☕ 158 years in prison for murder of Aussie brothers

Today, TDA is interviewing Communications Minister and Sport Minister Anika Wells.

Wells is the minister behind the social media ban for under-16s, and more recently introduced the Digital Duty of Care bill.

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The quote: “President Trump is a kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, enthusiastic, and hardworking man. I wish more Americans appreciated him. No one will ever make America great the way he has and continues to. It was an honor to work for him.”
Katie Zacharia, in a post on X after being fired as the White House Press Secretary after a five-day stint in the role.

The stat: 3,400. The number of unread emails in an inbox belonging to the Sydney Local Health District, discovered over the weekend. The inbox included elective surgery referrals dating back as far as late 2025. A district spokesperson apologised to affected patients and said a review will begin.

The big question:

Friday’s results: 63% of you wouldn’t go out of your way to visit a Michelin-starred restaurant while travelling, while 37% would. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA’s journalism and research. [2,635 votes]

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The AFL has announced it will test every player for illicit drugs as they return to training in January.

The league plans to use hair tests, which it says can show substance use from up to six months ago.

It comes after the AFL suspended Carlton defender Lachie Cowan for two games after he took an illicit substance at a teammate’s house party earlier this month

Ambulance crews were called to a South Yarra home early on Sunday 11 October.

Carlton released a statement that afternoon confirming Cowan and his teammate Will Hayward had been admitted to hospital “under separate circumstances”.

According to the club, Cowan received medical treatment and underwent observation, while Hayward received stitches for a minor cut to the head.

On Friday, the league announced it had found Cowan guilty of conduct unbecoming and handed a two-match ban. Hayward was not sanctioned.

Cowan said he “should never have put [him]self in such a vulnerable situation,” and called it “a wake-up call”.

The AFL will implement a new drug policy ahead of the 2027 season.

AFL COO Tom Harley said players “have a responsibility to themselves and their professional careers to uphold community expectations.”

As players begin training next year, they will submit to hair tests, which can be analysed in a lab to show drug use over roughly the past 90 days, though the league says it can detect use from “as far back” as six months earlier.

Reporting by George Finlayson.

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Three men have been sentenced to 158 years in prison for the 2024 murders of Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson, and their American friend Carter Rhoad in Mexico.

The Robinsons and Rhoad disappeared in April 2024 on a surfing trip in Mexico’s Baja California region. The men’s bodies were found in a well in a remote part of the state.

The Robinsons’ parents, who travelled from Perth for the trial, said they hope the guilty conviction “represents an important step towards justice and accountability.”

In April 2024, the Robinson brothers and Rhoad were reported missing after they failed to check in to an Airbnb.

Police then discovered a burnt-out car and abandoned tents believed to have been used by the men.

Their bodies were later found in an unused well in a remote part of Baja California, around 100km from the Mexico-U.S. border.

Authorities believe the men were shot dead by thieves trying to steal their belongings, their car, or its tyres.

Three men were arrested in 2024 in connection to the alleged murders.

Under Mexican law, only their given names can be published: Ángel Jesús, Irineo Francisco, and Jesús Gerardo, known as ‘El Kekas’.

At a 2025 hearing, prosecutors said they would seek 210-year prison sentences for each alleged offender. An additional 168-year sentence is sought for El Kekas for forced disappearance.

Last year, El Kekas’ ex-girlfriend Ari Gisell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in instigating the robbery leading to the alleged murders.

The trial began last month in Ensenada, Baja California. Witnesses, including Gisell, told the judge – who was a last-minute replacement after the original judge sustained an injury in an “accident” – about what has been characterised as a robbery gone wrong.

Gisell told the court El Kekas described killing the men to her, including that they gave the killers their car and phones and “begged not to be killed”, according to ABC reporting. The court also heard that El Kekas was a known hitman.

Last week, a judge found all three men guilty of offences including aggravated homicide, violent robbery and vehicle theft.

The court handed down their sentences on Friday (local time). The court did not disclose the men’s full names for legal reasons.

Each man was sentenced to 158 years and nine months in prison: 135 years for aggravated homicide, 10 years and nine months for aggravated robbery involving violence, and 13 years for the violent theft of a vehicle.

Callum and Jake’s parents Debra and Martin Robinson travelled from Perth to Ensenada for the trial.

Last month, the judge agreed to the Robinsons’ request to deliver his verdict by 9 October, the day they were scheduled to fly home from Mexico.

Outside the court that day, Martin Robinson said: “While no verdict can ever bring back our boys or ease the heartbreak of losing them, we hope this outcome represents an important step towards justice and accountability.” “We will forever carry their memory in our hearts,” he added.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

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The 13-month old sisters from Fiji were born joined at the lower abdomen and pelvis. It took surgeons almost 13 hours to separate organs including their liver, bowel, and urinary tract, the ABC reported. Doctors announced late Thursday night, local time, that the girls had been successfully separated and that reconstruction had begun. The surgery was carried out for free under a Saudi hospital program, which has now overseen the separation of 74 sets of conjoined twins.

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

Dan Sullivan is competing against Dan Sullivan to win a Senate seat for the U.S. state of Alaska in the upcoming midterms.

You read it right: Republican senator Dan S. Sullivan is trying to get re-elected. His main opponent is Democrat candidate Mary Pelota, but he has another opponent: Dan J. Sullivan.

Both Dan Sullivans advanced to the general election after securing enough votes in earlier rounds. U.S. President Donald Trump has since weighed in, accusing one of the Dan Sullivans of being fake. We’ll let you decide which one. 

Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.