Severe storms drenched parts of Maryland and Washington on Friday, May 27, as the National Weather Service (NWS) warned of winds up to 60 mph and potential penny-sized hail. This video is from a Maryland resident who said he shot it in Forest Hill, northeast of Baltimore, on Friday afternoon. A flood watch was in effect for Forest Hill until 11 pm Friday, per the NWS. The weather service said to expect a second round of storms Friday evening. Credit: Oliver Knapton via Storyful

Parts of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey were put under severe thunderstorm warnings on Friday, May 27, as a strong storm system moved over the region. This video was posted by Twitter user @kevs_wx, who said it shows the “intense rain” that fell in Pennsville, New Jersey, just south of Wilmington at the state border with Delaware, on Friday afternoon. The National Weather Service (NWS) warned the storm system could bring tornado potential, 65 mph wind gusts, and the possibility for isolated hail up to half an inch in size. Credit: @kevs_wx via Storyful

Firefighters in Ukraine’s eastern town of Bakhmut were containing a fire in a warehouse hit by a missile on Friday (May 27). Bakhmut lies at the start of a crucial supply road to the Ukrainian cities of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk, where Ukrainian troops are facing an uphill battle to repel a powerful Russian assault.

China's uncompromising "zero COVID" policies have battered the world's second-largest economy, with residents complaining about lost income, difficulties sourcing food, and mental stress. But migrant workers, of which there are 290 million, unable to work from home or earn steady pay, have it much worse than most. Reuters heard Sun Wu's story. Rachel Judah reports.

Police made the wrong decision on Tuesday when they believed they had a "barricaded subject" who was no longer an active shooter at a Texas school, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said on Friday.

Johnny Depp's attorneys appealed to jurors on Friday to restore his reputation with a verdict in his favor, while lawyers for his ex-wife Amber Heard asked them to recognize her free speech rights when they decide the actors' dueling defamation claims.

Countries should take quick steps to contain the spread of monkeypox and share data about their vaccine stockpiles, a senior World Health Organization official said on Friday (May 27). Rachel Graham reports.

Turkey expects Sweden and Finland to take concrete action and halt what it says is their support for terrorist groups in order for Ankara to lift its objections to them joining NATO, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday (May 27).

Protesters picketed outside the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual convention in Houston, Texas, on Friday, May 27, following a deadly shooting at an elementary school in the Lone Star State three days prior. Footage live-streamed by M Coleman Broker of America’s Hunting Network on Friday shows protesters holding anti-NRA and anti-gun violence signs outside the George R. Brown Convention Center, while some chanted “protect kids, not guns!” as they faced mounted police. On May 24, a gunman shot and killed at least 19 children and two teachers with an AR-15 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, south Texas. Credit: M Coleman Broker/America’s Hunting Network via Storyful

Protesters rallied for gun reform on May 27 close to the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, where the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual convention was being held three days after school shooting in Uvalde, south Texas. In the wake of the shooting, during which a gunman with an AR-15 killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, gun-control advocates were again calling on lawmakers to take measures to limit gun access. Credit: Sophia Beatriz Saenz via Storyful

A US army officer deployed overseas surprised her daughter before her high school graduation in Alabama in late May, emerging as her daughter watched a congratulatory video message she had sent her to keep up the ruse. Footage released by the US Army shows Jai Sisk sitting in a restaurant as she watched a montage that her mom, Chief Warrant Officer Trina Sisk, had made because would not see Jai graduate in person…. or so Jai thought. “Though I’m not there with you in person, know that I am always there,” Sisk told her daughter in the video message, which included photos of her daughter throughout the years. As the tribute video concluded, Jai joked that her mom looked “like one of them soldiers in them videos on TV.” A moment later, Jai turned to her right and, seeing her mother, leaped from her seat to hug her. After the graduation, Sisk was due to return to duty in Kuwait in support of Operation Spartan Shield, the US Army said. Credit: US Army via Storyful

Crosses and tributes lined Uvalde’s town square on Thursday, May 26, following an elementary school shooting that killed at least 19 children and two teachers on May 24. Video filmed by Jimmy Robles on Thursday shows people visiting the memorial and laying flowers. The crosses were organized by Lutheran Church Charities, according to news reports, and include the name of the victim and a marker for mourners to leave messages. Credit: Jimmy Robles via Storyful

Parts of North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia were under storm warnings on Friday, May 27, as the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast rain, wind, and lightning for upstate South Carolina. Samantha Weiss said she recorded this footage in Boiling Springs, northwest of Spartanburg, on Friday morning. The NWS warned the area could see scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms, with main potential impact likely to be cloud-to-ground lightning strikes and gusty winds. Credit: Samantha Weiss via Storyful

A house explosion that killed at least four people and leveled three homes in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, on May 26 rattled a house more than half a mile from the scene, security footage shows. The footage, posted to Twitter, shows a door shaking as the sound of a blast is heard. The house is located 0.67 miles northwest of the site of the explosion. Local officials said at least four people were killed, two people were hospitalized, and a further two people were believed missing as of Thursday evening. Credit: @JayRod924 via Storyful

New Yorkers protested against gun violence in Times Square on Thursday, May 26, two days after a gunman entered an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and killed at least 19 children and two teachers on May 24. Footage from Adam Klesh shows protesters in white veils holding photographs of the children who were killed, as an activist gives a speech calling on elected officials to act. Credit: Adam Klesh via Storyful

New York City’s Empire State Building lit up on May 26 to promote the launch of the fourth season of hit Netflix show Stranger Things. The event was part of a partnership with Netflix to promote the show over two months beginning on May 26. Credit: Klara Steidle via Storyful

A strange mystical object appeared on Sydney's Bondi Beach on Friday morning as part of a Netflix publicity stunt. The life-sized advertisement is being used to promote the fourth season of the popular television series Stranger Things.

Anthony Albanese is facing his first major challenge as Prime Minister, with a surge in power bills expected across the country.

Sydneysiders stopped at Bondi Beach on May 27 to take in a giant installation promoting the Netflix show Stranger Things on the sands of one of the city’s most iconic beaches. This footage, filmed by Instagram user devansview, shows crowds gathered around the site, as people in yellow hazmat suits pretend to inspect the object, which fans of the show would recognize as an Upside Down rift. In an Instagram post, Netflix said “Hawkins [the fictional town in which Stranger Things is based], do you copy? We could use a little help down here at Bondi…”, revealing that the display was erected to promote the premiere of the new season of the hit Netflix show. Credit: devansview via Storyful

New York City’s Empire State Building lit up on May 26 to promote the launch of the fourth season of hit Netflix show Stranger Things. The event was part of a partnership with Netflix to promote the show over two months beginning on May 26. Video posted on Instagram by Kirit Prajapati on May 26 shows the light show. Credit: Kirit Prajapati via Storyful

CIS research scholar Scott Prasser says the Liberal Party has “largely vacated the field” in the last nine years. Dr Prasser said Morrison had a tendency of being a “pragmatist of the worst kind”. “In the end he became a hollow man, and the party and the government became a hollow government which didn’t really stand for anything,” he told Sky News host Gary Hardgrave.

CIS Research scholar Scott Prasser says the election “was already lost” before the election campaign even started. “We all know that,” he said.

Former Speaker of the House Bronwyn Bishop says Treasurer Jim Chalmers is using the “oldest trick in the book” when speaking about Labor’s economic challenges. Mr Chalmers said in a press conference the Labor government has “inherited” economic challenges from the Liberals. “They’re going to be hit with inflation continuing to rise, we will see the cost of electricity going through the roof and this is going to hit people exactly where they were,” Ms Bishop told Sky News host Gary Hardgrave.

Former Speaker of the House Bronwyn Bishop says the people, customs and cultures of the Pacific region “need to be respected”. “You have to understand the politics of many of the island states, and it’s true of Papua New Guinea as well,” she said. “It’s big man politics. “You have to respect the leader, and then do the negotiations.”

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison was booed at the AFL.

CBS News correspondent Scott Mayman says the media’s coverage of the federal election did nothing but “humanise” then-opposition leader Anthony Albanese. “We saw six weeks of campaigning, and all these gotcha moments involving journalists,” Mr Mayman said. “It was deplorable … it made a mockery of the journalistic profession.”

Commentator and YouTuber Daisy Cousens says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refusing to commit to how much of a wage rise he wanted looks like an “each-way Albo thing”. “But if he doesn’t put a number on it, it’s political genius because the raise could be even higher than the inflationary and then he would look great,” she told Sky News host Cory Bernardi.

Sky News host Cory Bernardi says the World Economic Forum in Davos is an “annual festival of elite self-adoration”. “It's where billionaires, bureaucrats and BS artists get together to plan how they can shape the world in their image,” Mr Bernardi said. This year’s Davos meeting is run under the mantra of '"Working Together, Restoring Trust". “It's a wise move given how their agenda to oppress, control and coerce normal people has come to the fore over the past couple of years.”

Sky News host Cory Bernardi questions whether voters are “dopers or just dopes” after the Legalise Cannabis Party received more votes in the last election compared to previous years. Mr Bernardi said when he had his own party, he was beaten by the Animal Justice Party and the Legalise Cannabis Party, despite “spending millions” on his campaign. “At least the Animal Justice mob had a really, really good-looking model on their posters and at their polling booth to entice people to vote for them,” Mr Bernardi said. “But the marijuana campaign had nothing - no posters, no how-to votes, no public face. “Incredibly, the same non-campaign saw them secure 5.2 per cent of the Queensland first preference senate vote - finishing just behind One Nation."

An energy partnership between Germany and the United States includes expanding off-shore wind power generation and co-operation on using hydrogen in industrial production, German economy minister Robert Habeck said on Friday (May 27).

Sky News host Joe Hildebrand says he can’t believe Peter van Onselen didn’t vote in the federal election. Mr van Onselen made the admission during Channel Ten’s federal election coverage. “In a land of compulsory voting, where he said he was in a seat of teal independents versus Liberals … he didn’t vote,” Mr Hildebrand.

Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan says television personality Kim Kardashian can now add food ambassador to her list of “supposed accomplishments”. “She’s filmed this cringe-making ad for meatless burger brand Beyond Meat,” he said. Mr Morgan said he saw something in the advertisement which made him “rather suspicious” – Ms Kardashian is never seen actually eating the meat. “I’ve rumbled you, Kim Kardashian, have you ever actually eaten that vegan gruel or are you just taking the cash?” he said.

Liberal MP Angus Taylor says he has “never heard so much rot” about Australia’s energy policy. Incoming Energy Minister Chris Bowen has blamed the previous Liberal government’s “nine years of policy chaos” for a poor Australian energy system. Mr Taylor, who was formerly Energy Minister, said it’s time for Labor to “step up and actually address the issue”. “First is, we’ve seen more renewables come into our grid. Last year, and the year before,” Mr Taylor said. “We’ve got the highest rate of household solar in the world. “One of the highest rates of renewable investment in the world.”

Sky News host James Morrow blames the “most leftie outfit of all” – the Chinese Communist Party – for young people not watching television. “What are all the youths doing right now? They’re all watching the TikToks and that’s all a CCP propaganda exercise,” Mr Morrow said.

Dame Joan Collins says the stripping of honorifics off the plaque of female Wimbledon winners is “just the way things are going”. “Since Emmeline Pankhurst, women have fought, fought, fought for equal rights so I suppose this is them saying this is equal rights,” she told Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan.

The Canadian Royal Air Force prepared a shipment M777 howitzers for transport to Ukraine, the RCAF said. Video from the RCAF shows uniformed men with Canadian flag arm patches loading M777 howitzers and containers onto a CC-177 Globemaster (the Canadian designation for the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III) marked RCAF. The RCAF’s Facebook post identified them as a crew from the 429 Transport Squadron, based in Trenton, Ontario. The RCAF said on May 26 that its CC-177 transport crew from 429 Transport Squadron had so far moved more than 1.3 million pounds (roughly 590,000 kilograms) of cargo and aid from Canada to Europe, “including the delivery of M777 howitzers.” Canadian forces have also trained some Ukrainian troops to use the howitzers. Credit: Royal Canadian Air Force via Storyful

Pop superstars ABBA made an in-person appearance at the premiere of their ABBA Voyage show, in which digital avatars of the band members perform, in London, England, on May 26. The concert uses special effects to create avatars of how the band looked and acted in the 1970s and it is these avatars, not the real musicians, who perform the concert. According to the BBC, the band practiced in motion capture suits for five weeks, with 160 cameras scanning their body movements and facial expressions to create the avatars. Credit: peterjhenshaw via Storyful

Former Australia-China Council scholar Andrew Phelan says the China pact with the Solomon Islands has “taken everyone by surprise”. “I think the lesson there is to anticipate China’s next move rather than react to it when it happens,” he told Sky News host Chris Smith. Mr Phelan said there was “new competition” between US President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and the China Pacific Island Common Development Vision plans. “How’s this going to pan out? It’s very ambitious … it’s basically game on at the moment,” he said.

Filmmaker Rachel Perkins says the Indigenous Voice to Parliament will give Indigenous people a “say” on laws that impact them. “All that it does is asks that when those laws are made, Indigenous people get to have a say on it – give advice to parliament,” Ms Perkins said. “Not a veto, not a third chamber – just advice on practical measures to improve the lives of Indigenous people. “If you’re going to make laws in relation to Aboriginal people, it seems fair that Aboriginal people get to have a say about that.”

Conservative commentator Esther Krakue says questions should be asked about why the “mood in Westminster was so nonchalant” about COVID-19, especially as Prime Minister Boris Johnson had contracted the virus. “It’s set a dangerous precedent, hasn’t it, because now we can’t trust anything that the Tory government comes out with,” she told Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan. “One thing that makes me even sadder is actual, decent, conservative MPs that are now being tainted by this scandal.”

ABC journalists have exposed themselves as “taxpayer-funded political operatives” after celebrating Labor’s victory on social media, according to Sky News Digital Editor Jack Houghton. “These senior taxpayer-funded personalities think it’s acceptable to use their platforms to publicly shame reporters who are just doing their jobs,” Mr Houghton said.

Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan says he feels sorry for the man who will be the “other half to the world’s worst celebrity narcissist”. “Madonna, aged 63, is reportedly auditioning for a new boy toy after splitting from her 28 year old backing dancer lover – presumably because he’s now far too old,” he said. “A source close to the cringe making singer the thought of grey hair or wrinkles is a massive turn off, what she wants is a hard-bodied hot guy in his late 20s. “Whoever that poor guy turns out to be, I wish him all the very best of luck because he’s going to need it.”

Sky News contributor Caleb Bond says the Nationals would be “silly” to pick another leader over Barnaby Joyce. “If they get rid of Barnaby Joyce and you end up with Darren Chester – Darren Chester is a nice enough bloke and he is a good local member but he is of the left of the National Party,” Mr Bond told Sky News host Cory Bernardi. “And I fear it would drag them in the wrong direction and send them the wrong way. “You need someone strong who stands up for the regions, like Barnaby Joyce, with someone strong who will stand up for the country, like Peter Dutton, and I think that creates quite a formidable Coalition.”

Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan says having “two faces” has never been a problem for Ellen DeGeneres. The Ellen Show aired its final episode on Friday after 19 seasons and two decades on television. “Staff reportedly endured endless toxic bullying culture, and discrimination and sexual harassment for which she eventually issued a grovelling on-air apology,” Mr Morgan said. “So, goodbye and good riddance Ellen because like so many woke celebrities, you’re a complete fraud.”

Once a town of 20,000 people, Popasna in the Ukrainain region of Luhansk looked like a ghost town on Thursday (May 26) as few residents were still risking their lives daily under constant shelling.

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists' President Vinay Lakra says the rise of votes for the Legalise Cannabis Australia Party shows people want substance use to be seen as an “illness” rather than as a crime. “What I can certainly see is there is a lot of people in the country who are more focused on the criminal element of substance use and probably want us to do more in terms of diverting people to seek help for their health problems,” Mr Lakra said. “The message I would take from that is there are more people who are wanting us to see substance use as an illness or health problem and that we need to do more to make sure they seek help.”

GT Communications’ Gemma Tognini says the Queen is a “remarkable example” of what a leader is. Ms Tognini said the Queen was an example of “purpose over preference” after coming into the role young and remaining in the position for 70 years.

The Australian’s Adam Creighton says both of the major parties in America don’t have “the stomach” to reform the United States’ gun laws. “Because 30 per cent of Americans have a gun and 40 per cent of American households have access to a gun and so when you have that many guns in the country … it’s extremely difficult to regulate them,” Mr Creighton told Sky News host Chris Smith. “It’s really insoluble and terrible problem in my view.”

A wave cloud turned brilliant colors over Reno, Nevada, during a sunset on May 26, the National Weather Service (NWS) said, publishing this footage. Timelapse footage posted by the NWS in Reno shows clouds passing over the mountains and city, deepening in color as the sun sets. Credit: NWS Reno via Storyful