That’s a wrap – thank you for reading the Need to Know blog today. We will be back soon with more live coverage of news, so please join us then. These were some of the main stories:

• Lifting restrictions on US beef unlikely to hurt local farmers, industry says: Meat and Livestock Australia isn’t expecting the impact of the Albanese government’s decision to allow Mexican and Canadian beef slaughtered in the US into Australia to impact local farmers, given that nearly all beef consumed in Australia is raised locally.
• Trump signs AI orders, vows US will win race over new technology: US President Donald Trump signed executive orders to put in motion a new White House plan to boost artificial intelligence development in the US by loosening regulations and expanding energy supplies for data centres.
• Fortescue smashes export record: Fortescue shipped a record volume of iron ore in the year to June and is forecasting stronger growth in the next 12 months as production costs fall, while problems persist at its Iron Bridge project.
• Penalty rate legislation introduced into parliament: Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Amanda Rishworth has introduced legislation to protect penalty rates in parliament.
• Top UN court says countries must act on climate change: The International Court of Justice issued a strongly worded opinion Wednesday (Thursday AEST) saying that states must protect people from the “urgent and existential threat” of climate change, a major moment for the global environmental movement and for the countries at greatest risk of harm.