New Post

Happy Sunday!

I’m so excited to share that The Daily Aus is organising its very first event dedicated wholly and entirely to good news.

It’s a brekky on the 27th of February in Sydney at Cafe Freda’s in Darlinghurst. We’ll bring the coffee, food and vibes, you just bring yourself!

Register for the free event here! Can’t wait to meet you.

🐶 Monty the winner

Starting off strong with an introduction to goodest boy in all the lands. That’s right, the esteemed Monty, a giant schnauzer, has claimed the title of ‘Best in Show’ at the Westminster Kennel Club. If you’re unfamiliar, this competition has been running for 149 years and is the second-longest sporting event held in the U.S. after the Kentucky Derby.

This year’s competition was held in New York City and saw two hundred competing breeds selected to advance to one of seven group titles. Titles include: Herding Group Winner, Non-Sporting Group Winner, Hound Group Winner and more.

The competition was fierce, with 2500 dogs attempting to take the title ‘Best in Show’. After vying for the title for the last three years, Monty and his owner Katie Bernardin were not going to accept another loss. Bernadin reflected her excitement about this win to the BBC, stating that: “The puppy did the damn thing".

🌟💫 Feeling star-struck

A rare ring of light surrounding a galaxy nearly 590 million light years away from Earth has been discovered by a space telescope. Euclid, the European Space Agency’s telescope, captured the ring of light, known as the Einstein Ring. Before you ask, yes the term is named after Albert Einstein.

The Einstein Ring is a “light from a distant galaxy bending to form a ring that appears aligned with a foreground object”. Check it out below!

Due to the technology of the Euclid telescope, it is the first time that astronomers have been able to capture the rare halo of bright light surrounding the galaxy.

Euclid can “map more than a third of the sky and observe billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years”. According to scientists involved with the analysis of the ring, this telescope is going to “revolutionise the field with all this data we’ve never had before”.

🎵 Feel good song of the week

Aussie athletes smashing it

It’s been a big week for Aussie athletes smashing on the world stage. Here’s a rapid-fire summary of the successes we’ve seen.

1. Rosie Fordham became the first Australian to win an international medal in cross-country skiing. The 22-year-old claimed a silver medal in the 10km interval skating event at the U23 World Ski Championships in Italy. Fordham, whose previous best finish at the U23 World Championships was 19th, said: "I can't believe that just happened, I was hoping for a top-10 on a good day. I was hearing the splits and I was like, 'no way'. I can't believe it.”

2. 18-year-old middle distance athlete Cameron Myers beat his world record for the under-20 indoor mile by almost six seconds. At the Wanmaker Mile in New York last weekend, Myers ran 3:47.48.

3. Surfer Tyler Wright became the first woman to win the Pipe Pro for a second time, beating defending world champion Caitlin Simmers. 30-year-old Wright, a two-time world champion, secured her first event win since April 2023. After battling with injury last season, Wright said of her victory: “It’s so special, this is such a special win. It means so much.”

4. Last but not least, Jordan Mailata became the first Australian to start in and win the Super Bowl this week (you didn’t think we’d get through a whole newsletter without talking about the Super Bowl, did you?). The 27-year-old was an integral part of the Philadelphia Eagles side that beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. Mailata switched from rugby league to American football seven years ago. He is now one of the NFL’s highest-paid in his position.

Message from Up

Dream of having a grand on hand?

Save Up $1000 will help you get there by setting a simple weekly savings challenge. Each week you’ll pick one of a few amounts to save. Some big. Some small. Up will stash your cash safely away so it will stack up (though if you need it, that’s OK: just close your Challenge).

Start Save Up $1000

1. Head to your Savers and click to join Save Up $1000.

2. Pick your first amount to save. Go in strong or steady.

3. Tap to succeed. Level up as you go, and grab a rest week when you need it. And voila! Just like that you’ll be on your way to saving $1000.

Want a head start? Join Up today and get $20 instantly in your account when you sign up with code TDA20.

Community good news

A team of Aussie and Kiwi riders have broken the Guinness World Record for longest static cycling class.

At 8am a few weekends ago, the team of 17 set out to cycle for 33 hours, aiming to surpass the previous 31.5 hour record. Through breaking this record, their aim was to raise awareness and funds for Chronic Pain Australia.

According to Guinness World Record rules, the team had to ride in sync, with a minimum of 11 riders completing the full 33 hours, and only 5-minute breaks per hour allowed.

The team rode all throughout the night, battling fatigue, sleep deprivation and some serious discomfort in the saddle. Despite all that, by 5pm the next day, they finally stepped off their spin bikes as world record holders. Some riders had covered nearly 950 km, the equivalent of cycling from Sydney to Brisbane. More importantly, their efforts raised over $21,000 for Chronic Pain Australia.

For more on the journey of the team, check out @the.chronic.33 on Instagram.

🎻 Violin to fund future musicians

A violin handcrafted in 1714 (!!) has been sold for nearly $AU18 million at a recent auction in New York, with the proceeds to fund the next generation of musicians.

The instrument was created by the iconic violin maker Antonio Stradivari and has been referred to as one of the best violins in the world.

All proceeds are going towards a scholarship program at Boston’s New England Conservatory which will fund opportunities for aspiring young violinists. A handful of students had the privilege of playing the instrument but the school decided that it was more beneficial to students to sell it.

On the sale, the President of the Conservatory said: “While it has been a privilege to have one of the world’s finest violins, this sale will be transformational for our students… honouring our mission to educate and train the next generation of musicians”.

TDA asks