Morning Mail: the rise and fall of Sam Wood; a 16-year grave quest; and a 10bn-year-old burst of energy

Morning everyone. Sam Wood once seemed to represent the exception that proved the rule that there weren’t many “nice guys” on reality TV. But after being charged with domestic violence, we report on how Sam Wood’s image – and business empire – has crashed.

Elsewhere, our latest Unmarked graves investigation reveals how a woman’s quest for her family ended in a swampy cemetery; astronomers think an energy flash has travelled through “80% of cosmic history”; Anne Carson wins the Nobel prize for literature; and an Australian Olympian’s unusual advice for her F1 driver boyfriend.

Australia

• ‘Unambiguously Queensland’ | A “stunning” debut novel by Meriam and Wagedagam author Lenora Thaker has won the premier’s award at the Queensland literary awards for her historical novel The Pearl of Tagai Town, described as “unambiguously and distinctively Queensland”.

• Exclusive | A woman’s years-long search for her family ended in shock and fury in a swampy corner of Rookwood cemetery in Sydney, and sparked a 16-year quest to stop people being buried in unmarked graves.

• Political ‘slop’ | One Nation’s latest AI-generated campaign videos featuring a series of racist tropes represents the “ensloppification” of Australian politics, argues Josh Butler.

• 10bn years | Astronomers have detected a mysterious burst of energy emitted in some far-flung part of the universe more than 10bn years ago and which they estimate has travelled through “approximately 80% of cosmic history” to reach Earth.

• Payment pressure | Labor is putting pressure on the tax office to reverse its decision not to accept credit card payments amid a growing backlash, insisting the ATO help small business operators manage critical cashflow after a ban on surcharges.

World

• Drowning tragedy | Three sisters who drowned in the sea off Brighton in the UK collectively decided to end their own lives, a coroner has ruled, after making a trip to Birmingham where they visited the lake where their mother died by drowning in 2010.

• Bus strike | A Russian missile strike on a bus in the eastern city of Kramatorsk has killed at least 30 people, officials have said, in one of the worst attacks by Moscow on Ukrainian civilians this year.

• Survival story | Christa Pike is “up and walking” in hospital, her lawyer said, more than a week after she survived two lethal injections during a botched execution in Tennessee.

• Oil surge | Donald Trump has promised not to attack Iran before November’s US midterm elections, outlining a pause on the protracted war he has struggled to end after almost eight months. Oil prices have risen sharply amid fears about escalating tensions in the Middle East and a squeeze on production from the threat of a hurricane off the US coast.

• ‘Bold and inventive’ | The Nobel prize in literature has been awarded to the Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson, with the Swedish Academy citing the author’s “bold and inventive oeuvre”.

Full Story

Back to Back Barries: How Labor should fight One Nation

Tony Barry and Jessie McCrone examine the latest Redbridge poll showing support for the prime minister and Labor is slipping significantly and give their thoughts on the upcoming Victorian election.

In-depth

Sam Wood built his post-Bachelor fitness empire off his family-friendly, women-friendly image. He seemed to be the robust exception that proved the rule about “nice guys” on reality TV, writes Stephanie Convery, but this week his image – and business – came crashing down amid a charge of domestic violence. Wood’s lawyer told media that he intended to “defend the charges”.

Not the news

Cassie Tongue gives five stars to Grace Chapple’s “vibrant, clever” adaptation of EM Forster’s 1908 coming-of-age novel, Room With A View, at the Belvoir Street theatre in Sydney. “This play is alive,” she writes, “and it’s a gift: it reminds you, with well-earned wonder, that you too are alive.”

Sport

• Formula One | After a suggestion from his girlfriend, the Australian Olympic cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, Cadillac team driver Valtteri Bottas has cycled 418km from Malaysia to Singapore to acclimatise for this weekend’s grand prix.

• Football | The former Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola is expected at the club’s home Champions League match against PSG next week as a show of support for his old bosses amid the financial rules verdict. We also profile Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the driving force behind the City project but whose next move might be the sale of the club.

• Basketball | Owners of leading European football clubs such as Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich could bid for franchises in NBA’s US$10bn plan to set up a league in Europe.

The federal police chief, Krissy Barrett, has warned in the Telegraph that police are grappling with the “diabolical reality” of hostile governments teaming up with local organised crime networks to cause chaos. The Gold Coast mayor, Tom Tate, admits to the Bulletin that the region’s preparedness for the storm season is “not good enough”. And after waiting weeks for the council to fix a pothole, a Mornington Peninsula tradie did it himself with 100kg of asphalt and cement, the Herald Sun reports.

What’s happening today

• Games | The PAX Aus gaming convention begins in Melbourne.

• Sydney | There is a hearing at Parramatta district court for four teenagers charged over the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl.

• Film | Tropfest season launches in Sydney at 10.30am.

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Brain teaser

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