Investigations into a suspected shooting in Sydney's south-west are being hampered by the victim's unwillingness to cooperate with police.

Police were called to Fairfield Hospital late last night after a 43-year-old man arrived with a gunshot wound to his leg.

It is not known where the shooting took place, or who the perpetrator may have been.

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9News understands the victim has not been cooperative with police in presenting the circumstances of the shooting.

The man was then transferred to another hospital for treatment.

Police are investigating the incident, and have seized the car that the man was taken to hospital in for forensic examination.

A crime scene has not formally been declared, and police are urging anyone with information on the incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Australia's world-first social media ban will be implemented in a matter of days.

From December 10, children under 16 years of age will be barred from accessing or holding accounts on several social media platforms.

Popular platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat are part of the ban, but how will video game platforms used by children be impacted? We take a look at the ins and outs.

READ MORE: Will children under 16 get in trouble for accessing social media?

Will the social media ban affect video games?

Yes, some video game platforms will be impacted by the upcoming social media ban.

Whilst specific games themselves will not be impacted, platforms that children can play video games on, or can watch streamers play popular video games on will be part of the ban.

The key criteria for platforms to fall foul of the new legislation include having "the sole purpose, or a significant purpose, of the service is to enable online social interaction between two or more end-users," according to the website of the eSafety Commissioner.

"Platforms that have the sole or primary purpose of enabling messaging or online gaming are among a number of types of services that have been excluded under the legislative rules," it added.

However, some platforms are included and some platforms are excluded.

READ MORE: The little-known apps kids are switching to ahead of social media ban

What platforms are affected by the social media ban?

The main video game platform that falls under the ban is Twitch.

The site is an online streaming platform where users can broadcast live streams or view pre-recorded videos, and it is popular with streamers who show themselves playing video games.

Discord, a similar platform, has not been included in the ban as it stands.

Steam and Steam Deck, a platform where users can purchase and play video games on, has also not been included in the ban.

There has been no news about banning specific consoles or video games, despite both offering the ability to communicate with other users via text or audio chat.

For example, Playstation and Xbox consoles offer the ability for users to communicate with one another, even if the game they are playing doesn't have the infrastructure to do so.

Is Roblox included in the social media ban?

Roblox is another popular video game platform, particularly for children.

There is no minimum age for the platform, which is a game-creation platform where users can create their own games or play games designed by other users.

READ MORE: Noah learnt about the social media ban on social media. Now, he's fighting it in court

The platform, which also gives users the ability to communicate and chat with others, is not included in the social media ban.

However, the company has confirmed it will roll out age verification systems in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands from this month, with a worldwide rollout to follow in the new year.

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Exclusive: Residents of a quiet cul-de-sac in Perth were confused when they first noticed workers marking the street outside their homes.

A letter sent out in early November had notified them that a footpath was soon to be installed on an adjoining street.

But families living on Godin Court didn't realise they were also in the firing line until contractors turned up on their front yards.

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That's when they discovered a complicated design plan on the last page of the letter, which had a footpath drawn down one side of their street.

According to notes on the plan, construction of the 1.8m wide footpath would require the removal of plants, vegetation and other landscaping.

But they don't want a bar of it.

Jane*, who spoke to 9news.com.au on the condition of anonymity, said locals don't want to see their grassy yards replaced with metres of concrete.

"We live in a very quiet, secluded, green, safe cul-de-sac which is very family friendly," she said.

"The kids play cricket in the cul-de-sac, neighbours come out and stand under the trees, we congregate on the grass, we talk to each other.

"And having a nearly two-metre-wide concrete footpath [installed] is detrimental to our sense of community."

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She said the footpath will negatively impact multiple residents' front verges, where children play, and owners walk their dogs, without adding any real value.

Godin Court isn't a main thoroughfare and doesn't see much foot traffic during the day.

Dog walkers and bike riders come through sometimes, but it's a typically quiet street.

According to Jane and several other locals, they weren't properly informed or consulted about the footpath.

Many claim they did not receive early information flyers, and the November letter did not mention their street by name.

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It was only when neighbours started talking amongst each other that they realised what was at stake, just weeks before work was set to start.

City of Stirling Mayor Mark Irwin told 9news.com.au that information flyers were distributed to all residents in February 2025.

"The flyer provided advanced notification of a footpath and outlined the benefits and rationale for providing a safe and accessible path network," he said.

Jane claimed she and other residents never received the flyer.

The City of Stirling council was made aware that some residents of Godin Court did not receive the flyer and apologised.

However, Irwin also said that notifying residents with a letter on November 7 complies with the council's policy and procedures.

They require a minimum 14-day notification period for new footpath construction.

"After the recent notification letter, the City received several enquiries, primarily from residents of Godin Court," Irwin said.

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Despite a change.org petition and protests from some locals, works on the footpath are scheduled to start in early December.

Jane's just disappointed that their little slice of heaven will soon feature an extra 100m of concrete for no good reason.

"It just seems a waste of resources and unnecessary," she said.

"People are bothered by the lack of consultation and the lip service that's been given when we've pushed back."

*Name changed.

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at Google Play.

Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old American man accused of killing a health insurance company executive in a brazen attack that sparked a national debate, has appeared in court as his lawyers seek to have his diary entries and other key evidence tossed from his state murder case.

He entered the New York courtroom through a side door on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) with his hands shackled, wearing a dark gray suit jacket. A court officer unshackled his hands as he reached the defence table.

Mangione was arrested at a McDonald's restaurant in Pennsylvania following a days-long manhunt after United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, 50, was fatally shot on December 4, 2024, on a busy pavement in Manhattan.

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During the arrest, law enforcement officers recovered several pieces of evidence from Mangione's backpack that authorities say tie him to the killing.

Mangione's lawyers argue police illegally searched his bag without a warrant, so that evidence should be barred from the state's case. Prosecutors denied the defence's claims and agreed to a hearing on the matter.

Mangione's defence team is battling prosecutors in two cases: Lawyers in his federal death penalty case also are trying to get much of the same evidence tossed. That case returns to court in January.

The hearing over the disputed evidence in the state case is expected to last several days, with both parties planning to call witnesses to testify, according to court documents.

In Monday's hearing, prosecutors showed the full surveillance video of Thompson being shot in front of a hotel, stumbling to the side before falling to the ground. They also played surveillance video inside the McDonald's as two officers first approached Mangione, with at least six more later joining them in the restaurant.

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As the videos played, Mangione appeared to watch them from the defence table, one finger resting on his chin.

The prosecution also played an emergency call made by the manager of McDonald's.

"I have a customer here that some other customers were suspicious of and he looks like the CEO shooter from New York," the manager is heard saying.

"So they're really upset, and they've come to me."

The caller stated the man was wearing a black jacket, medical mask and a tan beanie.

"The only thing you can see is his eyebrows," she said.

Mangione showed no visible signs of resistance in the surveillance video, which did not include audio.

Next to him is a backpack where police say they found writings they have described as a "manifesto" for the shooting.

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At one point, defence lawyer Karen Friedman-Agnifilo asked a police officer if anyone received the $US10,000 CrimeStoppers reward in the investigation, but Judge Gregory Carro sustained an objection from prosecutors.

In earlier court filings, Friedman-Agnifilo asked Carro to prevent the prosecution from showing the contents of Mangione's writings at the hearing, saying they could taint the jury pool.

She objected to the prosecution's use of the term "manifesto," calling it a "prejudicial, invented law-enforcement label."

She also asked the judge to allow at least one of Mangione's hands to be unshackled during the hearing so he can take notes.

In September, Carro dismissed the top two charges against Mangione – murder in the first degree in furtherance of an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism – after he found the evidence had not established Mangione committed a terroristic act.

Mangione still faces nine charges in the state case, and the separate federal death penalty prosecution. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Key pieces of evidence seized

During Mangione's arrest last December, authorities seized several items from his backpack, including a handgun, a loaded magazine, and a notebook with handwritten entries – key pieces of evidence that prosecutors allege connect Mangione to the killing.

The recovered gun lines up with ballistic evidence from the Manhattan crime scene, prosecutors said in court documents.

Authorities have called the writings in the notebook a "manifesto," pointing to sections that detail his frustration with the healthcare industry and his intent to carry out an attack. Prosecutors said the entries "establish his responsibility for this vicious crime."

In a court filing, Friedman-Agnifilo argued the writings and all the items recovered from the backpack should not be admissible since police illegally searched the bag without a warrant, and there was no immediate threat to justify a warrantless search.

Prosecutors can overcome the challenge if they can prove the evidence would have inevitably been discovered legally during the course of the investigation.

Even if the judge rules in favour of Mangione, prosecutors still have evidence of his DNA or fingerprints on several items discarded by the shooter near the crime scene, according to court documents.

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It was a tale of two coastlines for Australia's weather on the first day of summer yesterday, as Perth boiled while Melbourne froze.

The Victorian capital reached a chilly top of 16.1 degrees by mid-yesterday afternoon, its coldest summer day in four years, Weatherzone reported.

The website attributed the cold weather to a front that sent polar air over Victoria and southern New South Wales.

READ MORE: Will children under 16 get in trouble for accessing social media?

While Melbourne shivered, snow fell in the alpine country and temperatures stayed below freezing at Mount Hotham in Victoria and Thredbo in NSW.

Meanwhile, Perth sweltered under oppressive heat that reached 39 degrees in the city, and cracked 40 in some suburbs, Weatherzone said.

Geraldton's first day of summer saw it peak at 42.2 degrees.

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This was reportedly due to a high-pressure system driving hot air toward western and north-western Australia.

Weatherzone said the heat was set to move across the country as the week went on, with Melbourne set to see temperatures top 30 degrees toward the weekend, while Perth cooled down into the 20s.

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A number of Australian children under 16 are expected to attempt to try to bypass the social media ban when it comes into force, but are there any consequences for doing so?

The world-first ban will increase age restrictions for Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Snapchat, TikTok, Reddit, X, YouTube, Twitch and Kick from December 10.

The eSafety Commission will oversee the enforcement and issue any penalties for non-compliance.

READ MORE: Noah learnt about the social media ban on social media. Now, he's fighting it in court

Here is a breakdown of what is at stake if children under 16 access banned platforms. 

What are the penalties for children under 16?

The federal government acknowledges that the ban will not be "100 per cent effective" in preventing children under 16 from accessing restricted social media platforms and that they will find their ways around it.

"Some of that is going to happen, but that's what teenagers do," eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.

The onus, however, lies on social media platforms and not children who bypass the rules.

There is no penalty for children under 16 who access restricted social media platforms, or their parents or guardians.

The eSafety Commission said the ban is about "protecting young people, not punishing or isolating them".

READ MORE: Are video games impacted by Australia's world-first social media ban?

What are the penalties for social media platforms?

Platforms face hefty penalties if they do not take "reasonable steps" to prevent children under 16 from having accounts. 

The eSafety Commission defines reasonable steps as enforcing the age restriction in a just and appropriate way, including finding and removing existing accounts, preventing new accounts and workarounds and having processes to correct errors if someone is mistakenly missed or included in the restriction.

If a platform fails to do so, a court can order civil penalties, including fines of up to $49.5 million.

READ MORE: More than 268,000 Aussies to receive an extra $160 per week

How will these penalties be enforced? 

The eSafety Commission will monitor and enforce any penalties for non-compliance in accordance with the law.

It may also pursue court action. 

"My powers don't come into effect until December 10, and that's when we'll start gathering information notices, we've been working on compliance plans, we've been engaging and telling companies," Inman Grant said.

"We've been talking to them for over a year, so this should be a surprise to none of them."

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You know that feeling when you read something online and it seems deliberately provocative, almost manufactured to create outrage? You may have just encountered "rage bait" – content deliberately designed to elicit anger in order to increase engagement.

And it has become so ubiquitous online that the Oxford Dictionary has named "rage bait" as its Word of the Year.

Use of the term has increased threefold this year, suggesting people know "they are being drawn ever more quickly into polarising debates and arguments as a response to social media algorithms and the addictive nature of outrage content" the UK-based dictionary said in a statement on Monday.

READ MORE: Shocking truth as companies forced to reveal ransoms they've paid

Almost every major dictionary has named a word that relates to the Internet as their 2025 word of the year, highlighting the technology's grip on daily life and the language we use to describe it.

Sometimes, rage bait can be relatively harmless – a recipe that contains disgusting food combinations or someone annoying their pet, partner or sibling. But it has also entered political discourse, with outrage used to boost politicians' profiles and provoke a chain of reaction and counter-reaction.

Collins Dictionary chose "vibe coding", a form of software development that uses artificial intelligence to turn natural language into computer code, and the Cambridge Dictionary settled on "parasocial" referencing the relationships people form online with someone they don't know, as their words of the year.

Last year Oxford chose "brain rot", which "captured the mental drain of endless scrolling", Oxford Languages president Casper Grathwohl said in a statement.

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"Together, they form a powerful cycle where outrage sparks engagement, algorithms amplify it, and constant exposure leaves us mentally exhausted," Grathwohl said.

"These words don't just define trends; they reveal how digital platforms are reshaping are thinking and behaviour."

Oxford Dictionary let the public choose its word of the year from a shortlist that also included "aura farming" and "biohack", posting parody videos on its Instagram to convey the spirit of each word.

Aura farming, "the cultivation of an impressive, attractive, or charismatic persona … by presenting oneself in a way intended subtly to convey an air of confidence, coolness or mystique," was portrayed as a cardigan-wearing, tote bag-carrying man, "always one matcha away from finishing (an) experimental screenplay".

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https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRcD1hHChUv/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp

And biohack, "an attempt … to optimise one's … health, longevity or wellbeing by altering one's diet, exercise routine, or lifestyle, or by using other means such as drugs, supplements or technological devices," was visualised as someone hooked up to a green IV drip and wearing an LED face mask, who had taken "27 phytonutrient-dense plants" by 6.34am.

Rage bait, meanwhile, slopped milk and sugar everywhere while he made a cup of tea, before picking his toenails and pouring the milk over himself.

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Exclusive: A world-first scheme that forces companies to reveal if they have relented to cyber extortion has uncovered a shocking truth – a worrying number of Australian businesses are paying ransoms to foreign criminals.

And the Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has identified Russian crime gangs as a growing cyber ransom threat, as much as scammers based in China, Iran and North Korea.

With a view to understanding the extent of ransom payments, it has been mandatory since May 30 for businesses with annual turnovers of more than $3 million to tell the federal government if they pay a ransom.

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In that time, 66 businesses have come forward, although Burke believes there are likely others.

"We suspect we're still not getting everybody," Burke told 9News.

"This is a really good start, but we still work on the basis that some people are not yet reporting.

'It's not simply a legal obligation to report, it's also completely in their interests."

Australia's National Cyber Security Coordinator Michelle McGuinness says paying a ransom is never wise and only feeds the $25 billion-a-year cybercrime industry.

But she said the payment of a ransom is not illegal, because in "life and death scenarios" it may be considered the only option by some victims.

"There are a small number of scenarios where a system may be connected to a piece of equipment that might be supporting life and death, providing power, providing water," she said.

"So there are some unique circumstances where you could envisage that it could have significant impacts if it took you any longer to remediate those systems – so paying might bring you a little bit of speed."

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Melbourne lawyer Cameron Whittfield, who specialises in cyber security at HSF Kramer, said only a small minority of corporates targeted by ransom attacks pay up.

He estimated this as less than a third.

"Those that pay are probably more likely to pay if they've got an operational or asset integrity issue rather than a data issue, because the data has already left the building by the time that extortion demand arrives," Whittfield said.

"And so what you're paying for is something which is relatively intangible, which is basically a commitment from a threat actor to not disclose or delete that data.

"Now that can occur whether or not you're critical infrastructure or a hospital or electricity distribution or something similar, or it could be just an everyday business, a small, medium business, which just relies on continuity."

9News has been told that ransoms targeting bigger companies typically range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

McGuinness said paying ransoms "just feeds this cycle of criminality".

"We're dealing with criminals, so we can't trust that they're going to be honest," she said.

"We know they have data. They may give back a copy, but we've also seen criminals and other criminals then exploit further the data.

"Those who pay a ransom really illuminate themselves as a target, as being a payer, and so many of them are retargeted and have to pay again."

Burke said: "A lot of the reports we've had have been from Russian gangs, but no matter what country it's from, they've all got one thing in common: they're criminals, they're not trustworthy, and they're not going to act in people's interests."

Western Australia's police minister has said police are "incredibly concerned" that some of the serious fires burning in the state may have been deliberately lit, and are further worried by a number of people flying drones near the blazes.

At least one home has been lost to a large fire burning in Geraldton, which authorities suspect was deliberately lit.

It has already burnt through 160 hectares and is expanding significantly after it was reignited this morning by strong winds, having started on Friday.

READ MORE: Aussie city on the brink of scorchingly hot record

Firefighting crews have been brought up from Perth to assist, with four waterbombers, 55 vehicles and two Black Hawk helicopters currently battling the blaze, Police Minister Paul Papalia said.

He said there was an "incredibly confronting situation" this morning as 80km/h winds pushed the fire towards the Nazareth aged care facility, but it had been saved.

"An incredible effort went into stopping that fire," Papalia said, also praising the wider community's response to the emergency as "an example of what is best about the West Australian country community".

But the minister went on to slam the "appalling behaviour" of suspected arsonists behind the fire, saying detectives are already on the case.

There are no suspects as yet.

He said police were also very concerned that multiple people had been operating private drones in the vicinity of fire fields, impeding firefighting efforts and breaking the law.

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One home has been destroyed by the fire, while another has been damaged and five other buildings lost.

Hundreds of other homes remain under threat as hot, dry and windy conditions make fire behaviour unpredictable.

Emergency warnings issued earlier today have been downgraded, but residents in Bluff Point, Spalding, Sunset Beach and Moresby remain under a watch and act warning to monitor conditions.

The Northampton Recreation Centre and QEII Seniors and Community Centre are operating as evacuation centres.

Residents who evacuated Waggrakine and Moresby have been warned it is not safe to return home.

Fires have been burning in the region since the weekend.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a fire weather warning with extreme fire danger forecast for the Midwest Coast, including Geraldton, the Midwest Inland, Lesueur, Yarra Yarra and Swan Inland North.

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Thirteen central Auckland beaches are black flagged after sewage overflows.