Sky News Digital Editor Jack Houghton has criticised Nine Newspapers staff standing down days after “serious stories” happening in Paris involving Australians as “simply pathetic”. Nine staff and journalists have walked off the job for five days just days out from the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. The industrial action threatens to impact Nine’s coverage of the first days of the Olympics. “Nine Newspapers has sent a large cohort of journalists to cover the Olympics in Paris while the company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars securing rights and licensing,” Mr Houghton said. “But the moment has been overshadowed by strikes, as staff ask for a 20 per cent pay rise over three years, at a time that the business has been plagued by a dwindling share price and mass redundancies. “The Guardian has also reported that some other staff in Paris who are not striking are disgruntled that their colleagues will down tools. And they have every right to be angry because there are some serious stories happening in Paris which involve Australians.”

Sky News Contributor Beau Davidson says Kamala Harris’ campaign is going to be based on her being “likeable”. Mr Davidson told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio that she was “never likeable” to begin with. “It’s their Hail Mary.”

Sky News Contributor Beau Davidson says Kamala Harris has “no wow factor” about her. Mr Davidson told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio that Kamala Harris’ campaign “embraces memes”. “I think her campaign is a meme.”

Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says Joe Biden’s approach to dropping out of the presidential election was “very strange”. Mr Newman told Sky News host Steve Price that it hasn’t been a “good look” for the Democrats. “After years of telling us this guy was in great shape.”

Former Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says the transport issues in Paris ahead of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony is “quite devastating”. French rail company SNCF says its high-speed network has been targeted by arsonists. Mr Newman told Sky News host Steve Price the disruption would impact “severely on travel plans”.

Sky News host Steve Price says Victoria looks like it might add a death tax “by stealth”. Mr Price said there is a top law firm warning that they are going to put a “significant burden” on grieving families. “If this goes through, that’ll be it for me, I’ll be out of here (Victoria).”

US political commentator Stephanie Hamill has described the FBI as “shameful” after they suggested Donald Trump may not have been hit by a bullet during the assassination attempt. “I mean if they don’t know, why would they put that theory out there?” she told Sky News Australia host Steve Price. “Donald Trump’s doctor said that he was hit by a bullet.”

US political commentator Stephanie Hamill says the left are going to “throw everything” at JD Vance after Donald Trump announced him as his running mate. “They already don’t like him,” she told Sky News Australia host Steve Price. “They weren’t going to like any of Donald Trump’s VP picks.”

Sky News host James Morrow has called out Joe Biden for telling “plenty of lies” during his Oval Office address. “But he did tell, as is his wont, plenty of lies,” Mr Morrow said. “Joe Biden said the nation is stronger, more prosperous and more secure under his watch. Really? “He even claimed that border crossings were lower than when he took office.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday the state will start removing homeless encampments. It follows a Supreme Court decision in late June upholding anti-camping laws used to ticket and fine street dwellers. California had 180,000 homeless people in 2023, the highest in the nation, with most sleeping outdoors. Newsom made the announcement in a video posted on X. "It's time to move with urgency at the local level to clean up these sites, to focus on public health and focus on public safety. There are no longer any excuses," Newsom said.

Sky News host James Morrow has questioned whether US President Joe Biden is “in charge” of the United States. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, ‘There is very much someone in charge. The President is the president until the end of his term.’ “When it comes to America, who’s in charge?” Mr Morrow said. “It’s a great question.”

Comedian Alex Stein says US Vice-President Kamala Harris “doesn’t know what she’s talking about”. Joe Biden has ended his re-election campaign and endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate. “She’s untalented and she doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Mr Stein told Sky News host James Morrow. “She’s not cool.”

Comedian Alex Stein has commented on the “insane double-standard” of the “Gays for Palestine” protest which would not be allowed in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the United States has faced pro-Palestinian protesters who descended on Washington DC on Wednesday. “That’s funny – these people that are protesting outside against Israel wouldn’t even be allowed to be gays for Palestine,” Mr Stein told Sky News host James Morrow. “There’s no gay people that are allowed to hang out in the Gaza Strip, or at least not openly. “The double standard is insane.”

Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres says ministers Brendan O'Connor and Linda Burney have spent years placing the “public interest before their own”. Anthony Albanese will unveil his Cabinet on Sunday after Skills and Training Minister Brendan O'Connor and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney announced their resignations. “It was beautiful to watch and it reflected the kind of government that we are working so hard to be,” Mr Ayres told Sky News Australia. “Our approach to the kind of Westminster government that Australia needs.”

Democrat strategist and donor Lindy Li says there are two more Supreme Court justices “at stake” with the upcoming US election. The New York Times/Siena College Poll - shows, of registered voters, Donald Trump has a two point lead over Harris - 48-46. “Right now, two justices are on the brink of retirement, so the next president of the United States will have the opportunity to appoint the next two,” Ms Li told Sky News Australia. “Do we really want Trump to appoint almost half, more than half of the Supreme Court? I don’t think so.”

Novel new tech is allowing users to control negative voices in their heads through a virtual reality therapy system, which is being trialled in Australia. Heka VR is not your typical computer program; it’s virtual reality-based software that involves users whose therapist guides them in creating an avatar that resembles the voice in their head. Made In Denmark for those suffering from schizophrenia and other conditions that prompt hallucinations, it allows users to directly confront the voices torturing them.

Just Stop Oil activists who threw tomato soup at a Vincent van Gogh painting have been found guilty today of criminal damage. The two climate activists, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, threw soup at van Gogh's Sunflowers before glueing their hands to a wall. The protest happened at the National Gallery in central London in October, 2022. Judge Christopher Hehir at Southwark Crown Court warned the activists to be “prepared in practical and emotional terms to go to prison”. During Thursday's verdict, Judge Hehir stated the pair “came within the width of a pane of glass of destroying one of the most valuable artworks in the world”. The judge also set bail conditions for the two 22-year-olds, which includes not carrying glue, paint or adhesive substances in public places. Holland and Plummer are set to be sentenced on September 27 this year.

In this exclusive Sky News special report, journalist Gabriella Power travels inside Israel and sits down with brave survivors of the October 7 terror attack. Ms Power speaks with the heartbroken, yet resilient, Israelis' fighting for their loved ones to be released from captivity. Nova Music festival survivor, Shalev Biton, recalls running for his life while hearing Hamas terrorists yell, “where are the Jews?” as they tried to hunt him down with guns. “I thought in mind, it is so early to finish my life, because I have a lot of dreams,” Mr Biton said. 30-year-old Gal Dalal also survived the October 7 massacre. He now spends every day fighting for his 22-year-old brother, Guy, to be released from Hamas’ captivity. “He’s honestly my best friend. We see the same movies together, we play the same games together, we go to concerts together, and I miss him so much. I miss him more than anything. I would do anything to get him back,” Mr Dalal told Sky News Australia. Dr Uriel Trahtemberg, who works in Israel’s north, said a solution to the conflict is simple. “There is a very easy way to end what's happening in Gaza, which is return the hostages and renounce terrorism,” Dr Trahtemberg said. Every Israeli interviewed for this special report, expressed their fear about the rise in anti-Semitism displayed around the world, following the October 7 attack by Hamas. “Despite all the hate in the world, the people of Israel are united,” Gabriella Power said. Gabriella Power travelled to Israel as a guest of the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council.

CommSec’s Tom Piotrowski discusses the local market outlook following an “aggressive sell off” on Thursday. “It was the worst since the early part of June – the ASX 200 down by 1.3 per cent,” Mr Piotrowski told Sky News Australia. “Mercifully, we’ve got a small gain on offer this morning, up by a quarter of a per cent. “But still a lot of wood to chop in terms of eating into yesterday’s deficit.” Presented by CommSec.

US Vice President Kamala Harris discusses her “frank and constructive meeting” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Vice President and presumptive Democratic candidate Kamala Harris spoke at the White House following her meeting with Mr Netanyahu. “I told him that I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from Iran and Iran-backed militias such as Hamas and Hezbollah,” Mr Harris said. “From when I was a young girl collecting funds to plant trees for Israel to my time in the United States Senate and now at the White House, I have had an unwavering commitment to the existence of the state of Israel, to its security and to the people of Israel.”