The Daily Digest

Wall Street just staged one of its biggest single-day rallies in years — the S&P 500 surged 4.70% and the NASDAQ exploded 6.84% — but the ASX went the other way, shedding 2.11% in a session that felt like it was playing a completely different game. Meanwhile, the world's getting harder to read: Putin wants the Ukraine war wrapped up on his terms, Ebola is spreading fast in Congo, and Tulsi Gabbard just quietly walked out the door at US intelligence.

What Matters Today

• Australian government quietly planning fuel rationing. Documents reveal Albanese is preparing for a "worst-case scenario" where world oil hits a supply red zone by August — including powers to cap daily fuel purchases. This is the kind of story that deserves way more attention than it's getting. Guardian AU
• Gaza flotilla Australians allege abuse in Israeli custody. Activists say they were slapped, hit, and subjected to sexual violence after the IDF intercepted the vessel. Israel's prison service denies the claims. Diplomatic fallout for Canberra incoming. Guardian AU
• Tony Abbott returns as Liberal Party president. Unopposed. Seven years after losing Warringah, the former PM is back in a formal party role. Make of that what you will for the Liberal rebuild — or lack thereof. Guardian AU
• Tulsi Gabbard resigns as US Director of National Intelligence. Citing her husband's illness, she's out. She was largely absent during recent US military operations anyway. The revolving door at the top of American intelligence keeps spinning. Guardian AU
• Ebola outbreak in Congo upgraded to "very high" risk. WHO reports 600 suspected cases and 139 deaths, with the outbreak spreading rapidly. Regional risk is "high"; global risk still "low" — but that calculus can shift fast. BBC World
• Elon Musk's X fined $650,000 by Australian authorities for failing to comply with a child safety notice. A rounding error for X financially, but another sign Australian regulators aren't letting it slide. r/worldnews
• Guzman y Gomez pulls out of the US market. Founder Steven Marks concedes the US is a "graveyard" for Australian fast food chains. The unit economics just couldn't justify the fight. GYG's ASX investors will want clarity on what this means for growth projections. Guardian AU

Markets

The US and Asia went absolutely ballistic — S&P up 4.70%, NASDAQ up 6.84%, Nikkei up 6.30% — likely on a combination of trade deal optimism and short-covering after weeks of tariff-driven pain. The ASX bucked the trend hard with a 2.11% drop, suggesting local factors or timing issues are at play; worth watching whether it catches up at open. The AUD is basically flat at 0.713, gold sold off sharply (-4.76% to $4,507) as risk appetite returned, and crypto is under pressure — Bitcoin down ~3% and Ethereum getting smashed nearly 13%, which is a notable divergence from the equity euphoria.

Worth a Read

• Kash Patel's merch site is apparently distributing malware. The FBI director's own apparel website is allegedly trying to install malicious software on visitors' machines. The comments are, predictably, a circus — but the underlying story is genuinely wild. r/technology
• China flooding the market with DRAM and NAND chips. Memory prices tipped to fall as Chinese manufacturers ramp output. Good news if you're building a PC or a data centre; less good news if you hold Micron stock. Worth watching for broader chip sector implications. r/technology
• Riot Games bricking cheaters' PCs with Vanguard update. Their official response: "Congrats on your $6k paperweights." Brutal, hilarious, and a genuinely interesting moment in the cat-and-mouse game of anti-cheat software. The 694-comment thread is worth a skim. r/technology
• Reddit stock drops 6% after Meta launches a forum app. Meta is directly gunning for Reddit's territory, and the market noticed. Reddit is down nearly 40% this year despite solid ad revenue. As a daily Reddit user getting this briefing, Jamie — this one's a little meta. r/technology