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Good morning!
A PSA for NSW residents: Train and metro services are free for passengers for the next 48 hours, until 6am on Saturday.
The fare-free period is to acknowledge the months of disruptions caused by an industrial dispute between the rail unions and the government.
I’ve got 10 seconds
Quote of the day
“We’re not here to sledge the Wiggles. My Government is pro Wiggles.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in response to comments from Communications Minister Anika Wells that the Wiggles’ management contacted the Government over its ban on under-16s making YouTube accounts.
Stat of the day
46.7 million
The number of times ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ was viewed on Netflix in its first three days on the platform. Netflix called it “the biggest U.S. opening weekend of all time” for one of its original films.
TDA reader comment of the week
"Then why still broke?" A comment on our post about inflation, which has dropped to 2.1%, the lowest since March 2021.
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Police have arrested a second man over the firebombing attack of a Melbourne Synagogue in December. Victorian Police labelled the arson attack a terrorist incident, and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. According to a joint-update from federal and state police, a 21-year-old man was arrested by counter terrorism officers on Wednesday “over his alleged role in the arson that severely damaged the Adass Israel Synagogue in December”. He’s being questioned in relation to several charges, each carrying maximum sentences of between 10 to 15 years’ imprisonment. It comes after a 20-year-old man was charged in connection to the attack earlier this month. Police allege the 21-year-old is one of three individuals who broke into the synagogue and set the fire, while the 20-year-old is accused of stealing a car involved in the offence. Investigators said “further arrests and charges are expected soon.”
A man who killed four people in a New York office building is believed to have been targeting the NFL’s headquarters. The 27-year-old gunman entered on Monday afternoon (local time) with an AR-15-style rifle, killing a police officer and three others before dying by suicide. A note in his pocket asked for an autopsy to check for CTE, which is a brain condition linked to repeated head trauma in athletes. The NFL, which wasn’t directly targeted in the attack, said the shooting was “an unspeakable act of violence.”
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Recommendation of the day
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I’ve got 1 minute
Tsunami warnings are impacting millions of people around the world after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Russia
An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday morning.
The quake was one of the world’s most powerful on record. Despite this, the damage has been relatively small and only minor injuries have been reported.
Varying levels of tsunami alerts were issued in Japan, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Peru, as well as in the U.S. states of Hawai’i, California and Alaska. However, the warnings have now been downgraded in most places.
Strong aftershocks are still expected.
The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed there is no tsunami threat to Australia, while New Zealand is bracing for “strong and unusual currents” and “unpredictable” coastal surges
Reporting by Achol Arok and Emma Gillespie.
I’ve got 2 minutes
Inflation has fallen to its lowest level since 2021
The annual rate of inflation fell to 2.1% in the year to June, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
This is the lowest annual inflation rate since March 2021.
It comes after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said it needed more evidence that inflation was stabilising before it would decide to cut rates further.
Inflation
Inflation is a rate that measures the change in the price of goods and services overtime.
When inflation falls, it does not mean prices are falling — it means they are increasing at a slower rate than before.
The rate of inflation has been gradually trending down from a peak in December 2022, when it was at 6.8%.
Trimmed mean
When looking at inflation data, many economists focus on the ‘trimmed mean’. This is a measure of inflation that excludes volatile prices, such as petrol, to better understand longer-term changes in prices.
For the latest data, the annual trimmed mean was 2.7%, down from 2.9% in March.
The trimmed mean is also what the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) partly uses to inform its decision about the cash rate (which sets interest rates across the economy).
The RBA‘s target range for the trimmed mean is 2-3%.
At the last cash rate meeting earlier this month, the RBA decided to keep the cash rate the same at 3.85%. It said it was waiting “for a little more information to confirm that inflation remains on track to reach 2.5%”.
With the trimmed mean now confirmed to be on a downward trajectory, some economists are predicting the RBA will announce a rate cut at its next meeting on 12 August.
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🍊 NYC shooter targeted the NFL’s offices. More details here.
🍊 India’s cricket coach had a heated exchange with an English groundsman.
🍊 The Matildas found out who they’ll play in next year’s Asian Cup. Read more.
🗞️ Also in today’s Sport Newsletter: NRL, soccer, and more…
Give me some good news
Archaeologists in Europe have unearthed an ancient Celtic settlement filled with thousands of artefacts including jewellery, coins and ceramics.
It’s believed the settlement, located in the Czech Republic’s Bohemia region, would have formed part of a major trading and manufacturing hub some 2,200 years ago. Local museum and university researchers teamed up for the project, which led them to discover what they’ve called a “completely exceptional settlement,” connected to long-distance trade routes.
Archaeologists also discovered 22,000 bags of artifacts, including “everyday objects as well as an unusually rich collection of jewelry.”
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA titbit
An Argentinian court has told Google to compensate a man to the tune of more than a million pesos (around $AU19,200).
The reason? Google Street View published a photo of his butt.
The man was in his garden facing his house in 2017 when the Google car drove by, snapping a photo of his behind.
The man’s image, along with his address, was then broadcast on local media and went viral on social media.
He argued the internet giant had harmed “his dignity”.
In their closing remarks, the judges said: "No one wants to appear exposed to the world as the day they were born."
Reporting by Rosa Bowden.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
The Federal Government has confirmed that YouTube will be included in its social media ban for children under 16.
The video streaming platform was originally going to be exempt from the ban, but – following mounting pressure from Australia’s eSafety commissioner – the Government has changed its mind.
The move has drawn criticism from the Opposition, while YouTube's parent company, Google, is reportedly considering legal action against the Australian Government over the inclusion.
In today's pod we'll take you through the latest on the social media ban, and discuss whether Google's threat of legal action could succeed.
TDA asks
