Emily KowalUpdated July 28, 2026 — 7:34am,first published 7:15am7.34amCheek Media’s Hannah Ferguson to run against PM in next electionBy Brittany BuschCheek Media founder Hannah Ferguson has announced she will run against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the seat of Grayndler at the next election.The podcaster and commentator said Australians were fed up with the major parties and felt they weren’t being listened to.Hannah Ferguson said she was born in Marrickville in Sydney’s Inner West and lives in the Grayndler electorate. Oscar Colman“He’s been the member for 30 years, and I feel like, as a young person in Australia, that I do not feel represented at a local level by him. I think this is an incredibly progressive electorate that demands and deserves more than a politician who is beholden to the interests of the gambling lobby and the fossil fuel industry,” Ferguson told Sunrise.“More people need to be standing up, putting their head above the parapet, and challenging people like the prime minister,” she said.Ferguson said she planned to step away from the company she founded, Cheek Media, next year to campaign full-time.The 28-year-old had previously indicated she would run as an independent candidate for the Senate, but said community members had urged her to take on Albanese in the lower house.7.28am‘You’re So Vain’ singer Carly Simon reveals Parkinson’s diagnosisBy New York: Singer Carly Simon has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, she said in a statement provided to The Associated Press. “So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing. The truth is, I’ve been learning how to live with Parkinson’s disease,” Simon’s statement on Monday read.The 83-year-old star is most famous for her 1972 hit single You’re So Vain, which she later said was about three men, one of whom was her former boyfriend, Hollywood star Warren Beatty.Singer, Carly Simon, 83, said she underwent extensive evaluations with Mayo Clinic before being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. AP Photo/Charles SykesShe said she had been experiencing arthritis in one of her hips and both her knees, resulting in replacement surgeries for those three joints. But her mobility continued to decline.“My family and I knew that something more was going on. After an extensive evaluation at the Mayo Clinic, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” she said.7.15amTrump pressures Fed to cut interest ratesBy Trevor HunnicuttPresident Donald Trump has called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, saying the US should have the lowest interest rate in the world.“Rates should be lowered ... We have other countries that are paying less interest rates,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.US Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh. AP“We should have the lowest interest rate in the world,” Trump said.“Kevin is fantastic, but he’s got a board, and the board members are very political,” Trump said, referring to the US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, adding he knew what Warsh wanted to do.When Trump selected Warsh to replace Jerome Powell earlier this year, he made it clear that lower interest rates were his preference.Reuters7.15amUS walks out on ally France at UN meeting in protest over criticismBy Edith M. LedererUS diplomats walked out as their French counterparts spoke on Monday at the United Nations, accusing America’s close European ally of “disingenuous grandstanding” for criticising the Trump administration’s human rights record.The surprise walkout was sparked by a social media post by France’s UN Mission in Geneva criticising US opposition to a second term for UN human rights chief Volker Türk. The General Assembly voted 144-10 with 13 abstentions in support of Türk, with the US among the “no” votes.“The US used to be a beacon of human rights. Not any more. Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it,” the French Mission tweeted.UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.nna\rmastersAfter the brief walkout, deputy US ambassador Dan Negrea accused France of feigning “moral outrage” and pretending to lecture the world about every topic, including human rights.7.15amTrump says ‘very friendly’ talks are happening with IranBy Kate AubussonMilford, Michigan: US President Donald Trump said the US has been having “very friendly” talks with Iran.“You can’t bribe them. You’ve got to beat them, and we’ll beat the hell out of them. But we’ll see how it turns out,” he said at a rally in Michigan on Monday (US time).“Right now, there are very friendly negotiations going on,” he said.Trump speaks at an event at a General Motors facility in Michigan on Monday, July 27 (US time).AP Photo/Paul SancyaWashington abruptly suspended a two-week campaign of air strikes against Iran on Saturday in Trump’s latest strategic U-turn in the five-month-old conflict. Earlier, Trump warned that US strikes would resume if the negotiations failed to deliver.“I think there’s a good chance that something could happen, and if it does, good. If it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.Reuters1 of 1