The bottom of Sydney Harbour has been contaminated by widespread microplastic pollution which could be entering the food chain, scientists say.

In Florida in 2010, officers in SWAT gear and with guns drawn carried out raids on barbershops that mostly led only to charges of ‘barbering without a license’…

Pell replied: “I was aware of a report in the newspapers and of course through my eventual meetings at groups of survivors and victims that was brought home to me very clear, and there were groups such as Broken Rites that were very active.

Christian Democratic Party MP Fred Nile says women should reconsider having abortions "if the price of the decision is breast cancer", repeating discredited views that have angered women and health groups.

At a budget estimates hearing at Parliament on Thursday, Mr Nile called on the NSW government to alert women to the so-called dangers of abortion, later claiming that studies confirming the link to breast cancer are being "censored".

"The body is preparing to have a baby … and suddenly it's terminated, and that causes some reaction in the cells, and the cells in the breast particularly," he later told Fairfax Media.

This is a dissertation by Gus, about a religious article published by The ABC religious unit... 

The article starts thus:

On 3 August 1964, Flannery O'Connor, one of America's greatest fiction writers, died. To mark fifty years since her premature death, we are pleased to publish this article by Ralph C. Wood, University Professor of Theology and Literature at Baylor University and author of Flannery O'Connor and the Christ-Haunted South

Australia and Indonesia have struck a deal to resume intelligence and military cooperation.

Treasurer Joe Hockey has suggested his claim that the "poorest people either don't have cars or actually don't drive very far" was misreported by the media, re-opening debate about the embarrassing gaffe.

But Mr Hockey has insisted he has moved on and is focused on getting the Coalition's budget through the Senate, adding he would not "indulge in self-pity".

Mr Palmer accused the Chinese government of wanting to take over Australian ports to get the nation's resources for free.

The explosion of new food additives coupled with an easing of oversight requirements is allowing manufacturers to avoid the scrutiny of the Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for ensuring the safety of chemicals streaming into the food supply.

And in hundreds of cases, the FDA doesn’t even know of the existence of new additives, which can include chemical preservatives, flavorings and thickening agents, records and interviews show.

But there is one existentially scorching brand of humiliation that towers above all, and it owes its existence to the animal kingdom.

I speak, with grim and recently acquired expertise, of the Adult Nit Infestation.

Getting nits as an adult is quite different from getting nits as a child.

When you are a child, you genuinely don’t care.

And to the extent that you do, in any event, you will in all likelihood be absolutely satisfied with the assurance that “head lice prefer clean hair”.

If you think I am kidding myself, consider a reversal of the stereotyping on others. How about users of illegal drugs as an example. If someone were to stereotype them all as useless losers who sponge off society on welfare, break into our homes and steal from us, there would be an outcry. You see, apparently it is OK to engage in stereotyping of a senior conservative politician, but not of others.

An independent Scotland would not be in the best interests of the international community, Australia’s prime minister has warned.