Construction will take just three months and create work for about 50 people.

Journalist Don Lemon was released from custody on Friday (local time) after he was arrested and hit with federal civil rights charges over his coverage of an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a Minnesota church.

Lemon was arrested overnight in Los Angeles, while another independent journalist and two protest participants were arrested in Minnesota.

He struck a confident, defiant tone while speaking to reporters after a court appearance in California, declaring: "I will not be silenced."

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"I have spent my entire career covering the news. I will not stop now," Lemon said.

"In fact there is no more important time than right now, this very moment, for a free and independent media that shines a light on the truth and holds those in power accountable."

The arrests brought sharp criticism from news media advocates and civil rights activists including the Rev Al Sharpton, who said the Trump administration is taking a "sledgehammer" to "the knees of the First Amendment."

A grand jury in Minnesota indicted Lemon and others on charges of conspiracy and interfering with the First Amendment rights of worshippers during the January 18 protest at the Cities Church in St. Paul, where a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement official is a pastor.

In court in Los Angeles, Assistant US Attorney Alexander Robbins argued for a $143,000 ($US100,000) bond, telling a judge that Lemon "knowingly joined a mob that stormed into a church."

He was released, however, without having to post money and was granted permission to travel to France in June while the case is pending.

READ MORE: Elon Musk asked to visit Jeffrey Epstein's island for his 'wildest party'

Defense attorney Marilyn Bednarski said Lemon plans to plead not guilty and fight the charges in Minnesota.

Lemon, who was fired from CNN in 2023 following a bumpy run as a morning host, has said he has no affiliation to the organisation that went into the church and he was there as a solo journalist chronicling protesters.

"Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done," his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement earlier on Friday.

Attorney General Pam Bondi promoted the arrests on social media.

"Make no mistake. Under President Trump's leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely," Bondi said in a video posted online.

"And if I haven't been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you."

READ MORE: List of Trump allegations released in Epstein files

'Keep trying'

Since he left CNN, Lemon has joined the legion of journalists who have gone into business for himself, posting regularly on YouTube.

He hasn't hidden his disdain for President Donald Trump. Yet during his online show from the church, he said repeatedly: "I'm not here as an activist. I'm here as a journalist."

He described the scene before him, and interviewed churchgoers and demonstrators.

A magistrate judge last week rejected prosecutors' initial bid to charge Lemon. Shortly after, he predicted on his show that the administration would try again.

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"And guess what," he said.

"Here I am. Keep trying. That's not going to stop me from being a journalist. That's not going to diminish my voice. Go ahead, make me into the new Jimmy Kimmel, if you want. Just do it. Because I'm not going anywhere."

Georgia Fort livestreamed the moments before her arrest, telling viewers that agents were at her door and her First Amendment right as a journalist was being diminished.

A judge released Fort, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy on bond, rejecting the Justice Department's attempt to keep them in custody.

Not guilty pleas were entered. Fort's supporters in the courtroom clapped and whooped.

"It's a sinister turn of events in this country," Fort's attorney, Kevin Riach, said in court.

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Discouraging scrutiny

Jane Kirtley, a media law and ethics expert at the University of Minnesota, said the federal laws cited by the government were not intended to apply to reporters gathering news.

The charges against Lemon and Fort, she said, are "pure intimidation and government overreach."

Some experts and activists said the charges were not only an attack on press freedoms but also a strike against Black Americans who count on Black journalists to bear witness to injustice and oppression.

The National Association of Black Journalists said it was "outraged and deeply alarmed" by Lemon's arrest.

The group called it an effort to "criminalize and threaten press freedom under the guise of law enforcement."

Crews is a leader of Black Lives Matter Minnesota who has led many protests and actions for racial justice, particularly following George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis in 2020.

"All the greats have been to jail, MLK, Malcom X — people who stood up for justice get attacked," Crews told The Associated Press. "We were just practicing our First Amendment rights."

Protesters charged previously

A prominent civil rights attorney and two other people involved in the protest were arrested last week. Prosecutors have accused them of civil rights violations for disrupting the Cities Church service.

The Justice Department launched an investigation after the group interrupted services by chanting "ICE out" and "Justice for Renee Good," referring to the 37-year-old mother of three who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.

Lundy works for the office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and is married to a St. Paul City Council member. Lemon briefly interviewed him as they gathered with protesters preparing to drive to the church on January 18.

"I feel like it's important that if you're going to be representing people in office that you are out here with the people," Lundy told Lemon, adding he believed in "direct action, certainly within the lines of the law."

Church leaders praise arrests in protest

Cities Church belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention and lists one of its pastors as David Easterwood, who leads ICE's St. Paul field office.

"We are grateful that the Department of Justice acted swiftly to protect Cities Church so that we can continue to faithfully live out the church's mission to worship Jesus and make him known," lead pastor Jonathan Parnell said.

READ MORE: MP 'beyond angry' over death of brother in alleged one-punch attack

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Detectives have charged a man with 51 offences following investigations into several alleged sexual assault incidents on the Gold Coast.

Police will allege that between April and November 2025, a 50-year-old man from Mermaid Beach committed offences against three women, all in their 20s, who were all known to him.

Following investigations, officers executed a search warrant at a business on Seaview Avenue at Mermaid Beach today, where several items were seized.

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The 50-year-old attended Southport Police Station and was arrested and charged with 51 offences.

The charges included 34 counts of sexual assault, 14 counts of rape, two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one count of attempted rape.

He was refused bail and will appear in Southport Magistrates Court today.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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Elon Musk reached out to financier and sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein on at least two separate occasions to plan visits to the Caribbean island where many of the allegations of sexual abuse purportedly occurred, according to email chains included in Friday's document release.

In a late November 2012 exchange, Epstein inquired how many people Musk would like flown by helicopter to the island he owned — Little Saint James in the US Virgin Islands.

"Probably just Talulah and me," Musk responded, referencing his partner at the time, actress Talulah Riley. "What day/night will be the wildest party on =our island?"

READ MORE: List of Trump allegations released in Epstein files

Musk messaged Epstein again ahead of a planned trip to the Caribbean in late December 2013. "Will be in the BVI/St Bart's area over the holidays," he wrote. "Is there a good time to visit?"

Epstein responded by extending an invite for sometime after the New Year holiday.

"play it by ear if you want," he wrote. "always space for you."

"I will come and get you," Epstein wrote in a follow up email.

It's not immediately clear if the island visits took place.

Nine.com.au is not suggesting that by appearing in any of the Epstein documents implies wrongdoing, only that names have appeared.

Spokespersons for Musk's companies, Tesla and X, didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment Friday. Musk has maintained that he repeatedly turned down the disgraced financier's overtures.

"Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED," he posted on X in 2025 when House Democrats released an Epstein calendar with an entry mentioning a potential Musk visit to the island.

READ MORE: Tesla's sales slowdown puts Elon Musk's enormous pay deal at risk

Epstein supported Trump's first-term efforts to oust Fed chair

In a 2018 exchange, Epstein and Trump advisor Steve Bannon discussed the president's threats to oust Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom he had named to the post just the year prior.

"should have been done months ago too old!!!!" Epstein wrote.

"Can u get rid of Powell or really get rid of mnuchin," Bannon replied, referring to then-Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

"no, mnuchin is ok," Epstein replied.

Trump on Friday named Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell after spending the past year assailing him for not cutting interest rates quickly enough.

New files related to Epstein's time in jail

Some documents are related to Epstein's incarceration and suicide.

Others centre around Ghislaine Maxwell's incarceration and her grievances related to her imprisonment conditions.

The records contain emails between investigators that discuss Epstein's death, including his last note — with the email stating that it does not appear to be a suicide note.

Thousands of pages of documents related to Epstein's jail suicide have already been released.

READ MORE: Bill and Hillary Clinton risk prison after vote by Epstein committee

Commerce Secretary appears to have visited Epstein's island

On one occasion in December 2012, Epstein invited Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to his private island in the Caribbean for lunch, according to documents released on Friday show. Lutnick's wife, Allison Lutnick, enthusiastically accepted the invitation and said they would arrive on a yacht with their children. On another occasion in 2011, the two men had drinks, according to a schedule shared with Epstein.

Lutnick has tried to distance himself from associations with Epstein, saying in a 2025 interview that he cut ties with the sex offender decades ago, calling him "gross".

The two men's lives continued to intersect as recently as 2018, documents show. That year, Epstein contributed to a philanthropic dinner honoring Lutnick, according to email exchanges. The year prior, the two men sent each other emails about the construction of a building across the street from both of their homes.

Lutnick didn't respond to an emailed request for comment on Friday afternoon.

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Democrats decry limited release

Congressional Democrats who have been key to pushing for the release of case files on Epstein are arguing that Friday's release by the Department of Justice is only about half of the files that have been collected.

"The DOJ said it identified over six million potentially responsive pages but is releasing only about 3.5 million after review and redactions. This raises questions as to why the rest are being withheld," said Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who sponsored the bill that mandated the disclosure.

Khanna said he was looking to see whether the files released Friday included FBI interviews with victims, a draft indictment and information prosecutors collected during a 2007 investigation into Epstein in Florida.

The House Oversight Committee has also issued a separate subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi for the files without redactions, but that has not been fulfilled.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the oversight panel, called the limited release of documents "outrageous and incredibly concerning."

Over the years, prosecutors received tips from people with wild stories about being sexually abused by famous figures.

In some instances, FBI investigators diligently reached out to these tipsters and alleged victims and listened to their implausible sounding stories — some involving the occult and human sacrifice — then wrote dry reports summarising what the people had to say and sent them to their superiors.

READ MORE: Unseen images of Jeffrey Epstein's private island revealed

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

Exclusive: When Rebekah Becsi spoke to A Current Affair last year, she was terrified that roadworks might send her out of business.

Now she's told 9news.com.au she's just weeks away from being forced to shut down.

And help – if it ever comes – might just be too little, too late.

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Becsi runs Pakenham Bulk Foods on Bald Hill Road in Pakenham, about an hour southeast of Melbourne's CBD.

Sales plummeted when Big Build Victoria roadworks blocked off half the road in February last year.

They took another hit when the whole road was blocked a few months later.

"We've had a total 80 per cent decrease in sales from February last year till now," Becsi told 9news.com.au.

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

A Sydney man is set to face court today after allegedly falsifying documents and posing as a casting agent offering false acting opportunities in exchange for sex acts to lure young actors.

Detectives began an investigation in November last year, after reports of a man who allegedly falsified documents, posing as a casting agent for an international company, offering false TV and film opportunities for sexual activity. 

Following further investigations, detectives executed a search warrant at a home in Lewisham at about 9am yesterday, seizing documents and electronic items.

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The 57-year-old occupant was arrested and taken to Surry Hills Police Station.

He was charged with 11 offences, including six counts of possessing identification information with the intention to commit, facilitating an indictable offence, stalking or intimidating, intending to cause fear of physical harm and procuring a child for prostitution.

He was refused bail and will face court today.

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After 12 years in politics and countless media interviews, today marked Chris Picton's toughest exchange.

The South Australian health minister spoke publicly for the first time since his brother Tim Picton died from an alleged one-punch attack in Perth last month.

"Beyond angry as to what's happened," Chris said of the incident.

READ MORE: More human remains and clothes found in search for missing Belgian tourist

"The shock that we had on that Saturday morning, getting that phone call, still haunts me and my family to this day."

Tim, 36, died in hospital after a three-week-long coma following the incident.

"It was unlikely that Tim was going to come back, but we were still obviously all hoping for a miracle," Chris said.

The 20-year-old charged over the incident has been granted bail, angering the MP.

"I cannot believe that that happened and I think that was a very significant mistake," Chris said.

Tim, who made a name for himself in Labor's ranks as a talented political strategist, had a bright future ahead.

"The prime minister said he very easily, at the very least, could have been on the frontbench of federal parliament, and I strongly believe that," Chris said.

He is survived by his wife Priya and their four-year-old daughter Charlotte.

At a memorial for Tim last week, guests were asked to write their memories of Tim for Charlotte to read when she's older.

"There's a hole in our family that is never, ever going to be filled," Chris said.

As for Chris, he tells 9News that despite the heartache, he's committed to returning to state parliament should he be re-elected in March and wants to continue serving in the ministry.

"Going through some difficult personal experiences hopefully can make you a better representative, a better leader," Chris said.

"This is not the sort of thing that you get over, it's the sort of thing that eventually you learn to live with."

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Tasmanian police have discovered more human remains along with items of clothing, which they believe belonged to missing Belgian tourist Celine Cremer.

Cremer went missing in June 2023 but only on Wednesday were human remains discovered by a bushwalker searching the Philosopher Falls area.

Police announced that today's discovery – which included a bra and thermal top – was made along a section of the Arthur River near Waratah, about 2.5 kilometres from where the first bones were found.

READ MORE: Brothers and parents found dead suspected double murder-suicide in Perth

"Today's search resulted in the discovery of more bones, as well as clothing items – including a polar fleece jacket – that we believe are likely to belong to Celine," Commander Nathan Johnston said.

"As we've previously advised, formal forensic confirmation of identity will take time. However, the location and nature of the items found today indicate they are likely to be Celine's.

"Our search team has continued to work into the early evening today, and the plan is for police to continue to methodologically search the area tomorrow."

Johnston said Cremer's family was being updated with the developments "as sensitively and promptly as possible".

Local bushwalker Jarrod Boys made the initial discovery this week as part of ongoing efforts to locate Cremer, with a large number of volunteers continuing the search more than two years after she was first reported missing by family members.

The massive independent effort was also documented on YouTube and it's understood Boys joined the search after watching those videos.

The teams also found Cremer's phone in December.

The 31-year-old was last seen in Waratah on June 17, 2023, and reported missing by her family on June 26, sparking a major search operation involving SES, drones and a helicopter.

Cremer was believed to have gone on a bushwalk at Philosopher Falls, but didn't return. Her empty white Honda CRV was found in a car park.

Police believe she got lost trying to find her way back to her car.

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Andrew Hastie will not challenge Opposition Leader Sussan Ley for leadership of the Liberal Party next week.

The backbencher from Western Australia said in a statement today he would not contest the leadership of the Liberal Party, citing a lack of support from the rest of the party.

The development paves the way for a challenge from senior Liberals figure Angus Taylor.

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"Over the past few weeks there has been speculation about the future leadership of the Liberal Party of Australia," Hastie said.

"I've previously stated that I would welcome the opportunity to serve my party and our country as leader of the Liberal Party.

"But having consulted with colleagues over the past week and respecting their honest feedback to me, it is clear that I do not have the support needed to become leader of the Liberal Party."

Hastie said he would continue to campaign on issues including immigration and energy.

"I believe that those families and our country are best served by a strong Coalition government," he said.

"I will continue to work every day to make my party the very best version of itself."

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Hastie joined several of his Liberal colleagues, including Taylor, for a meeting yesterday before a memorial service for former colleague and federal MP Katie Allen in Melbourne.

The Liberal figures were meant to discuss the next steps at the gathering but were unable to resolve which of them might step up should Ley be convinced to step down.

Their mediator, Liberal frontbencher James Paterson, told ABC Radio he believed Ley still had the backing of her colleagues.

"In my assessment, Sussan continues to enjoy the support of the majorIty of the party room," he said.

Shadow Treasurer Ted O'Brien and Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie echoed Paterson's sentiments.

"I don't believe there will be a challenge next week," O'Brien said.

"I cannot see the spill motion getting up on Monday," McKenzie said.

Last week's Coalition break-up also triggered a crisis in the National Party with David Littleproud set to face a leadership challenge.

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Nine Entertainment has sold its broadcast radio assets, including the top-rating talkback stations 2GB and 3AW, to Australian publican Arthur Laundy and his family for $56 million.

The sale, which includes 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, 6PR, 2UE, Magic1278 and 4BH, was announced to shareholders this morning among a number of changes to the media giant's strategy which also include acquiring outdoor media platform QMS Media for $850 million.

Nine, which is the publisher of this website, told shareholders that the sale to the Laundy Family Office is expected to be completed by the end of June this year and that Nine will remain a long-term partner of the radio stations.

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"Laundy is expected to remain a long-term partner of Nine, with plans to utilise Nine News journalists on radio, showcase Stan Sport through Laundy venues, provide promotion and advertising sales collaboration, as well as increased advertising spend by Laundy on Nine properties," the release reads.

Nine this morning also announced it was buying leading digital outdoor media platform, QMS Media and converting regional television station NBN (Northern NSW) from a wholly-owned business to an affiliate, owned and operated by Nine's regional partner, WIN Network.

Nine Group chief executive officer Matt Stanton says the move positions the media giant well for the future.

"Today's announcements mark a critical milestone in our Nine2028 transformation. These transactions will create a more efficient, higher-growth, and digitally powered Nine Group for our consumers, advertisers, shareholders and people," he said.

"This positions Nine well for the future, enabling the group to withstand industry disruption and deliver long-term sustainable value to our shareholders."

READ MORE: How Australian spy base could play role in US strike on Iran

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