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Jelena Dokic thanks fans for their support.
This post deals with suicide and might be triggering for some readers.
Australian tennis player Jelena Dokic recently opened up about feeling suicidal and that she attempted to end her life earlier this year.
In the wake of her statement, there was a wave of support for her.
She took to Instagram today to provide an update on her mental health and to thank people for being there for her.
āI just wanted to do a quick video to say a huge thank you to all of you for your incredible kindness, support and love after my last Instagram post,āā she said in a video message.
āTo get more than 20,000 messages and emails and comments and phone calls is just unbelievable and Iāll be forever grateful. You guys are just helping me so much. There are not enough words to describe how grateful and thankful I am, so thank you.ā
She confirmed that she is now doing okay and feeling a lot better than she was compared to April. But of course, mental health recovery is all about taking it āa day at a timeā.
āIām taking small steps forward every single day and Iāll be back better than ever and stronger than ever.ā
If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner. If you're based in Australia, 24-hour support is available through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.
Bill Cosby found guilty of sexual assault.
This post deals with sexual assault and might be triggering for some readers.
A California jury in a civil case has found comedian Bill Cosby liable for sexually assaulting a woman at the Playboy Mansion in 1975 when she was a teenager.
The jury awarded Judy Huth $US500,000 ($A718,000) in damages for emotional distress she said she suffered years later when multiple allegations against Cosby from other women stirred up memories of her interaction with the comedian. Huth testified the comedian invited her and a friend to the Playboy Mansion when she was 16, and he was 37, and forced her to perform a sex act.
The verdict came nearly a year after Cosby was freed from prison when Pennsylvaniaās highest court threw out his sexual assault conviction in a different criminal case there.
Huthās lawsuit was the first civil case against Cosby to come to trial. Huth, now 64, said she was āelatedā by the ruling in the case, which she filed in 2014 after media reports detailed accusations against Cosby by multiple women. Those reports helped stir up memories of her encounter with Cosby, Huth said, and triggered four years of anxiety and other symptoms.
āItās been so many years, so many tears,ā Huth told reporters outside California Superior Court in Santa Monica. āItās been a long time coming.ā
Cosby, who did not appear in person at the trial, denied Huthās allegation. His defence team will appeal the verdict.
BREAKING: A civil trial jury finds that Bill Cosby sexually abused a 16-year-old girl at the Playboy Mansion in 1975 and awards her $500,000. https://t.co/13k6htnqne
ā The Associated Press (@AP) June 21, 2022
With AAP.
If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) ā the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesnāt matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.
You can also call safe steps 24/7 Family Violence Response Line on 1800 015 188 or visit www.safesteps.org.au for further information.
The Menās Referral Service is also available on 1300 766 491 or via online chat at www.ntv.org.au.
Hollywoodās new obsession with Marilyn Monroe is not going to end well.
Netflix has revealed a list of its top ten most-watched movies and there are two stars in particular who have come out on top. How many of these movies have you seen?
And thereās a bit of a scandal currently brewing in Australian reality TV land. The Block host Scott Cam has called out fashion influencer and business owner Elle Ferguson and her fiance Joel Patfull for leaving the show early, dubbing them āun-Australianā. But thereās more to this story than just a few headlines.
Plus, Hollywood appears to have a renewed interest in Marilyn Monroe, or at least in her public persona. Kim Kardashian has given a new interview about the star, and her infamous Met Gala appearance in her dress, while the first look at Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe in the new Netflix movie Blonde has just been released. Yet at the same time, the most pivotal part of Marilynās life story appears to be forgotten.
You can listen to The Spill right here:
Uvalde school to be demolished.
The Texas primary school where a teenage gunman killed 19 children and two teachers last month is to be demolished.
The mayor of Uvaldeās announcement came several hours after a senior Texas official said the law enforcement response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School was āan abject failureā in which a commander put the lives of officers over those of the children.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin did not give a timeline for when the school would be demolished, but said at a council meeting: āYou can never ask a child to go back, or teacher to go back, in that school ever.ā
In a separate Texas state Senate hearing into the May 24 shooting, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Steven McCraw said the onsite commander made āterrible decisionsā and officers at the scene lacked sufficient training, costing valuable time during which lives may have been saved.
āThere is compelling evidence that the law enforcement response to the attack at Robb Elementary was an abject failure and antithetical to everything weāve learned,ā McCraw said.
For more on this topic, you can read this article: "Go in there!" The Texas school massacre went for 90 minutes. Police were waiting outside.
With AAP.
More sports review transgender policy, and all the news you need to know this morning.
Morning everyone,
Let's jump straight into the news this morning.
Here are the five biggest news stories you need to know today, Wednesday, June 22.
1. Soccer to review transgender rules after Rugby League joins ban.
Football's governing body FIFA is joining other sport federations in reviewing their rules for transgender athletes, a spokesperson has confirmed.
A FIFA spokesperson told DPA that "FIFA is currently reviewing its gender eligibility regulations in consultation with expert stakeholders."
"FIFA thereby takes guidance from many stakeholders (medical, legal, scientific/performance and human rights) as well as the November 2021 IOC Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations.
The move comes after aquatics body FINA and the International Rugby League (IRL) decided to exclude transgender athletes from women's events.
IRL announced yesterday they would ban transgender athletes from sanctioned international matches, preventing male-to-female athletes from competing in this year's Rugby League Women's World Cup in England.
#BREAKING: Rugby League has banned transgender athletes from competing at international events. #9Today pic.twitter.com/RnldTjQCJM
ā The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) June 20, 2022
They said the ban will stay in place "until further research is completed".
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the sport's governing body would also review its policy at the end of the year.
Pssst. Prefer to listen than read? Here's the top three stories to get into your ears today:
2. Recession not on the horizon, says RBA.
The Reserve Bank and Labor government say they don't see a recession occurring in Australia at this stage, despite fears it could happen in the United States,
Addressing an event in Sydney on Tuesday, RBA governor Philip Lowe said a recession was not on his horizon, pointing to low unemployment, strong household budgets and the highest terms of trade ever.
"But if the last two years has taught us anything, you can't rule anything out," he told the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia.
'You can't rule anything out', says Phil Lowe speaking about the possibility of a recession in Australia
ā David Taylor (@DaveTaylorNews) June 21, 2022
'But the fundamentals are still pretty strong'
Treasurer Jim Chalmers also said a recession is not on the government's radar, but conceded there is a need to navigate difficult circumstances at the moment.
Business too is hopeful that a downturn can be avoided so soon after the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think there's some distance from that," Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar told reporters in Canberra. "(But) we're living in an economy where supply constraints are very real and where inflationary pressures are growing."
The latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute leading index has been predicting the economy growing just above its long-term trend which is put at around 2.8 per cent annually.
3. Nazi symbol banned in Victoria.
Victoria has become the first jurisdiction in Australia to criminalise the display of the Nazi swastika.
The bill banning the public display of the symbol was passed in parliament on Tuesday with bipartisan support, after it was introduced last month.
It makes it a criminal offence for anyone to intentionally display the Nazi symbol in public, and those who do will face penalties of up to nearly $22,000, 12 months in jail, or both. People will only be charged if they do not comply with a police directive to remove the symbol.
Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said the swastika glorified one of the most hateful ideologies in history, and its public display did nothing but cause further pain and division.
"I'm glad to see that no matter what side of politics, we can agree that this vile behaviour will not be tolerated in Victoria," she said.
Victoria has now become the first in Aus to ban the public display of the Nazi symbol, recognising its role in inciting antisemitism & hate.
ā Jaclyn Symes (@JaclynSymes) June 21, 2022
Itās a proud moment to see these important laws pass - it sends the strongest possible message that this vile behaviour wont be tolerated
Religious versions of the symbol tied to Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths will remain legal.
The legislation will come into effect in six months' time to allow for a campaign about the origins of the religious and cultural swastika to be rolled out, the state government said.
4. Trial for the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins delayed.
This post deals with allegations of sexual assault and might be triggering for some readers.
The trial for the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins will be delayed after his lawyers successfully pushed to postpone proceedings following Lisa Wilkinson's Logies speech.
Bruce Lehrmann, charged with sexual intercourse without consent, has pleaded not guilty to assaulting Higgins at Parliament House in Canberra.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum told the ACT Supreme Court that recent media publicity had prejudged Lehrmann's right to a fair trial.
"Unfortunately the recent publicity in my view does change the landscape because of its immediacy, its intensity and its capacity to obliterate the important distinction between an allegation that remains untested at law and one that has been accepted by a jury giving a true verdict," the chief justice said on Tuesday.
Lawyers for the man who has pleaded not guilty to raping former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins have succeeded in a second bid to temporarily delay his trial after a speech by Lisa Wilkinson at the Logies. https://t.co/8H3oaFcy0q
ā SBS News (@SBSNews) June 21, 2022
Chief Justice McCallum says while jurors can be given directions to mitigate prejudice, this case was different with Wilkinson being a key witness.
No date has been set for the trial, but Chief Justice McCallum says she wants the trial to be held this year, with an October listing likely providing enough time for publicity to dissipate.
If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) ā the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesnāt matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.
5. 'Terrible decisions' at Texas school shooting.
The law enforcement response to the Texas school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers was "an abject failure", Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw says.
During a Texas Senate hearing into the May 24 mass shooting, McCraw told lawmakers that "terrible decisions" were made by the onsite commander and officers who responded to the scene who did not have enough training, costing them valuable time that may have saved lives.
McGraw said police waited to enter while they sought a key to the classroom door, despite the fact that the door was not locked and there is no evidence officers ever tried to see if it was secured.
"There's no way to lock the door from the inside and there's no way for the subject to lock the door from the inside," McCraw said.
Texas' top cop described the response to the Uvalde school shooting as an "abject failure and antithetical to everything we've learned over the two decades since the Columbine massacre."https://t.co/QPbcdF7eox pic.twitter.com/a8tWbc4A3R
ā The Associated Press (@AP) June 21, 2022
The Texas DPS, days after the shooting, said that as many as 19 officers waited over an hour in a hallway outside classrooms 111 and 112 before a US Border Patrol-led tactical team finally made entry.
McCraw reiterated that in the hearing on Tuesday, saying, "The officers had weapons, the children had none. The officers had body armour, the children had none. The officers had training, the subject had none. One hour, 14 minutes, and eight seconds - that is how long the children waited, and the teachers waited, in Room 111 to be rescued."
Police actions after the gunman have come under close scrutiny, with many parents and relatives expressing deep anger over the response.
You're all up to speed. We'll be back with more of the top stories throughout the day.
- With AAP.
What does Bluey tell us about the 'perfect Aussie dad?'
There have been a lot of popular Aussie dads on TV over the years, all of them very similar - white, grumpy and not really that involved with their kids.
So why do Aussie dads in popular culture still fit the traditional "Larrikin" stereotype?
he Quicky speaks to an expert in creative arts to consider our expectations of men, and how TV representations play into that.
READ:
Feature Image: Channel Nine/Instagram @dokic_jelena.