. The unrest began two days ago after hundreds of police officers, soldiers, prison staff and public servants walked off the jobs. The move was in protest of a pay dispute.

Iran has seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. The vessel has been ordered to return to an Iranian Port. State media in Iran claims the seizure is a retaliation against the US. In April 2023, the ship and its oil were confiscated by the US as part of sanctions against the Iranian regime. Armed men wearing masks boarded the vessel after it departed a port in Iraq.

Sky News contributor Kel Richards says it is “really distressing” how the word ‘genocide’ has been “cheapened” by accusations Israel has committed war crimes in its war on Hamas. The International Court of Justice is set to begin hearings later this week after South Africa filed a case against Israel. They have accused Israel of war crimes by violating the Genocide Convention in its war on Hamas. Crossbench Senator David Pocock has urged the Labor Party to ‘publicly support’ the international probe. “It really bothers me as a wordsmith the way the word genocide is being cheapened,” Mr Richards said. “The word was coined in 1943 by a bloke named Raphael Lemkin, who was a Jewish lawyer in Poland … in order to describe … what was happening to the Jewish people. “When you’re using genocide, you need to be able to point to the concentration camps and the gas ovens. “When you apply it to something which is not genocide, it cheapens the word, and you can’t use it when it really happens.”

The New York Times has released their top 52 places in the world to visit, with one Australian destination making it into the top 30. Tasmanian took out number 29 for best places to visit in 2024 for its picturesque nature experiences and thriving food and dining scene. According to the New York Times list, North America is the number one place to visit in 2024, followed by Paris, France. Number three: Yamaguchi in Japan for food and flowers. Number four: a train trip in New Zealand for the scenery.

Sky News contributor Kel Richards says the Australian republican movement is based on the “mistaken belief” that the country doesn’t have an Australian head of state because they “don’t like facts”. Writer and republican Thomas Keneally says Australia has limited itself to being a ‘pretend nation’ by retaining King Charles as its head of state. “He’s wrong,” Mr Richards said. “The whole republican movement is based on the mistaken belief that we don’t have an Australian head of state. “We do: the Governor General is the head of state, and he’s an Australian. “We discovered this for certain when the correspondence between Sir John Kerr and the Palace was released … they were letting him call the shots – he decided because he was the head of state. “Republicans don’t like facts.”

Sky News host James Macpherson says the government has been “fuelling inflation” and all the left do is “trash the culture” of Australia. “The government focussed on fighting inflation; they have been fuelling inflation,” Mr Macpherson said. “The RBA fought inflation by raising interest rates and then were demonised for their trouble by the government. “The Labor government has been fuelling inflation. “And as for fighting the culture wars, it is amazing … how the left, they trash the culture and then anyone who dares to say ‘well what are you doing?’ well they’re accused of … fighting culture wars.”

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Strategic Analysis Australia Director Michael Shoebridge says Foreign Minister Penny Wong should visit Kyiv following her upcoming visit to the Middle East. “She’s only three hours away from Kyiv, why doesn’t she visit the other second war zone and see for herself what a difference Australian military supplies can make to the Ukrainians,” Mr Shoebridge told Sky News host Caleb Bond. Mr Shoebridge’s comments come as the Foreign minister is set to travel to both Israel and the West Bank next week. The Foreign Minister will also be visiting parts of the West Bank as she continues exploring the option of a two-sided ceasefire. Ms Wong will also be backing a two-state solution to the decades of conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Sky News host Andrew Bolt says complaints of “racism” at the ABC is a case of the “revolution eating its own”. Antionette Lattouf, a Lebanese-Australian who was dumped as a fill-in radio host over Christmas for her anti-Israel posts on social media, alleges she was sacked because of her ethnicity. ‘This is why it is disheartening to not only witness the horrendous treatment of people of colour by the ABC over the years, but now to personally — and so publicly — feel its wrath,’ she said. “The ABC – which campaigns so hard on race issues, sees racists everywhere – is itself racist. Our national broadcaster is shockingly racist if their own journalists and presenters are to be believed,” Mr Bolt said. “I’ve never heard so many staff complaints at other organisations, or is the ABC being gamed? “This is a case of the revolution eating its own. “There have been so many complaints from staff about ABC racism that the ABC, in 2022, publicly apologised for this racism in its newsroom.”

There seems to be “no sense of national unity” in Papua New Guinea, according to Sky News host Andrew Bolt. The Australian High Commission has stepped up security measures after violent riots and looting broke out in Port Moresby. “No sense of national unity there,” Mr Bolt said. “Riots, arson, shooting, murders, after police and other public servants found themselves underpaid thanks to a computer glitch. “Police downed tools which meant mass looting of shops and warehouses including Chinese owned ones – at least two Chinese were injured.”

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce says destroying Australia Day for personal recognition and reasons does not create a stronger country, it “destroys the nation we have”. “It is part of that cultural clique … we have got to something that maybe makes us feel better about the fortunate circumstances we were born to,” Mr Joyce told Sky News host Andrew Bolt. “And we do it by trashing Australia, by trashing Australia Day. “People are aware of it, the more they try to trash Australia Day, the more the people will say ‘no you’re not’ and they will stand up for it and they will absolutely make sure that people see their patriotism towards our nation. “Because that is the glue that holds us together, your own little individual causes where you decide that the way you’re going to be recognised is to smash something up, does not create a stronger nation, it destroys the nation we have.”

Strategic Analysis Australia Director Michael Shoebridge says the Iran-backed Houthi rebels are banking on regional escalation. “Words are not deterring the Houthis, that statement that Australia joined from 20 nations telling the Houthis horrible things would happen if they kept doing what they were doing, has done nothing,” he told Sky News host Caleb Bond. “The Houthi have actually escalated their attacks. “Yes, there’s the prospect of regional escalation, but that’s what the Houthis are banking on. “They're saying if you try and stop us attacking international shipping then you might risk a wider war so don’t do it. “But unfortunately that international trade route through the Red Sea is too important to be held hostage to the Houthi.”

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has slammed Peter Dutton’s "priorities" after the Opposition Leader's call for a boycott of Woolworths over its axing of Australia Day merchandise. “I think it really shows the kind of priorities of Peter Dutton,” Mr Watt said during a media conference on Thursday. “Rather than thinking about the things that are priorities for Australians, like taking pressure off cost of living while not adding to inflation, he’s out there fighting yet another culture war, talking about what kind of products that supermarkets sell. “I don’t think that’s the kind of priority that most Australians have right now. “They’re thinking about how they can pay their supermarket bills rather than what kind of thongs they can buy in a supermarket.”