Police will return a series of "satirical" posters to a Canberra bar after finding they did not violate the federal government's new hate laws.

Dissent Cafe and Bar had posters depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk in Nazi-like uniforms on their doors with signs reading "sanction Israel" and "stop genocide".

Last Wednesday, just as a live band was about to play, police stormed the venue and asked for the posters to be removed after receiving a complaint.

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ACT Policing said owner David Howe refused to take down or hand over the posters, a claim Howe denies.

Officers declared a crime scene, temporarily shutting down the bar and seizing all seven of the posters.

The gig was cancelled, and patrons were kicked out for several hours.

ACT Policing has investigated the posters under the federal government's new hate laws that were passed following the December 14 attack at Bondi and today said they will not pursue any criminal proceedings.

"Following assessment, it has been determined that while the posters satisfied certain aspects of the legislation, other aspects were not met," ACT Policing said in a statement.

"The posters will be returned to the owner in due course and this matter finalised.

"ACT Policing remains committed to ensuring that alleged antisemitic, racist and hate incidents are addressed promptly and thoroughly and when possible criminality is identified, ACT Policing will not hesitate to take appropriate action."

Howe welcomed the news, saying "for now, satirical art is still allowed".

The incident caused widespread shock from Canberra all the way to the United Kingdom, where the creators of the posters received word their "satirical" art had been met with police action.

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"I completely support Dissent cafe and bars freedom of speech to call out fascists," UK-based protest art group Grow Up Art said in a statement.

"The police are completely wasting everyone's time by having sense of humour failure (no surprises there) but thanks to them for the free promo because everyone has started sharing my protest artwork around Canberra now."

Howe told 9news.com.au at the time that he was shocked as the posters, which had been up for a month and received a positive response, were "obviously parody art with a distinct anti fascist message".

"I struggled to understand how anyone could assume anything else," he said.

"I was shocked and surprised. I don't think their response or their actions were warranted."

Labor Murrumbidgee MP Marisa Paterson contacted ACT Policing to seek clarification around the circumstances that took place, while Independent Kurrajong MP Thomas Emerson wrote to the police minister to seek an explanation.

"This seems pretty Orwellian to me," Emerson said at the time. 

"Art intends to provoke and challenge us.

"In attempting to foster social harmony by preventing offence, we can't afford to create more division. Government suppression of artistic expression and dissenting voices is incredibly divisive."

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In the face of dismal approval ratings, Donald Trump doubled down on his favourite topics while avoiding the issues that have made him so unpopular.

And in doing so, the US president gave the longest State of the Union address in history.

Over an hour and 47 minutes, Trump railed against crime and immigration and touted the stock market and the military.

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But his speech only briefly touched on issues of affordability, and made no mention of controversial agency ICE.

The other topic that didn't get a mention in his speech was notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – his longtime friend.

But the president served up hefty helpings of red meat to his base.

Crime

A large section of the speech has been dedicated to describing in graphic detail high-profile crimes.

As Trump described the murders, relatives of the victims sat in the audience.

Among those is Erika Kirk, the widow of political commentator Charlie Kirk.

The mother of alleged murder victim Iryna Zarutska was in tears as Trump described her daughter's death.

"Last summer, 23-year-old Iryna was riding home on the train when a deranged monster who had been arrested over a dozen times and was released through no cash bail, stood up and viciously slashed a knife through her neck and body," Trump said.

"No one will forget the expression of terror on Iryna's face as she looked at her attacker in the last seconds of her life."

Trump called on members to stand if they agreed with him.

"If you agree with the statement, then stand up and show your support," he said.

"The duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens."

As Democrats remained seated, he told them they should be ashamed of themselves.

READ MORE: France cuts off Trump's ambassador after he blows off meeting

Tariffs

Trump took the unusual step of directly criticising the Supreme Court after it ruled his tariffs were illegal.

"Just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the US Supreme Court just came down," Trump said.

But he said he had found a way to retain the tariffs.

"It will remain in place under alternative legal statutes they've been tested for a long time, they're a little more complex, but they're actually probably better," he said.

He reiterated the falsehood that tariffs were paid by foreign countries instead of American importers.

Trump said his tariffs would "substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax".

Several of the justices who voted against his tariffs were in the audience.

The economy

The president also made the dubious claim that prices are coming down significantly.

"The cost of chicken, automobiles, rent, is lower than when I took office by a lot," Trump said.

"And even beef, which was very high, is starting to come down significantly."

Honouring guests

Donald Trump gave the Congressional Medal of Honour to a helicopter pilot badly wounded in the raid of Venezuela leading to the capture of Nicolas Maduro.

The president described in gruesome detail how the pilot Eric Slover was struck by enemy machine gun fire.

"He was gushing blood, which was flowing back down the aisle," he said.

"Eric manoeuvred his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat."

In a particularly touching moment, another aviator was given the Medal of Honour.

Navy fighter pilot Royce Williams was given the award more than 70 years after a daring mission in the Korean War.

The 100-year-old was loudly applauded by the crowd.

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But Trump couldn't help but make a comment which was likely not in his prepared remarks.

"I've always wanted the Congressional Medal of Honour, but I was informed I'm not allowed to give it myself," the president said.

"I don't know why I'd be taking it. But if they ever open up that law, I will be there with you someday."

The Medal of Honour is given for extraordinary courage in war. Trump has never served in uniform.

In a moment of rare theatre at the State of the Union, Trump introduced the USA men's ice hockey team.

While typically everyone is already seated at the event, the gold medal-winning team entered the room to chants of "U-S-A".

Trump also announced he would give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

The medal is the highest civilian honour in the USA.

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Democratic response

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger criticised the president for not addressing issues of affordability.

"Is the president working to make life more affordable to you and your family? We all know the answer is no," she said.

"The president is planning for new tariffs – another massive tax hike on you and your family."

She decried alleged rampant corruption in the administration.

"He's enriching himself, his family, his friends," she said.

"The scale of his corruption is unprecedented.

"This is not what our founders envisaged? Not by a long shot."

A less formal Democratic response came from Representative Al Green.

Minutes into Trump's speech, Green was ushered out of the chamber for heckling the president.

He was holding a sign reading: "Black people aren't apes".

It's the second time in two years Green has done so.

READ MORE: 'I can destroy the country': Trump's rant after Supreme Court strikes down key policy

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An upgrade to NSW's mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras is on the way.

The new technology, which will allow cameras to spot drivers on their phones or not wearing their seatbelts in both directions of traffic, is set to begin its expansion next month.

Currently, the cameras can only check up to two lanes of traffic heading in one direction.

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Transport for NSW Secretary Josh Murray said that the two-way camera upgrades will be made to the 10 current models of mobile phone and seatbelt detection cameras.

"One in just under every 1300 vehicles checked by these cameras in 2025 had someone breaking seatbelt laws," Murray said.

"While around one in every 1200 were caught using their mobile phone illegally, compared to as many as one in every 400 cars when we first started camera enforcement of mobile phone offences."

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"We know lives have been saved as people change their behaviours in response to awareness and education with seatbelt use and distractions through phone use featuring as key contributors to the road toll."

Murray said that while the expansion of the two-way cameras is set to begin next month, the official rollout of the improved cameras on roads across the state will take up to six months.

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Staff at Mount Albert Grammar School said they felt bullied and threatened by Rhys Cullen.

Keith Hartley, 68, was diagnosed with stage 4 blood cancer in October 2025.

A woman is charged with mistreating her child while the child was getting medical care.

Inflation has once again come in hotter than expected, raising the chance of another interest rate hike early this year.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to January.

While that was level with December's figure, it was slightly higher than the 3.7 per cent expected by economists.

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In further bad news, the trimmed mean – the Reserve Bank's preferred measure of underlying or "core" inflation – was also a surprise, rising to 3.4 per cent, above the 3.3 expected by the market. 

Both figures are well above the RBA's target band of 2-3 per cent.

Many economists and traders were already expecting the RBA to increase the cash rate in its May meeting – a forecast today's inflation data will do little to dissuade.

"There is certainly almost an inevitability that rates will go up again," 9news political editor Charles Croucher said.

In one sliver of good news for anxious borrowers, the fresh figures are only monthly, not quarterly, numbers.

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While the ABS now releases a complete CPI each month, rather than the less comprehensive indicator it used to publish, the RBA is still relying more on the quarterly figures.

"It will take us some time to understand the properties and seasonal patterns of the data," the head of the RBA's economic analysis department, Michael Plumb, said yesterday.

"While we learn about the monthly data, for a time we will continue to focus on the quarterly data for forecasting and assessing underlying inflationary pressures."

The next batch of quarterly numbers won't be released until April – well after the central bank's next interest rate meeting in mid-March.

Bendigo Bank chief economist David Robertson said households are likely to be spared a hike at that meeting, but that a rise to 4.10 per cent in May remains firmly on the table.

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"(Inflation) will still be viewed by the RBA as far too high, and combined with last week's jobs data do justify the February 3 hike, but the data won't necessarily translate to another hike in March," he said.

"A range of factors suggest this new tightening cycle will likely be persistent and drawn-out including the resilience of global trade in the face of tariffs and tight domestic labour and housing markets, although we currently only forecast one more hike this calendar year…

"The full quarterly inflation data on April 29 will be the key data point for the May RBA decision, but we will need to see an improvement in underlying inflation to avoid another hike in May."

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Analysis: The airport chaos officially begins today.

As the United Kingdom's controversial Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme (ETA) scheme kicks in, countless dual Australian-British citizens have been left confused and upset.

The new rules are complicated and messy and I have seen first-hand the mayhem it has triggered after reporting extensively for nine.com.au on the newly-enforced visa waiver.

READ MORE: Queensland pub owner's plea after being forced to raise menu prices

Do you have a story? Contact reporter April Glover at our breaking newsletter here

Mercury is in retrograde again this week. It's the celestial phenomenon that astrologists love to blame for everything –  from messy breakups to Wi-Fi meltdowns.

But what is actually happening during the much-maligned planetary event? 

Space expert Sara Webb, from Melbourne's Swinburne University, says there is nothing to worry about, because the truth is, it's all a cosmic illusion.

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Despite how it looks from your backyard, Mercury isn't actually reversing its orbit. That would involve breaking several fundamental laws of physics.

"A retrograde is when a planet appears to move backwards from its regular motion in the night sky," Webb said.

Think of it like being in a fast car on a freeway. When you pull into the fast lane and overtake a slower car, for a brief moment, that slower car looks like it's moving backward relative to you.

Because Mercury sits closer to the Sun, it regularly zips past Earth. As it overtakes us, our perspective from the ground makes it look like the tiny planet has done a U-turn.

"It's a humble reminder that we exist in the solar system of millions of other objects orbiting the same beautiful star, just at different rates," Webb said.

While the "retrograde" part is just a trick of the light, Mercury itself is actually quite a hardened survivor.

Scientists now believe the planet used to be much larger. It's theorised that a massive, ancient collision stripped away its outer layers, leaving behind the dense, metallic world we see today. 

"We have precise measurements of its motion, size, and composition," Webb said.

While we understand exactly how it moves, there is zero evidence that its planetary shimmy has any impact on our lives.

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Exclusive: A regional pub owner is pleading with Australians to head to their local venues after being forced to raise menu prices amid dwindling profits.

Former nurses Jayde Moore and her partner Cath Bates purchased the Royal Hotel Harrisville in Queensland's Scenic Rim, around 67 kilometres from Brisbane, four years ago in a bid to breathe new life into the historic pub.

But the expected post-COVID travel boom hasn't been enough to get customers through the doors, with tables and barstools sitting empty almost every day.

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Moore told nine.com.au that weekly trade has plunged by between 20 and 30 per cent in the last 18 months and the couple fear they may not stay afloat for much longer.

"Our last menu that we put out at the end of October, we did raise prices," Moore said.

"And if I thought it wouldn't negatively affect us, I would put another new menu out and raise prices now, but I think that would do more harm than good."

Harrisville has a population of around 700 people and the Royal Hotel is one of just two pubs in town.

Country pubs are the lifeblood of small regional towns like Harrisville.

"They're the ones that hold all the history in the community and hold the spirit of the community," Moore said.

"This pub has been standing for 150 years. So you can imagine if the walls could talk, what they would say."

The couple has worked hard to keep the doors open but spending habits have changed dramatically.

Do you have a story? Contact reporter April Glover at our breaking newsletter here