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Good morning!
Today’s a big day for anyone reading this, and you might not even know it. In case you missed it, TDA is this year’s pre-sale ticket partner for two of Australia’s largest summer music festivals: Beyond the Valley and Wildlands.
That means that TDA newsletter subscribers (that’s you) get access to tickets 48 hours before the general public (proving, yet again, that it’s helpful to have friends in the news).
Things kick off at midday today for Wildlands. If you’re reading this before that time, and want to get your hands on those TDA tickets, you can register here. And if you’re hanging out for BTV tickets, your registration link is here, ahead of tomorrow's BTV pre-sale.
I’ve got 10 seconds
The quote: “We cannot keep going on like this with secret schemes on fast track timescales, cooked up by faceless individuals and of dubious benefit to the game. We must identify those responsible and hold them to account.”
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in a statement following an announcement that FIFA would abandon its plan to sell a stake of its international tournaments to private investors. UEFA had previously said it would boycott all FIFA competitions, including the next World Cup, if FIFA President Gianni Infantino went ahead with the plan.
The stat: 36. The latest death toll from the earthquake in Japan. The magnitude 7.1 quake hit Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan's southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday.
The big question:
Do you have close friends with different political views to you?
Friday’s results: 59% of you said you have private health insurance. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [2,948 votes].
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
An Australian mother-daughter duo linked to ISIS have pleaded not guilty to slavery offences. The women were charged in May after returning to Australia with other family members of former IS fighters. 54-year-old Kawsar Ahmad was granted bail in June, with a magistrate finding she posed a very low risk to the community. However, her 31-year-old daughter Zeinab was refused bail due to a lack of compelling evidence that she had renounced the terrorist group. The pair appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court via video link on Friday as they each entered their pleas. Their cases have been fast-tracked to the Supreme Court, where they will both stand trial. Kawsar’s bail was extended until August, when she’s due in court for a brief appearance. Zeinab has not made any further bail applications, and remains in police custody.
UK YouTuber and rapper Yung Filly has been cleared of three rape charges in a Perth court, after he was accused of assaulting a 20-year-old fan following a concert in 2024. The 30-year-old was, however, found guilty of two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm. The British performer, legally known as Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos, had pleaded not guilty to 10 charges. After an eight-day trial in the District Court of Western Australia, Barrientos was acquitted on Friday of three of six counts of sexual penetration without consent. Jurors failed to reach a verdict on the three other rape charges. 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732.
Together with AAP.
Recommendation of the day
25 September is EA Sports FC 27 launch day - but there's a head start already available
Pre-order the Ultimate Plus Edition by 31 August and you're kicking off up to 7 days early, before anyone else touches the pitch.
Plus, pre-ordering comes with extra perks like 10,000 FC Points rolled out over 5 months, all 5 Seasons of the Premium Pass and a Hall of FUT Player Pick.
It's the biggest pre-order haul EA's ever built for FC - but it’s only sticking around until the end of August.
Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.
I’ve got 1 minute
The fuel excise discount is set to end on Monday, four months after it was introduced.
In March, the Government announced it would reduce the excise (tax) that fuel companies pay and pass on to consumers, responding to oil price hikes from the conflict in the Middle East.
Fuel companies buy supplies wholesale in advance, so higher prices may not be felt immediately after the discount ends.
The Opposition said the discount ending “takes relief away from families and businesses who are still under enormous pressure.”
Fuel excise
The fuel excise is effectively a tax on petrol. It has existed since 1901. Before the temporary cut, the fuel excise on petrol and diesel was 52.6 cents per litre.
In March, Albanese announced the fuel excise would be halved until the end of June, reducing the cost of fuel by 26.3 cents per litre. From July, the Government reduced the discount to a 16-cent-per-litre reduction. But now, the temporary cut has expired.
From today, the excise is 53.7 cents (it’s a little bit higher than prior to the discount, because indexation has been applied).
Opposition
A spokesperson for Opposition Leader Angus Taylor told TDA “the relief has made a difference at the bowser”.
They added, however, that the Government “has now decided to take it away from families and businesses who are still under enormous pressure.”
Reporting by Emily Donohoe.
Quick hits
🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, co-founder Zara and editor-in-chief Billi explain the cult inquiry in Victoria and why an email about the final report accidentally devastated survivors. Listen or watch on Apple here, Spotify here, or YouTube here.
🎾 Want the lowdown on where Australia finished on the medal tally at the Commonwealth Games? Sign up to TDA Sport here for a full run-down in your inbox at 4.30pm.
Good Finds
🍼 Sadie's just moved to Sydney with a screaming baby and a rental the size of a change table. What she needs is a village - instead she stumbles into the Inner West Mum Club. Written by Jorjia Gillis, Mum Club is Griffin Theatre's laugh-out-loud takedown of modern parenting, and a love letter to the messy, glorious resilience of Blak motherhood. Book your tickets here!
Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.
I’ve got 2 minutes
A U.S. father has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, after becoming the first parent in the U.S. convicted of murder over a mass shooting carried out by their child.
Colin Gray was found guilty over the 2024 Georgia school shooting in which his son, Colt Gray, killed four people.
Colt was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Tuesday (local time), while Colin was sentenced on Thursday.
Here’s what you need to know about the landmark case.
Background
In September 2024, then-14-year-old Colt Gray killed four people at his high school in Winder, Georgia, about an hour from Atlanta.
He killed two students and two teachers, and injured another nine people. At the time, prosecutors said they would seek to try Colt as an adult.
Last week, Colt pleaded guilty to all charges. This week, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. While Georgia has the death penalty, U.S. law prohibits people from being sentenced to death for crimes committed as minors.
Latest
Colt’s father, Colin, was also arrested in September 2024 in connection with the shooting.
In March, a jury found Colin guilty of 27 charges, including second-degree murder, cruelty to children, reckless conduct, and involuntary manslaughter.
During the trial, evidence showed Colin had given Colt the rifle used to kill the four victims as a Christmas present.
Delivering their verdict, the jury said he “failed – catastrophically – to foresee and prevent what his son concealed from him and everyone else.”
What’s next?
Colin has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, with his lawyer indicating plans to appeal the conviction.
The case could set a precedent for future U.S. trials, as it is the first time a parent in the U.S. has been convicted of murder over a mass shooting carried out by their child.
A similar case unfolded in 2021, when then-15-year-old Ethan Crumbley killed four people at a Michigan high school.
His parents were later sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in 2024.
Reporting by Emily Donohoe.
A message from TDA
Love pop culture, celebs, music, and everything in between? Meet your new favourite newsletter (besides this one, of course!)
TDA Culture has everything you need.
Whether it's awards season drama, a breakup that broke the internet, or the series everyone's obsessed with, we've got you covered. TDA Culture drops every Thursday, so you're never out of the loop.
Give me some good news
A five-year study tracking African elephants has found the species can relearn how to live in the wild after years in captivity.
Researchers monitored 11 formerly captive elephants – some who’d spent decades in tourist camps and circuses – across South African reserves. Their behaviour was broadly similar to elephants that had never been held in captivity, according to findings from the Elephant Reintegration Trust. The study found elephants had the best chance of rehabilitation when released in groups, with existing wild elephants nearby to learn from. The findings add to growing evidence of successful rewilding, with recent studies from Sri Lanka and Botswana also showing formerly captive elephants can adapt quickly to life in the wild.
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA titbit
Credit: Zelinda Sherlock’s Instagram account
OK, before we get into today’s titbit, full transparency that this story is a week old. But when we saw it, we thought it was too good not to share. Grab (or steal) your popcorn.
So, in case you missed it, Hobart’s Deputy Lord Mayor Zelinda Sherlock has admitted to stealing snacks and drinks after hours from her local council lounge over a number of years.
How did she get caught? Oh, just one of her colleagues, a councillor, put in a right to information request for CCTV footage from the Town Hall, where the snack stock was supposedly dwindling… suspiciously.
Sherlock has apologised, and told ABC Hobart radio she accepts “it's not within the spirit of what the community expects from its elected members”.
Parks and Recreation does exist in real life.
Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.
TDA asks
