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Good morning.
Just a heads up that this morning's 2-minute read is a disturbing one.
It’s about the UK’s most prolific serial killer of children in modern British history, who was sentenced overnight.
If you're not in the headspace to read it, we encourage you to skip that section.
I've got 10 seconds
The quote
"My son is not a public figure, he's a young person trying to make his way in the world... I'll refer you to [Nationals Leader] David Littleproud’s comments that were entirely appropriate when he was asked about that today." – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese when he was asked by reporters if he facilitated an internship for his son at PwC. Littleproud said yesterday: "I don’t think we need to get into the personal attacks of family members."
The stat
27 years
The number of years Charles Martinet has voiced the Nintendo character ‘Mario’. According to Nintendo, he will be stepping back from recording character voices.
Today in history
1930: The two spans of the Sydney Harbour Bridge were joined.
I've got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Australia’s largest coal mine will close in 2035. The Victorian Government and AGL have agreed on a 12-year notice period for the closure of the Loy Yang-A power station. The site will begin transitioning workers and the local community away from coal mining, as Victoria moves to renewables.
A state of emergency has been declared in parts of California as Tropical Storm Hilary makes landfall. It’s the state’s first tropical storm in 84 years. U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered federal assistance to support impacted communities.
I've got 1 minute
The AFL has announced an equal prize money pool for its men's and women's competitions.
This will mean the AFL and AFLW both have $1.1 million in total prize money. This is almost double the $623,922 prize money AFLW had last year.
In AFL, the prize money will be split among the top four teams. In AFLW, it will be split among the top eight teams.
What’s actually in the book?
We’ve received a couple of messages asking us what exactly is in the book, so we thought we’d provide you with a short snippet from the politics chapter.
"We’re kicking off with politics. There are lots of good reasons to care about politics. The decisions made by politicians have enormous implications for our quality of life today. They also shape the world of tomorrow. And just as it’s your quality of life on the line, it’s also your money. If you earn money in Australia and therefore pay tax, your tax dollars pay for the policies announced in Canberra – not to mention the salary of the politicians announcing them. But, for us, the biggest reason you should care about politics can be summed up in one word: privilege."
I've got 2 minutes
TW: Infanticide
A neonatal nurse in the UK has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of seven newborns, and the attempted murder of another six.
Lucy Letby targeted newborns in her care at a hospital in northwest England between 2015 and 2016.
The 33-year-old is the worst serial killer of children in modern UK history.
Here's what you need to know.
Details:
After a ten-month trial, Letby was found guilty last Friday of the "persistent, calculated and cold-blooded" murders of five boys and two girls when she was an employee of a Cheshire hospital.
Letby's lethal methods included force-feeding newborns and injecting air into babies' bodies. In multiple cases, Letby interfered with babies' feeding tubes.
Letby also appeared to target siblings, killing two of three babies in a set of triplets and attacking three sets of twins.
In a statement, Senior Crown Prosecutor Pascale Jones said Letby worked hard to conceal her crimes, describing her attacks as a "complete betrayal of the trust placed in her".
"[She attempted to] pass off the harm she caused as nothing more than a worsening of each baby's existing vulnerability."
Investigation:
This week, consultants at the neonatal unit where Letby worked told UK media that her name was first raised in connection with a string of infant deaths in mid-2015.
Letby was not arrested until July 2018, as a result of a Cheshire police investigation launched in May 2017.
An independent review of the hospital's neonatal unit in 2016 flagged significant staffing and management issues.
Give me some good news
A rescued platypus at a Sydney zoo has been named ‘Matilda’, in honour of the Aussie’s history-making World Cup efforts.
The platypus (pictured above) was four months old when she was placed in Taronga Zoo’s care in April. After a difficult start to life, Matilda’s health is said to be going from strength to strength.
A message from our sponsor
Now that the dust has settled on Dry July, Australians are pausing to think about their alcohol consumption - and the alternatives are more popular (and delicious) than ever. New data from Finder shows 42% of Aussies are drinking less alcohol than they were a year ago, and a whopping 400,000 of us are cutting or planning to cut back on alcohol by the end of this year.
So, what are the options? Well, we've gone out searching for the best alcohol-free cocktails - and we've landed at the range from Yes You Can. This home-grown brand has five flavours (Spritz, Yuzu Sake, G&T, Dark & Stormy and Peach Bellini) in some gorgeous cans that you'll feel proud to rock at the bar.
A TDA tidbit
The captain of Spain’s women’s football team, Olga Carmona – who scored their only goal during Sunday night’s victory – found out her father died just hours after the final. The Royal Spanish Football Federation confirmed the news on X (formerly Twitter).
According to local Spanish outlet Relevo, Carmona’s father died on Friday but her family decided not to tell her so she could focus on the World Cup.
The 23-year-old posted to X after finding out, saying: “Without knowing it, I had my star before the game started. I know that you have given me the strength to achieve something unique. I know that you have been watching me tonight and that you are proud of me. Rest in peace dad.”
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The Daily Aus acknowledges the Gadigal peoples of the Eora Nation who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work. We acknowledge and pay respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.