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Good morning.
Late last night, UK police revealed they had arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew. Police said he was arrested “on suspicion of misconduct in public office”.
It comes after UK police recently announced an investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor for allegedly sharing confidential material with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
King Charles has since said in a statement: “In this, as I have said before, [authorities] have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation.”
Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing.
In other news, yesterday was his birthday.
I’ve got 10 seconds
The quote: “The intention of the company was to prey on teens… exploit them so they can make greater profits… That was done intentionally, not by accident.”
Mother Julianna Arnold, whose daughter died by suicide, testifying against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a trial about social media addiction and its impacts on children, according to CNN. Arnold believes her daughter’s death was caused by social media. Lifeline: 13 11 14.
The stat: 8. The number of skiers dead in the U.S. state of California’s Lake Tahoe region after the worst American avalanche in forty years hit the area.
The big question:
How often do you check your phone before waking up?
Yesterday’s results: 48% of you said you were a morning person [2,500 votes].
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Complaints to Australia’s Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman have surged following multiple recent triple-zero outages across the Optus and Telstra networks. A new report also showed a spike in concerns about internet outages and rising claims for compensation. The findings come after an Optus outage impacted triple-zero calls in four states and territories for almost 14 hours in September 2025. In November, Telstra reported a hardware problem preventing some older Samsung phones from connecting to emergency services. Telstra, Australia’s biggest telco, announced a $1.1 billion half-year net profit on Thursday, up 9.4% from the same time in 2024.
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% for January with nearly 18,000 jobs created, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Figures out on Thursday fell slightly below expectations, with economists warning another interest rate rise is likely in the coming months. According to the ABS, the number of people in full-time work increased by 50,000 last month, but that was partly offset by a drop in the number of part-time employees. Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the job market as resilient “during a challenging economic period,” and said 4.1% unemployment is “very low… by historical standards”. Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume said Australians are “doing their bit,” but “still falling behind”. It comes after separate ABS figures released yesterday showed wage growth has fallen below the rate of inflation for the first time since September 2023.
Recommendation of the day
A lipstick that’s changing the game
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Eight wearable shades – from nude to red – mean you can swipe it on for uni, brunch, or whatever comes next.
I’ve got 1 minute
eBay has struck a deal to buy Depop from Etsy.
Depop is a digital platform popular with young people where users buy and sell secondhand clothes.
It is expected to retain its current brand identity, including its name, logo, and digital platforms.
The $US1.2 billion ($AU1.7 billion) deal is expected to be finalised by June.
What’s Depop?
Depop was founded in 2011 by Simon Beckerman and Maria Raga for readers of an Italian fashion magazine to buy items featured in its issues.
Now, it’s a marketplace for secondhand clothes, primarily through its app.
Etsy acquired it for $US1.6 billion in 2021, allowing it to continue to operate independently.
As of December 2025, Depop had more than 10 million active buyers and sellers. Almost 90% of buyers are under the age of 34.
The deal
The boards of both companies unanimously approved the deal, which is all cash (no shares).
It still needs to be approved by financial authorities.
Etsy CEO Kruti Patel Goyal called the deal “a positive next step for all involved,” adding that she believes Depop will be “well-positioned for its next phase of growth” under eBay.
Depop CEO Peter Semple said the company is “thrilled to begin this next chapter” with eBay.
Reporting by Achol Arok.
Quick hits
🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, Lucy explains the controversies surrounding ‘Wuthering Heights’.
🌞 Need some good news? You can sign up to TDA’s dedicated Good News newsletter here, and wake up to silver linings in your inbox on Sunday morning.
Sun fact of the day
That golden hour glow hits hard – unfortunately, so does the UV. SPF50+ first, photos second.
*Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.
I’ve got 2 minutes
On Monday night (local time), U.S. late night talk show host Stephen Colbert announced he would not air an interview with a Democrat political candidate.
Instead, the late night host directed viewers to his YouTube channel to watch the segment.
Colbert said lawyers from the show’s network (CBS) told him in “no uncertain terms” that it would not air the interview due to a regulatory broadcast policy called the “equal time rule”.
Here’s what’s going on.
Equal time rule
In the U.S, if a broadcast station gives airtime to a political candidate during an election, it must offer equivalent airtime to all other candidates running for the same office.
The law is designed to prevent broadcasters from using publicly accessible airwaves (i.e. free TV and radio) to give one candidate an advantage over their rivals.
The equal time rule is monitored and enforced by the U.S. media regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Exemptions
The rule applies only to broadcast television and radio. It does not cover cable news channels (e.g. Fox News and CNN), streamers, or online video on platforms like YouTube and Spotify.
Broadcast talk shows (such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) have also historically operated under an exemption.
The “bona fide news exemption” recognises that not every appearance by a politician is directly related to a campaign.
Due to this exemption, the equal time rule has never been enforced on a talk show before.
Last month, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who U.S. President Donald Trump chose to lead the agency, issued new guidance for the rule specifically referencing “late night and daytime talk shows.”
The guidance clarified that the exemption did not automatically apply to all talk shows, as had been the case in practice for decades, and expressed concerns about those that are “motivated by partisan purposes”.
Politics
In 2024, CBS aired an interview with then-Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Republican candidate Donald Trump sued CBS over the editing of the interview, alleging it was an attempt to “tip the scales in favour of the Democratic Party”.
CBS settled the lawsuit with Trump in July 2025 for $US16 million. On his show, Colbert referred to the settlement as “a big fat bribe”.
Three days later, CBS announced ‘The Late Show’ would end in May 2026.
Colbert
On Monday night, Colbert told his studio audience that CBS lawyers said the network wouldn’t air his interview with James Talarico, due to the FCC’s new guidance on the equal time rule.
Talarico is running to be the Democrat candidate at a November election to fill one of Texas’ seats in the U.S. Senate.
Instead, Colbert directed viewers to YouTube, where the segment has since been viewed millions of times.
Response
Following the episode, CBS issued a statement saying it didn’t stop Colbert from broadcasting the interview.
The network said it provided “legal guidance that the broadcast could trigger the FCC equal time rule for two other candidates,” including Jasmine Crockett, who is running against Talarico to be the Democrat candidate.
Carr said: “Colbert and Talarico concocted a scheme to try to drive views and clicks and donations, and apparently votes by claiming falsely that the Government had somehow censored their program.”
Reporting by Elliot Lawry.
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Give me some good news
Playing Tetris could help reduce distressing memories of trauma, researchers have found.
The University of Cambridge partnered with Oxford University and other global institutions to study health workers who had been exposed to trauma at work during the pandemic. The results of a trial showed the “simple, digital intervention” of playing Tetris could dramatically lessen the frequency of intrusive memories experienced by participants. Study co-author Charlotte Summers said: “At a time when global healthcare systems remain under intense pressure, the discovery… is an exciting step forward.”
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA titbit
Cross-country skiers at the Olympics had a surprising companion as they crossed the finish line: a dog.
The two-year-old dog, named Nazgul, broke out of his home and ended up on the track in the cross-country skiing qualifiers.
Croatian 21-year-old Olympic skier Tena Hadzic questioned whether she was hallucinating during the race when she saw the dog, telling NPR: “I was like… I don't know what I should do, because maybe he could attack me, bite me”.
After the pup made it over the finish line, his owners told journalists: “He was crying this morning more than normal because he was seeing us leaving — and I think he just wanted to follow us”.
He was safely returned to the bed and breakfast he lives in.
Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.
TDA asks
