The Algorithm Age

A woman walks her dog down a street in Clayfield. It’s windy, but sunny, and tradesmen rush about renovating multimillion-dollar homes. Most of the houses are empty on this weekday afternoon. A scattering of teenagers, having ditched their private school blazers during the holiday weeks, roam palatial properties barefoot and carefree. In a nearby park, small children laugh and squeal in the playground. But just days earlier, flashing sirens and homicide detectives swarmed the streets, slicing through the gentle holiday buzz following reports of a brutal stabbing. Halfway up the road, a towering white wall wraps around a property protecting the home from peering eyes. Behind it is a sprawling home with bay windows lapping up vistas from Brisbane’s city skyline. The events inside this $5.4 million home reverberated beyond the close-knit neighbourhood and captured the nation’s attention. Greg Josephson, the co-founder of clothing chain Universal Store, w...

A nine-year-old girl died in a hot car in Texas on Monday after her mother left her there while she went to work, local officials said. Her death followed the passing of a three-month-old infant boy in Mission in the same state on Friday and the death of a four-year-old in Brownsville on Saturday, both likewise trapped in overheated vehicles. NBC’s local affiliate reports that a man in Mission is facing a charge of injury to a child causing death after admitting that he had been drinking and had forgotten the infant was in the car when he went to lie down. The same outlet reports that a woman is facing the same charge in Brownsville after a four-year-old was found unresponsive in a daycare van. In the most recent incident, cops were called to the scene in Galena Park on Monday just after 2pm, where the child was found “unresponsive” in a white Toyota Camry sedan that was backed into a parking lot and had a visor displayed on the windscreen. “Nobody would necessarily ha...

When detectives discovered a cache of child abuse material allegedly in the hands of a Melbourne childcare worker, it started the clock ticking on an unprecedented response from police and public health authorities. After raiding the home of 26-year-old Joshua Dale Brown in May, police faced the daunting and distressing task of trying to identify eight children, some as young as five months old, whom it is alleged he had abused and filmed. They also tracked Brown’s work history, fearing the allegations against him at one centre in the city’s west may be only the tip of the iceberg. They uncovered that he had worked at 20 childcare centres across the city since 2017. Sex crimes detectives have now focused their attention on Brown’s time at a centre in Essendon, where they are investigating whether abuse occurred, and police are urging anyone with further information to come forward. For weeks, police and the Health Department grappled with how to reveal the ...

When detectives discovered a cache of child abuse material allegedly in the hands of a Melbourne childcare worker, it started the clock ticking on an unprecedented response from police and public health authorities. After raiding the home of 26-year-old Joshua Dale Brown in May, police faced the daunting and distressing task of trying to identify eight children, some as young as five months old, whom it is alleged he had abused and filmed. They also tracked Brown’s work history, fearing the allegations against him at one centre in the city’s west may be only the tip of the iceberg. They uncovered that he had worked at 20 childcare centres across the city since 2017. Sex crimes detectives have now focused their attention on Brown’s time at a centre in Essendon, where they are investigating whether abuse occurred, and police are urging anyone with further information to come forward. For weeks, police and the Health Department grappled with how to reveal the ...

Residents of what was once a key highway stop-off feel they are being passed by as tourists head to Western Australia's north to escape the winter months. Carnarvon, 900 kilometres north of Perth, is the only major town between Geraldton and Karratha. It has generally hosted thousands of caravanners and other travellers on their way to tourist destinations in WA's Pilbara and Kimberley. But many businesses said this year's trade was so poor it could force their permanent closure. Jo Bumbak, who has sold preserves and ice creams using produce from the local area for 26 years, said this would likely be her final season. "There's businesses I've spoken to that said they don't even know if they're going to reopen their doors," she said. "I'm one of those businesses." Ms Bumbak said the length of stay for most caravanners visiting the region had declined, and state government-imposed liquor...

A line has been seen forming outside the Latrobe Valley law courts from the crack of dawn. People from as far away as Melbourne have been travelling to Morwell for each day of the trial of Erin Patterson. Ms Patterson is charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in relation to a beef Wellington meal which contained death cap mushrooms. She has always maintained her innocence and her defence team says the inclusion of the mushrooms was a tragic accident. The case has drawn international interest, with journalists travelling from across the globe to be in the court room. On the ground, people with no association to the case have tried not to miss a moment in the trial. School groups, aspiring authors and internationally renowned authors such as Helen Garner have even attended. Braving the cold Michelle Wilson who lives 10 minutes from the courtroom, said she rang ahead to find out how she could watch the tr...

Locals in one of the UK's most poverty-stricken areas have warned that its council is 'neglecting pockets of deprivation at its peril'. Caia Park, Wrexham, is the largest council housing estate in Wales and has been plagued with 'generational' child poverty and unemployment issues for more than two decades. Despite an influx of far-flung tourists and Hollywood A-listers piling into the city every other week to watch football, many children and families are going hungry just 10 minutes from the Racecourse Ground. It is only due to the relentless work of charities and social enterprises that starving kids are staying off the streets away from the temptation of crime , drugs and violence, say many locals. But with a lack of funding from Wrexham County Borough Council and requests for grants being exhausted, the funds to keep these organisations afloat are quickly dwindling - sparking fears over the future consequences. Colin Powell, 63, has lived on ...

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with two shootings in Sydney's west, including one where 28 rounds were fired into a house, with a bullet just missing a child's head. Detectives alleged the teenage gunman was responsible for both incidents, which targeted homes linked to organised criminal networks. In March, at least 28 rounds were fired from a semi-automatic rifle into a house on Crossland Street in Merrylands during a suspected drive-by. A woman and four young children — aged between six months and five years old — were inside the house at the time, with police saying one bullet missed the older child's head by approximately 20 centimetres. No-one was injured in the shooting. Police believed the home was wrongly targeted after a threatening note, allegedly intended for the previous occupants with organised crime links, was left at the scene. Soon after the shooting, a stolen, burnt-out car was found at Chiswick Road in nearby ...

Michigan is set to announce that it has finally replaced all of the lead water pipes in the city of Flint. The news comes a decade after lead-contaminated water was first found in its water system, resulting in extensive legal battles and national outrage over one of the country’s most damaging water crises. There is no safe level of exposure to lead , which can result in reproductive issues, high blood pressure, hypertension, nerve disorders, muscle and joint pain, and memory and concentration problems in adults. In children, it can lead to hearing problems, slowed growth, headaches, learning and behavioral difficulties, lowered IQ, and damage to the brain and nervous system. Now, eight years after a court-ordered settlement required Flint officials to replace the pipes, nearly 11,000 have been replaced and more than 28,000 properties have been restored, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. In a release, it cited a progress report the state submitted t...

Wonthaggi resident Lauren Truman spent weeks tossing and turning at night, feeling afraid of what might be happening outside her front door. After scrolling through online community groups on Facebook where people were posting about criminal incidents in her part of regional Victoria, she said she was terrified someone would break into her home. "I was feeling unsafe in my home because of all the break-ins, attempted break-ins, and people hanging around outside of people's houses," she said. "I was also concerned about what I was seeing around town. Homelessness, kids running amok in the streets bothering people, drug-affected people, squatters in vacant houses." Ms Truman said other residents posting CCTV footage to community groups of would-be thieves looking for unlocked doors made her feel like people would "creep" around her house soon. "Whatever noise I heard, I was heightened and on edge," Ms Truman ...

A shocking pet theft case has rocked Bengaluru after two BBMP workers were accused of stealing a beloved pet cat from a Cox Town resident. Harishitha B filed a formal police complaint alleging that municipal workers Uday and Pratap stole her cherished feline companion during a brief 15-minute window on a regular afternoon. The incident allegedly occurred between 5 pm and 5:15 pm, turning what should have been a routine day into a pet owner’s nightmare. The case has sparked outrage among Bengaluru’s pet-loving community, raising serious questions about the conduct of public service workers. Municipal employees are supposed to serve and protect citizens, not steal their beloved animals. This disturbing accusation represents a shocking breach of public trust that demands immediate investigation and accountability from BBMP authorities. What Happened During the Alleged Pet Theft Image credit: pexels According to Harishitha B’s police complaint, the theft occurred in a r...

A shocking pet theft case has rocked Bengaluru after two BBMP workers were accused of stealing a beloved pet cat from a Cox Town resident. Harishitha B filed a formal police complaint alleging that municipal workers Uday and Pratap stole her cherished feline companion during a brief 15-minute window on a regular afternoon. The incident allegedly occurred between 5 pm and 5:15 pm, turning what should have been a routine day into a pet owner’s nightmare. The case has sparked outrage among Bengaluru’s pet-loving community, raising serious questions about the conduct of public service workers. Municipal employees are supposed to serve and protect citizens, not steal their beloved animals. This disturbing accusation represents a shocking breach of public trust that demands immediate investigation and accountability from BBMP authorities. What Happened During the Alleged Pet Theft Image credit: pexels According to Harishitha B’s police complaint, the theft occurred in a r...

Dozens of community members are rallying against a council decision that could put a beloved not-for-profit childcare centre in Melbourne's inner west at risk of closure. For mother-of-two Ayeesha Montalti, the Bulldogs Community Children's Centre in Footscray has been a pillar of stability during a turbulent time, acting "as a family" and even supporting her through the loss of her mother three weeks ago. But last week, Maribyrnong City Council voted in favour of removing the requirement for the centre to house a not-for-profit childcare provider, allowing for-profit providers to bid for the new lease. "When I found out about it, I was shocked," Ms Montalti said. "I found out via an email nearly a week after the council meeting had happened, we had no idea that there was even a discussion to renew this lease." The council has held the lease with the Western Bulldogs for the facility since 2009, and it has since ...

Key government staff and oversight groups most involved in Queensland’s controversial youth crime crackdown have little confidence in its success, a long-awaited interim review shows. One advocacy group has since labelled the focus on locking up more young people contradictory, while another rejected assertions that some restraint methods were no longer used in detention centres. Former police commissioner Bob Atkinson’s review of 2021 youth justice changes , sparked by high-profile tragedies involving young offenders and stolen cars, was belatedly released by the government on Tuesday. The review focused only on the rollout of the measures – aimed at the largely Indigenous cohort of about 400 serious repeat offenders responsible for roughly half the state’s youth crime – in the first six months. Handed to the government in March, it found more young people had been refused bail or were held in custody since the changes, which were “worthwhile and ...