Thursday Headlines: 

• Fresh Telstra outage hits customers
• Trump says Iran-US ceasefire is ‘over’
• Australian rents hit record high
• Australians with cancer are living longer
• NSW wins 2026 State of Origin

Deep Dive: The tragic death of 27-year-old Melbourne footy player Nathan Fitzgerald has sparked questions over the hidden hazards of shared suburban fields and whether enough is being done to protect local athletes.  

This tragedy coincides with an alarming new report from the Australian Sports Brain Bank and Four Corners revealing high rates of the brain disease CTE in deceased players, ramping up the pressure on the AFL to establish formal CTE protocols.  

In this episode of The Briefing, neuroscientist Dr Alan Pearce joins us to break down the latest brain research and ask the difficult question: as the evidence stacks up, can footy ever truly be safe again? 

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