☕️ U.S. central bank cuts interest rates

Today is 11/11 – make a wish!

“I can confirm the level of abortion services historically provided at Orange Hospital will be restored and available to the community. I am committed to improving safe and transparent pathways to abortion care.”
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park in a statement to media, after an ABC investigation found Orange Hospital staff were being told not to provide abortions to patients who did not have “early pregnancy complications”. NSW decriminalised abortion in 2018.

$12 million
The amount the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) fined Optus for its outage last November, which saw over 2,000 people unable to make Triple Zero calls.

1880
Ned Kelly, bushranger and outlaw, was executed in Melbourne.

The U.S. central bank lowered interest rates at the end of last week, days after the country’s Presidential election.

The decision by the Federal Reserve is the second consecutive rate cut this year.

President-elect Donald Trump has previously suggested Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is biased towards the Democrats (President Joe Biden’s party).

After announcing the bank’s latest rate cut, Powell told reporters that removing him from his position before the end of his term would be illegal.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, often called the Fed, is the country’s central bank. It’s equivalent to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

Like the RBA, the Fed has a board of directors, whose key responsibility is setting the interest rate it charges commercial banks for short-term loans.

This rate influences the cost of borrowing across the economy.

The Fed lowered interest rates in September for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.

It lowered them again last week by a quarter of a percentage point, to a target range of 4.5% to 4.75%.

Powell said the board believes the U.S. “economy is strong overall.” He noted that “inflation has eased substantially”.

Inflation in the U.S. peaked at 9% in June 2022.

Powell was nominated to lead the Fed’s board by Trump in 2017. He has remained in the role under President Biden. His current term as Chair ends in May 2026.

Earlier this year, Trump suggested Powell would “lower interest rates for the sake of maybe getting [Democrats] elected”, and said he would not re-hire him to the role.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

A NSW court will examine evidence into the suspected death of missing three-year-old William Tyrrell.

The toddler disappeared a decade ago from his foster grandmother’s home on the NSW Mid-North Coast.

Prosecutors will revisit a police theory that alleges Tyrrell’s foster mother disposed of his body after he died in an accidental fall.

No charges have ever been laid against Tyrrell’s foster mother, who continues to maintain she is innocent.

The hearings resume an adjourned inquest that began five years ago.

On the morning of 12 September 2014, then three-year-old William Tyrrell disappeared while playing outside in his foster grandmother’s yard.

Police were alerted after receiving a call from his foster mother later that day.

The toddler was last seen wearing a polyester Spider-Man costume, and no trace of his body has ever been found.

William Tyrrell would be 13 years old now.

The search for William Tyrrell is one of the largest-ever investigations conducted in NSW.

Police initially suspected the toddler had been kidnapped.

During the first two years of their investigations, NSW Police received almost 3,000 ‘tip-off’ calls to their Crime Stoppers unit

During that time, more than 1,000 alleged sightings were reported.

Hundreds of cars and locations have been searched, and police have interviewed several people of interest.

In recent years, police investigations shifted focus from Tyrrell’s suspected kidnapping to his suspected death.

In 2016, NSW Police announced a $1 million reward for information on the case. This reward still stands.

No charges have ever been laid.

An inquest into William Tyrrell’s disappearance began in 2019 and explored a theory that he was “likely taken” from his foster grandmother’s home in NSW.

The inquest examined evidence of a suspected kidnapping for 18 months before being paused in October 2020.

The court had been expected to deliver its findings in 2021. However, proceedings were postponed as police conducted new searches and lines of inquiry.

The inquest is examining a police theory that Tyrrell may have died after falling in an accident at his foster grandmother’s house.

It will explore if Tyrrell’s foster mother buried the toddler in nearby bushland before alerting police to his disappearance.

Gerard Craddock, Barrister assisting the Coroner, said NSW Police are considering the idea that the woman may have been scared she’d lose custody of another child in her care, “if the accidental death were to be discovered”.

In opening statements, Craddock said: “Police assert that in that frame of mind she placed William in her mother's car... drove the mother's car down to Batar Creek Road and placed William’s body somewhere in undergrowth,” and then returned home and called police.

With little forensic evidence and eyewitnesses, Craddock noted, “the coroner can't act on the express belief of a police investigator,” but is obliged to explore and consider all evidence.

Tyrrell’s foster mother has always maintained her innocence. Inquiries are continuing.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Already thinking about your 2025 travel plans? Let us introduce you to our friends at Intrepid Travel.

Intrepid offers small group adventures in over 100 countries. Whether you’re travelling solo or with friends, you’ll connect with like-minded travellers in groups of no more than 16. From hiking and food to culture and adventure, there’s something for everyone.

Plus, with a local tour leader by your side, you’ll get to explore hidden gems and experience authentic connections with the local culture and people along the way. 

Start planning early - Intrepid’s Cyber Sale starts soon. Sign up here to be the first to know. 

Currently, the seeds and fruits of plants are used to make oils for cooking and to develop new kinds of fuel. Under this project, scientists have found “promising ways” to use the leaves and stems of plants as well, meaning they can develop renewable fuels without taking away from what’s used for food supply.

The CSIRO’s Dr. Thomas Vanhercke, who has worked on the project for over a decade, says the technology they’ve created has the “potential to create an important new global energy source.”

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

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Have you heard about the monkeys on the loose in South Carolina? 43 monkeys escaped, one has been captured and 42 are still on the run.

The rhesus macaque monkeys escaped a medical research centre last week. All the monkeys are female, young, and weigh around two to three kilograms.

A spokesperson from the research centre said the monkeys “have never been used for testing” and “are too young to carry disease.”

Police have asked the public to call emergency services if they see any of these monkeys and to avoid interacting with them as they “are highly sensitive and easily startled”.

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

The Federal Government is expected to introduce legislation to parliament this week that will ban children under the age of 16 from using social media. With support from the Coalition, this law could come into effect before the next of 2025.

On today’s podcast, we’ll share what we know about the proposed law so far, how the Government plans to enforce the ban, and what different organisations are saying.