Dropped

The state’s opposition said case was proof ‘the justice system is broken’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Victorian Labor government says it will “do everything” it can to “toughen consequences” for young offenders after police withdrew 109 charges against a 14-year-old girl, in a case the opposition described as proof “the justice system is broken”.The girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had been facing 109 charges, including reckless conduct endangering serious injury, motor vehicle theft and burglary, after an alleged two-month crime spree earlier this year when she was aged 13. Continue reading...

The government’s response to the Murphy report is hardly dynamite. Harm advocates, gambling operators and advertisers are all waiting to see whether Labor’s rhetoric will be matched by action The Labor government decided to release its contentious, much-delayed response to Peta Murphy’s report on gambling on one of the biggest political news days of the year.They dropped it while the nation’s federal political journalists were trapped in budget lockup. Continue reading...

Marat Ganiev will instead be charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice over death of 19-year-old whose body was found in tipFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastProsecutors have withdrawn a manslaughter charge against a man who had been accused of killing a 19-year-old woman and hiding her body in a fridge.Marat Ganiev, 55, was accused of killing Isla Bell in the early hours of 7 October 2024, before hiding her body in a fridge. Continue reading...

Senior manager at supermarket giant gives evidence on day two of case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer CommissionFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA senior Woolworths executive has defended relaxing rules designed to protect shoppers from misleading discounts by preventing the supermarket or suppliers from “gaming” the “Prices Dropped” promotional program.Woolworths’ chief commercial officer, Paul Harker, gave evidence on the second day of a landmark trial between the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Woolworths in the federal court on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Heather Danae Lewis who was one of 30 people charged in Minnesota church protest showed she did not attend eventFederal prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against a woman accused of participating in a controversial January protest at a Minnesota church after the woman apparently did not attend the event at all.Prosecutors notified a federal judge they intended to drop charges against Heather Danae Lewis, who was one of 30 people charged in connection with an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest that disrupted a service at Cities church in St Paul. Officials have charged the protesters with civil rights crimes, saying they interfered with the right of the congregants at the church to exercise their religious beliefs. The media professional Don Lemon, who was at the event reporting on the protest, was among those charged. Continue reading...

Jason Hughes died after falling and being struck by a car driven by a student who had just pranked the teacherA Georgia prosecutor has decided to drop charges against a teenager who police say was driving the truck that struck and killed a beloved high school teacher when a prank turned deadly, the teen’s lawyer said. The victim’s family had urged authorities not to compound the tragedy by prosecuting the teen driver and his friends.The 40-year-old teacher, Jason Hughes, died after slipping and falling into the street as the teens started to drive away after participating in a community tradition of pranking teachers by throwing toilet paper on to his front lawn. Continue reading...