ABC News Daily

Australia’s renewable energy transition is well underway with new poles, wires and transmission towers planned across the country.

But some farmers say they’re being pressured and harassed to hand over land for the infrastructure to get electricity from where it’s generated to where it’s used. 

Today, reporter Alysia Thomas-Sam from ABC’s 7.30 program on the farmers pushing back at the farm gate and climate reporter Jess Davis on why transmission towers need to run through farmland.

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Alysia Thomas-Sam, 7.30 reporter

Jess Davis, ABC climate reporter

Australian property is now more expensive than ever and soaring mortgage debt has the financial regulator hitting the brakes on risky lending.

But could stopping banks for offering some loans do anything to stop rapid price growth for homes and units? 

Today, the ABC’s chief business correspondent Ian Verrender on what’s worrying APRA and the outlook for the housing market. 

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Ian Verrender, ABC chief business correspondent

In a flurry of peace talks over the last week, Ukrainian officials have been desperately trying to avoid an unjust deal with Russia being imposed on it. 

They’ve been pushing back against a controversial 28-point proposal that would have required Ukraine to surrender significant territory, restrict the size of its defence force and give up on ambitions of joining NATO. 

The US is leading the talks with both sides, but will Trump ultimately side with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin?

Today, international relations expert Rajan Menon on whether this latest round of diplomacy offers any real hope and what Kyiv may still have to give up.

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Rajan Menon, professor emeritus of international relations at the City College of New York

Every day millions of Australians take vitamin supplements, hoping for a health boost. 

But there’s been a sharp rise in people suffering numbness, nerve damage, even paralysis, after accidentally overdosing on vitamin B6. 

Many don’t even realise B6 is in so many products at high concentrations and that the vitamin can build up in the body. 

Today, reporter for the ABC’s 7.30 program Tom Hartley unpacks his year-long investigation into the surge in cases and the regulator’s long-overdue crackdown. 

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Tom Hartley, 7.30 reporter

Donald Trump has called a female journalist piggy, labelled another insubordinate and demanded Democratic politicians be arrested, even suggesting they could be executed for seditious behaviour.

The US president is no stranger to unconventional acts and confronting statements, but does his recent behaviour go beyond even his usual standards? 

Today, staff writer at The Atlantic magazine, Tom Nichols, on his analysis that the president’s latest outbursts are a sign he’s losing control of himself. 

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Tom Nichols, The Atlantic magazine staff writer

For many years the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was a pariah on the world stage, but the US president is bringing him back into the fold. 

We know Donald Trump wants the US to do business with the wealthy Gulf Arab state, but what else does he like about the country?

Today, The New York Times contributor Noah Shachtman on how Trump wants America to be a lot more like Saudi Arabia and how he’s trying to achieve it. 

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Noah Shachtman, national security reporter and The New York Times contributor

Australians are all pretty invested in the weather and the Bureau of Meteorology is our go-to source of forecasts and information. 

So, people noticed when the BOM changed its website and many, including farmers, complained that data sources they relied on were either missing or hard to find. 

A change in the rain radar has already been rolled back and now the bureau has revealed it cost close to a hundred million dollars to build the website and all the infrastructure behind it. 

Today, the ABC’s lead rural reporter in Victoria, Justine Longmore, on the BOM website debacle.

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Justine Longmore, ABC lead rural reporter, Victoria

The devastating Optus outage that was linked to three deaths revealed we can’t always trust we can get through when we call Triple Zero.

More than two months later, surely the system has been fixed.

Today, consumer affairs reporter Michael Atkin on why some people still can’t get help when they need it most.

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Michael Atkin, ABC consumer affairs reporter

Editor’s note: On Monday, WA Police said the death of a Perth man initially linked to the Optus Triple Zero outage was not connected to the failure. As of Tuesday 25th November two deaths are believed to be related to the outage. 

Our peak scientific body, the CSIRO, has made extraordinary discoveries and invented everyday wonders like Aerogard, plastic banknotes and WiFi. 

But once again the CSIRO is axing jobs, saying the cost of doing science has outpaced its funding and it needs to refocus on big issues. 

Today, Adam Spencer, ambassador for mathematics and science at Sydney University on what happens when science is underfunded. 

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Adam Spencer, science communicator and University of Sydney’s mathematics and science ambassador

There’s a secret US-led plan to end the war in Ukraine, but it reportedly asks a lot of the country that’s been invaded by Russia. 

Media reports suggest the plan would see Ukraine would give up land, reduce the size of its army, relinquish weapons and make Russian an official state language. 

At the same time, Putin’s forces have launched new strikes on Ukrainian cities and a Russian spy ship off the coast of Scotland is causing concern. 

Today, Matthew Sussex, a visiting fellow at the ANU’s Centre for European Studies on why prospects for peace are looking dim. 

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Matthew Sussex, visiting fellow at the Australian National University’s Centre for European Studies