☕️ Welcome to 2025

A big welcome back to the best community on the internet: the readers of TDA’s newsletter.

Just as importantly, a very special welcome to Generation Beta! In case you missed it, 2025 marked the beginning of a whole new generation, which will include those born from now until 2039.

I look forward to the competition between Generation Alpha (those born between 2010-2024) and Generation Beta. There’s definitely no bias in the names.

"At the moment, the maximum fine that can be issued on the spot by one of our officers is just over $3,200 [for individual retailers], and the maximum for a corporation is just over $10,000... At the rate that they're selling these vapes and illicit tobacco, that is just a drop in the ocean.”
Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls revealing the state government is considering imposing harsher penalties for stores that are selling illicit tobacco and illegal vapes.

$US95 million
The amount Apple has agreed to pay to settle a class action that accused the company of eavesdropping on iPhone users without consent via its virtual assistant Siri. Although it settled the lawsuit, Apple said it “continues to deny any and all alleged wrongdoing”.

2021
Supporters of then-U.S. President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, where Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden’s election victory. A violent riot ensued.

In case you missed it, it’s officially an election year for Australia! But when will it be? Well, we know that an election for both the House of Representatives and the Senate needs to be before 17 May.

However, the exact date is not known, because the election still hasn't been 'called'.

What does that mean, and when will the election date be official? Here’s what you need to know.

It is the Prime Minister's job to ‘call’ an election. This is done by visiting the Governor-General - the King’s representative - who issues 'writs' (which will make the election official).

Australian election dates are not set at regular intervals, like they are in the U.S. However, the Constitution and the Australian Electoral Act does specify the last possible date for an election. This time, the election can be no later than 17 May - almost exactly three years after the last election.

The Electoral Act requires at least 33 days between calling an election and holding an election (so the latest date it could be called by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is 14 April).

Elections are also required to be held on a Saturday in Australia.

Once the election is called, the election campaign "officially" begins. The biggest difference will be that the Government enters "caretaker mode". This means it cannot make major policy decisions or enter into major contracts or undertakings.

For you, once the election is called, everyone has seven days to enrol to vote (but if you’ve voted before, or you’ve already enrolled, then there’s no need to do anything!)

You also don't have to wait! You can enrol now, or check whether you are already enrolled, at aec.gov.au/enrol

On New Year’s Day in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana, 14 people were killed and dozens more were injured when a pickup truck was driven into a crowd of people. The attacker also died at the scene.

Authorities have classified the incident as a pre-meditated terrorist attack. An ISIS flag and improvised explosive devices were found in the vehicle.

The FBI believes the suspect acted alone (initially they believed he had help, but that has since changed).

At around 3.15am local time, a man drove a pick-up truck directly into a group of people on Bourbon St in New Orleans who were celebrating the new year. At least 14 people were killed and many more were injured.

According to the FBI, the attacker exited the vehicle after plowing into the crowd of people and fired at law enforcement. Police fired back, and the attacker died at the scene.

Police have since identified the attacker as Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen from Texas. He had served about eight years in the U.S. army and was deployed in Afghanistan.

In a press conference, Christopher Raia from the FBI‘s counterterrorism division explained that Jabbar had posted several videos proclaiming his support for ISIS in the days prior to the attack. Plus, in the hours before the attack, Jabbar posted a video to his Facebook explaining he initially planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned the media would not focus on the "war between the believers and the disbelievers".

Authorities confirmed an ISIS flag was found in the rented vehicle, alongside improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

In a statement, U.S. President Joe Biden said he has directed “every resource” to be made available to law enforcement to “get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible and to ensure there is no remaining threat of any kind”.

Posting on Truth Social, President-elect Donald Trump said his administration would support law enforcement “as they investigate and recover from this act of pure evil”.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency in response to the attack, which allows for “the utilisation of all available state resources” ahead of upcoming major events in the city, including the Super Bowl (scheduled for 9 February) and Mardi Gras (scheduled for 5 March).

Authorities said they have not found any connection between the terrorist attack in New Orleans and the detonation of a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas on the same day.

The driver of the Cybertruck has been identified as Matthew Livelsberger, who was a current member of the military. According to a press conference held by Nevada police, Livelsberger shot himself before the vehicle exploded.

There were no other casualties in the explosion, but seven other people suffered minor injuries.

Livelsberger had also been deployed to Afghanistan, but there is no evidence that the two men were in the same province at the same time.

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It’s a simple way to keep your eyewear up to date whilst making the most of your optical cover!

This means he won’t need to face any of the other top eight players until at least the quarter-final.

It will be the first time since 1982 that three Australian men will be seeded (meaning they’re in the top 32), with Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson also amongst the top players.

The Australian Open starts this Sunday, 12 January.

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

Have any regrets from New Year’s Eve?

Maybe not as bad as a police officer in Zambia who allegedly became intoxicated and released more than a dozen prisoners so they could celebrate.

According to a statement from the Zambia Police Service, the officer told the detainees that “they were free to cross over into the New Year”.

It resulted in 13 detainees leaving the jail, and all 13 remain at large. The officer, who subsequently fled the scene, has since been arrested.

As you prepare to return to work for 2025, TDA has you covered with all the biggest stories that unfolded over the break.

From the New Orleans terrorist attack to the South Korean plane crash, we'll unpack the biggest global headlines from the past two weeks.