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Tom Williams
Tom Williams is a digital journalist with ABC News who often writes about technology, climate and consumer issues, music and pop culture. You can follow him on X at @tom__williams.
Latest by Tom Williams
Urgent meetings, router resets and 400 workers: Behind the scenes of the Optus outage
By Tom Williams
Submissions to a Senate inquiry outline what happened behind the scenes as Optus rushed to fix its recent outage.
Military warships use sonar for tracking underwater targets. But how dangerous is it to humans?
By Julian Fell and Tom Williams
Australian naval personnel have sustained minor injuries to their ears after being subjected to sonar pulses from a Chinese warship. Here's what you need to know about the technology.
Optus CEO resigns in wake of nationwide outage
By Tom Williams
Optus chief executive officer Kelly Bayer Rosmarin resigns in the wake of November 8's major outage, saying it is "in the best interests of Optus going forward".
Updated
Australia votes to name its first Moon rover, after four shortlisted names are announced — as it happened
By Tom Williams
The Australian Space Agency reveals four potential names for the country's first Moon rover, as part of a competition that now heads to a public vote.
Updated
Apple announces surprise adoption of 'the new SMS' pushed by Google
By Tom Williams
Issues between blue and green message bubbles could soon be a thing of the past, as Apple moves to adopt the RCS standard.
Snacks and treats are becoming 'luxury items' as Australians battle rising grocery prices
By Tom Williams
New data suggests many Australian shoppers are now treating snacks as luxury items, to combat rising grocery prices.
What caused Optus's outage, and how long was it down for? Here's what we know
By Tom Williams
Services are being restored after millions of Optus customers were left without phone and internet services. Here's what we know about the outage.
Updated
Trump leads Biden in key polls a year out from 2024 US election
By Tom Williams, with wires
New polls show Joe Biden faces a tough road to securing another four years in the White House.
What you need to know about Donald Trump Jr's testimony in the trial which threatens his father's real estate empire
By Tom Williams, with wires
The former US president's eldest son testifies in court, ahead of more family appearances in the coming days.
Updated
This fridge 'doesn't make things cold'. It's won a Shonky Award, just like Coles and Woolworths
By Tom Williams
Consumer advocacy group CHOICE calls out "the very worst products and services" it found this year.
Updated
'A classic example of greenwashing': UN climate summit website criticised over 'low carbon' toggle
By Tom Williams
The COP28 summit reworks its website after a "low carbon" toggle is found to have little impact on its energy usage.
Updated
Second aid convoy crosses into Gaza as death toll there passes 4,600 — as it happened
By Lara Smit, Andrew Thorpe, Allyson Horn, Judd Boaz, Maani Truu, and Tom Williams
Israeli missiles reportedly strike the two main airports in Syria, as the US says it is sending more air defences to the Middle East.
Updated
Rafah crossing opens to allow trucks carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza — as it happened
Israel allows trucks carrying food, water and medicine through the southern crossing from Egypt into Gaza, ahead of a potential invasion, the Associated Press reports.
Updated
Sunak stresses importance of providing aid to Gaza during Israel trip, as Dutton calls on Albanese to visit — as it happened
By Lara Smit, Claudia Williams, Dan Nancarrow, Brianna Morris-Grant, Debra Killalea, Sian Johnson, Tavleen Singh, Caitlin Rawling, Tom Williams, and Riley Stuart
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Palestinians are victims of Hamas's attack and stresses the importance of providing humanitarian access. Look back on our live coverage.
Updated
US president meets with war cabinet in Israel as second repatriation flight touches down in Sydney — as it happened
By Lara Smit, Audrey Courty, Riley Stuart, Daniel Keane, Georgie Hewson, Sian Johnson, Debra Killalea, Tom Williams, Brad Ryan, Caitlin Rawling, and Nick Dole
US President Joe Biden says he is "saddened and outraged" by an explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip, as families are reunited at Sydney airport.
Updated
AEC rejects suggestions of interference at remote polls, as Indigenous leaders start 'week of silence' — as it happened
The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council is holding "a week of silence" to mourn the outcome of the referendum, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are lowered to half-mast.
Updated
Australians vote against a Voice to Parliament with every state returning a No vote — as it happened
By Jessica Riga, Casey Briggs, Maani Truu, Audrey Courty, Dannielle Maguire, Georgie Hewson, Tom Williams, and Caitlin Rawling
A No vote is recorded nationally and in all six states as the Voice to Parliament proposal is defeated in Australia's first referendum this century. Look back on all the results in our blog.
Updated
Israel Defense Forces warn over 1 million Gazans to relocate to the south — as it happened
By Liana Walker, Michael Doyle, Inasha Iftekhar , Riley Stuart, Lara Smit, Cason Ho, Audrey Courty, John Lyons, Debra Killalea, Bridget Judd, Tessa Flemming, Tom Williams, and Stephanie Borys
Israel tells civilians living in northern Gaza to head south, warning them the military will operate "significantly" in Gaza City in the coming days.
Updated
'Hamas should be crushed': Netanyahu wants sanctions against any nation who meets with terror group — as it happened
By Liana Walker, Riley Stuart, Lara Smit, Leonie Thorne, Inasha Iftekhar , Daniel Keane, Audrey Courty, Caitlin Rawling, Claudia Williams, Debra Killalea, Tom Williams, and Brad Ryan
Displaced civilians in Gaza say after mosques and schools were hit by Israeli air strikes, they have nowhere to find safety, while Israel recruits advocates for the country online.
Updated
Fat Bear Week title awarded to female who gained weight during 'single girl summer'
By Tom Williams
A female brown bear named Grazer is voted the winner of Alaska's popular Fat Bear Week poll.
New Zealand man bungee jumps 941 times in one day to reclaim world record
By Tom Williams, with ABC News Breakfast
Mike Heard completed 500 more jumps than his previous record, and credits much of his success to working on his mental health.
The Matildas' Sam Kerr has been turned into an AI chatbot, and Mark Zuckerberg says there are 'a lot more coming'
By Tom Williams, with wires
Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — unveils new celebrity AI chatbots, smart glasses and a refreshed mixed reality headset.
Bureau of Meteorology formally declares El Niño weather event — your questions answered
By Tom Williams, Brianna Morris-Grant and ABC meteorologist Tom Saunders
The Bureau of Meteorology formally declares an El Niño weather event, months after the World Meteorological Organization announced the same.
Updated
The US has taken Google to court for allegedly rigging the internet search market. Here's what has happened so far
By Tom Williams, with wires
The US government has told a federal court that Google has exploited its position as "the gatekeeper of the internet" to destroy competition.
Updated
Multimillionaire property developer admits comments about 'arrogant' workers were 'deeply insensitive'
By Tom Williams
Tim Gurner says he regrets comments he made at a media event, which were slammed by workers, unions and politicians.