☕️ National Cabinet meets over antisemitic attacks

Here is today’s riddle (which is actually more of a maths question): Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?

Answer is in the tidbit!

"I felt then and believe even more so now that my life was saved for a reason: I was saved by God to make America great again." 
Donald Trump during his inauguration speech, reflecting on two assassination attempts on his life.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that a national database to track antisemitic crime will be established, after a meeting with National Cabinet yesterday. National Cabinet is a meeting of all state and territory leaders.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has also announced it is investigating if "overseas actors or individuals have paid local criminals in Australia to carry out some of these crimes in our suburbs”.

The snap National Cabinet meeting came after a Sydney daycare centre was the target of an antisemitic attack yesterday — the latest in a series of similar attacks on buildings and cars in the city.

Yesterday morning, NSW Police announced they were investigating a “suspicious fire” at a Maroubra childcare centre close to a synagogue. As well as the fire, antisemitic graffiti was spray-painted on one of the centre’s walls.

At a press conference, NSW Premier Chris Minns said: “These antisemitic attacks are the opposite of the kind of country that we all want to live in.”

Albanese added: “This is a place for children and families and it should never have been denigrated by this despicable and horrifying crime.”

After a meeting with the state and territory leaders yesterday, Albanese announced a new national database “to better inform and coordinate responses to antisemitic incidents”.

Albanese also shared that the AFP has received 166 reports of antisemitism since ‘Operation Avalite’ was established last December, with 15 under investigation, and one person arrested.

The AFP also revealed last night it is investigating if "overseas actors" are paying local criminals to carry out antisemitic attacks.

One line of inquiry is if young people are being radicalised online. They are also investigating how possible payment could have been made, including if cryptocurrency has been used.

Hours after being sworn in as the 47th U.S. President, Donald Trump started signing executive orders.

The orders range from withdrawing the U.S. from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, to blocking federal agencies from hiring new staff.

An executive order is the U.S. President’s way of enacting policy without Congress’ approval.

Here’s what you need to know.

The U.S. Government has three branches: legislative (Congress), judicial (courts), and executive.

The President is the head of the executive branch of government.

The Constitution, the founding document of the U.S, says the powers of each branch shouldn’t overlap.

Therefore, the President’s powers are mostly contained to ordering the executive branch of government to act on a certain directive.

The President is also referred to as the ‘commander-in-chief’ because they are the head of the U.S. military.

National environmental, education, intelligence, health, labor, treasury, and security agencies all fall under the executive government.

The heads of these departments and other senior government officials form part of the President’s Cabinet.

An executive order is the President’s main power.

It does not require Congress’ approval, and therefore is considered an ‘instant law’.

However, Congress can take action to block these orders.

For example, it can deny necessary funding to stop an order from going ahead.

This can lead to a complicated legal to-and-fro between the White House and Congress.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the U.S. President during the Second World War, signed the highest number of orders at 3,721.

During his first term as President, Trump signed 220 executive orders.

Over the past four years, Joe Biden has signed 162.

One of Trump’s first executive orders was to withdraw the U.S. from the 2015 Paris Agreement, repeating an act from his first presidency. The agreement calls on participating countries to take action “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”

Biden re-entered the agreement when he became President in 2021. Trump has now begun the process of leaving the agreement again.

Trump has now revoked almost 80 of Biden’s executive orders.

The stated aim is to undo the Biden administration’s “deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices within every agency and office of the Federal Government”.

The measure will reverse some Biden-era orders immediately, such as a directive to “prevent and combat” discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, and blocking offshore drilling for oil and gas.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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🍊 Coco Gauff lost in straight sets at the AO. More details here.
🍊 Ohio State have won the College Football National title. Read on here.
🍊 The worst Man United team in history? This is what their manager said.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: cricket, a random fact and more…

In a UK first, surgeons at Leeds General Infirmary – a large teaching hospital in England – used a flexible tube and camera called an endoscope to complete the procedure on a 40 year-old woman. The woman was diagnosed with what had been considered inoperable tumours on the right side of the back of her brain and left side of her eye. Surgeons accessed the tumour through a 1.5cm incision on the side of the patient’s eyelid. The operation was hailed a success, and could change treatment pathways for cancers previously thought to be inoperable.

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

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

New research has uncovered surprising details about the personal lives of Phillip Island’s famous little penguins. While many remain loyal to their partners, some “divorce” after unsuccessful breeding seasons in a bid to improve their chances of raising chicks in the future.

Monash University researchers found that these splits are often triggered by breeding failures, with females more likely to initiate the separation. Interestingly, the scientists found “years with a lower divorce rate resulted in higher breeding success.”

Scientists say the findings highlight the adaptability of these seabirds and provide insights into the factors shaping their relationships and long-term survival.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

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Riddle answer: You should switch. If you stick, your chances are 1/3, but by switching you increase them to 2/3. Confused? This is a famous riddle called the Monty Hall Problem. It even has it’s own Wikipedia!

This week, a Channel Nine presenter was stood down after he allegedly accepted $50,000 for being the first TV journalist to call a high-profile businessman “McLaren Guy” instead of “Lambo Guy”. Channel Nine has responded saying they are “taking this matter extremely seriously” and have stood down the reporter. 

Today, we thought we’d go through more of a media literacy angle: what are the rules and ethics around journalists accepting gifts? We’ll explore this in today’s deep dive.