Trump State of The Union Speech (Full) 2026

Outgoing National MP Andrew Bayly is calling for New Zealand’s superannuation age to begin rising from the next parliamentary term, arguing that continued delay will make future reform more severe. His proposal would increase eligibility by one month each year from 2029, eventually lifting the age from 65 to 68 by 2065. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Craig McCulloch for RNZ HERE · Andrew Bayly is using his final weeks in Parliament to…

Bessent explains Wall Street, the financial press, and Democrats keep being proved wrong—contrasting Canada’s job losses with a blowout U.S. jobs report, calling out FT/WSJ panic, and framing a Red Queen economy that must outrun debt, China, and skills gaps. By Barbara Boyd · Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells Steve Bannon that critics in Wall Street, the financial press, and Democrats keep being proved wrong, contrasting Canada’s job…

National says widening access to 5 percent-deposit mortgages will help thousands more New Zealanders into their first homes. But viewed through eLocal’s Hollowing Out of New Zealand investigation, the policy raises a more fundamental question: does helping households take on larger mortgages actually create national wealth — or does it reinforce the financial system that helped make housing unaffordable in the first place? eLocal Report: Based…

Dr Robert Malone argues that soaring rates of reported mental-health problems among women may reflect something broader than an epidemic of psychiatric disease. Drawing together surveys on diagnosis, life satisfaction, loneliness and global mental-health burden, he asks whether modern culture and the medical system itself is increasingly turning ordinary human distress into pathology. eLocal Report: Based on commentary and research presented by…

Donald Trump's special envoys arrive in Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin in a fresh bid to resolve the Ukraine conflict. Ukraine's anti-corruption agency exposes an alleged fraud and money-laundering scheme involving allies of Vladimir Zelensky, with five arrests made. A Philippine court lifts an arrest order on Vice President Sara Duterte after she posts bail. And as Germany's AfD eyes its first local election victory, we examine its…