Wordsmith Kel Richards claims Woolworths has launched a “war on Australia Day” after pulling its merchandise range from store shelves. The supermarket giant said declining product demand and ongoing debate around the significance of January 26 were some of the reasons to ditch Australia Day paraphernalia. “Woolworths and Big W celebrate the best of Australia every day, and we’re proud to support the farmers, producers, and suppliers who work with us,” a spokesperson said. The Woolworths Group's platform My Deal stocks Australia-themed products, however they are only available through third-party online retailers. Mr Richards criticised Woolworths for pulling the range entirely instead of just reducing stock.

Independent MP Allegra Spender has given her thoughts after Environmental Minister Tanya Plibersek vetoed an offshore wind farm for the Victorian Port of Hastings due to climate concerns on surrounding wetlands. “Every single project whether it is a renewable energy project or another mining project needs to look at its environmental impact as well as the broader impact on the economy and climate,” Ms Spender told Sky News Australia. “I think it is acceptable – if there is wetlands and it was going to provide an unacceptable impact on the wetlands then it is appropriate that the Environmental Minister makes that decision. “But what I want to see out of the environmental rules at the same time is to make sure we are not looking at those same environmental laws and saying, ‘you know what, keep on approving coal mines, keep on approving gas mines. “We know that climate change has a huge impact on the environment.”

Republican candidate Chris Christie has announced he will suspend his 2024 presidential campaign. He made the announcement during a Town Hall event in New Hampshire in which he slammed support of Donald Trump by the country’s conservative base. “I’ve never believed that Donald Trump was a foregone conclusion as our nominee in this race and I knew that the case had to be made against him,” Mr Christie said. Mr Christie called out fellow Republicans for sitting on the “sidelines” and refusing to hold the former president accountable. “Our country is angry, it’s divided, it’s accomplishing little, and it is leading our citizens to be exhausted. “These people speak louder for the folks who attacked our Capitol on January 6 than they are willing to stand up and speak for the people of Israel who are in tunnels in Gaza. “That’s not leadership – that’s ambition and cowardice which has outstripped their otherwise good judgement. “I would rather lose by telling the truth than lie in order to win.”

Joe Biden has kicked off the year with more humiliating proof that his cognitive decline is worse than ever. Sky News All Stars Joe Siracusa and James Macpherson take a look at Joe Biden’s trainwreck start to 2024 and ask whether he’ll be able to handle a mammoth election year.

Reports of child sexual abuse cases are on the rise in England and Wales. A record 107,000 offences were reported in 2022. A concerning majority of those offences against children were committed by other children. Reporting child sex abuse has multiplied five times in the past 10 years. The number of offences reported in 2022 saw a seven per cent rise from the previous year. Around 32 per cent of offences were committed online and 80 per cent of victims knew their abuser. Warning – this video contains distressing content. If you or anyone you know needs help: Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800

We’re all very aware of the left’s obsession with gender, but these lefties losing it take it to the extreme. From violent threats to classroom indoctrination, gender obsessed lefties will stop at nothing to transform children into activists just like themselves. Sky News host Rita Panahi exposes gender bending lefties losing it.

Places of power such as Hollywood and DC are “crawling with predators and paedophiles”, claims Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren. Ms Lahren's remarks come after new documents relating to the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein were released on Monday. “paedophile and predators protect one another,” Ms Lahren told Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan. “That’s why it’s taken so long for us to get this information. “That’s why so many have protected, not only Epstein but have protected the logs, that have protected these document dumps from coming out. “We get redacted versions, we get sensationalism with names being thrown around. “Will we ever really get to the bottom of it? Will we ever really get to the bottom of what happened to Jeffrey Epstein? A lot of us are not confident we ever will.” There is no suggestion that any of the associated individuals who are named in the documents have committed crimes or wrongdoing.

Australia's inflation rate has fallen to four point three per cent, its lowest level in two years. The reading is lower than markets had anticipated, however, economists warn the likelihood of an interest rate cut before June is looking unlikely. Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned, despite the new figures, the fight to control inflation is not over. Ahead of the May budget, Mr Chalmers is under pressure to address cost of living concerns. He has warned that despite the low yearly inflation figures, Australia is “a long way from prevailing” in the inflationary battle.

Sky News host James Macpherson says a wind farm in Tasmania that risks killing the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot demonstrates the “conundrum” of trying to “save the environment” by “destroying” it. A planned 100-turbine wind farm on a remote Tasmanian island is facing a legal challenge from a community group. In November, the Robbins Island project was permitted to operate year-round after previous rules forcing it to shut down for five months each year during the migration of the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot were overturned. “These 100 wind turbines were originally approved with the conditions that five months of the year they sit idle, which is what wind turbines do most of the year anyway,” Mr Macpherson said. “Well, the project organisers said that just makes it financially unviable, so what the government have said now is ‘ok, you can still operate 12 months of the year, but you will pay a $100,000 fine for every wedge-tailed eagle and orange-bellied parrot that you kill’. “Someone is going to have to walk around Robbins Island counting the number of birds, calculating the fine. “Doesn’t this demonstrate the conundrum you’ve got when you’re trying to save the environment by destroying the environment – and that’s the problem that the environmental movement trying to reach net zero has.”

France has decided to drop its carbon targets and prioritise nuclear energy. France is talking about building up to 14 new nuclear power stations. Sky News host James Macpherson said the new energy bill seems “eminently sensible”. “What they're saying is if we have renewables well, that’s nice, that’s a good thing, but we're not saying we have to have this percentage of renewables,” he said. “Let's go nuclear - it's clean, it's efficient, it's reliable, it's going to solve a lot of problems that we’ve been talking about and if we have some solar and wind in the mix, well great, but we're not going to have a renewable target.”

A Sydney council has decided to spend $6,000 to remove a park bench after spending two years arguing about the position of the bench. The bench, donated by a local resident, was positioned on a nature strip in St Ives. Since the seat was installed, the council has carried out multiple traffic and safety studies, commissioned a private consultant to undertake a risk assessment and brought in a mediator to chair a community meeting. One local councillor described the position of the park bench as a "moral issue". The decision to remove the bench was based on a majority vote of Ku-ring-gai councillors during a fractious hour-long council meeting debate.

James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York, is facing backlash after its students were told to stay home so thousands of migrants could be sheltered in the school instead. Around 2,000 migrants, who had been sheltered in a tent shelter in New York, were transferred to the nearby school due to high wind concerns. Sky News host Liz Storer said, “This really speaks to you how jam-packed full New York already is”. “I mean, it was less than three months ago we were talking about how the Mayor of New York was literally begging for mercy saying, we’ve run out of room,” she said. “And the fact that kids are now being bumped out of their own schools in favour of housing thousands of migrants goes to show they have run out of room.”

Sky News host Liz Storer says “the war on our farmers” continues as supermarkets bump up produce costs to consumers as the farmers see none of the extra profits. “I would term [this] the war on our farmers,” Ms Storer said. “They haven’t been paid properly for their produce for years. “Headlines have been across any number of media outlets for years. “The story keeps coming up.”

Sky News Australia host Andrew Bolt has condemned the “woke culture” consuming the NSW government after it sent out a “bizarre” diversity and inclusion calendar to public servants. The New South Wales government's 'Diversity and Inclusion' team sent 20,000 public servants a two-page 'Days of Significance' calendar. The days on the list include Lesbian Visibility Day, World Braille Day, Transgender Day of Visibility, International Non-Binary People’s Day, National Sorry Day, Wear It Purple Day and World Menopause Day, among others. Sky News contributor Evelyn Rae said the calendar celebrates “every group imaginable” except for the straight white male shows wokeism is the “new state religion”. “I think we need to start calling it what it really is – and that is wokeism is the new state new religion,” Ms Rae told Sky News Australia host Andrew Bolt. “They have their priests and prophets, they have their religious texts, they have their blasphemy laws, and, of course, like all religions, they have their holy days. “I can bet that those days celebrate every group imaginable in society, except for the obvious: the straight white Christian male.”

Sky News contributor Nicolle Flint reacts to the “terrifying” moment masked gunmen stormed a television station's live broadcast in Ecuador. A 60-day state of emergency has been declared in Ecuador as the country plunges into violent chaos. “It’s terrifying,” Ms Flint told Sky News host Caleb Bond. “Doesn’t it make you feel so grateful to be an Australian. “Where we have the rule of law, where we have a wonderful police force and a great defense force as well to keep us all safe.”

The Labor government is in “total shambles” over immigration detainees because it is “unwilling and unprepared” to deal with these issues, Shadow Home Affairs and Cyber Security Minister James Paterson says. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied claims of a cover-up after refusing to reveal if more convicted criminals have been released from immigration detention over the summer. “That was an embarrassing performance this morning by the Prime Minister – either he doesn’t know, or he thinks the Australian people are so stupid that he will get away with answers like that,” Mr Paterson told Sky News Australia host Caleb Bond. “The Prime Minister wasn’t able to answer basic, straightforward questions about this. “He’s got his Home Affairs Minister on extended leave; he’s got his Immigration Minister who is acting as the Home Affairs Minister, but apparently, in witness protection because he hasn’t been doing any media … about this. “This is a total shambles and a cover-up, and it’s obvious why – the government is embarrassed by its own failures, it’s been unwilling and unprepared to deal with these issues, it hasn’t even used … the Preventative Detention Scheme that the parliament rushed through by Christmas to protect the community.”

Sky News host Andrew Bolt has slammed a Melbourne council’s “ludicrous” move in ditching Australia Day celebrations for a “day of healing”. The City of Stonnington is opting to host a Healing Ceremony on January 26. “Can we just get over this ludicrous division by race,” Mr Bolt said. He pointed out 81 councils are declaring they won’t hold Australia Day citizenship ceremonies. “Probably most Australians have an expectation exactly like my own – it's for this government to actually put a higher price on Australian unity, on its pride and citizenship. To promote what unites us and not divide.”

Anthony Albanese needs to “be honest” and get rid of the republican referendum, Former Labor MP Michael Danby says. Mr Danby made the comments while discussing the Labor government’s decision to put the republican referendum on ice ahead of King Charles’ visit to Australia in 2024. “Albo should be honest and just get rid of this, we are not going to pursue a republic – and we’re not,” he told Sky News Australia host Caleb Bond. “The younger generation seem to be both more woke and more pro-monarchist. “It’s silly having a minister if you are not going to pursue an issue.”

Drone footage has captured a man wakeboarding through floodwaters in Berkshire, England after parts of the United Kingdom were inundated following storm Henk. The footage shows the man gliding through the flooded suburbs as spectators watched. This comes after heavy rainfall caused river levels to rise across England. Large areas of the country have been submerged with homes damaged and roads unusable. According to the Environment Agency, 110 flood warnings and 119 flood alerts were in place across England as of Tuesday.

A 10-year-old fisherman could not hide his excitement after a close encounter with a mako shark in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. The boy was on a family boating trip when he spotted the shark circling them. The young fisherman’s line began to drag out rapidly from the boat, and the family prepared themselves for a marlin. They got more than they bargained for, however. Video captured shows the young fisherman's response while the shark swam around the boat.