Former Attorney General pick Matt Gaetz has turned his eyes towards a new career after claiming he was forced to exit Congress due to a 𝑠e𝑥 ‘smear’ campaign. Gaetz, sensationally dropped out of contention two days ago amid a sleuth of allegations including having 𝑠e𝑥 with a minor girl and and illicit drug use – which he has always denied. He also withdrew himself from Congress for next year despite having been re-elected to the seat he vacated.

A major New York tire factory that has operated for over a century is set to close after its executives moved its manufacturing overseas. Sumitomo Rubber USA, which owns tire maker Dunlop, fired 1,550 people this week as the Japanese company plans to close its Buffalo factory. The company did not announce plans at the same time to open a new factory, but said it made the ‘difficult decision’ because the New York manufacturer couldn’t keep up with overseas prices.

Communications minister Michelle Rowland has announced Labor will abandon its push to introduce a misinformation Bill. Ms Rowland made the announcement on Sunday following revelations the Greens, Coalition and several crossbenchers would not support the legislation. ‘Based on public statements and engagements with senators, it is clear that there is no pathway to legislate this proposal through the Senate,’ she said in a statement.

A teacher who warned Donald Trump supporters not to start a fight with her or they would lose, and die, says she would consider a more peaceful approach. Annie Dunleavy, 30, resigned from Chapman Elementary School in Cheshire, Connecticut, amid backlash against her Snapchat video. She went viral after the video she posted to a private channel vowing to leave Trump supporters ‘on a stretcher… forever’ if they ‘tested their gangster’ on her.

The Rev. Al Sharpton revealed Donald Trump unexpectedly cold called him after winning the presidency in 2016, claiming Trump told him: ‘You got me.’ The activist, 70, told the New York Times the out-of-the-blue phone call came after he went on MSNBC the day after Trump’s upset victory over Hillary Clinton. Explaining the shock to the nation, Sharpton stated that much of Trump’s appeal to the nation at the time stemmed from the perception of him as an outsider.

A female Israeli hostage was killed in an area of north Gaza when Israeli strikes pounded the region, a spokesperson for Hamas claimed today. Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, said that they had learned of the unnamed hostage’s fate after re-establishing contact with ‘those assigned to protect the captives’ ‘weeks’ after the strikes in northern Gaza Strip. It was not clear from the statement when the strikes were to have taken place.