I’m bringing you another edition of two truths and a lie today! Here are three recent headlines – two are real and one is fake. It’s up to you to choose which one.

The answer will be below in the tidbit!

The quote
"The place is already prepared." — Pope Francis, aged 87, on plans to be buried in Rome's Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore on his death.

The stat
2 million
The number of Tesla cars in the U.S. subject to a recall over faulty software called 'Autopilot', which lets the car steer, accelerate, and brake automatically. Safety authorities found drivers are more likely to lose focus while driving with Autopilot, leading to crashes.

Today in history
2014: Man Haron Moris took staff and customers hostage at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney’s Martin Place. He killed Lindt Cafe manager Tori Johnson. Katrina Dawson, a customer at the cafe, died from injuries caused by police bullet fragments.

Some headlines from this morning:

Unemployment has risen to 3.9% – its highest level since May 2022 – according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' seasonally adjusted figures for November.

Seasonal adjustment removes the influences of predictable seasonal patterns, like school holidays or Christmas retail sales, to provide a more consistent picture of changes.

Bjorn Jarvis, Head of Labour Statistics at ABS, said in a statement: "The increasing unemployment rate since November 2022, along with the rising underemployment rate [meaning the number of people who didn't have as much work as they wanted]... may suggest that the labour market is starting to slow."

Other findings
Despite the unemployment rate rising, the employment-to-population ratio returned to a record high of about 65%.

The employment-to-population ratio measures the proportion of the total working-age population who are employed.

This is compared to the unemployment rate, which measures the percentage of people who were looking for work but could not find any.

Kathleen Folbigg, who was once described as Australia's "worst female serial killer", has had her criminal convictions quashed (overturned) by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.

Folbigg was convicted of killing her four children, but it was later determined her children more likely died of natural causes. Today's announcement means there is no longer any criminal conviction next to her name.

Who is Kathleen Folbigg?
Kathleen Folbigg is an Australian woman who in 2003 was found guilty of killing her four children (three murder convictions and one manslaughter conviction).

She was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison, of which she served 20 years.

Folbigg's first child, Caleb, died when he was 19 days old. The cause of death was recorded as SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome, when a baby dies unexpectedly and there is no clear cause of death).

Her next three children all died at the age of 18 months or younger.

Folbigg released
While Folbigg was in prison, an inquiry was set up after new scientific evidence suggested her children could have died from natural causes.

Scientists found that a rare genetic mutation likely caused the death of her children.

After the inquiry, NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley pardoned Folbigg, allowing her to walk free from prison in June.

Yesterday’s decision
While Folbigg was able to leave prison, she still had criminal convictions of murder and manslaughter attached to her name.

Folbigg appealed to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal to officially have these criminal charges "quashed" (overturned).

Yesterday, the court said the new medical evidence cast "reasonable doubt" on Folbigg's guilt — the standard of proof needed to convict someone in a criminal trial.

Speaking yesterday, Kathleen Folbigg said: "I hoped and prayed that one day I would be able to stand here with my name cleared.”

There’s something special about seeing ‘December’ in the calendar. It’s the cue for summer to settle in, and when we think summer, we think Australian Open. The tennis is really heating up - and while the old guard is slowing down, the young guns are raring to go. One of those weapons is Frances Tiafoe - he’s our hot tip to go far in the tournament. 

We all love the Australian Open - it just hits differently. Make sure you get to be part of the fun and buy your tickets here.

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

A 17-year-old in the U.S. state of California has passed the bar - an exam that must be passed before a person can practise law.

Peter Park, now 18, is the youngest person on record to pass the exam in California.

Park started studying law at uni in 2019 when he was 13. He sat the exam in July this year, and is now working as a law clerk at the Tulare County District Attorney’s office.

If you want your friends to wake up with us too, refer them!

We’ll even sweeten the deal for you…

You currently have {{rp_num_referrals}} referrals.

You’re only {{rp_num_referrals_until_next_milestone}} away from your next reward!

Or send them your unique link: {{rp_refer_url}}

Your friends will get a confirmation email that they need to click before your referrals are successful and you get your rewards.

If you want your friends to wake up with us too, forward this email to them or send them your unique link: {{rp_refer_url}}

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here (it’s free!)

This is true.

A postcard from Sydney has arrived in the UK, 42 years after it was sent. The postcard with a picture of the Opera House was sent on 27 August 1981.

Samantha Williams, who currently lives at the address in the UK, told BBC: "It had been sent from a man called Gerry in Sydney and addressed to Steve Padgett or Padge, who we believe lived here with his parents in the 1980s…

"It's only got a 32 cent stamp on it, so maybe it's been stuck at a sorting office in Australia or in the UK for more than 40 years."

This is true.

A man has been charged with a federal crime after he flew from Denmark to the U.S. without a passport or a plane ticket.

He didn’t try to hide himself – in fact, he walked around the plane, changed seats, and talked to passengers. The flight crew told investigators they didn’t pick up on it partly because he sat in a seat that was supposed to be unoccupied.

According to a federal complaint filed by the FBI, the man claimed he “had not been sleeping for three days and did not understand what was going on”.

This is false. It would have been amazing if it was true though.

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