Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin was involved in a heated confrontation during a demonstration in Manhattan on Monday, December 18. Footage shows activists shouting at the actor while he was being escorted away by NYPD officers. Hundreds of protesters gathered at Grand Central Station where they held up banners and signs in support of Palestine. Many commuters experienced travel delays due to the demonstration. The protesters also marched to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and rallied inside Penn Station’s Moynihan Train Hall.

The Roe Highway in Perth has reopened after a nearby bushfire threat. The blaze burned through four hectares of land and threatened local properties. Wattle Grove was impacted by the blaze, and the Roe Highway was closed for several hours. Authorities are not treating the fire as suspicious. Arson squad detectives, however, are continuing investigations into the ignition point.

As living costs continue to rise, multi-store shopping could be the solution to help Australians reduce their grocery bills this Christmas. Consumer and political scrutiny over grocery price pressures is increasing, with Parliament preparing to probe the supermarket bosses at an inquiry in the New Year. Coles and Woolworths make up two thirds of Australia’s grocery sales and have received growing criticism as households feel the pinch. The two supermarket giants will face a Senate inquiry in early 2024 into whether their pricing strategies are fair to customers. Research conducted by CHOICE has found multi-store shopping could save consumers up to 40 per cent.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles is expected to resign this afternoon. The Labor leader has been under pressure to resign over undisclosed shares she holds in South32, which owns a manganese mine in the Groote Eylandt. It has also been reported by the NT Independent that Ms Fyles ruled out an investigation into the adverse health effects of the mine while she was the health minister. According to Sky News Darwin Bureau Chief Matt Cunningham, she has been unable to give a “clear or reasonable explanation” as to why she had failed to disclose the shares. She is expected to hold a press conference at 1:30pm Darwin time, 3:00pm Sydney time where she will confirm her resignation.

The Motley Fool Chief Investment Officer Scott Phillips discusses the latest development in the aviation industry as Turkish Airlines is given approval to increase flights into Australia. Transport Minister Catherine King quietly signed off on the deal which will see the carrier increase flights to the country by 2025. “The government will probably want us to believe this is a case of letting Turkish Airlines in for the reasons of competition but leaving Qatar out for reasons of other maybe geo-political issues,” Mr Phillips told Sky News Australia. “Whether that’s true or whether this is a bit of a face-saving exercise given the really massive community pushback about the original decision – maybe we can speculate on that one. “It should hopefully mean more competition on international airfares going from Australia to the rest of the world.”

Santa Claus has delivered a special message from his hometown in the Arctic Circle as Christmas approaches. At his home in Rovaniemi, Finland he told Reuters the focus should be on keeping children safe and happy into the New Year. People from around the world visit Santa's village in Lapland where his elves sort through hundreds of thousands of children's letters. This year, Santa says his biggest wish is for everyone to live in peace. “We can all do things to make my wish come true,” Father Christmas said.

Floodwaters haven’t deterred Queensland locals from heading down to the pub with many taking their dinghies to the Euramo Hotel. The pub has become known as a ‘yacht club’ in recent days as Far North Queensland faces record flooding. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Meteorology is facing criticism for not accurately predicting the record deluge. Water is continuing to subside at Cairns Airport with operations set to resume later Tuesday. Authorities spent Monday clearing debris which was blocking infrastructure linked to the city's water supply as well as restoring power in towns such as Port Douglas and Mossman.

The Biden administration is calling on Israel to scale down its bombing campaign against targets in Gaza, calling its strikes 'indiscriminate'. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has visited Israel, reaffirming the US' support. The Defence Secretary did however stress that Israel must change its strategy to retain global support. US sources say they are hopeful of a two-state solution in Gaza, headed by the Palestinian authority. Israeli leadership have rejected the idea of a two-state solution.

The recent attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea has resulted in oil prices spiking, according to CommSec’s Tom Piotrowski. “You have seen some terrorist activity in the Red Sea when it comes to the attacks on shipping in that area,” Mr Piotrowski told Sky News Australia. He said oil prices spiked up to three per cent overnight as a result. “They’re up by about a per cent now so they’ve come off the boil a little bit.” Presented by CommSec.

A bushfire emergency is unfolding in Narrabri, NSW with locals being urged to seek shelter. The blaze at Duck Creek south of Narrabri was upgraded to emergency level on Monday. It has so far burnt through more than 80,000 hectares. Properties are now under threat as the blaze continues to spread. Locals in Bohena Creek, Baan Baa, Willala and Goolhi are being told to seek shelter.

85-year-old man missing in Far North Queensland flooding, emergency bushfire warning for Narrabri, additional Australian troops to be sent to the Middle East, Labor MPs denounce Israel in an open letter, BP pauses Red Sea operations due to pirates, Catholic Church to allow LGBT blessings. See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.

GT Communications Gemma Tognini says Labor acts like it hasn’t realised it is “actually in government” and is accountable. Ms Tognini told Sky News host Chris Kenny it’s like they are still at university “playing with other people’s money”. “If this government prospers, then Australia will prosper. “What we are seeing is a government that doesn’t yet know how to lead. “That doesn’t yet know how to have adult conversations.”

The Australian’s Media Writer Sophie Elsworth says ABC radio presenter Patricia Karvelas’ ratings have “absolutely plummeted” and she should focus on the ratings instead of attacking others. “Since she took over from Fran Kelly two years ago, the ratings have absolutely plummeted, they’ve fallen 34 per cent – to about 250,000 listeners, now this is in dire straits,” Ms Elsworth told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “I’ve spoken to people within the radio arm that have told me this is a problem, their radio stations across all their networks are in freefall when it comes to ratings and oddly enough, I was just reporting the facts – and Patricia Karvelas has been on Twitter today, on that platform she declared she was leaving. “Tweeting about me, she’s been posting things on Instagram that this is a hatchet job … it’s all nonsense really. “She probably should focus on the ratings and how they’re falling – I’ve obviously hit a raw nerve – I’m just dealing in facts.”

GT Communications Gemma Tognini says Labor have made various problems to the Australian people which have since been “broken”. Ms Tognini told Sky News host Chris Kenny that there is “no hope of them being fulfilled”. “The tragedy here is that Australia has the opportunity to learn from other parts of the world. “It’s not about the politics of absolutism, which is I think what we’re seeing here. “When that reckoning hits, like a freight train in the middle of the night, there’s not going to be anyone else to push the blame to.”

Sky News host Caroline Di Russo says there has never been an “agnostic conversation” about Australia’s future energy plan. Ms Di Russo told Sky News host Chris Kenny that the conversation we’ve always had is that the “sun if free”. “Without any conversation around anything else. “And eventually that there is going to come up and bite this country in the backside. “It is going to be a huge issue going forward.”

CIS Energy Program Director Aidan Morrison has criticised the Australian Energy Market Operator’s Integrated System Plan, claiming it doesn’t include “all the costs” needed for a guide on building a low-cost energy grid. The Integrated System Plan provides an integrated roadmap for the efficient development of the National Electricity Market over the next 20 years and beyond. Mr Morrison noted the plan does not include Snowy Hydro 2.0 or any of the transmission plans which state governments have already committed to which aren’t built yet. “All those things should be up for grabs to see whether they're actually the best plan and I think there's great evidence that they're not actually part of the best plan anymore,” he told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “But the integrated system plan doesn't try to adjust those or actually see whether there's a better way to do this at all and it certainly has to consider something like nuclear energy.”

Strategic Analysis Australia Director Michael Shoebridge breaks down Australia's “very small, ageing Navy”. Mr Shoebridge discussed the US’ request for a warship from the Australian Navy to be sent to the Red Sea to fight against Houthi rebels. “Under the Albanese government and the current defence department leadership, Australia won’t get a single new warship for ten years until 2033,” he told Sky News Australia. “The cupboard’s pretty bare. “The other reason apparently is that the government haven’t had a National Security Committee of Cabinet meeting scheduled and you’d think that was an easy problem for them to solve.”

Cairns Mayor Terry James says the rain was predicted to continue moving over Queensland but seemed to stop and rain “double” the amount which was thought to occur. “The rain has finally stopped today and tomorrow we’ll be able to get in there and assess the damage,” Mr James told Sky News contributor Steve Price. “At the moment we don’t know what we don’t know. “The rain – it just got over land and stopped still and just kept raining and raining, and no one predicted that. “We ended up with double the amount of rain that was predicted.”

Sky News host Caleb Bond says Labor has seen a rebound in the last Newspoll for the year after a “pretty ordinary” couple of months. “The Labor government seems to have received a last minute rebound of support in the final Newspoll of the year,” Mr Bond said. “Their primary vote lifting two points to 33 per cent – the Coalition’s fallen to 36 and on the two-party preferred Labor is now leading 52-48. “Surprised to see a little bit of a rebound after a pretty ordinary couple of months.” Mr Bond was joined by Sky News host James Morrow to discuss the vote lifting for the Labor Party.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan says the “working poor” among us in Australia has “skyrocketed”. Mr Canavan told Sky News host Caleb Bond that there are very significant things in the federal Labor government’s control that they have “totally botched”. “The most prime example of that is the immigration intake. “This government just opened the flood gates. “They don’t have enough houses or infrastructure to keep pace with this level of migration growth.”