Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg tests positive for COVID-19

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating with his family.

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Mr Frydenberg revealed the news late on Friday night on Twitter

Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Shadow Finance Minister Katy Gallagher both wished him well

The Treasurer is the latest government MP to test positive for COVID-19; Peter Dutton tested positive in 2020 and Barnaby Joyce tested positive in December

Mr Frydenberg, who has been on a break, said on Twitter he was experiencing "the common symptoms" associated with the virus.

"My thoughts are with all those who have COVID — this is a difficult time but we will get through this," he said.

Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he was sorry to hear of the positive test result and wished Mr Frydenberg well.

"Sorry to hear it, Josh. All the best for a speedy recovery," Mr Chalmers said in response to the Treasurer's tweet.

Shadow Finance Minister Katy Gallagher also tweeted in response, saying she hoped Mr Frydenberg and his family were not badly affected "and get through the next little while OK".

Senator Gallagher's daughter tested positive in August last year, prompting her to accuse the government of letting down Australian children in their handling of the virus.

"If we had more people vaccinated, our children wouldn't be as vulnerable as they are today," she said at the time.

Catch up on the main COVID-19 news from January 7 with a look back at our blog.

The Treasurer visited Torquay on Monday, where he met Liberal candidate for Corangamite Stephanie Asher and a local business owner.

He was due to attend an event in Lorne on Saturday, but it was cancelled due to rising COVID-19 case numbers in Victoria.

Mr Frydenberg is the latest government MP to test positive for COVID-19; Defence Minister Peter Dutton tested positive in March 2020 after a visit to the United States, and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce tested positive in December.

He is also one of tens of thousands of Australians who have tested positive over the past few days.

New South Wales on Friday recorded 38,65 new cases and 11 deaths, while Victoria recorded 21,728 new cases and six deaths.

Several restrictions are being reintroduced in Victoria, NSW and the ACT in an effort to curb the rapid spread of the virus.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-07/federal-treasurer-josh-frydenberg-tests-positive-for-covid-19/100745204

Bob Dylan formally denies woman's 'brazen shakedown' claims that he groomed and raped her in 1965 at New York's Chelsea Hotel when she was 12: Lawyers hit out at 'psychic who says she was abducted by aliens'

'JC' claims she was plied with drugs aged 12 and raped by Dylan, then 24

His lawyers dismissed her 'ludicrous' claims, saying she is after his money

They pointed to her job as a psychic, saying she claims she flew a spaceship

Bob Dylan's lawyers have formally denied allegations he groomed a 12-year-old girl for weeks, fed her drugs and sexually abused her repeatedly in 1965.

Dismissing her 'ludicrous' claims, the legal team said the accuser, known as JC, has also claimed to have been abducted by aliens and flown their spaceship.

She filed the lawsuit in August, claiming the singer-songwriter, now 80, tried to 'lower her inhibitions with the object of sexually abusing her, which he did, coupled with the provision of drugs, alcohol and threats of physical violence, leaving her emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day'.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10379169/Bob-Dylan-formally-denies-psychic-womans-claims-raped-1965-12.html

>>15327644

they attack her character not her allegations is very telling

Former Alderman Received Federal Sentence

Jackson, TN – Former Selmer, TN Alderman, Nickolas Atkins, 42, has been sentenced to federal prison for 48 months for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Murphy Jr. announced the sentence today.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtn/pr/former-alderman-received-federal-sentence

Austin's defunded police no longer have the staff to monitor sex offenders

Austin, Texas, stripped 30% from police funding in 2020

A 47-year-old man who failed to register in the sex offender database was arrested in Austin, Texas, last week after police officers caught him in the middle of a sexual act with an autistic teenager, and one expert says the city’s move to defund police has put it at the mercy of such criminals.

The Austin Police Department said Ronald Christopher Martin was seen by a police officer sexually assaulting an autistic teenager on Dec. 27 with an active warrant out for his arrest for failing to properly register as a sex offender, KXAN reported.

Investigators said Martin, a homeless man, solicited nude photos from the teenager online and brought him to Austin across state lines despite being aware he was 14 years old.

Martin had failed to register his address in relation to a previous sex offense he committed in Texas. He faces charges stemming from this as well as the more recent alleged offense, which crossed state lines.

Martin, who is listed as a lifetime high-risk sexual offender by the Texas Department of Public Safety, has previous convictions for multiple child sex crime convictions, including at least one with a 7-year boy, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

According to 13-year Austin police officer Justin Berry, the incident is directly related to Austin’s decision to strip funding from the police in 2020, which he says pulled resources from units that monitor and purse convicted sex offenders.

"When the city of Austin defunded us by a third of our budget they also cut 150 officer positions," Berry, who is running to represent Texas’s 19th House District, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. "They always talk about how they gave the money back, but they didn’t give the positions back."

https://www.foxnews.com/us/austin-defunded-police-staff-monitor-sex-offenders