☕️ Meta & Microsoft's job cuts

If you are in NSW, WA and the ACT, I hope you enjoy your long weekend today.

For everyone else: we’ll circle back to you on Tuesday.

The quote: "To pierce the sombre silence of the Dawn Service is more than disrespect - it dishonours all who have served, fought and fallen. And to boo the Aboriginal servicemen and women who served our nation shows ignorance, hatred, and a complete lack of respect - for them, and for everything Anzac Day stands for." Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan in a statement on Friday, after a Welcome to Country address delivered by an Indigenous elder was interrupted by loud booing. There was also booing at a similar event in Sydney.

The stat: 1:59:30. The new official men’s marathon world record set by Sabastian Sawe of Kenya at the London Marathon over the weekend. The previous record was 2:00:35. The women’s-only marathon record was also broken with a new time of 2:15:41, set by Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia.

Yesterday’s results: Last week, we asked you if you can tell when a brand has paid someone to reach you. 65% of you said you can “almost always” tell. 27% of you said “sometimes” while 9% of you said “rarely”. [1289 votes].

Together with AAP.

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British actor and comedian Russell Brand has publicly admitted to having sex with a 16-year-old girl when he was 30.

He made the admission on a podcast hosted by U.S. journalist Megyn Kelly.

Brand did not specify where the incident took place, but said the age of consent in the UK is 16.

He is set to face trial on rape and sexual assault charges relating to six women later this year. Brand denies the allegations.

During the podcast appearance, Brand addressed the allegations without admitting guilt.

He then revealed his history with the 16-year-old, before saying he now believes it was “exploitative”, and saying he had been an “exploiter of women”.

Brand is currently facing seven sexual assault charges.

Last year, he was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault relating to four women between 1999 and 2005.

In February 2026, he pleaded not guilty to two additional charges alleging he raped one woman and sexually assaulted another in 2009.

Brand has consistently denied all allegations and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

1800 RESPECT
Call: 1800 737 732
Text: 0458 737 732
Video: 1800RESPECT.org.au

Reporting by Achol Arok.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, Billi and Zara talk about the Government’s NDIS cuts.

🏉 Need a sports catch-up? You can sign up to TDA Sport here to make sure you’re caught up with the latest.

Two of the world’s largest tech companies, Meta and Microsoft, have announced major workforce cuts as part of cost-saving efforts to reinvest in AI.

Both companies sent out internal employee memos outlining their restructure plans this week.

On Thursday (U.S. time), Meta said it plans to lay off about 10% of its workforce next month and remove around 6,000 current job ads.

On the same day, Microsoft announced plans to cut around 7% of its U.S.-based workforce, offering voluntary redundancy packages aimed at employees nearing retirement.

In an email sent to staff this week, Meta said it intends to lay off roughly 8,000 employees.

The social media giant said it would normally “nail down more details before communicating,” but was forced to confirm the plans after they were leaked.

In the five-paragraph memo, Chief People Officer Janelle Gale said the layoffs will take effect from 20 May.

She said the move is part of a “continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making.”

Gale said the decision wasn’t “an easy trade-off” and would mean “letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta”.

Laid-off staff in the U.S. have been told they will receive a “generous” employment package, including at least four months’ base pay, continued healthcare coverage, and career support services.

However, for affected employees outside the U.S, the packages will vary depending on location.

Gale said the company wouldn’t provide further details until later in May, acknowledging it left “everyone with nearly a month of ambiguity.”

Microsoft announced plans to cut 7% of its U.S. workforce, according to a memo to staff seen by the Financial Times.

As of mid-last year, Microsoft employed about 125,000 people in the U.S., according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing – meaning the cuts would affect roughly 8,750 staff.

In a first for the tech giant, Microsoft has offered voluntary redundancies to affected employees.

The offer applies to employees whose age plus years worked at Microsoft totals at least 70.

The latest changes follow a year of several job cuts at Microsoft, including three rounds of layoffs in 2025.

In January 2025, the company cut around 1% of its workforce over performance-related concerns.

Four months later, it reduced about 3% of staff, affecting roughly 6,000 roles.

Then, in July, the tech giant laid off 9,000 employees as it redirected investment towards AI and data centres.

While neither company explicitly mentioned AI in their layoff memos, both Meta and Microsoft have recently made major efforts to redirect resources toward the technology.

In a January 2026 company call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pointed to a “major AI acceleration,” saying he expected “2026 to be a year where this wave accelerates even further on several fronts”.

The company is expected to spend up to $US135 billion (about $AU190 billion) this year, almost double its spending from the previous year.

Microsoft said it expects to spend at least $US100 billion (about $AU140 billion) on AI infrastructure this financial year.

CEO Satya Nadella said: “We are pushing the frontier across our entire AI stack to drive new value for our customers and partners.”

Separately, at a live event with Zuckerberg last year, Nadella said about 30% of the company’s code is now written by AI.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

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Methane – which livestock naturally produce during digestion – is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution. A team at Adelaide University fed 80 Angus cows a supplement containing bromoform, a natural chemical found in red seaweed. After eight weeks, the cows’ methane emissions dropped by between 49% and 77%. Lead researcher Dr Mariana Caetano said: “There is real potential here… this could be a powerful tool to help the livestock industry reduce its environmental footprint.” Her team will continue refining the supplement, and carry out further research to “better understand long-term impacts on animal health and productivity.”

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

For its 20th anniversary, Spotify has released lists of its most-streamed music, podcasts, and audiobooks. 

Spotify’s all-time number one artist is Taylor Swift, followed by Bad Bunny and Drake.

Bad Bunny did claim Spotify’s most-streamed album for ‘Un Verano Sin Ti,’ followed by The Weeknd's ‘Starboy,’ and Ed Sheeran’s ‘÷.’  The top album by a female artist is Olivia Rodrigo’s debut ‘SOUR,’ which sits at fourth overall. 

Spotify’s most-streamed song of all time is The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights,’ with Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ and The Neighbourhood’s ‘Sweater Weather’ rounding out the top three. 

Spotify’s most-streamed podcast is ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ and its most-streamed audiobook is ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ by Sarah J. Maas.

We’ll see you back here in 20 years for the next lists!

Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.