Yahoo's live news blog for Thursday, May 16 has now concluded.
In some breaking news this afternoon, MediSecure has been named as the health organisation that has fallen victim to a “large-scale ransomware” data breach. A government investigation is now underway.
National Cyber Security Coordinator Michelle McGuinness said a "whole-of-government response" was underway.
Tom Flanagan
Warning over potentially-deadly MDMA pills
An urgent warning has been put out by NSW health authorities after MDMA pills circulating in the state were found to have a dangerously high dosage.
The purple-grey tablets have a ‘Punisher’ skull design on the front as seen below. Some are believed to contain twice the average dose of a normal MDMA tablet.
“MDMA can cause severe agitation, raised body temperature, seizures or fits, irregular heart rhythm and death,” Dr Darren Roberts said.
The Punisher tablets.
Tom Flanagan
Real estate agent's photo edit unsurprisingly mocked
Well this one we can get around, purely for the laughs it's brought us here in the Yahoo office.
Princess Peach if you're looking for a room, rental rights advocate Jordie van den Berg has found it.
Every now and then Ray White come up with something that absolutely blows me out of the toilet - this is a recent favourite of mine. pic.twitter.com/Dl4IDn6I8y
Pizza Hut fined $2.5 million for unsolicited messages
Fed up with spam texts and emails from companies constantly trying to sell you something?
Well the government is cracking down, with Pizza Hut copping a $2.5 million fine for their "disappointing" behaviour.
An Australian Communications and Media Authority investigation revealed Pizza Hut sent out almost six million texts and emails between January and May 2023 to customers who had not consented to the ads or had opted out of the marketing.
Pizza Hut bombarded Aussies with texts and emails and have since paid the price. Source: Getty
Tom Flanagan
Push to scrap golf courses for housing
There's a push to turn more golf courses into residential estates in a bid to ease the housing crisis.
The contentious issue has divided many, with a handful of Melbourne courses already snapped up by property developers.
CEO of property developer Intrapac Max Shifman told the Herald Sun struggling courses are "ripe for development".
“Golf courses represent an incredible opportunity in the midst of a housing crisis to develop affordable housing in typically quite established parts of Melbourne, where you’ve got infrastructure and amenities," he said.
It comes after the NSW government and City of Sydney council confirmed nine holes of the course at Moore Park will be converted into a public park to make more space for residents in the densely-populated neighbouring suburbs of Zetland and Waterloo.
What do you think about converting golf courses? Have your say below.
Tom Flanagan
Survivor wins legal battle over 'FCANCER' plate
A breast cancer survivor in the US has won her legal battle after her 'FCANCER' licence plates were recalled due to a "perceived profanity".
Kari Lynn Overington, 43, argued the F stood for fight, but road authorities pointed out she had Facebook activity which included "f*** cancer".
However a judge has ruled decisions on the issuing of personalised plates was discriminate and based on individual viewpoints.
BREAKING: We're stepping in to represent Kari Overington, whose First Amendment rights to speech and expression were censored when the Delaware DMV recalled her "FCANCER" vanity license plate.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has gone in to bat for landlords, stressing there's "little to no evidence" they're passing on higher mortgage repayments to struggling renters.
The RBA has instead said the main contributor to higher rents is rental vacancy rates.
Aussie star postpones wedding after horror mistake
Socceroos star Jackson Irvine was forced to postpone his wedding in Denmark this week after he forgot his passport.
Irvine, who plays club football for St Pauli in Germany's Hamburg, was coming off the back of a two-day bender after celebrating his team's promotion to the top division.
Clearly impacted by a heavy hangover, wife-to-be Jemilla shared the unfortunate update on Instagram.
"When you've been drunk for 2 days and forget to take your passport to your marriage appointment," she said. The pair were getting married in Denmark, where their passports were needed to tie the knot.
Thankfully they were able to get married the next day once Irvine, who has become bit of a fashion icon off the pitch in recent years, was able to retrieve his passport.
Jackson Irvine was eventually able to get married after retrieving his passport. Source: Instagram
Tom Flanagan
Coles scammers tap into Aussie slang
Scammers are giving their phishing texts an Aussie twist as cops warn Coles shoppers to keep an eye out for dodgy messages.
"Oi mate, your Coles Rewards points are on the blink," one informal scam text shared by NSW Police read.
I wonder how many people are falling for that one.
Disturbing video is spreading on social media of a worker falling from an Indonesian passenger plane after ground staff pulled away stairs from the aircraft's door.
Shared by aviation veteran Sanjay Lazar, the man can be seen dropping several metres from the Transnusa Airlines plane reportedly in Jakarta.
A source told AirLive the man did not suffer serious injury and the incident is under investigation.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison is ruffling a few feathers this morning after her posted a photo of himself with Donald Trump, and described Trump's legal woes as "a pile on".
And on Tuesday night the pair met to talk about AUKUS – the defence pact that is widely seen as a direct counter measure to China's vast military expansion.
"We also discussed the continuing assertions of China in the Indo-Pacific and the threats against Taiwan. These were issues we discussed regularly when we were both in office," Morrison said.
The post did not go down well on X, with Morrison told he's "embarrassing" himself.
Was pleased to meet with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday night at his private residence in NY. It was nice to catch up again, especially given the pile on he is currently dealing with in the US. Was also a good opportunity to discuss AUKUS, which received a warm… pic.twitter.com/3FUTrwJVnC
Donald Trump baselessly claimed Kamala Harris is “totally against the Jewish people”—apparently either forgetting or ignoring the fact her husband is Jewish.Speaking at a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday night, the Republican nominee slammed his likely presidential election rival for skipping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress earlier in the day. But Trump seemed completely oblivious to the existence of second gentleman Doug Emhoff,
A Justice Department watchdog has found that former Attorney General Bill Barr was personally involved in the decision to publicize an incident from the 2020 election – nine mail-in ballots for Donald Trump being discarded in a dumpster in Pennsylvania – that flamed the false narrative of widespread voter fraud.
NORAD intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what a US defense official said was the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is ready to go to bat for Vice President Harris. Since his wife became the expected Democratic nominee for president this week, Emhoff has challenged her opponent, former President Trump, over attacks against Harris, building upon previous criticism in which Emhoff called the GOP nominee a “known antisemite” and “toxic.” Harris’s…