Tuesday, 20 October 2026today, still filling

A barber named Ricky Jefferies disarmed a man accused of deliberately striking independent MP Helen Haines with a Toyota LandCruiser outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, Victoria on Monday afternoon. Dr Haines, 65, suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to Melbourne for surgery. Mr Jefferies removed a knife from the alleged attacker's pocket and kept him calm on the ground until police arrived.

Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and lawful permanent resident, has asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a court ruling that would allow the Trump administration to re-arrest and deport him. Khalil was arrested in March 2025 as part of a campaign targeting non-citizens engaged in pro-Palestinian activism on college campuses. His lawyers argue that immigration law should not prevent him from challenging his detention on First Amendment grounds, warning that allowing his case to proceed could enable punishment of any speech deemed undesirable by any administration.

Mitsubishi Australia is preparing to launch the ASX VR-e, a rebadged Foxtron electric small SUV, as its first EV in nearly 15 years, arriving at the end of 2026. The Japanese brand has partnered with Taiwanese manufacturer Foxtron despite having an existing Alliance with Nissan and Renault. Mitsubishi Australia CEO Shunichi Kihara said the company is willing to expand the collaboration if the VR-e proves successful, but is currently focused solely on that model.

Mitsubishi will launch its first electric vehicle, the ASX VR-e, in Australia before the end of 2026. The car features a touchscreen-heavy interior with limited physical controls, a significant departure from traditional Mitsubishi design. It offers a maximum range of 403km on the WLTP cycle, though competitors like the Kia EV3 provide greater range.

Mercedes-Benz will launch the C400 4Matic electric, a new mid-size sedan, in Australian showrooms early in 2027. Priced at $105,700 before on-road costs, it arrives at the same time as the rival BMW i3. The Mercedes sits between BMW's two variants in pricing and offers 360kW of power, 753km of range and a 4.0-second 0–100km/h time.

A social housing landlord with 25,500 properties has received a critical regulatory report. GSA said it is disappointed with the outcome but accepts the findings.

Kelly and Brad Blake, who rescued and became known for caring for Walter the Wonder Donkey in Oatman, Arizona, are seeking financial assistance for Kelly's cancer treatment. Kelly was diagnosed with clear cell carcinoma last year and has completed three rounds of treatment in Colorado, exhausting their savings. The couple have now set their sights on a specialised care centre in Scottsdale, Arizona, which they hope will provide additional treatment options and allow them to return home.

Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he is open to three-way arms-control talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with discussions potentially covering nuclear weapons, denuclearisation and trade. The White House has been discussing a possible meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in China on 18–19 November, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal reports that Putin has pitched using such a meeting to negotiate an end to the four-year-old Ukraine conflict in a manner that would favour Moscow.

American character actor Richard Riehle has died aged 78 of natural causes in Los Angeles. His career spanned almost 50 years with more than 400 film and television credits. He was best known for playing product manager Tom Smykowski in the 1999 film Office Space, and for television roles including a grandfather on Grounded For Life, the principal in Ferris Bueller, and a police officer on The West Wing.

Collingwood captain Ruby Schleicher has confirmed she will leave the AFLW club to return to her native Western Australia. The 28-year-old, a two-time All-Australian and inaugural Collingwood player, is expected to join West Coast on a reported four-year deal. Schleicher cited a desire to be closer to family as her reason for the move, saying the decision was ultimately best for her life and career.

Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, is on trial for the February 2024 deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in Sydney. He has pleaded not guilty and argues self-defence. Mr Lamarre-Condon claims he quoted Taylor Swift's song 'No Body, No Crime' when allegedly telling a friend the bodies had to be hidden, but prosecutors allege this account is false and that he had already decided to conceal the deaths.

Early voting has begun in South Carolina's gubernatorial race with two weeks until Election Day. Republican nominee Alan Wilson campaigned on affordability, tax relief and economic growth, proposing to eliminate state income tax and reduce property taxes. His campaign reported raising more than £2.5 million in the latest fundraising quarter. Democratic nominee Jermaine Johnson, who has been making the case for new leadership after decades of Republican control, said voters are tired of corruption and backroom deals. Johnson's campaign raised approximately £700,000 during the same period.

The Atlanta Dream will face the Golden State Valkyries in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday, seeking to create better scoring opportunities after losing the opener 68-64. Dream coach Karl Smesko said his team must generate higher-quality shots, having struggled against Golden State's defence on Angel Reese and Allisha Gray late in Saturday's game.

The US-Ukraine alliance is approaching a breaking point as President Trump rejects new Russia sanctions and disrupts satellite support for Ukrainian drones. Trump has insulted Zelenskyy for over a week whilst adopting policies favourable to Putin, leaving Ukraine's president feeling betrayed. However, Trump has shifted his position on Zelenskyy before, most recently after criticising him in the Oval Office last year and briefly suspending intelligence sharing, before praising him by July.

A serious crash has closed North Lake Road northbound at Discovery Drive in Bibra Lake from about 6.15am, with emergency services at the scene and motorists urged to find alternate routes. Crashes on Roe Highway in Langford, the Mitchell Freeway exit to Burns Beach Road in Joondalup and the Kwinana Freeway near Canning Highway are also causing traffic delays across the city.

York archaeologists have helped reconstruct the face of a man who died between AD 140 and 165 and was buried at Roman Inveresk, near Edinburgh. Born in southern Britain, he had travelled hundreds of miles to the Roman frontier in Scotland. The skull and digital facial reconstruction will be displayed in a National Museum of Scotland exhibition opening on 14 November.

Selected Tesco stores are offering free pre-carved pumpkins for Halloween. The offer is available at participating locations including Sutton Coldfield.

The government has confirmed investment in a new Bradford Interchange station, part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail project. The station will provide faster, more frequent trains to Leeds, Manchester and York, and is expected to deliver more than £1 billion in economic benefits. The new station will replace the current 1970s facility and is planned for completion in the 2030s.

The government has confirmed action to end 'double provision', which allows serious criminals held in psychiatric hospitals to claim universal credit for living expenses already funded by the NHS. Regulations laid in parliament on Tuesday aim to prevent offenders from receiving up to £800 a month over several years and are expected to save tens of millions of pounds annually. The change affects around 2,500 detained offenders and is scheduled to come into force early next year pending parliamentary approval.

Emergency doctors have warned the NHS faces a 'perfect storm' this winter as A&E departments battle year-round crisis. A survey of 163 A&E clinical leads by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine found 91 per cent are very or extremely worried about winter pressures, with only 3 per cent saying they are well prepared. Around 60 per cent described their departments as currently unsafe for patients.

Dame Esther Rantzen, the Childline founder who died last month aged 86, left a message saying she felt 'deprived of any choice over my own death', her family has revealed. The 86-year-old had campaigned for assisted dying after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2023 and died at her home in the New Forest on 30 September. A small private funeral took place last week, with plans for a larger memorial service to follow.

Dame Esther Rantzen died at her New Forest home on September 30, aged 86, after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2023. In a farewell message released after her death, the Childline founder backed assisted dying and urged campaigners to 'battle on'. She wrote that the law allowing assisted dying would have 'transformed the way I died' and given her family hope and confidence in a swift, pain-free death. Rantzen explained she was too physically frail to travel to a Swiss assisted dying clinic despite support from Dignitas. Her daughter Rebecca Wilcox said the funeral was 'incredibly beautiful'.