Novak Djokovic's huge Australia claim, LA wildfires death toll grows, missing hiker's first four words to family

A news anchor in the US has been heavily criticised online after viewers spotted pegs attached to the back of his jacket while reporting live from the LA wildfires.

After a clip of his live cross was shared to X by TV host Jack Osbourne, son of Ozzy Osbourne, users accused ABC News' David Muir of being vain and narcissistic.

"Nice Jacket Bro. Glad you look nice and svelte with those clothes line pegs, while our city burns to the ground," Osbourne wrote alongside the video.

However a TV source told Mediaite the pegs were not to make Muir look better but to stop his jacket moving around.

“This was 30 seconds before air, a producer stepped in to try to fix coat in the wind,” they said. “This had nothing to do with David Muir asking for anything.”

Information about the victims in the LA wildfires is starting to come through, including the harrowing deaths of a father and son who were waiting for an ambulance to come get them from their home.

Anthony Mitchell, a 67-year-old amputee, and his son, Justin, who has cerebral palsy, were at their Altadena home alone, with no one to help them escape when Mitchell called his daughter Hajime to tell her they needed to evacuate, before hanging up when he spotted flames encroaching into his backyard.

“They didn’t make it out,” she said.

Hajime said authorities told the family Mitchell was found by the side of his son’s bed in. The Washington Post reported the family believes Mitchell was trying to save his son, who was in his early 20s.

“He was not going to leave his son behind. No matter what,” she said.

While Sydneysiders were dealt a pretty impressive run of beach days over the festive period, the city is being urged to avoid a host of swimming spots this weekend after heavy rain increased the chances of sewage being in the water.

Most beaches and swimming spots lining Sydney Harbour are subject to alerts by Beachwater NSW who say contamination is "possible" or "likely".

Ocean beaches including Queenscliff, Bronte, Tamarama and Malabar are also impacted.

Here's a few before and after pictures showing the devastation caused by the LA wildfires. The death toll from the fires has risen to 7 with well over 5,000 structures now damaged.

Los Angeles Sheriff Robert Luna said it looks as though “an atomic bomb" has struck the city.

Use the sliders below to see the destruction caused.

Those in the private sector are feeling the pain of inflation a little less when it comes to wage increases, with the public sector lagging, new datas shows.

Wages in the private sector grew by 3.9 per cent in the year to September while that figure was at 3.5 per cent for public sector jobs, government data revealed.

Workers covered by enterprise agreements has increased by $54 a week, with the Albanese government said the figures confirmed enterprise bargaining was helping to lift wages, despite resistance from the business sector.

Read more here.

Bringing a cabana to the beach has been the talk of Australia this week so this latest ACCC recall seems to be rather fitting.

A small child's tent designed for the beach sold on Temu has been recalled due to a lack of warnings on the product.

It contains a small pool once erected and could lead to death if someone is not aware of the dangers, the ACCC said.

All the details of the recall can be found here.

While the Sunset Fire continues to spread in the Hollywood Hills, LA's iconic Hollywood sign is not on fire, despite a wave of viral social media posts showing it is.

A series of fake AI images and videos show the sign on fire, prompting a wave of anger from locals who say the spread of misinformation is not helpful and insensitive as wildfires continue to rage.

The Hollywood Sign Trust has even moved to debunk the claim as fake news.

There are truly some apocalyptic scenes in the LA area as the city continues to endure its most destructive wildfires in history.

The following video shows scores of streets completely burnt down in Altadena in what Vice President Kamala Harris described as an "unprecedented" situ

It's a question that has arisen in Australia before and one that's being asked in the US amid a shortage of water for firefighters to battle the devastating LA wildfires. Why can't firefighters use water from the ocean?

One of the main issues with doing so is the salt in the water, according to Technology.org who say it corrodes equipment and causes damage to tools, vehicles, hydrants and hoses.

USA Today reports using water with a high salt content could also prove devastating for the environment in LA and could result in a barren landscape in the years after the fires.

A fair few of these photos have done the rounds in recent months, and one of our readers has now shared a photo of TimTams selling cheaper overseas than they do here, this time in a South African supermarket

The price listed for the Aussie treat is 64.99 Rand, which is roughly $5.50. Coles and Woolies have a non-discounted price of $6.

Supply chain expert at Edith Cowan University, Flavio Macau, told The Guardian other countries have competitive confectionary markets, meaning they may be forced to lower the price of TimTams to sell them.

Macau said the willingness of a customer to pay a certain price was key and influenced the shelf cost.

The sister of the missing hiker lost in rugged NSW terrain for nearly two weeks has revealed his first words to his family after being found alive.

"'I'm found, I'm alive'," sister Zahra Nazari recalled, Nine reported. Hadi Nazari, 23, went missing on December 26 in the Kosciuszko National Park, sparking a huge search from authorities.

Zahra said her brother broke down in tears when a group of hikers found him.

Hadi, who survived drinking water and eating just two muesli bars, continues to recover in hospital.

Wildfires continue to rage in the LA area with the death toll now at six. There is little containment of the five fires across the city with at least 1,000 homes feared destroyed.

Restaurant owner Vanessa Pellegrini, who lost her business to Palisades fire, described the scenes in the city as a "war zone".

"I mean, it is absolutely the most horrific event you can ever seen in the your life. There's nothing left. [LA] is burned to the ground," she told ABC News Breakfast.

Satellite imagery from Maxar below shows the daunting situation in Altadena where hundreds of properties have been impacted by fire. The fires are the most destructive in LA's history.

Well we start with the bombshell claim from Novak Djokovic that he was poisoned when in detained in Australia over his visa status amid a vaccination dispute before the 2022 Australian Open.

The Serbian tennis star, a 24-time major winner, said that tests later revealed he had high levels of heavy metal in his system.

"I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne, I was fed with some food that poisoned me," he told GQ.

"I had some discoveries when I came back to Serbia. I never told this to anybody publicly, but discoveries that I was, I had a really high level of heavy metal. Heavy metal.

"I had the lead, very high level of lead and mercury."'

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have declined to comment on the claim.

Djokovic is currently in Australia and has teamed up with new coach Andy Murray in a bid for an 11th Australian Open title.