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Giant golden statue of Trump installed at his Florida golf course

A nearly seven-metre-tall golden statue of Donald Trump has been installed at one of his golf courses.

The bronze statue, covered with thick gold leaf, depicts the president standing with his fist raised in the sky.

The pose is reminiscent of a famous photo of Trump in the immediate aftermath of an assassination attempt in 2024.

READ MORE: CEO of Trump's media company ousted after losing billions

The Donald Trump statue on display at Doral.

It is now in place at Trump National Doral, one of the president's clubs in Miami.

While it is on display at a Trump property, it was bankrolled by a cryptocurrency group named $PATRIOT.

It was made by Ohio sculptor Alan Cottrill, who was locked in a legal dispute with the cryptocurrency group over its use.

Cottrill took issue with $PATRIOT using the statue to promote its business selling a memecoin.

The company paid Cottrill about $A500,000 for the statue.

But despite being on display at Doral, the Trump family has made clear they are not involved in $PATRIOT.

READ MORE: Trump promised it wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime. It's blown out to $400m

The Donald Trump statue being installed.

"The Trump Organisation has no association of any kind with the Patriot Token or meme coin," Eric Trump said in February.

"We appreciate the support and enthusiasm, but we want to be crystal clear — we are not involved in this coin."

Doral is one of the president's favourite golf destinations, visiting twice in the past two months.

He has another visit scheduled this coming weekend, where he will presumably see the statue.

His visit to the course will take place during the PGA Tour's Cadillac Championship which is being held there.

Trump is also planning on being at Doral in December for the G20 summit.

READ MORE: Only one person has bought into Donald Trump's million-dollar idea

Meanwhile, Trump's face will be placed on some American passports, the US State Department has announced. 

The president's face and signature in gold text will be on the inside cover of passports marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.

"As the United States celebrates America's 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US Passports to commemorate this historic occasion," a statement from the State Department read.

"These passports will feature customised artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the US Passport the most secure documents in the world."

The edition with Trump's face will become the default passport issued at the Washington Passport Agency.

People who don't want that specific passport will have to apply for another option online or go to another city to get one.

Donald Trump's face as it will appear on US passports.

READ MORE: Trump's face, golden signature to be included on US passports

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‘Tense’ COVID-19 call between Morrison and then-Queensland premier

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Annastacia Palaszczuk was surprised to see an incoming call from then-prime minister Scott Morrison.

It was September 2021 and the Queensland borders had been slammed tightly shut for months – a decision the former premier said she doesn't "resent" making – and Morrison was asking for an exemption.

A young woman had wanted to attend her father's funeral in Brisbane.

Palaszczuk, on the advice of her chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young, said no.

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Annastacia Palaszczuk

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"It was a very, very tense phone call. I felt threatened. I felt it was a bit intimidating," Palaszczuk told Nine.com.au.

"I've been brought up in a household where you need to respect one another. I've always valued the way I have had respectful conversations with people, and I expect the same back.

"This particular phone call was very harsh. I just hung up the phone."

Palaszczuk accused Morrison of "bullying" her during that phone call in her new memoir The Politics of Being Me.

It allegedly unfolded on the same day, she ironically pointed out, as national R U OK Day.

But she stood firm in her cabinet's decision to keep Queensland as secure as Fort Knox during the pandemic.

"I don't resent the fact that I had to be strong and make these decisions with the expert advice of the chief health officer, because you only have to look at the evidence," Palaszczuk said.

"We had seven people who passed away in Queensland during that COVID time.

"We hardly had any lengthy lockdown period. There were some snap lockdowns… but really, in Queensland, people went about their jobs normally.

"In hindsight, you know, we'd love to have kept more families together."

Nine.com.au has contacted Morrison for comment. He has previously denied 'threatening' the Queensland premier on the call.

Annastacia Palaszczuk

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Her book, published nearly two-and-a-half years since her resignation from politics, reflects on some of the toughest moments of Palaszczuk's early political career and tumultuous premiership.

Palaszczuk detailed the "devastating" 2012 Labor election bloodbath, which saw her party reduced to just seven members.

She clawed her way back from stunning defeat to be elected as Queenland's second-ever female premier in 2015.

"The enormity of the task was huge, but I sat down, I wrote a plan, and I was determined to do the best I possibly could," Palaszczuk said.

But Palaszczuk's rise to the top of Queensland politics was underpinned by shattering private pain.

Palaszczuk wrote candidly about her struggle with endometriosis and infertility, having suffered a miscarriage at just 11 weeks at age 33, when she worked as a media advisor.

Years of unsuccessful IVF followed – a series of emotional blows the ex-premier said amounted to the worst pain of her life.

"Whatever they do to me in politics, I said to myself, it will never hurt like this," Palaszczuk remembers thinking.

"Nothing could hurt as much as losing my chance of having a child and then realising afterwards that it was never going to happen, that the door was going to be shut on my chapter of my life."

The climate around infertility in the mid-2000s was vastly different.

Palaszczuk said she suffered in silence until she spoke publicly a few years ago.

Annastacia Palaszczuk

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"It was very hurtful and very painful… I went through a lot of it privately," she said.

"And back then there wasn't a lot of help."

Palaszczuk remained in power following that very election, stepping down as premier and retiring from politics altogether in 2023 after nine years in the top job.

"Politics is very brutal, and anyone who goes into politics needs to realise it's one of the toughest of professions," Palaszczuk said.

"You need to be able to cope with the abuse, the social media attacks, which at times are very unkind.

"But you know, I stayed true to myself, and you know the evidence is three consecutive elections."

The Red Nose Grief and Loss Support Line is available 24/7 for anyone affected by the loss of a pregnancy, stillbirth or death of a baby or child on 1300 308 307.

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Trump’s face, golden signature to be included on US passports

Donald Trump's face will be placed on some American passports, the US State Department has announced.

The president's face and signature in gold text will be on the inside cover of passports marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.

"As the United States celebrates America's 250th anniversary in July, the State Department is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US Passports to commemorate this historic occasion," a statement from the State Department read.

READ MORE: Only one person has bought into Donald Trump's million-dollar idea

Donald Trump's face as it will appear on US passports.

"These passports will feature customised artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the US Passport the most secure documents in the world."

The edition with Trump's face will become the default passport issued at the Washington Passport Agency.

People who don't want that specific passport will have to apply for another option online or go to another city to get one.

Democrats in Congress were critical of the new passport.

"Almost everything Trump does is to serve his own ego, not the American people," Representative Don Beyer said.

"Ever the path of a narcissist," said Representative Mike Quigley.

READ MORE: Trump promised it wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime. It's blown out to $400m

Donald Trump (right) has a long history of naming things after himself.

Trump has repeatedly sought to rename things after himself throughout his second term in office.

He renamed the John F. Kennedy Memorial Centre for the Performing Arts to be called the Trump Kennedy Centre.

A 24-karat gold coin bearing Trump's image will be made by the US Mint this year.

He also renamed the nonprofit Institute for Peace after himself, after sacking most of its board.

Passes to national parks will also bear the president's image.

And today a six-metre tall golden statue of Trump was unveiled at his golf course in Doral, Florida.

He also froze billions in federal funding for infrastructure projects in the northeast of the US, then reportedly told top Democrat Chuck Schumer he would unfreeze it if Penn Station was renamed after him.

Penn Station is the main train station in New York City.

READ MORE: CEO of Trump's media company ousted after losing billions

Yesterday Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler introduced legislation which would ban federal buildings being named after Trump.

"Donald Trump is a convicted felon, a twice impeached president, and America's chief insurrectionist. His name is unfit to honour our nation's buildings," he said.

"I am proud to introduce this bill to stop Donald Trump from using taxpayer-funded buildings for his personal vanity projects, because New Yorkers deserve public spaces that they can respect, not monuments to tyranny and corruption."

Trump himself is yet to comment on the passport.

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This AI tool is coming to a doctors’ office near you. It claims it will fix the most common GP gripe

A new AI tool that could slash GP wait times could be coming to a doctors' office near you, but is it just a more powerful version of 'Dr Google'?

Not quite, according to Dr Michael Wright, President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).

Australian GPs have been relying on search engines to stay across the latest medical information for years and clinical AI platforms are just the latest tools in their arsenal.

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People sit in doctor's waiting room.  One woman looks a medical brochure and a man uses his smart phone to make a call.

"GPs, like everyone else, are really having a close look at AI and trying to work out where it can help us be more efficient, get better information and provide better care," he told nine.com.au.

"But it's certainly not something that anyone should feel like is being forced upon them."

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at our breaking newsletter here

More signs El Niño is coming to Australia over winter

There are more signs an El Niño weather pattern is developing in the Pacific Ocean, raising the likelihood of warmer and drier winter for large parts of Australia.

Ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean have rapidly warmed towards El Niño levels over past weeks, reports weather channel Weatherzone.

New data shows the seas have warmed swiftly this month, rising by 0.5 degrees in the past two weeks, and 0.3 degrees in just one week.

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El Niño — the climate condition when seas are unusually warm — can upturn regular weather patterns in winter and spring.

Research over the past months has pointed to this year's El Niño becoming one of the most powerful on record, with forecasters predicting it could reach a "super" level.

But experts say the ocean warming will have to gather further strength over several more months for it to become an official El Niño event.

Another component of El Niño is how the atmospheric temperature responds to a warming ocean.

Forecasters say the air above the tropical Pacific Ocean is now showing signs of the weather pattern.

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"The 30-day Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) – a measure of atmospheric pressure difference across the tropical Pacific – dipping below –10 in the past week," says Weatherzone.

"This is well below the El Niño threshold of –7, however, these negative values will need to be sustained for at least several weeks to qualify as an El Niño signal."

The weakening strength of easterly trade winds over the western Pacific Ocean is another sign of a developing El Niño.

What could happen in Australia?

While El Niño can happen without any major weather changes, it makes some conditions more likely in winter and spring.

Records over the past decade show huge parts of eastern Australia usually experience less rainfall and higher-than-average seasonal temperatures outside tropical regions during El Niño.

Mornings in winter and spring can be unusually cool due to clearer skies.

Spikes in temperature also bring greater evaporation, and together with lower rainfall, raises the risk of drought in some parts.

Lower snow depths in alpine regions also raises the chance of a shorter ski season.

But meteorologists at Weatherzone say even with a stronger El Niño, these conditions in the coming months are far from certain.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

New Zealand: Tougher Legislation To Manage Extreme Risk Prisoners Passes First Reading

Legislation to strengthen the management of prisoners who pose an extreme risk to prison or public safety while in prison has passed its first reading today, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The Corrections (Management of Prisoners, and Prisoners’ Property) Amendment Bill underscores this Government’s commitment to restoring law and order. “It will see real and […]

Byron was found dead in a Bali villa. His parents want to solve the mystery

Chantal and Robbie Haddow are yet to find a moment of peace to properly grieve their son.

It has been almost a year since Byron, 23, was found at the bottom of a plunge pool while on holiday in Bali.

Not only was it a harrowingly unexpected way to lose a child, Byron's death is still shrouded in uncomfortable mystery over 11 months on.

The heartbroken Queensland parents just want answers: What really happened to Byron?

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Byron Haddow Bali death

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"There's just so many inconsistencies surrounding the time of the event, what was done, and what wasn't done," Byron's dad Robbie told Nine.com.au.

"Just a major lack of transparency. We feel like we've been failed."

Byron, a FIFO worker who worked in the Northern Territory, was found floating unconscious in the shallow pool on May 26 while on a 12-day trip to the Indonesian island.

The forensic report found Byron had alcohol and a prescription-only drug called duloxetine, which is used to treat pain, depression and anxiety, in his system.

He also had cuts and bruises on his face, but two autopsies were not able to conclusively confirm his cause of death.

Byron's family were told he had drowned, however the matter was not reported to Balinese police for four days.

"During his service, I could not stop thinking about that it was not his entire body there… lying in the coffin."

They suspect something sinister happened before Byron's death.

But Chantal and Robbie say they were stonewalled by authorities in Bali, which was made worse by the language barrier.

"It was at a standstill for so long," Chantal said.

The couple want Balinese authorities and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to re-investigate Byron's death and for a coronial inquiry to take place.

In a positive development, the initial Balinese investigation report was signed off on this week and is now in the hands of the Queensland Coroners Court.

Now it's a waiting game as the family pushes for a coronial inquest.

"That is our little step of progress," Chantal said.

As part of an inquest, Robbie said he wants the CCTV from the villa to be properly reviewed.

He has spent hours studying the footage and audio "over and over again".

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Byron Haddow Bali deathByron Haddow Bali death

"[Balinese police] have had that CCTV footage for as long as we have, we would hope that they've reviewed it in as much detail as we have, but there's just so many inconsistencies," he said.

"We've got like four hours of audio. And it seems pretty black-and-white.

"It's obvious that there's pieces of this story missing."

The Haddows also want authorities to speak to three Australians that Byron had met and was partying with in the hours before he died.

There is no evidence to suggest the trio are responsible for Byron's death, but the family's lawyers are concerned they were not interviewed.

They returned home to Australia before speaking to police.

"We just want answers," Robbie added.

"We can cop an accidental death. But with the two autopsies, one performed over in Indonesia, and one performed over here in Queensland, it's still inclusive of the cause of death.

"It's one thing losing a child… it's another thing not knowing how or why."

Further compounding the Haddow family's grief was the fact Byron's body was repatriated to Queensland with a vital organ missing on June 18.

The Queensland coroner discovered his heart had been taken out for testing during the original autopsy in Bali.

"With all the hoops we had to jump through to actually give them permission to perform an autopsy… you would think, that we would have had to do the same to give our consent for them to retain an organ," Robbie said.

"During his service, I could not stop thinking about how it was not his entire body there… lying in the coffin."

"His heart was still missing, it was still overseas. It was incredibly distressing."

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Byron Haddow Bali death

The past 11 months have been a brutal exercise in pushing grief aside as the couple pursues the truth.

They miss their son every day, someone they describe as a "wise old soul" with a "good head on his shoulders".

"This has actually stopped the grieving process," Robbie said.

"I haven't had time to grieve with away working all the time, FIFO, and then when I come home on break, I'm just studying everything.

"Its not fair on the families that are left to try and pick up the pieces."

The Haddows have started a petition to change how overseas death investigations are handled in Australia as part of their crusade for answers.

Nine.com.au has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for comment.

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South Africa: Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina Takes Democracy Conversation To Mbazwana

The Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Nomalungelo Gina, hosted a community engagement on democracy and science at Oqondweni Hall in Mbazwana (uMhlabuyalingana, KwaZulu-Natal) on Friday, 24 April, highlighting how science and innovation can strengthen democracy through better services, greater inclusion, and practical opportunities for local communities. The engagement formed part of national […]

Great Britain: Britain Must Secure Greater Control And Leverage Over AI To Protect Our National Security In Fractured World

Britain must act now to cement its place in the new technological era, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said today. In a landmark speech, the Technology Secretary said there must be a “decisive move” towards backing more British tech companies as AI reshapes global power, security and prosperity. Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), she warned […]

Great Britain: Precautionary Recall Of Antidepressant Medication Due To Manufacturing Error

Amarox Limited is recalling one batch of Sertraline 100mg film-coated tablets as a precautionary measure due to a manufacturing error that led to two antidepressant medicines being packaged incorrectly. The recall follows a patient complaint which helped identify that a pack of Sertraline 100mg film-coated tablets contained one blister strip of Citalopram 40mg film-coated tablets inside the sealed carton. Sertraline and citalopram are both selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, and related […]