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

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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. ‘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.

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