Young Aussie wins Powerball with first ticket, 'no break' as four states to be hit with storms, bail for cop guilty of Taser manslaughter

Black Friday rolls on and plenty of Aussies are getting fed up. You'd struggle to avoid mention of the sale, but some say companies are going too far in pushing their offers.

Many people have been bombarded with text messages about Black Friday, with one Yahoo reporter getting six just this morning.

So is it too much receiving a text about an offer? Have your say below and read more here from Yahoo Finance.

Now these are some alarming statistics revealed by the government today.

Fifty-four per cent of young Australians, aged around 16 to 19 have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, according to a new report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Sexual harassment is a term that includes touching and grabbing, sexual remarks and showing sexually explicit images.

“Of the older teens we surveyed who had experienced sexual harassment, 53% of females and 39% of males experienced it at a party, club or bar – showing many young people have extremely negative experiences when trying to enjoy themselves on a night out,” Dr Neha Swami said.

It's a move that's got plenty of parents talking, and while its had it's fair chunk of praise, Facebook unsurprisingly isn't impressed.

In a world first, children under 16 will be banned from using social media, after the House of Representatives signed off on the proposal on Friday,

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said while they respected the decision by federal parliament, issues remained with how the ban would be enforced.

"We are concerned about the process which rushed the legislation through while failing to properly consider the evidence, what industry already does to ensure age-appropriate experiences, and the voices of young people," a spokesman for Meta said.

"The task now turns to ensuring there is productive consultation on all rules associated with the bill to ensure a technically feasible outcome that does not place an onerous burden on parents and teens and a commitment that rules will be consistently applied across all social apps used by teens."

- With AAP

Imagine winning the Powerball with your first ever ticket.

Well that's exactly what one Melbourne man in his 20s has done after claiming one half of the $100 million jackpot from last night.

“I’m speechless right now. I can’t wrap my head around it," he told lottery officials.

Neither can we.

We take you to a tragic story overseas now. A student in the US died after a restaurant changed the recipe to her regular order.

Alison Pickering, 23, who has a severe peanut allergy, died after the restaurant added peanuts to the dish. The change was allegedly not declared, The Independent reported.

“She took a few bites, [and] realized something was wrong. She did her EpiPen. The ambulance came. She actually walked to the ambulance talking to them, but somewhere along the way things went downhill”, her father Grover told CBS.

Work is underway to make a big change to the Sydney Harbour Bridge after years of pleas from cyclists.

A ramp is being added to the north side of the bridge to allow cyclists to ride along the bridge without having to dismount.

NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the site has been cordoned off for construction to commence before Christmas. Take a look at an artist's impression below.

If you're a homeowner hoping for imminent relief, look away now. Yet another big bank has revised its rate cut prediction, with ANZ joining Westpac and NAB in thinking the first cut in over two years will come in May.

Of the big four, only Commonwealth remains in believing the interest rate cut will come in February, but even they have suggested such a move is becoming less likely.

Read more here.

Australians have been warned to brace for a “wet and stormy weekend” and the risk of flash flooding, with “no real break” from the wet weather expected anytime soon.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said a burst of moisture moving across the country’s east is set to increase the risk of heavy rainfall.

“Once again, cloudy skies, rain areas and embedded thunderstorms will be widespread, impacting Queensland, NSW, Victoria, southeast South Australia as well,” Ms Bradbury said.

“Severe storms may bring heavy falls and the risk of flash flooding to much of central and southern Queensland, inland NSW, and the ACT including Canberra, and northern Victoria, including the northern suburbs of Melbourne.”

Read all about the forecast here.

A police officer found guilty of the manslaughter of a 95-year-old woman with a taser inside a nursing home has been granted bail while he awaits sentencing.

Senior Constable Kristian White, 34, faced an eight-day trial in the NSW Supreme Court in November after he pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing Clare Nowland, 95.

He had been called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma before 5am on May 17, 2023 to assist with a “very aggressive” resident who was holding two knives.

During his deadly three-minute interaction with Mrs Nowland, White raised his Taser and told her to stay seated and put down the knife she held while leaning on her walking frame.

The jury was told the great-grandmother had difficulty following directions and had become uncharacteristically aggressive before her death, which a doctor attributed to undiagnosed dementia.

White held the weapon pointed at Mrs Nowland for a minute before he said: “Nah, just bugger it” and pulled the trigger, discharging the Taser probes at her chest.

Mrs Nowland, who weighed less than 48 kgs, fell backwards and struck her head on the floor. She succumbed to her injuries a week later.

After four days of deliberation, the jury unanimously found White guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday.

Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC made an immediate application to have White taken into custody ahead of sentencing, which was heard on Thursday.

“Clearly the jury has found on any view that the force was not reasonably necessary and, having regard to the nature of the offence, that a full time custodial sentence is realistically inevitable,” he said.

Yet White’s barrister Troy Edwards SC argued the judge could find his client’s actions were on the “lowest end” of the spectrum of severity for manslaughter offences.

Read more here from NCA NewsWire.

The search is on for one of the two winners who shared last night's $100 million Powerball jackpot.

The mystery winner purchased their ticket in Victoria's Darebin with officials yet to identify them.

A Rockhampton couple claimed the other half, saying they're in "disbelief" over the win.

"I can't believe it. This doesn't happen to us. I expected you to ask if we have solar panels, not to tell us we've just won $50 million," the grandmother said.