The US House of Representatives yesterday passed a $768 billion dollar defense policy bill which is set to increase the US defense budget by $24 billion, despite resistance from anti-war progressives within President Joe Biden’s own party.

Congress rejected the president’s wish to keep military spending essentially flat in a lopsided 363-70 vote, citing new threats from China and Russia as reasoning for the increase, with initiatives in the spending allocated to counter China and support Ukraine.

The Queensland Government has signaled it will join the federal government in its boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in China, despite pressure from the International Olympic Committee to attend the games.

The Federal Government cited human rights abuses against the minority Uyghur population as justification for the escalation, supporting a similar diplomatic boycott undertaken by the United States.

South East Queensland’s wild weather is expected to continue this afternoon with rain and a possible thunderstorm as an elderly woman was killed last night in floodwaters in Brisbane’s outer west.

Emergency services took three hours to locate the 75 year old and her car due to the flooding.

The Bureau Of Meteorology has predicted a 50-60 percent chance of any rain across Brisbane City across the next two days as hundreds of Gold Coast residents were left without power yesterday.

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has tested positive for COVID-19 while in Washington DC as part of an international delegation.

The deputy PM is experiencing mild symptoms and chose to get tested. He will remain in isolation in the US until otherwise advised. 

The deputy PM is now the highest-ranking politician in Australia to contract COVID-19.

Other members of the delegation have all tested negative.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved Moderna’s proposed COVID-19 booster shot for adults.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will now consider whether to approve the shot and for it to be used alongside the already approved Pfizer vaccine as part of the booster program.

The federal government predicts that over 1.7 million Australians will be eligible for a booster by Christmas with demand set to skyrocket in 2022 as more individuals become eligible after the recommended 6 month wait between shots.

Early data indicates that the Omicron Variant of COVID-19 seems to lessen the ability of the Pfizer vaccine to combat the virus.

The report out of South Africa consisted of laboratory experiments that suggested that vaccinated people might be vulnerable to contracting the Omicron strain of the virus as a breakthrough case, however that booster shots may provide more effective protection. 

Traditional Owners have expressed their disappointment over the Queensland’s government’s decisions to reject their application for a stop work order at a significant cultural site. 

Seven Wangan and Jagalignou Traditional Owners had requested the government investigate a potential breach of the Queensland Cultural Heritage Act, alleging that the artefacts were unlawfully distributed by the Carmicheal project site. 

Queensland has recorded its first case of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 in hotel quarantine. 

The man arrived in Cairns on a flight from Sydney on the 3rd of December, with all other passengers aboard the flight now being deemed as close contacts. 

Another man travelling from South Africa has also tested positive for the Omicron variant, however authorities do not believe the cases are linked.