☕️ Cornell bans frat parties

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The quote: “We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices. We used our models to understand the device and where it had come from, identifying that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier.” OpenAI in a statement to social media after one of its engineers was charged with allegedly secretly installing a recording device to capture sensitive discussions about the company’s technology. The FBI is now investigating.

The stat: 21,046. The number of appointments booked at Lifeblood on Tuesday following its announcement that blood supplies had hit their lowest level in nearly a decade. Lifeblood told TDA it was one of its “largest appointment days on record” and urged others to book, which you can do here.

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 11% of you already have a list ready for the Black Friday sales, 28% will shop if you see a good deal, 41% will see what comes up and 20% are skipping it this year. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [1,932 votes].

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CW: sexual violence

Cornell University has announced a ban on social events at campus frat houses until mid-2027.

The decision comes as police investigate members of the Chi Phi fraternity for the alleged gang rape of a woman in 2024.

The college said it will review “fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue.”

In October 2024, Jane Doe, then 20, visited her friend Matthew Ingalls at his fraternity following a night out. Doe alleges Ingalls and his fraternity brother Jonathan Newell pressured her into taking what they said was ketamine.

Once Doe was incapacitated, the lawsuit alleges Ingalls and Newell then “began engaging in sexual acts with the Plaintiff, all without her consent”.

A message was sent to the fraternity’s Snapchat group chat encouraging others to join. Doe alleges she was assaulted by multiple men for hours, until 5:45am.

In mid-September 2026, Jane Doe launched a civil suit against the seven men she alleged raped her, Cornell, the Chi Phi fraternity, her sorority, and a local nightclub. Local authorities have re-opened the criminal case.

Cornell ran its own investigation, including 12 hearings. The Chi Phi frat house was shut down in 2024 and is still barred from campus.

On Tuesday (local time), Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff said all parties and social events at fraternity houses will be suspended until mid-2027.

“These measures will provide time for a thorough review of fraternity life at Cornell to determine whether and how it can safely continue,” he said.

Kotlikoff also shared that more staff will be appointed to victim support roles, including a new Case Manager to help victim-survivors through steps such as accessing financial aid and housing.

Doe’s lawyer Thomas Giuffra told CNN they welcomed the announcement, although it is “too late to protect” her.

“Ms. Doe’s goal in filing her lawsuit was not solely for herself,” Giuffra said.

He added that Doe “wanted to achieve her aim of improving Cornell and its response to abuse claims.”

1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

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Small Business Minister Anne Aly says she received 19 death threats in a week after a Coalition MP said she and the Prime Minister should be “stoned in the square”.

Aly called the comments “racist” and “misogynistic”.

Coalition MP Angie Bell said she made a “poor choice of words”, but accused Aly of “deflecting... from the plight of small businesses”.

At the start of October, a ban on credit and debit card surcharges came into effect.

In response, the ATO said it would stop accepting credit card payments for tax bills from 1 December, as it could no longer pass on the processing fees.

The decision drew criticism from the Opposition and small businesses.

The Government later delayed the change until June 2027 to allow more time for consultation.

Aly said in an Instagram video that she had received 19 death threats on social media in the past week alone.

She said previous threats against her had included similar language, including calls to “stone her”.

Australia’s first Muslim woman elected to Federal Parliament, Aly has previously spoken about experiencing racism and misogyny.

She described Bell’s comments as “racist” and “misogynistic”, saying they should never have been made.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) have warned of politically motivated violence and threats against MPs.

Last week, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett told The Nightly “there are a number of particular parliamentarians that do have a greater volume of threatening communication”.

She said women and people from minority backgrounds were particularly targeted.

ASIO chief Mike Burgess also identified politically motivated violence as a key risk in his 2025 Threat Assessment.

Bell said she had “immediately withdrawn the comment,” describing it as a “poor choice of words in the heat of the moment”.

She also said she had contacted Aly after the incident.

Liberal Deputy Leader Jane Hume said Bell had reached out to Aly, describing the remarks as potentially “clumsy”.

Hume also accused Aly of using the controversy as a distraction from small business issues.

Bell said Aly was “deflecting from what’s most important and that is the plight of small businesses”.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

The festival that kick-started the careers of Rebel Wilson, Nash Edgerton and Sam Worthington could do the same for yours.

Tropfest started in 1993 as a screening for mates at a Darlinghurst cafe, and has grown into the world's largest short film festival. Now it's back for 2027: shoot a brand-new short film, seven minutes or less, that includes this year's Tropfest Signature Item, a necklace. The 16 finalists premiere at the Domain this summer.

Entries open Tuesday 1 December. If you’re keen to enter, start working on your breakout film now.

The endangered orangutans, including three mothers with babies and two juvenile males, were left isolated when fires tore through their habitat in Borneo. The Indonesian Nature Rehabilitation Initiative Foundation, or YIARI, rescued the orangutans, providing health checks and medical care. After all eight orangutans were determined to be healthy and still exhibiting natural wild behaviours, carers and vets travelled nine hours with them to a protected forest. Following a successful release operation, YIARI CEO Karmele Llano Sánchez said: “This is a very happy moment for us, because wild orangutans should live freely in their natural habitat, not confined to cages.”

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

Soulja Boy could be swapping the recording studio for the Oval Office.

In a post to Instagram, he wrote “SOULJA BOY 2028” (the year of the next U.S. Presidential election) and said his “focus is on four things: economic opportunity, criminal justice reform, education, and the future of technology and AI”.

The artist, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, has not announced a formal campaign or political party.

Looks like he’s hoping to Crank That all the way to the White House.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.