ABC News Daily

Interest rates are up again, the fifth hike this year.

It was almost an inevitable Melbourne Cup Day decision by the Reserve Bank, but could the government have done more to stop the pain?

Today, chief economist at AMP Shane Oliver, on whether Labor needs to cut government spending as the risk of a recession mounts.

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Shane Oliver, Chief Economist at AMP

They promise everything from anti-ageing to weight loss, or even a glowing tan.

But for a growing number of people, injectable peptides are delivering severe illnesses instead. Hospital presentations linked to their use are surging.

Today, Dr Norman Swan, co-host of Radio National's The Health Report, on the death of Australian actor Richard Norton, who had reportedly been taking unapproved peptides, and the concerning trends emerging around their use.

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Dr Norman Swan, co-host of The Health Report

Opinion polls suggest Republicans are heading for significant losses in this week's US midterm elections.

Democrats are heavily favoured to win back the House of Representatives, and the battle for the Senate is increasingly tighter.

But could Donald Trump defy the polls and pull off another upset?

Today, Matt Taglia, senior director at Emerson College Polling, on what the polls are telling us and whether they'll get it right this time.

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Matt Taglia, senior director at Emerson College Polling

Michigan is shaping up as one of the biggest battlegrounds in the US midterm elections. So much so that both Donald Trump and Barack Obama have hit the campaign trail there.

The Senate race is a contest between progressive Abdul El-Sayed and conservative Republican Mike Rogers, with race and religion emerging as key fault lines.

Today, Margaret Talev, director of the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship, on what’s at stake in Michigan, how identity is shaping the campaign, and what it reveals about the mood of American voters.

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Margaret Talev, director of the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship

Israelis came out in record numbers to vote but as the polls closed it was too close to call.

Although that didn't stop Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival Gadi Eisenkot both claiming success.

Today, Dov Waxman, presidential chair in modern Jewish studies at UCLA on what happens next, the surge in support for Arab parties and whether Netanyahu could still cling to power.

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Dov Waxman, Presidential chair in modern Jewish studies at UCLA

Is Donald Trump about restart the fighting with Iran?

Ahead of the midterm elections next week, the US President has been raising the prospect of renewed attacks that could begin after Americans vote.

Today, Cole Bucy, former CIA analyst and former director for Iran at the US National Security Council on why Trump might have little option but to escalate the conflict.

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Cole Bucy, former CIA analyst and former Director for Iran at the US National Security Council

Did you know we are in the midst of a new 'woke' era?

It's being dubbed 'Woke 2.0' and unlike 'Woke 1', it's thought to be winning over voters for the Democrats ahead of next week's midterm election.

Today, staff writer at the Atlantic magazine, Jonathan Chait on what he believes woke is and why campaigning against it won't win Trump any votes this time.

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Johnathan Chait, staff writer at The Atlantic magazine

Unemployment is on the rise, interest rates are up, the price of fuel is soaring and everything just costs more.

Recent polling shows voters are blaming the Prime Minister and his Treasurer for the tough times with their popularity rating taking a dive.

Today, senior economic correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Shane Wright on how the governments losing control of the cost-of-living narrative.

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Shane Wright, senior economic correspondent at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age

It’s been a fortnight of extraordinary setbacks for US relations with Ukraine.

Donald Trump has struck a deal to buy Russian diesel, delivering a financial boost to Vladimir Putin’s war effort, he briefly interrupted intelligence sharing with Ukraine, while his special envoy Steve Witkoff has praised Putin as a 'humanitarian.'

Today, CNN's chief national security analyst, Jim Sciutto on what Trump is up to now and what it could mean for Ukraine's survival.

Featured:Jim Sciutto, CNN chief national security analysts and host of The Brief

Brendan Nugent, the 43-year-old Victorian man accused of ramming his LandCruiser into Independent MP Helen Haines, has appeared in court today on five charges.

Authorities say they are still working to determine an alleged motive.

The incident has opened a fierce debate about the safety of politicians and worsening political discourse.

So, will the tragedy change anything?

Today political commentator and author Niki Savva on what needs to happen now.

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Niki Savva, political commentator and author

On Monday afternoon, Victorian man Brendan Nugent, 43, allegedly used a white Toyota LandCruiser to strike independent MP Helen Haines twice.

The 65-year-old member for Indi in regional Victoria is in critical condition with devastating injuries. The Prime Minister says it was a deliberate act.

Today, 7.30 political editor Jacob Greber on what we know and why the alleged attack is a wake-up call as threats of political violence surge.

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Jacob Greber, ABC TV's 7.30 political editor

From a press secretary who lasted just five days to a dramatic pivot to Putin, Donald Trump has unleashed a fresh wave of chaos inside the White House.

So, with the US midterms looming, is he still holding out for a so-called 'October surprise' that could turn things around.

Today, staff writer at The Atlantic, David A. Graham on a woeful past week for the US President and whether voters are simply sick of the chaos.

They've been fired, demoted, and even offered sham redundancies.

Decades after the Sex Discrimination Act was introduced, women across the country say they're being pushed out of the workforce for having kids under laws that haven't kept up with the demands of modern parenting.

Today, Avani Dias on her Four Corners investigation into the tactics being used by employers and the laws failing mothers.

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Avani Dias, investigative reporter with ABC Four Corners

Melbourne-born academic Tristan Buckmaster says he was maybe just one month away from solving the Navier-Stokes equation, a maths problem so difficult there was a million-dollar prize on offer for anyone who could.

But just as the New York University professor and his collaborator, a mathematician affiliated with AI company Anthropic, were closing in on a solution, OpenAI claimed a breakthrough of its own.

Today we speak to Tristan about his dispute with Open AI and the future of mathematics.

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Dr Tristan Buckmaster, Professor of Mathematics at New York University

It was meant to be the biggest ASX listing since the privatisation of Telstra, but last week the initial public offering for Firmus was dramatically pulled before a single share was traded.

The co-founder of the AI startup, Oliver Curtis has since lashed out - blaming Australians for failing to support people prepared to take a risk.

Today, columnist at the Australian Financial Review Mark Di Stefano on whether he could be right or if it's an early sign of a bursting AI bubble.

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Mark Di Stefano, Australian Financial Review columnist

The US president says he’s still deciding whether to livestream the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 unarmed US soldiers in a 2009 shooting.

It comes as Tennessee officials grapple with the aftermath of the botched execution of death row inmate Christa Pike last month.

Today, law and capital punishment expert, Austin Sarat, on what these two cases say about the future of capital punishment in the US.

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Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College

The US President has eased sanctions on the Kremlin, clearing the way for a lucrative deal to import Russian diesel.

Trump says the move will help bring down fuel prices for Americans, as rising living costs weigh on his standing in the polls ahead of the midterm elections.

But for Ukrainians, the deal is a bitter betrayal.

Today, Russian foreign policy expert Matthew Sussex from Deakin University on what Trump hopes to gain from doing business with Vladimir Putin.

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Matthew Sussex, Associate professor at the Centre for Future Defence and National Security at Deakin University.

With the military campaign failing to force Iran to backdown, Donald Trump has been turning up the economic pressure, hoping to cripple the country’s economy and force an end to the war.

But despite Iran’s currency plunging to record lows, the regime is showing little sign of capitulating.

Today, an expert on Iran’s economy Djavad Salehi-Isfahani on how long the regime and the Iranian people can hold on.

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Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, Professor of Economics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

In the United States, they’re calling it the 'Mamdani effect' - a surge in support for democratic socialist candidates.

And here, the Greens are hoping for their own Zohran Mamdani moment, with the party’s think tank pitching an Australian version of the New York mayor’s plan for publicly owned supermarkets.

Today columnist, author and academic Waleed Aly on whether the Greens have found a winning formula, as support for One Nation continues to grow.

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Waleed Aly, co-host of The Minefield on ABC Radio National, a lecturer in politics at Monash University.

An electric car is now being sold every 100 seconds, with sales roughly doubling in the second quarter of this year and outstripping petrol and diesel cars for the first time in August.

But as motorists look to escape soaring fuel costs, partly due to the Iran war, do we have the chargers needed to sustain the rapid surge?

Today, ABC energy reporter Daniel Mercer on the plans for a mass rollout of EV infrastructure and who should pay for it.

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Dan Mercer, ABC energy reporter