☕️ The Cornell University allegations, explained

Here is today’s trivia question: What is the official language of Brazil?

Answer is in the titbit!

The quote: “You’ll be entertained... I’ve got to tell you, it’ll be the highest-rating 11 minutes you will ever see.” NRL Executive Chairman Peter V’landys speaking to Nine about a mystery pre-match entertainment at the Grand Final this weekend.

The stat: 6.8%. The rise in monthly household spending in August compared to the same time last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Household spending rose on hospitality and dining, and fell on alcohol and tobacco.

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 37% of you wouldn’t rely on a male contraceptive pill as your main form of contraception, 30% would, and 34% said it’s not relevant to them. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [2,613 votes].

Together with AAP.

Four interest rate rises in 2026, so where to from here? 

CBA economists say there are early signs the hikes are working, but the full effect can take up to 18 months. They don't expect any more changes from the RBA until later in 2027.

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The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has increased the cash rate from 4.35% to 4.60%.

It’s the first increase since May and the highest level in nearly 15 years, meaning repayments on most loans will be higher, and borrowing capacity will be lower.

In its statement, the RBA said inflation remained elevated due to the Middle East conflict, higher energy prices and strong AI-related demand.

The RBA is Australia’s central bank. It meets eight times a year to assess the economy and set the cash rate.

The cash rate is what banks charge each other for short-term loans. We usually refer to changes in the cash rate as the RBA changing interest rates, because the cash rate affects interest rates across the economy, including on home loans and car loans.

The higher the interest rate, the more expensive it is to borrow money, which means higher repayments on variable-rate mortgages.

The idea is that making it more expensive to borrow will slow spending and, in turn, the rate of inflation.

For those who have savings accounts, the increased cash rate may also mean you earn more interest. However, banks often ‘pass on’ the increase to savers more slowly than they do to borrowers.

The RBA said it raised the cash rate to 4.60% because “recent inflation outcomes in Australia were stronger than expected” and “inflation expectations remain elevated”.

Inflation measures changes in the prices of goods and services. It is currently 3.5%, above the RBA’s target range of 2–3%.

All nine members of the RBA’s Monetary Policy Board voted in favour of the increase. The Board said it would increase the cash rate further if necessary.

Want to know how this will actually impact young people? Sign up to TDA’s weekly Finance Newsletter – next edition drops at 8am this morning.

Reporting by Adam Wan.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, multimedia journo Elliot explains why prosecutors have reopened an alleged sexual assault case at Cornell University. Listen or watch on Apple here, Spotify here, or YouTube here.

🏥 People with blood cancer pay an average of $3,910 out-of-pocket every year to access care. The Leukaemia Foundation's Cut the Cost of Cancer campaign wants to change that, so no one has to choose between their health and their finances. Sign the petition.

🏠 Is the regional move worth it? Cheaper housing isn't the only drawcard. Regional job markets have broadly caught up, and regional buyers are a year younger on average. Get the full picture at CommBank Newsroom.

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A content warning before you keep reading: this story involves sexual violence.

In 2024, seven men from a fraternity at Cornell University in upstate New York allegedly gang-raped a 20-year-old woman.

No criminal charges were ever laid, but the university expelled and suspended members of the group, and some were made to write essays.

This week, local authorities reopened the criminal investigation after the alleged victim filed a civil lawsuit against the group of men and Cornell itself, among others.

Editorial Note: Throughout this piece, we use the word “alleged” to describe several people and events. That is because no criminal charges have been laid yet and nobody has been convicted of the alleged crimes.

Cornell is a university in the town of Ithaca, New York. It’s one of the eight prestigious U.S. colleges in the ‘Ivy League’.

A 2025 university task force survey found 35% of undergraduate women and 8% of undergraduate men reported experiencing sexual assault during their time there.

The report came after a student made a complaint to campus police in 2024 that seven other students had sexually assaulted her.

The following timeline of events is largely constructed from that student’s later civil lawsuit against the university. The legal documents refer to her as “Jane Doe”.

On 19 October, Jane Doe, then 20, went out with her sorority to bars in Ithaca. (Sororities and fraternities are membership groups with housing on U.S. campuses.)

Later that night, after drinking, she went to the Chi Phi fraternity house to visit her friend Matthew Ingalls, who is one of the seven men she later sued.

Doe alleges Ingalls and his fraternity brother Jonathan Newell pressured her into taking what they said was ketamine.

Once Doe was incapacitated, the lawsuit alleges Ingalls and Newell then “began engaging in sexual acts with the Plaintiff, all without her consent”.

A message was then sent to the fraternity’s Snapchat group chat encouraging others to join. Doe alleges she was assaulted by multiple men for hours, until around 5:45am.

On 8 November, Doe reported the alleged assault to Cornell’s campus police, giving them an official statement of events.

That month, local District Attorney Matthew Van Houten decided the evidence didn’t support criminal charges.

He later clarified: “Jane Doe’s sworn statement in November of 2024 did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped.”

Doe’s legal team told CBS News that investigators never followed up with her after she gave her initial testimony to campus police.

Cornell allegedly responded to the testimony by suspending seven students and asking them to write essays. It then ran its own investigation, which involved at least 12 hearings.

The Chi Phi frat house was shut down in 2024, and the fraternity is still barred from campus.

Cornell has said none of the men “were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement,” but didn’t clarify what specific actions were taken.

In mid-September, Jane Doe filed a 101-page civil lawsuit in New York. She is suing the seven men she alleged raped her, Cornell, the Chi Phi fraternity, her sorority, and an Ithaca nightclub.

Doe accuses Cornell of failing to protect her, despite what she says were known risks around drugs and sexual misconduct in fraternities.

The case came to global attention in part due to the allegation that Cornell let some of the accused men write essays to reduce their punishment.

On Monday, Van Houten announced he was reopening the criminal case following the civil lawsuit and intensified public interest.

He’s asked a senior prosecutor to prepare it for a grand jury, where a group of citizens determines if a case should go to trial. They hear evidence in a closed court (no media allowed) before making a decision. If the grand jury chooses to press charges against the men, a criminal case will run alongside the civil lawsuit.

Cornell says it supports the case being reopened.

“Any suggestion that the University did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” it said.

Some of the men have responded publicly, denying they sexually assaulted Doe.

The grand jury will decide whether anyone should be charged, but there’s no timeline yet on when that will happen. The civil lawsuit will continue separately.

1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732.

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.

Cost of living cutting into your social life?

TAL's Social Connection Survey found 1 in 5 young Aussies (25–34) surveyed cancel plans due to cost pressures, and nearly 60% cut back on eating and drinking out when budgets tighten. While strong social ties are important for mental wellbeing, staying connected doesn’t need to be expensive.

Today’s Social Move: The $0 Catch-Up. BYO coffee to the park, or host a low-key living room hang.

Translation: Meaningful connection doesn't come with a price tag.

Follow @TAL_Australia on IG for daily forecasts & real-life resilience tips. 

^{For further information about the survey, visit @tal_australia on Instagram.}

A new report shows a programme set up by UK Government bodies after the World Cup introduced around 40,000 girls aged 6-12 to rugby, while club participation grew from around 18,000 to 26,800 players. The programme also invested £6.8 million ($AU12.8 million) in improving facilities at 607 clubs, including changing rooms, toilets and social spaces.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.

Archaeologists have discovered more of the ancient school where Aristotle is believed to have taught a teenage Alexander the Great.

The two-year research project uncovered mosaics, four styluses, coins and ceramics at the site.

Earlier excavations had uncovered a wrestling ring, stadium and covered 200-metre running track, giving us a pretty good idea that ancient school sport was taken seriously.

Alexander clearly did his homework.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.

Trivia answer: Portuguese.