Wednesday, 4 November 2026today, still filling

Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff defeated Republican Representative Mike Collins in the Georgia Senate election, holding onto his seat for a second term. Ossoff, 39, was the only Democrat seeking reelection in Georgia, a state won by President Trump in 2024. The race had been expected to be highly competitive, but Collins' campaign was affected by controversies including reports of inflammatory social media posts by people in his circle.

Australia's largest citizen science program is using backyard recordings to map endangered frog species and track invasive cane toads. FrogID week in November will see over 100,000 people contribute to a database of more than 1.5 million frog-sound recordings. The Southern Bell frog, feared extinct in parts of Australia, is among 24 threatened species being documented through the initiative, which has already discovered 13 new frog species.

Nine people died on New South Wales roads in a single week, with authorities urging drivers to exercise caution ahead of the Christmas and New Year period. Two deaths occurred overnight on Tuesday when a sedan collided with two B-double trucks on the Newell Highway near Dubbo in the Central West, killing a man and woman at the scene. A motorcycle rider, aged 25, also died after colliding with a 4WD vehicle in Sydney's north west that afternoon. These deaths bring the total on NSW roads this year to 291.

A second teenager has been charged in Darwin, Northern Territory after police allegedly found violent extremist material and documents glorifying mass casualty attacks on schools. The Joint Counter Terrorism Team Northern Territory investigation was launched after Crime Stoppers received reports of an Australian user sharing extremist material online. The teenager faces a maximum penalty of 10 years and is expected to appear in children's court on Wednesday.

The White Lotus and Euphoria actress has reportedly viewed a Cotswolds property in Little Tew within the past three months and is considering splitting her time between the UK and the US. According to a source, Sweeney has visited the Cotswolds twice in the past ten months and finds village life appealing. The 29-year-old has been linked with a role in Amazon MGM Studios' forthcoming James Bond reboot, although no casting has been confirmed.

An alleged attack on independent Victorian MP Helen Haines in October has prompted Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UK counterpart Andy Burnham to establish an international forum addressing online threats to politicians. The forum, bringing together big tech and Commonwealth leaders, will convene for the first time in 2027. Both leaders said a toxic online environment threatens Commonwealth democracies and that women are being disproportionately targeted by growing threats.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government has lost significant ground in new polling as Australians struggle with higher living costs and interest rates. Labor's primary vote stands at 25 per cent, behind One Nation on 27 per cent and slightly ahead of the Coalition on 23 per cent. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has for the first time edged ahead of Albanese as preferred prime minister.

The NHS is launching a trial of blood tests designed to detect multiple cancers, including pancreatic, ovarian, bowel and liver cancer, in 200 GP surgeries in England. The government-funded STRIDE-RCT trial will recruit over 20,000 patients aged 45 and over with symptoms such as bloating or stomach pain. The tests look for proteins or DNA fragments in the blood that may signal cancer, aiming to catch abdominal cancers earlier when they are easier to treat.

A Commons Science and Technology Committee report warns that women are being harmed by cosmetic procedures such as Brazilian butt lifts, Botox and lip fillers that face 'less regulation than a ballpoint pen'. Women have reported chemical burns, scarring and infections. The committee found that high-risk procedures are being carried out by unqualified practitioners, and criticised a 13-year Government delay in regulating high-risk fillers.

Hal Rogers has won Kentucky's U.S. House 5th District race. The Republican incumbent, who has served the district since 1981, secured 70 per cent of the vote according to the Associated Press. Rogers is now the longest-serving member of Congress from Kentucky.

Dylan Mortensen, a surviving roommate of four University of Idaho students killed in November 2022, has filed a court motion seeking to have her face blurred in investigative video recordings set to be released. Mortensen said harassment and threats connected to the case have forced her family to move nine times and affected nearly every aspect of her life. Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to the stabbing deaths in Moscow, Idaho.

UK house prices are forecast to fall by 1.5 per cent in 2027 before recovering from the second half of 2028, according to estate agency Savills. The prolonged conflict in the Middle East is keeping mortgage rates higher for longer, suppressing buyer activity and putting pressure on prices. Over the five years to 2031, Savills expects house prices to rise by 15.8 per cent overall, with the strongest growth in northern England, Wales and Scotland. London is set to see the weakest recovery, with prices growing by just 8.1 per cent to 2031, compared with 23.3 per cent in the North West and 22.2 per cent in the North East.

A poll by Censuswide for holiday provider On the Beach found that 57% of households in council tax bands A to D will not use the Government's £100 payment as intended for energy bills. Instead, 15% plan to use some money for a summer holiday, rising to 24% among 18 to 44-year-olds. The remaining respondents said they would spend it on groceries (32%), pay off debt (13%), or put it into savings (13%).

The Advertising Standards Authority has banned four adverts for promoting prescription-only weight loss pills to the public. The ads, from Voy, Juniper and MedExpress, breached rules that prohibit advertising prescription-only medicines to consumers. Two Voy advertisements featured imagery of pills and phrases such as 'The weight is over' and 'Oral weight support', despite including small-print references to a food supplement. The watchdog found the overall impression was of advertising prescription-only medicines rather than supplements.

A report by Biggar Economics urges Scottish ministers to set a target of 30 gigawatts of onshore wind power by 2040, compared with current capacity of 10.7 gigawatts. The research, carried out for the Scottish Onshore Wind Developers Forum, says the target could generate £4.2 billion in gross value added for Scotland's economy and support an average of 6,100 additional jobs between 2034 and 2040 in development, construction and operation. The forum's chair, Rosie Vetter, said the sector had been 'one of the country's great economic success stories' but warned that 'low ambition' after 2030 risked preventing deployment of 'one of the quickest and cheapest renewable technologies'.