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It’s riddle day!
And it’s also World Blood Donor Day. In Australia, one blood donation is needed every 24 seconds. You can find a donor centre near you here.
Now for today’s riddle…
What occurs once in a month, twice in a millennium and three times in nearly any given day?
Answer is in the tidbit!
I've got 10 seconds
The quote
"We have become a very negative, wet and whiny, inward-looking country and we have lost the plot." – New Zealand’s Opposition Leader Chris Luxon during a meeting with farmers while announcing his party’s emissions policy.
The stat
$18.5 million
The amount the Federal Government has committed to support the design and delivery of 28 short courses at 18 universities across the country to fill key skill shortages in “priority areas”, including teaching and nursing.
Today in history
2017: A major fire in London’s Grenfell Tower, a social housing building, killed 72 people.
I've got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
A search is underway for a Brisbane woman who is missing in Canadian bear country. Julia-Mary Lane was last in contact with her family over the weekend, and was believed to be on a hiking trip at the Bear Lake Trail. Her mother said: “The worry is there's unstable ground and she's had a fall and there's bears around.”
A journalist at Radio New Zealand has been placed on leave after it was recently discovered that several stories about Ukraine had been edited after they were published to be in favour of Russia. Editor-in-chief Paul Thompson said he was “gutted” and promised to “get to the bottom of what happened”. An external review of editorial processes is now underway.
I've got 1 minute
People living in the Netherlands will be offered free sunscreen across the country this summer to tackle high levels of skin cancer.
Sunscreen dispensers will be installed at beaches, parks, schools, universities, festivals, sports clubs, and public spaces nationwide.
According to the Government, removing barriers to the use of sunscreen (such as cost and inconvenience) will encourage citizens to apply sunscreen more often.
Many of the sunscreen dispensers will be converted from existing hand sanitiser stations left over from the pandemic.
"It's not cheap, a couple thousand euros, but we think the health of locals and visitors is important," Jacco Knappe, Deputy Mayor of Katwijk, told local media.
"We see an above average number of people in Katwijk who are sunning themselves without protection and that is not a good thing."
Skin cancer in the Netherlands:
The Netherlands has the third highest cancer rate of all European Union nations, with skin cancer one of its most common types.
Research indicates that around one in six Dutch people will be diagnosed with a type of skin cancer in their lifetime.
One in 50 will develop melanoma, which is the most aggressive type of skin cancer.
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I've got 2 minutes
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is facing court today. He has been 'indicted' (charged) with criminal offences over his handling of secret government documents. Early this morning, he pleaded not guilty.
Trump, who is running for President again, now faces two separate sets of criminal charges. He has dismissed the charges as a political conspiracy.
Here's what you need to know.
Background:
Trump's new charges relate to his handling of sensitive government documents when he left office in 2021.
At the time, Trump allegedly took dozens of boxes of documents to his residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Some of these documents contained sensitive and secret information, including details of U.S. defence weaknesses and plans for how the U.S. would respond to attacks.
The documents were 'classified', which means there are strict legal limits on their access.
Former presidents are not allowed to keep classified documents.
When the FBI first became aware of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago in early 2022, Trump was asked to return them. He returned some documents, but the FBI believed they had not received all of them. In August 2022, they searched Mar-a-Lago and found over 100 more.
The U.S. Department of Justice set up an investigation into Trump with a 'grand jury' – a group of ordinary people tasked with deciding whether charges should be laid.
The indictment:
The grand jury decided charges should be laid against Trump, meaning he was indicted.
He has been summoned to appear in court in Florida on Tuesday U.S. time (Wednesday in Australia).
On Friday, the Department of Justice published the full details of the indictment. It revealed that Trump is charged with deliberately withholding 31 documents. He is also charged with concealing the documents, lying about their existence to the grand jury, and conspiring to obstruct justice.
The indictment alleges Trump directed his staff to hide or destroy the documents and kept them in insecure locations, including on a stage in a Mar-a-Lago ballroom where events were held.
Trump's personal aide Waltine Nauta has also been charged with assisting Trump.
If convicted of all offences, Trump could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Response:
Trump referred to the charges as a "hoax" and accused President Joe Biden of trying to jail him for political reasons.
He said the charges are a "final battle" and told supporters "they're not coming after me, they're coming after you – and I'm just standing in the way".
Most prominent Republicans have criticised the charges. Several prominent Trump supporters have threatened violence against officials.
Give me some good news
Alex Newell and J. Harrison Ghee have become the first two non-binary people to win Tony awards for acting.
Newell won Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for their role in ‘Shucked’ while Ghee won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for their role in ‘Some Like it Hot’.
A message from our sponsor
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A TDA tidbit
There’s no better conversation starter than baby names. And courtesy of McCrindle, we now know Australia’s top baby names for 2023 (so far). Without further ado…
Girls:
Charlotte
Amelia
Isla
Olivia
Mia
Ava
Matilda
Ella
Grace
Willow
Boys:
Oliver
Noah
Leo
William
Henry
Jack
Theodore
Hudson
Charlie
Luca
And since precisely nobody asked, I thought I would share my favourite baby name. I like Arrow for a boy.
*
*
*
*
Answer: The letter ‘n’.
The Daily Aus acknowledges the Gadigal peoples of the Eora Nation who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work. We acknowledge and pay respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.