State political editor Sean Nicholls and senior writer Matt Wade discuss the 2016 NSW budget from Parliament of NSW.

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The smart transport revolution is about to make it easier for everyone to get out and about.

High-tech transport: Australia's travel and ride-sharing apps
Australians are quick to jump behind the wheel when we need to go somewhere, but new technology has brought with it new ways to get around town.
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"I've just had a text from the Communications Minister": In a move reminiscent of American presidential campaign "rapid response" tactics, Sophie Mirabella said she had received a text message from Mitch Fifield disputing her opponent, Cathy McGowan's, account.

Sophie Mirabella receives texts of support from senior Liberals while on live radio
Later responding to speculation that senior Liberals did not believe she could win back the marginal seat and were withdrawing campaign resources, Mrs Mirabella read a text message from Mr Kroger.
"I've just had a text from Michael Kroger saying: "F
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Craig Wright, the Australian who claimed to be the inventor of bitcoin but failed to prove it, is attempting to build a large patent portfolio around the digital currency and technology underpinning it, according to associates of his and documents.

Australian 'bitcoin founder' Craig Wright filing for hundreds of patents
Documents show plan to apply for around 400 patents related to the technology at the core of Bitcoin, with sources saying the patents will later be sold for 'upwards of a billion dollars'.
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Comment: After five years and six seasons, Game of Thrones ladies are kicking ass in magnificent and major ways.

Game of Thrones season 6: I am woman hear me roar
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
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Scientists have uncovered two newly formed planets - one the size of Neptune and the other a giant Jupiter-like exoplanet - orbiting two young stars.

Newborn exoplanets discovered far, far away
"It's an astounding snapshot of a planet under 10 million years old," said Swinburne University astrophysicist Alan Duffy. "If this was a family album, then this would be a picture of a newborn!"
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The bereaved widower of an Indonesian woman who was allegedly poisoned with cyanide-laced coffee by a friend from her student days in Australia has called for justice to be served, revealing the couple had planned to start a family by the end of the year.

Widower of cyanide coffee victim calls for justice
According to the indictment Jessica Kumala Wongso arrived early to the restaurant, ordered a Vietnamese iced coffee and two cocktails and added cyanide to the coffee.
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A school program for gifted students, which the founder says she is planning to expand to NSW, is urging students to avoid Wi-Fi in schools, claiming that gifted kids have "extra neurological connections" which make them more susceptible to allergic reactions.

Anti-vaccination program offered to gifted children in primary schools
The case raises serious questions about the lack of vetting in schools concerning third parties who are contracted to deliver educational programs.
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The French Foreign Legion is one of the most mythologised fighting units in the world. Now, their newest recruit could be a 21-year-old construction worker from Australia.

Missing man Dean Ranieri has joined French Foreign Legion, says mum
His mother said she believed Dean Ranieri had followed his dream to sign up to the French Foreign Legion, after he was knocked back from joining the Australian military.
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A coroner has apologised to the family of a murdered policeman killed on duty in 2012 but praised the officer's heroic actions in his final moments to handcuff his killer.

Slain Tamworth policeman David Rixon a 'true officer of the law'
In an inquest, Deputy State Coroner Hugh Dillon said Senior Constable David Rixon had suffered a "grossly premature death" by "a damaged human being".
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The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has heard teenage Australian Defence Force recruits were subjected to horrific sex acts and a pattern of intimidation that allegedly caused one to commit suicide.

WARNING: This story contains graphic content which may upset some readers.

Defence force recruits forced to rape each other, Royal Commission inquiry told
"I learnt a valuable lessons of what happened to those who complained."
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The NSW government expects to complete the sale of Ausgrid by the end of August, paving the way for it to start the process of selling the next tranche of power sector assets.

NSW government pushes on with Ausgrid sale
The state government is selling 50.4 per cent of each of Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy, government-owned bodies that distribute electricity to the main urban areas of the state - Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle. It will retain full ownership of Essen
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Food giant Heinz is being hauled to court over a fruit and vegetable snack that is more than 60 per cent sugar but sold as a "healthy" food for toddlers.

Heinz in hot water over 'healthy' toddler snacks
Heinz promotes Shredz as being "99 per cent fruit and veg" and a way to introduce children aged 1 to 3 years old to healthy eating.
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Find study tips, notes and advice for students preparing for the HSC in 2016.

HSC Study Guide 2016 | Find HSC Study Tips, Notes & Plans
Get access to a range of resources for all 2016 HSC subjects.
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Comment: You might want to sit down, Australia: there's some shocking news regarding the racist Facebook rant that former Labor NT Senator Nova Peris received after announcing her retirement from politics, writes Andrew P Street.

View from the Street: Australia wins climate-change-mammal extinction race!
And is #faketradie a #realtradie? Your electoral news of the day, reduced to a snarky rant.
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"A plebiscite designed to deny me and many other Australians a marriage certificate will instead license hate speech to those who need little encouragement," Penny Wong said. "Mr Turnbull, and many commentators on this subject, don't understand that for gay and lesbian Australians hate speech is not abstract. It's real. It's part of our daily life."

'Not one straight politician knows what it's like': Penny Wong's deeply personal plebiscite anguish
Penny Wong says Malcolm Turnbull's assurances a plebiscite will be civil are the "hollowest of hollow words".
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"I can't believe how well an ad can work. I've been cracking up...I'm finding it hilarious": Andrew MacRae, who went viral as the "fake tradie" in a Liberal Party election campaign advertisement, says he was chosen to appear because he has done tradesman work at the advertising agency which put together the 30-second TV spot.

'Fake tradie' Andrew MacRae reveals how he got the gig
The unwitting election star handled his newfound fame with grace, shaking hands with reporters and chatting congenially after arriving home from work. As the sun...
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One of Australia's longest-running native title claims has been settled after almost 40 years, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulll officially handing back an area of land near Darwin to its traditional owners.

After 37 years of dispute, Malcolm Turnbull hands over land in Kenbi native title claim
"It is a story that epitomises the survival and resilience of our First Australians, the survival of Larrakia people. For you are the land, and the land is you."
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The operator of a 7-Eleven store involved in rampant exploitation of its workers has been handed a record court penalty of more than $400,000, after workers were paid as little as $13 an hour.

7-Eleven store cops record penalty for exploitation of workers
Judge Jarrett said the underpayments were "substantial amounts for low-income earners who were reliant on the minimum award wage".
Most of the employees received just over half what they were entitled to, with individual underpayments ranging from $
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Following Collingwood president Eddie McGuire's comments about drowning Fairfax journalist Caroline Wilson, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull weighed into the furore for the first time, saying "there is no place for disrespecting women" – especially by public figures in privileged positions.

Malcolm Turnbull takes down Eddie McGuire: 'There is no place for disrespecting women'
"You've heard me say this before, but it's worth repeating. Not all disrespecting women ends up in violence against women. But that is where all violence against women begins," Mr Turnbull said.
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