☕️ Leaders condemn synagogue fire

The other day we had Australia’s highest official come into the TDA office for a sit-down interview.

That highest official? Sam Mostyn, Australia’s Governor-General. Yes, the King’s representative in Australia.

That interview is now live! You can listen to it here.

“Inexplicably, at this stage, one animal grabbed her by one arm and caused severe damage to it. At no stage did this animal leave its enclosure and there was no risk at all to staff members or members of the public.”
A statement on Facebook from the Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland, after a woman was attacked by a lion inside an enclosure at the zoo on Sunday. The woman, who did not work at the Zoo but was a “much-loved family member” of the zoo’s owners, reportedly lost her arm in the incident.

$3 million
The amount of cash and valuables stolen in a ‘spiritual blessing scam’ targeting elderly Chinese women over two years, according to NSW Police. The deception involved the scammer convincing the women their families were at risk from spirits and needed to have their wealth blessed to protect them from curse or illness. The items were then swapped with items of no value and the women were encouraged not to open the bags for an extended time.

1928
Pre-sliced bread first went on sale in the U.S. state of Missouri. The loaves, baked by a local company, were cut using a machine, which fell apart after six months of heavy use.

Police have charged a 34-year-old man over a fire at a Melbourne synagogue on Friday night.

The NSW man has been charged with a range of charges, including arson and reckless conduct endangering life.

Victoria Police said it was still examining the man’s motives to determine if it would be classified as a terrorism offence.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke visited the synagogue on Sunday, calling the incident an “attack on Australian values”.

He said authorities had not drawn links between the synagogue attack and two other incidents in Melbourne on Friday night, but all three were linked “in antisemitism, a link in bigotry, a link in a willingness to either call for violence, to change violence, or to take out violent actions".

The U.S. Congress has passed a major bill to reduce taxes and cut some welfare payments.

Independent analysis shows the bill will increase the country’s debt by trillions of dollars over the next decade.

President Donald Trump gave the legislation the official title “one big beautiful bill”. Opponents called it the “big ugly bill”.

Trump insisted Congress pass the bill before the 4 July public holiday.

There are two main categories in the bill: tax changes and spending cuts.

Tax changes

Taxpayers will be able to deduct up to $US40,000 ($AU61,000) from their federal taxes, based on how much they pay in state and local taxes.

Taxes on tips for hospitality workers and on overtime pay will also be scrapped, fulfilling a campaign promise.

Tax breaks introduced by former President Joe Biden, intended to encourage the uptake of solar and wind projects, will be phased out.

Trump introduced lower tax rates in 2017, during his first term. This bill makes them permanent.

Standard rates of deduction will increase by $750 for individuals and $1,500 for couples. Businesses will also be able to deduct a greater amount of “research and development” (R&D) expenses.

Analysis from the University of Pennsylvania has shown the top 10% of income earners will receive around 80% of the legislation’s total value.

The bill also contains increases to security and military funding.

Spending cuts

The Government will cut $US1 trillion over the next decade from Medicaid, a health insurance scheme covering low-income earners, Americans with disabilities, and pregnant women.

Its funding is shared between the federal and state governments.

Funding for the Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, also known as ‘food stamps’) will also be limited. SNAP is available for low-income earners and the elderly. It is accessed by 40 million people.

The bill will change the eligibility for Medicaid and SNAP.

Able-bodied participants will need to work, volunteer, or take classes for a certain number of hours in order to gain access to either program. Medicaid recipients will need to re-apply every six months instead of once a year.

The legislation also defers more of the funding responsibility to the states. Not every state will be expected to fill the funding gaps, however.

It’s estimated three million fewer people will have access to SNAP.

Republicans narrowly control both chambers of Congress: the House of Representatives and Senate.

Democrats opposed the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, objecting to tax breaks for “billionaires” and “corporate special interests”.

Leader of the Democrats in the Senate Chuck Schumer told the chamber: “People will get sick and die, kids will go hungry and the debt will explode to levels we have never seen.”

Some Republicans opposed the bill, citing concerns about growing debt.

Senators voted 50-50, with three Republicans objecting. Vice-President JD Vance was called in to cast the tie-breaking vote, following tradition.

The House then voted in favour of the bill 218-214, with two Republicans opposing.

House Speaker Mike Johnson applauded its passage, saying it “lowers taxes for families... secures the border... and makes government more efficient.”

Meanwhile, House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries broke a record speaking for nearly nine hours.

Trump said the tax and spending changes will make Americans “Richer, Safer, and Prouder”.

“Our Party is UNITED like never before and, our Country is ‘HOT’,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

The President had pushed for the bill to be passed before the 4 July public holiday, commemorating the U.S’ independence from Britain.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

Have you heard of habit stacking?

This technique forms new habits by pairing them with existing ones. 

So, by linking your daily vitamin intake to an existing routine - like brushing your teeth or brewing your morning coffee - you build healthy habits that stick.  

Blackmores make habit stacking even easier with their new range of Rapi-Melts that rapidly dissolve in your mouth - yep, no water needed! 

Rapi-Melts are available in four delicious flavours each formulated to support a specific area of wellness:

Keen to start habit stacking? Add Blackmores Rapi-Melts part of your daily routine and experience the difference today.

Always read the label and follow the directions for use. 

More than 500 endangered Corroboree Frogs were released into Brindabella National Park after being bred at Taronga Zoo Sydney.

The frogs were bred in partnership with the NSW Government as part of long-term conservation efforts to increase the population of the Corroboree Frogs, which are an integral part of Australia’s subalpine ecosystem.

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

Labubus have become quite the sensation, causing people to do some strange things. (If you don’t know what we’re talking about, Labubu is a brand of collectible plush toys that have seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the past few months.)

One person even shelled out more than $230,000 at an auction for one.

No one has done anything quite as strange as American fashion designer Marc Jacobs, though. Like everyone else, he’s attached his Labubu to his bag, but unlike everyone else, it’s still in the box, and locked to his handbag.

Sometimes high fashion goes over our heads.

Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.

Last week, TDA had a special guest in the office: Australia's highest official, Governor-General Sam Mostyn. But what does the Governor-General actually do? In today's episode, Mostyn breaks down the core parts of her job, how she sees the role of the Crown in modern Australia, and what she hopes for this country.