☕️ When Donald met Kamala

Today is R U OK? Day – an annual reminder to start conversations with friends or family members for the purpose of listening and offering support.

If you’re not sure how to ask someone if they’re ok, we like this guide. And if you’re feeling a little off, that’s also ok - you can explore a wealth of resources here.

“Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”
X owner Elon Musk in a post to his social media platform after Taylor Swift announced she is planning to vote for Kamala Harris for President. Swift signed her announcement “Childless Cat Lady”, in reference to comments made by Donald Trump’s running-mate JD Vance in 2021.

53 days
The number of days left until the US Election on 5 November. Yesterday, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump met for the first time at the presidential debate. For a quick breakdown on what happened, listen to today’s podcast.

2023
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin to strengthen ties between the countries. It was Kim Jong-un’s first visit abroad since the pandemic.

A bus driver has been sentenced to 32 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 24 years, over a fatal crash in the Hunter Valley last year.

Brett Button pleaded guilty to 35 charges, including 10 counts of dangerous driving causing death.

In court this week, Button said he takes “responsibility for the death and injuries... I live with this every day and I hate myself.” He denied negligence.

Over NSW’s June long weekend last year, Button was booked to drive wedding guests from a Hunter Valley venue to the town of Singleton, about 35kms away.

Witnesses told police they became frightened by Button’s driving, with some fastening their seatbelts.

Button lost control of the bus at a roundabout, causing the bus to tip onto its side and flatten a guard rail.

Police found Button was driving too fast to safely navigate the roundabout.

10 passengers were killed and 25 were injured.

Button told the court this week he was “dependent” on a prescription opioid and that it impaired his driving.

He did not tell the bus company he worked for that he used the drug.

Before a judge handed down Button’s sentence, survivors and loved ones of those killed read victim impact statements.

Graham McBride, whose wife and daughter were killed in the crash, said he felt his “family tree has been cut down... I don’t have a life anymore.”

Nick Dinakis, who sustained a brain injury and lost his partner in the crash, said there was “no punishment large enough that can soften the blow of the senseless, careless and stupid crime [Button] committed.”

In court today, Judge Roy Ellis sentenced Button to a maximum of 32 years in jail, with the possibility of parole after 24 years.

Ellis said the case involved “extraordinary devastation”, the likes of which he has “never dealt with”.

He added: “The sentence I impose will not bring back the deceased... heal the physical injuries or survivors or heal the heartache of the families of the ten deceased victims.”

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.

Apple has lost a decade-long legal battle against the European Union’s top court, which found the company owes the Irish Government €13 billion ($AU21 billion) in tax.

The tech giant was accused of paying less than 1% tax on its European profits by securing an illegal tax deal with Ireland.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Apple must now pay the correct amount of taxes, plus interest.

In 2016, the European Union accused Apple of striking an illegal deal with Ireland, allowing the company to pay minimal taxes from 1991 to 2014.

Apple housed its European headquarters in Ireland.

The Commission found that Apple’s effective corporate tax rate – the percentage of its income a company pays in taxes – on European profits fell from 1% in 2003 to 0.005% in 2014.

Apple disputes these figures.

At the time, Apple CEO Tim Cook denounced the findings as “total political crap” and said that Ireland was being “picked on” by the Commission.

Then-U.S. President Donald Trump slammed Commissioner Margrethe Vestager as a “tax lady” who “really hates the U.S.”

Apple and Ireland appealed the decision in 2019.

In 2020, a lower EU court cancelled the 2016 decision, ruling it had not sufficiently established that the Irish tax rulings gave Apple a competitive advantage.

This week, the ECJ overturned the lower court’s decision, and reinstated the Commission’s initial order from 2016.

Vestager said: “Today is a big win for European citizens and for tax justice. The Court of Justice confirms that Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland now has to recover”.

The Irish Government said the country “does not give preferential tax treatment to any companies” but that the case revolved around “an issue that is now of historical relevance only”.

An Apple spokesperson told media the case had “never been about how much tax we pay but which government we are required to pay it to.”

They added: “We always pay all the taxes we owe wherever we operate and there has never been a special deal.”

Reporting by Chloe Christie.

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Findings presented to the European Respiratory Society tracked the progress of two groups of young patients hospitalised with pneumonia.

One group received standard care and the other was visited by medical clowns four times during their first two days in hospital. The group visited by clowns spent an average of 26.5 fewer hours in hospital than the other group. The study found the clowns helped relieve stress and anxiety for patients aged between 2 and 18 years.

Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

Brazil’s federal court has ordered the country’s government to pay its former President Jair Bolsonaro damages, after current leader Lula da Silva falsely accused him of stealing furniture from the Presidential Palace.

Lula, who was previously leader from 2003-2010 and is now back in power, said that when he moved back into the Palace, he noticed a few things amiss.

Namely, more than 260 pieces of furniture — even “the bed”, per the BBC.

Bolsonaro publicly denied the accusations, and took legal action. A judge has now ruled in his favour, awarding damages to both Bolsonaro and his wife for the "moral damage" they suffered due to the claims.

All the items have now been found at an undisclosed location on the estate.

Reporting by Chloe Christie.

Yesterday we saw the first U.S. Presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

It was fiery, robust and, at times, very… messy.

It was also very different to the debate we saw between Trump and Biden in June. Then, Trump seemed like the almost certain winner. But now, it’s neck and neck.

If you missed it, or if you’re just here for a debrief, we’ll go through some of the key takeaways in today’s podcast.