This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happens.
Key events
Live updates
That's it for The Loop this morning
By Kate Ainsworth
Thanks for following along throughout the morning. If you're just catching up, here's some of what we covered (hit the link to jump to the post):
- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to visit Washington DC tomorrow to meet US President Joe Biden at the White House. The visit would be Zelenskyy's first trip overseas since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began.
- FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has signed extradition papers in the Bahamas, paving the way for him to return to the US to face fraud charges.
- The ACT government has announced an inquiry into the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, who was accused of raping Brittany Higgins in 2019.
- A memorial service for two police officers killed in a siege in Wieambilla last week is being held in Brisbane, with thousands of people expected to attend.
- A carousel by Lionel Messi has overtaken an egg to be the most-liked post on Instagram
- The Taliban has suspended female students from attending university in Afghanistan until further notice.
- It's Gravy Day — which means Paul Kelly's classic tune is going to be the only song you hear today.
You can keep up-to-date with other news on the ABC's website, by subscribing to our mobile alerts, and by watching News Channel or listening to local radio here.
Guests are arriving at the memorial for victims of the Queensland police shooting
By Kate Ainsworth
Thousands of people are expected to attend the memorial service in Brisbane for constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, who were killed in the line of duty last week at a property in Wieambilla.
You can watch the service live on the ABC News Channel, or follow along with our live blog:
ACCC rejects regional mobile network proposal
By Kate Ainsworth
The ACCC has rejected a proposed regional mobile network arrangement between Telstra and TPG Telecom.
It would have allowed the companies to share mobile phone infrastructure covering more than 1.5 million square kilometres and 17 per cent of Australia's population.
The consumer watchdog says it would likely lead to less competition in the longer term, and leave Australian mobile users worse off in terms of price and regional coverage.
No more Tiger King: Big cat ownership now banned in US
By Kate Ainsworth
It's official — privately owning tigers, lions, jaguars and other big cats is now illegal in the US after President Joe Biden signed a bill into law.
The Big Cat Public Safety Act was passed by the US Senate earlier this month, which was championed by Carole Baskin (of Tiger King and Big Cat Rescue fame) and PETA, but is now law after getting Biden's final sign off.
The bill means only zoos, sanctuaries, universities and agencies can own big cats, and prohibits direct contact between the public and the animals — meaning some of the behaviour we saw in Tiger King, like cub petting, is no longer allowed.
Taliban releases two Americans detained in Afghanistan
By Kate Ainsworth
The US State Department says the Taliban has released two American nationals who have been detained in Afghanistan in what appears to be a "goodwill gesture".
Spokesperson for the State Department, Ned Price said the pair would be reunited with their loved ones.
Speaking at a daily press briefing, Price said Washington was continuing to raise with the Taliban the need to release any US nationals detained in Afghanistan.
Price declined to provide who the US nationals in Afghanistan are, and how many Americans may be held in the country.
'This may be the last image I can send': NASA Mars lander falls silent after 4 years
By Bridget Judd
It could be the end of the red dusty line for NASA’s InSight lander, which has fallen silent after four years on Mars.
The lander's power levels have been dwindling for months because of all the dust coating its solar panels.
Ground controllers at California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory knew the end was near, but NASA reported that InSight unexpectedly stopped responding to communications from Earth.
“It’s assumed InSight may have reached the end of its operations,” NASA said.
“It’s unknown what prompted the change in its energy.”
Zelenskyy expected to visit Washington DC tomorrow
By Kate Ainsworth
There are a growing number of reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected visit the US Capitol tomorrow.
It would be Zelenskyy's first trip outside of Ukraine since Russia began its invasion of the country back in February.
CNN is reporting that US President Joe Biden will meet with Zelenskyy at the White House, which will coincide with Biden's plans to send Ukraine security aid that includes patriot missiles.
Punchbowl News says Zelenskyy is also expected to meet congressional leadership and national security committee chiefs from both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Meanwhile sources have told the Associate Press the visit will only go ahead if security allows.
The visit comes as Congress considers $US45 billion in funding for the war-torn country.
The White House has not commented on the reports.
World Bank approves $610 million in financing for Ukraine
By Bridget Judd
The World Bank has approved an additional financing package totaling $US610 million to address urgent relief and recovery needs in Ukraine as Russia's war continues.
The package includes an additional $500 million loan from the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, alongside a new project to restore and improve access to health care.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried signs extradition papers
By Kate Ainsworth
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has signed legal papers that paving the way for his extradition from The Bahamas to the United States, where he faces fraud charges over the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse.
Doan Cleare, the Bahamas' acting commissioner of Corrections, told Reuters the documents were signed around noon on Tuesday, local time, while a hearing will take place on Wednesday, local time.
The hearing on Wednesday could see the 30-year-old cryptocurrency mogul depart the Bahamas for the US, where he was arrested last week after a grand jury in the Manhattan federal court indicted him for allegedly stealing customer funds to plug losses at Alameda Research, his crypto hedge fund.
It's unclear exactly when Bankman-Fried will return to the US.
Bankman-Fried has acknowledged that there were risk-management failures at FTX, but has said he does not believe he has criminal liability.
US House Democrats meet to decide whether to release Trump's tax filings
By Bridget Judd
The House Ways and Means Committee has gone into a closed-door meeting to discuss the documents, which were secured after a years-long court fight, but it is unclear whether the panel will decide to make them public.
Unlike previous presidential candidates, Donald Trump has refused to make his tax returns public.
It should be noted that candidates are not required by law to release their tax returns, but previous presidential hopefuls of both parties have voluntarily done so for several decades.
Mr Trump's tax returns are still subject to confidentiality restrictions, but Democrats who control the committee could vote to make some details public.
More sanctions could be issued over violent pitch invasion in Melbourne
By Kate Ainsworth
Football Australia says more sanctions could be on the way after the violent pitch invasion during the A-League men's game between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City on Saturday.
Yesterday Football Australia issued two lifetime bans for two men from all related soccer activity, while 13 people have been charged for participating in the pitch invasion.
Meanwhile, Melbourne Victory has until 9am AEDT today (so in about 20 minutes) to show cause as to why the club should not face serious sanctions over the incident.
BREAKING: ACT government announces inquiry into trial of Bruce Lehrmann
By Kate Ainsworth
The ACT government has just announced a board of inquiry will examine the prosecution of former Liberal Party adviser Bruce Lehrmann, who was accused of raping his then-colleague Brittany Higgins in 2019.
A board of inquiry is the ACT equivalent of a royal commission, and follows a claim from the ACT's top prosecutor that police pressured him to abandon the case.
Ms Higgins alleges Mr Lehrmann raped her in the office of then-cabinet minister Linda Reynolds in Parliament House in 2019.
Mr Lehrmann maintains his innocence and there are no findings against him.
The inquiry will begin in the new year.
You can follow this developing story below:
Heads up if you're driving in Sydney, a truck has crashed on the M7
By Kate Ainsworth
Apologies to commuters in Sydney who are trying to drive this morning — a truck crash on the M7 has closed the motorway southbound between Bernera Road and Kurrajong Road at Prestons.
Emergency services and traffic crews are on scene, and one of two northbound lanes have also been closed.
Motorists are being advised to avoid the area and use an alternative route if possible.
Messi's World Cup photo beats an egg to become Instagram's most-liked post
By Kate Ainsworth
Lionel Messi has set yet another record, with his photo celebrating Argentina's World Cup win becoming the most-liked post on Instagram — beating a record held for nearly four years by a single stock image photo of an egg.
Messi's photo gallery has racked up more than 65 million likes, knocking over the egg's 55.7 million likes.
For my fellow IG Instagram record-breaking followers (or for your trivia team knowledge), you might remember the egg beat a post record that was previously held by Kylie Jenner.
Another two paddleboarders have been rescued from Port Phillip Bay
By Kate Ainsworth
After four teenagers went missing from Rosebud yesterday (to later be found alive), another two paddleboarders have been rescued from Port Phillip Bay last night.
The air wing and water police were called out at about 9:30pm after two women got into trouble near Frankston, south of Melbourne.
They were quickly found by volunteer rescue and were returned to the shore.
If you want to read about how the four teens survived the night after being swept out from Rosebud, ABC News reporter Rachel Clayton has spoken to Rong Shi from his hospital bed in Geelong.
No, Elon Musk hasn't stepped aside as Twitter boss yet
By Kate Ainsworth
Excuse me while I resume my Musk Watch post for a moment — but the Tesla CEO is still the boss of Twitter, so he hasn't abided by the results of his poll just yet.
That said, there are some reports emerging that he's now beginning the search to find a new CEO to replace him.
That could also explain why he's been uncharacteristically quiet on the tweeting front, with the exception of this tweet, which I present without comment.
(If you're confused about who SJM is, Reddit tells me it's the initials for Saxon James Musk, one of his kids.)
Man arrested over alleged murder of Sydney woman Dannielle Finlay-Jones
By Kate Ainsworth
Overnight, NSW police arrested a man wanted over the alleged murder of Sydney woman Dannielle Finlay-Jones after a near 12-hour stand-off in the Blue Mountains.
The 31-year-old was found with serious head injuries at a home in Cranebrook, in Sydney's west on Sunday, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Yesterday police negotiators were called to a lookout at Wentworth Falls where a 33-year-old man was on the wrong side of the safety barrier before he was later arrested.
Police say the man will undergo an assessment before he's taken to Katoomba police station and charged with murder.
Argentina celebrates their World Cup champions
By Kate Ainsworth
Argentina has wasted no time celebrating their World Cup champions touching down in Buenos Aires.
Check out this welcome home reception:
Jeremy Clarkson's column on Meghan has become the most complained about ever
By Kate Ainsworth
That's according to the British press standards regulator, who says Jeremy Clarkson's newspaper column on the Duchess of Sussex has become its most complained about article in history.
Clarkson had written in the Sun last week that he hated Meghan on a cellular level and referenced a scene from "Game of Thrones" where a woman is publicly humiliated.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation says its receive more than 17,500 complaints about the column so far.
The column has since been removed from the Sun's website.
Yesterday Clarkson tweeted that he was "horrified to have caused so much hurt".
Coming up: The memorial service for police officers killed in Wieambilla shooting
By Kate Ainsworth
A memorial service for two police constables killed in an ambush in rural Queensland last week will be held at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre later this morning.
The service honouring Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold will begin at 10am AEST, and will be broadcast live on free-to-air TV.
It's expected the service will be the size of a state funeral, with up to 8,000 people likely to attend.
It will also be available for people to watch live at the following locations across the state:
- King George Square in Brisbane
- Townsville Stadium
- Mackay Entertainment Centre
- Chinchilla Country Hope Church
- Dalby Event Centre
- Tara Memorial Hall
My colleagues Phoebe Hosier and Jessica Riga will also be running a dedicated live blog for the service on the ABC News site a little later.
