A very specialised part of the world's largest naval drills off the northern Hawaiian island of Kauai is gaining attention on both sides of the Pacific.

Earlier this month, the US and allies practiced taking out a large surface ship with long-range weapons, including, for the first time, a US Air Force B-2 bomber.

In one test that analysts called "very significant" in what it could mean for the calculus of any future, hypothetical conflict between the US and China, a B-2 stealth bomber hit a decommissioned amphibious assault ship with an inexpensive guided bomb.

The test of the weapon, dubbed QUICKSINK by the US Air Force, occurred on July 19, when a B-2 participated in the sinking of the ex-USS Tarawa, a retired 250m-long, 39,000-ton amphibious assault ship, a vessel the size of a small aircraft carrier.

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It showed the US military can use one of its most survivable weapons platforms, the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, to sink a major surface ship with a low-cost guided bomb.

"This capability is an answer to an urgent need to quickly neutralise maritime threats over massive expanses of ocean around the world at minimal costs," said a press release from the US Navy's 3rd Fleet, which led Rim of the Pacific 2024 (RIMPAC), the exercise that included the sinking of the ex-Tarawa.

The B-2 bomber is the US military's most sophisticated aircraft.

The Air Force says its stealthy characteristics allow it to penetrate heavily defended areas and also fly with a small chance of being detected by radar at high altitudes.

That gives the B-2's sensors the ability to get a view of the battlefield not possible in lower-flying planes.

Mating it up with relatively cheap and demonstrably effective precision-guided bombs with warheads of up to 907kg could give the Air Force bombers the "anti-ship lethality" of a submarine-launched torpedo without the liabilities of a submarine, according to a US Air Force website.

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"A Navy submarine has the ability to launch and destroy a ship with a single torpedo at any time, but by launching that weapon, it gives away its location and becomes a target," the Air Force Research Lab says.

QUICKSINK could provide "a low-cost method of achieving torpedo-like seaworthy kills from the air at a much higher pace and over a much larger area than covered by a lumbering submarine," it says.

The Air Force first tested QUICKSINK in 2022, when an F-15 fighter jet released a GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) that destroyed a full-scale surface target in the Gulf of Mexico, according to an Air Force statement.

Analysts say QUICKSINK launched from a B-2 would give China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) much to consider in the event of any possible conflict in the western Pacific, including around hotspots like Taiwan, the Philippines and the southern islands of Japan.

"It is very significant," said Carl Schuster, former head of the US Pacific Command Joint Intelligence Centre.

"The B-2's demonstrated anti-maritime capability will constrain if not deter PLAN operations east of Taiwan or off the Philippines.

"You cannot ignore a weapon that can sink a 25,000-plus-ton ship with one hit," Schuster added.

In any conflict close to its home shores, China, on paper, holds distinct advantages.

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It has thousands of missiles on the Chinese mainland, the world's largest navy to dominate nearby seas and the ability to provide air cover to those ships from land-based aircraft.

But the B-2, and other systems tested at RIMPAC, could negate some of China's advantages with long-range fire, analysts said.

"It extends the range at which potential enemies can be held at risk through advanced weapons whilst retaining a considerable degree of stealth. It basically says, you are not safe no matter where you are in this vast theatre," said Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy at King's College in London.

Anti-ship missiles

Long-range missiles were also fired from aircraft and ships during RIMPAC.

A US Navy F/A-18 also hit the ex-Tarawa with a Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRSAM), "a precise, stealthy, and survivable cruise missile," the Navy's 3rd Fleet press release said.

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This missile can hit targets up to 370 kilometres away with a 453kg warhead while navigating semi-autonomously to its target.

And the Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Sydney struck the ex-Tarawa with a Naval Strike Missile (NSM), an achievement Vice Adm. Mark Hammond, Australia's chief of navy, said "represents a significant increase in the lethality of our surface fleet."

"Multi-domain strike capabilities including Naval Strike Missile are foundational to deterring any potential adversary's attempts to project power against Australia," he said.

The Naval Strike Missile, developed by Norwegian defence company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, can challenge an adversary's defences by flying at sea-skimming altitudes and making evasive manoeuvres in flight at a range of 185 kilometres.

A US Navy destroyer, USS Fitzgerald, also tested a Naval Strike Missile during RIMPAC, and the weapon has previously been fired from a US littoral combat ship and land-based versions have been successfully tested by the US Marine Corps.

The ex-Tarawa was one of two surface vessels sunk during RIMPAC.

On July 11, the ex-USS Dubuque, a 17,000-ton amphibious transport dock was sent to the bottom of the Pacific, also off Kauai.

'Real-world experience'

Besides the US and Australian units, forces from South Korea, Malaysia and the Netherlands participated in ship-sinking exercises.

"Sinking exercises give us a chance to sharpen our skills, learn from one another, and get real-world experience," US Navy Vice Adm. John Wade, RIMPAC 2024 Combined Task Force commander, said in a statement.

"Using advanced weapons and seeing the professionalism of our teams during these drills shows our commitment to keeping the Indo-Pacific region safe and open."

John Bradford, a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs fellow, said the RIMPAC tests show what kind of conflict the US is preparing for in the region.

"We can fully expect a major power naval conflict in the Pacific to be predominantly a fight of long-range weapons," Bradford said.

"The US is investing in readiness for this sort of combat," he said.

View from China

China was taking note of the RIMPAC plans even before the ship-sinking exercises took place.

A commentary in the state-run Global Times on June 27, the day RIMPAC began, said, "the only country deemed as 'enemy' by the US that operates a 40,000-ton amphibious assault ship in the Asia-Pacific region is China."

The PLA Navy has three Type 075 amphibious assault ships, which displace around 36,000 tons, in service with a fourth being readied.

A bigger successor, the Type 076, is also under construction.

Global Times has previously cited Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, as saying the Type 075s could be called into action in the Taiwan Strait or South China Sea if the situation dictated it.

"The choice of the USS Tarawa as the sinking target reflects the concern of the US and its allies about the development and strength of China's maritime power, especially regarding the mainland's military deterrence on the Taiwan island," the Global Times commentary said.

But it said sinking the ex-Tarawa, which was commissioned in 1976, had little relevance in 2024.

"Such an outdated ship cannot be compared with modern military equipment," Global Times said.

An art historian has identified a missing portrait of King Henry VIII after spotting it on social media.

British fine art researcher Adam Busiakiewicz was idly scrolling on X when he was stopped in his tracks by a post from somebody he follows.

The post was a photograph shared by Tim Cox, the Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire – an honorary position representing the British Crown in the central English county.

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It showed a gathering at a reception in Warwick's Shire Hall, where Warwickshire County Council is based.

But Busiakiewicz wasn't interested in the people smiling at the camera.

His focus was on the background where, hanging on a wall, was what he suspected was a missing portrait of the Tudor monarch Henry VIII.

In a post published on his blog earlier this month, Busiakiewicz said he had been "scrolling at speed" when he spotted the painting "with a distinctive arched top" on the wall.

He was immediately reminded of a series of 22 portraits commissioned by a local politician and tapestry-maker during the 1590s.

According to Busiakiewicz, Ralph Sheldon commissioned the pictures – which were mostly of kings, queens and "significant contemporary international figures" – to hang in his home, Weston House in Warwickshire.

The reason they had arched tops was because they "were once incorporated into an architectural frieze of the Long Gallery at Weston," Busiakiewicz said.

In a press release sent to CNN, Busiakiewicz said the arched top was a "special feature of the Sheldon set," while the painting's frame was "identical to other surviving examples."

The painting also showed the king holding a sword and wearing a feathered hat – just as he appeared in an engraving of the Long Hall made by antiquarian Henry Shaw in 1839.

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The series of portraits was later dispersed at auction and "the majority remain untraced to this day," according to Busiakiewicz.

After making his theory public, Busiakiewicz visited Warwick's Shire Hall together with local historian Aaron Manning to see the painting close up.

"The portrait is large, and completely in-line with the other Sheldon portraits," Busiakiewicz wrote in a later blog post, on July 22.

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In a telephone call with CNN, Busiakiewicz revealed that this was not the first discovery he had made thanks to social media.

In 2018, he stumbled across a picture a friend had taken at a wedding and posted on Instagram.

It featured a portrait that he identified as the work of 17th-century female artist Joan Carlile.

"Social media is a crazy thing," Busiakiewicz told CNN, "because some people use it to watch cat videos and follow what's going on in the world, and then people like me just look at what people have hanging on their walls."

A spokesperson for Warwickshire County Council told CNN in an email that Busiakiewicz and Manning approached them about the painting and arranged to come and see it.

"Adam and Aaron viewed the painting at Shire Hall, and have confirmed they think it is definitely one of the Ralph Sheldon commissions," the spokesperson wrote.

"Since this discovery, the painting has been moved into our Museum Collections Centre to allow further research to take place."

Busiakiewicz told CNN that the identity of the painter is not known, but the creator of the portraits is "sometimes referred to as The Sheldon Master."

He is now working on trying to establish the painting's provenance.

It was acquired by the council as recently as 1951 but there are gaps in the records.

"Provenance is always such a really tricky thing – it's very hard sometimes to find, particularly when pictures are sold privately. But there's no doubt that this is Ralph Sheldon's painting of Henry VIII," he said.

"Looking at paintings and pictures of paintings is my life and it's great fun, particularly when you can in some way right a historic wrong, let's say. Pictures that are overlooked, pictures that aren't appreciated as much as they might be."

As the presidential campaign enters a critical final 100 day stretch, Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, rallied supporters on Saturday in a state that hasn't backed a GOP candidate for the White House since 1972.

The rally in St Cloud, Minnesota, was designed as a sign of the campaign's bullishness about its prospects across the Midwest, particularly when President Joe Biden was showing signs of weakness ahead of his decision to exit the campaign.

Trump, who won Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016 only to lose them four years later, has increasingly focused on Minnesota as a state where he'd like to put Democrats on defence.

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The rally is something of a gamble, potentially forcing the likely Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Democrats to devote resources in a state they would likely otherwise ignore.

But it could also be a risk for Trump if he spends time in places that might prove to be a reach with Harris leading the ticket when he could otherwise focus on maintaining his support in more traditional battlegrounds.

Trump spoke for more than an hour and a half to cheering crowds holding signs supporting police and calling for the deportation of migrants in the country illegally.

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He continued a pattern of escalating attacks against Harris on immigration and crime.

He called her a "crazy liberal" and accused her of wanting to "defund the police," while he said by contrast, he wants to "overfund the police."

"She has no clue, she's evil," Trump said, suggesting Harris had failed at her tasks related to the border as vice president.

"Kamala Harris' deadly destruction of America's borders is completely and totally disqualifying for her to be president."

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Trump called out Harris for a 2020 post she made after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police.

The post had encouraged people to help protesters by donating to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which had been working on reforming the bail system and posted criminal bail for people as part of a campaign to address inequities in the system.

Though Harris did not contribute to the fund herself, her tweet was among those from celebrities and high-profile people that helped donations flow into the cash-strapped non profit, helping it quickly raise US$34 million ($51.8 million).

In the immediate aftermath of the protests and unrest, the group actually spent little bailing out protesters.

Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for the Harris campaign, called Trump's attack line "a desperate lie from a desperate campaign" that can't change the fact that its candidate has been convicted of multiple felonies.

Trump also knocked Harris as an "absolute radical" on abortion, seemingly sensing an opening to attack her on the issue after she has become the Biden administration's most vocal proponent of abortion rights.

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He wrongly suggested Harris wants abortion "right up until birth and after birth."

Infanticide is criminalised in every state, and no state has passed a law that allows killing a baby after birth.

Yet the former president also recycled much of his past material targeting Biden, showing how his campaign has sought to keep Biden's pitfalls fresh in voters' minds even after the president has ended his candidacy and endorsed Harris.

Trump's remarks followed a spirited speech from Vance, in which he leaned heavily into issues that animate the GOP base, particularly security at the US-Mexico border and crime.

He also took a broadside against the news media, arguing that journalists were comparing the first Black woman and person of south Asian descent to lead a major party ticket to Martin Luther King, Jr.

In May, Trump headlined a GOP fundraiser in St. Paul, where he boasted he could win the state and made explicit appeals to the iron-mining range in northeast Minnesota, where he hopes a heavy population of blue-collar and union workers will shift to Republicans after years of being solidly Democratic.

Appealing to that population has also helped Minnesota Gov Tim Walz land on the list of about a dozen Democrats who are being vetted to potentially be Harris' running mate.

Walz posted on the social platform X on Friday poking fun at Trump's visit to his state.

"Donald Trump is coming back to the State of Hockey tomorrow for the hat trick," Walz wrote. "He lost Minnesota in '16, '20, and he'll lose it again in '24."

Saturday's rally took place at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, a 5159-seat hockey arena.

After surviving the July 13 assassination attempt on him at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump has only had events at indoor venues.

But he said in a post on his social media network Saturday that he will schedule outdoor stops and the "SECRET SERVICE HAS AGREED TO SUBSTANTIALLY STEP UP THEIR OPERATION."

Secret Service officials would not say whether the agency had agreed to expand operations at Trump's campaign events or had any concerns about him potentially resuming outdoor gatherings.

"Ensuring the safety and security of our protectees is our highest priority," Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement on Saturday.

"In the interest of maintaining operational integrity, we are not able to comment on specifics of our protective means or methods.'

"Earlier Saturday, Trump spoke at a bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, laying out a plan to embrace cryptocurrency if elected and promising to make the US the "crypto capital of the planet" and a "bitcoin superpower."

Trump didn't always support cryptocurrency but has changed his attitude toward the digital tokens in recent years and in May, his campaign started accepting donations in cryptocurrency.

Also on Saturday, Harris ramped up her campaign for president with her first fundraiser since becoming the Democrats' likely White House nominee.

The event in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday was expected to raise more than $2.1 million, her campaign announced, from an audience of hundreds at the Colonial Theatre.

That would be $1.5 million–plus more than the original goal set for the event before Biden dropped out of the race.

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The former police officer accused of murdering Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies has been hit with fresh charges, as police allege the killings were acts of domestic violence.

Police tonight confirmed Beau Lamarre-Condon, 29, had been charged with two counts of murder (DV), as well as break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence.

The charges, first reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, were laid on July 18 and the former senior constable remained in custody.

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Lamarre-Condon allegedly shot Qantas flight attendant Davies and TV presenter Baird with his NSW Police service weapon at Baird's inner-city Paddington home on February 19 while he was off-duty.

Police allege the attack was premeditated after a months-long campaign of "predatory behaviour" targeting Baird, who he briefly dated.

The couple's disappearance sparked a major search when some of their possessions were found in a skip bin near a club in Cronulla.

Their bodies were found on February 27 – three days after Lamarre-Condon was first charged – inside surfboard bags on a rural property near Goulburn, about 200 kilometres south-west of Sydney.

NSW Police sacked the officer from the force in mid-March.

Speaking outside court last month, Lamarre-Condon's lawyer, John Walford, said it was too early to tell whether a mental health defence would be raised or whether the matter would go to trial.

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The accused is due to face the Downing Centre Local Court on August 13 after an eight-week adjournment to give prosecutors time to finalise the charges.

It was believed the DV murder charges would eventually replace the existing murder charges.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

An area of Kosciuszko National Park's backcountry where a 23-year-old man was found dead is "complex and technical" for skiing, an inquest has been told.

Andrew Keith Seton's body was found on a rock in Watsons Crags on September 5, 2022.

Watsons Crags is a challenging backcountry skiing destination requiring hiking and climbing north-west of Perisher ski resort.

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Mr Seton was an experienced skier and carried appropriate equipment for backcountry skiing, including crampons, an ice pick and personal location beacon, counsel assisting Jack Harris told the NSW Coroners Court.

Backcountry skiers were expected to fill out a trip intention form, accessed online through NSW Parks and Wildlife.

Mr Seton did not fill out a trip intention form and instead told his mother, Janice, on September 3 he was off to ski Watsons Crags and was expected to be back at his car later in the afternoon.

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Snowy Mountains Backcountry Tours operator Douglas Chatten told the inquest he wouldn't know of many backcountry skiers who filled out a trip intention form.

"Well I don't, my wife always knows [my intention]," he said on Tuesday.

Backcountry enthusiast Hugh Newall testified that he didn't often fill out the form.

"I think it is just simplicity for me, it is just quicker to let my old man know … but otherwise I wouldn't have any criticism of the form."

Newall said Watsons Crags involved a high level of skill.

"It is one of the most complex and technical skiing [areas] we have in NSW," he said.

"It might be nice skiing conditions to start but where the sun has not yet warmed up the snow it can lead to very difficult icy conditions."

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Chatten described the conditions on the day that Mr Seton went missing as poor.

"I wouldn't have skied there that day … not a great day to decide to ski down in there," he said.

When Mrs Seton received no communication from her son in the late afternoon, she contacted Jindabyne Police Station to file a missing person's report.

Mr Seton was not formally reported as missing, instead police monitored the situation as they believed he could have camped overnight or he just did not inform his mother of his whereabouts, the inquest was told.

It meant a search and rescue mission did not start until the morning of September 5, two days after Mrs Seton first raised her concerns with police.

Mr Seton's body was located on a rock down the chute at Watsons Crags by POLAIR in the afternoon of September 5.

Harris told the inquest the purpose of the proceedings was to determine if regulation is required, if the police search and rescue response was adequate, and is it necessary to make any recommendations connected with Mr Seton's death.

The inquest continues on Wednesday.

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One of the two Russians accused of attempting to leak military secrets to Moscow told his work colleagues he'd been in Russian special forces, Nine News can reveal.

Husband and wife Igor and Kira Korolev have been charged with espionage offences after being arrested on July 11 at their home in the Brisbane suburb of Everton Park after a joint ASIO-AFP operation.

Police allege the couple was working to obtain sensitive information from the Australian Defence Force.

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Kira Korolev, 40, joined the Australian Army seven years ago and became an information systems technician. Nine News understands she was a private in the 7th Combat Signal Regiment, which has expertise in encrypted communications.

She is accused of taking non-declared travel to Russia with and without Igor since 2023 while on long-term leave from Defence.

The AFP allege that on one of her unaccompanied visits to Russia, Kira instructed Igor to access her official work account and access specific information relating to Australia's national security interests, which he then sent to her private email account.

Until his arrest, Igor Korolev had been working at a factory that makes caravans north-west of Brisbane.

Nine News has spoken to three of Igor's former work colleagues, each of whom spoke fondly of him, saying he was a hard worker who was very fit despite his 62 years.

Though none of them were willing to speak on camera, they said Igor had told them he'd been in Russian special forces, even showing them pictures of his old platoon.

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Former defence intelligence official Professor Paul Dibb, who spent three decades combating Russian espionage, said the 22-year age difference between the couple, and Igor's military background were "intelligence warning signals blaring at you loud and clear".

He said these were clues of a classic Russian "stay behind operation".

"That is, sleepers who merge into the background, as apparently they have, well regarded but beavering away into getting into our secrets," Dibb said.

He said "stay behinds" are dispatched for the long-term.

"They're trained to be very patient. It's not an immediate overreach yourself and get rumbled by ASIO. It is: be careful, fade into the background, be as Australian as you possibly can, be a pleasant married couple so there's no sort of danger signals in that regard," he said.

"And then you just casually put her as a private – I know this is not senior – but it's the beginning, the wedge is starting, into as I understand it, Army signals organisation.

"Now this is not Pine Gap. This is not top secret code word, but it's putting the foot in the door."

Dibb said Igor's claim of being in Russian special forces, or Spetsnaz, was a concern.

"Spetsnaz, that translates into special forces, but it is not like our special forces as tough as they are. This is a murderous, irresponsible group that murdered and assassinated in Afghanistan, in Crimea."

Igor and Kira were each charged with one count of preparing for an espionage offence which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years' jail.

Police are searching for the driver of an allegedly stolen car after a crash south of Brisbane.

A family of four were trapped inside the ute until hero neighbours set them free.

Footage obtained by 9News showed the moments after the two cars collided in Woodbridge last night.

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The driver of the allegedly stolen car fled the scene on foot.

A nearby resident helped the family get out of the partially crushed car.

"I grabbed the top corner of his door and put my foot on the base, and just ripped the top half of the door open so he could get out," neighbour Ian Gosland said.

"I just thought if there is a family they might need help."

The driver and one of his children were taken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for treatment for minor abdominal and facial injuries.

They have both since left the hospital and returned home.

Police seized the allegedly stolen car, and are continuing to search for the driver.

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Emergency services attending blaze at Paraparaumu Beach property.

A judge accused of hitting his former partner and pushing her into a mantelpiece was a "broken man" after the pair split up, a court has been told.

Tasmania Supreme Court Justice Gregory Geason has pleaded not guilty to assault and one count of emotional abuse or intimidation.

It is alleged Geason shook his then-partner, struck her in the chest up to eight times and pushed her forcefully into a mantelpiece causing her to hit her head on October 31.

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Geason disputes her version of events, telling the court she hit her head after falling into a table while "unsteady", potentially because she had too much to drink.

Geason has also denied tracking the woman, verbally abusing her and pressuring her to sign a house contract with him.

Beven Schwaiger, a long-term friend of the judge, gave evidence in Hobart Magistrates Court on Tuesday before the seven-day hearing concluded.

"I invited him to come and stay for a few days. He was very much a broken man," Schwaiger said about Geason and the woman's break-up in November.

"He was very distraught about what had happened. He was very confused and extremely upset."

Schwaiger, who met the woman several times, said she was an "excessive" drinker and acted erratically at a party.

Geason's ex-wife Gillian Fiddy also told the court the woman, her friend, was someone who would "drink a lot".

"When (she) drank a lot she became very unsteady on her feet and she would tend to, because of that, trip or fall … walk into things," she said.

"I noticed that on quite a few occasions."

Fiddy said she was "shocked" when the woman, who cannot be named, showed bruising on her arms allegedly caused by the assault.

"When she was talking to police she said Greg banged her head into the mantelpiece," she said.

Fiddy, who at one point lived with Geason and the woman, said she had maintained a good relationship with her ex-husband.

She said the woman on occasions had "fresh alcohol breath" in the morning and once disguised her wine drinking in a tea cup.

Fiddy denied painting the woman to be a much heavier drinker than she actually was.

Fiddy also told the court police asked her to write a statement in support of the woman but she declined to do so because she was worried about bias.

Victorian Magistrate Susan Wakeling, who has heard the case because Geason is known to judges in Hobart, is likely to deliver a decision in September.

Geason is on leave from his job and has given a written undertaking to not exercise duties of a judge.

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Liquorland staff in Kohimarama turn the tables on suspect during shoplifting incident.