This will be one of the last newsletters of the year (there’s a good news edition coming tomorrow for those interested!)

I want to say a huge thank you to every single person who has read TDA this year.

By reading, you have helped us become a sustainable media company that can provide accessible and digestible news for young Australians.

Writing this newsletter every day is one of the best parts of my job (particularly when you reply to the emails and we chat!) and I can’t wait to do it again next year.

I hope you all have a lovely holiday period.

The quote
“We know as cost of living bites and financial pressures build, so too does the risk of domestic violence and so I’m really concerned about this holiday period.” – Shadow Minister for Women Sussan Ley, who has urged Australians to share a domestic violence helpline on social media ahead of the holiday season to help any person who may need it. 1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732

The stat
48 years, one month, 18 days
The time U.S. man Glynn Simmons spent in prison for murder before a judge officially found him innocent this week. Data from the National Registry of Exonerations shows this is the longest time wrongfully spent in prison in modern American history.

Today in history
2010: U.S. President Barack Obama signed legislation to repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, which had banned LGBTQ+ people from serving openly in the U.S. military.

Some headlines from this morning:

Kirsty Bryant, 30, has become the first woman in Australia to give birth to a baby from a transplanted uterus.

The birth comes 11 months after Bryant's 53-year-old mother donated her uterus to her daughter following an extensive surgery.

The baby, which was carried in the same uterus as Bryant, was born healthy on 15 December.

Uterus transplant
Bryant had her first child, Violet, in 2021.

However, she suffered from a major haemorrhage after giving birth. She had to have an emergency hysterectomy (surgery to remove a uterus) and was told she wouldn't be able to carry another child.

Eventually, Bryant learned of a research trial at the Royal Hospital for Women looking into uterus transplantation.

In January this year, Bryant underwent a uterus transplant alongside her mother in a dual surgery that took 16 hours.

This made Bryant the first person in Australia, and among fewer than 100 people across the world, to have a uterus transplanted into her.

Successful birth
Following the transplant, Bryant gave birth by caesarean section at 37 weeks gestation.

The transplanted uterus can stay in the body for up to five years, or for the carriage and delivery of two babies.

Associate Professor Rebecca Deans, who led the research trial, said the birth "is the culmination of 25 years of collaborative research and persistence on a global scale so to be able to see a baby born here in Australia is incredible".

More transplants
After Bryant's transplant, two more women have received uterus transplants in Australia.

Prue Craven has Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hause (MRKH) Syndrome, which means she was born without a uterus. Craven received a uterus transplant and is currently in the second trimester of her pregnancy.

Police in Sydney have arrested a 37-year-old man over his suspected involvement in an alleged arson attack on a Bondi house belonging to YouTuber Jordan Shanks in November 2022.

The home of Shanks, known online as "Friendlyjordies", was significantly damaged in the blaze, but no one was at the property.

Police said they believe the fire was connected to organised crime in Sydney's southwest, and that more arrests are expected.

Friendlyjordies
Jordan Shanks is a social media personality, boasting more than 1.2 million subscribers on his Friendlyjordies YouTube channel.

Some of his videos have raised allegations against high-profile public figures, including former NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro.

Barilaro sued Shanks for defamation (damaging one's reputation) over videos where he was described as a "corrupt conman" among other things. The case was settled out of court.

The fire
Shanks' home in Bondi was set ablaze at midnight on 23 November 2022. He was on tour at the time.

Shanks' home and an attached property were seriously damaged allegedly by four people. His lawyers alleged his home was destroyed using a "firebomb" — a device that starts a fire when it's set off.

There had been a fire at the same Bondi house days earlier.

Investigation
Last month, police released CCTV footage hoping to identify two cars that had pulled up near the Bondi property when the fire broke out last year.

Police allege one of the cars, a Mercedes, had been stolen.

Since the fire, Shanks has shared a number of videos speculating about those who could have had a motive to attack him and said he feared for his life.

Arrest
Police yesterday confirmed a 37-year-old man was arrested in relation to the fire.

He was arrested at Silverwater jail (while imprisoned for another crime) in Sydney's west and appeared in court via video link.

He was charged with two counts of destroying property by using fire while in the company of others, which can carry an 11-year jail sentence. It's alleged he had driven one of the cars involved in the arson attack.

Organised crime
Police Superintendent Gordon Arbinja said the man has links to an organised crime group based in Sydney's south-west.

He added that the group had been identified in one of Shanks' videos on YouTube.

Some media reports have claimed the arrested person was identified in a Friendlyjordies episode titled "Coronation", where he spoke about an alleged crime family police believe are involved in drug dealing.

More arrests
Three more people are expected to be arrested in the coming weeks on the same arson charges.

All three are currently living in the community and Arbinja said investigators are "very close" to confirming the identities of those who were allegedly involved.

We are only a few weeks away from the kickoff of the Australian Open - and it’s the perfect time to discover fresh Aussie tennis talent. There’s nothing like a run deep into the tournament by a wildcard - and the atmosphere when a big upset goes down on the court just hits different.

Make sure you get to be part of the fun and buy your tickets here so you can see history unfold.

Get all the news you need to know today in your ears on The Daily Aus podcast!

The Matildas have sold out their 12th consecutive home match.

The upcoming qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympics sold out after the presale on Monday saw 25,000 tickets sell in four hours.

Over 50,000 people will watch the Matildas play Uzbekistan on 28 February in Melbourne.

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For this year’s final tidbit, I present to you a story that is rather… ballsy.

A new study has found there is a significantly increased risk of penile fractures during the Christmas period due to the “intimacy and euphoria” of the holiday season. In fact, penile fractures are most common during the three-day period from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day.

It says penile fractures are caused by “forceful bending of the erect penis during aggressive sexual intercourse”.

This is all according to the study “Penile fractures: the price of a merry Christmas” (yes, it’s a real study, you can read it here).

Dr Nikolaos Pyrgides, a urologist from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich who led the research, told The Guardian: “This injury tends to occur during wild sex – particularly in positions where you’re not in direct eye contact [with your partner].”

I have nothing more to add.

What a coincidence! That’s exactly who The Daily Aus reaches. Get in touch with us to see how we can work together.