Good morning. It's Thursday, January 13. Here's what you need to get going today.
One thing to know right now: US judge rules Prince Andrew can still face civil sexual assault case
Prince Andrew has failed to persuade a US judge to dismiss Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing her when she was under age and being trafficked by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In a decision made public overnight, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan said:
- Ms Giuffre, 38, was entitled to pursue claims that Prince Andrew battered her and intentionally caused her emotional distress
- It was premature to consider Prince Andrew's efforts to "cast doubt" on those claims, although he could do so at a trial
- It was also too soon to decide whether Ms Giuffre and Epstein "clearly and unambiguously" intended to release people like Prince Andrew through a 2009 settlement agreement resolving Ms Giuffre's lawsuit against Epstein
A trial could begin between September and December.
One thing you’ll be hearing about today: national cabinet
National cabinet is set to consider changes to isolation rules for essential workers to try to stop severe workforce shortages.
Currently, close contacts working in emergency services and food distribution who don't have contact with the public can already go to work if they don't have symptoms.
National cabinet will be considering whether to expand that group to include teachers and hospitality staff, among other workers, to try to stop severe workforce shortages.
State, territory and Commonwealth leaders will meet virtually at 12pm AEDT.
News while you snoozed
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologised for attending a "BYO" party in the garden at Number 10 Downing Street during England's May 2020 lockdown, but he's resisting calls to step down
- Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis looms as a dangerous floater at the upcoming Australian Open after a thrilling three-set victory over John Isner
- North Korean media says Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the successful test of a hypersonic missile and the leader is urging his country to press ahead with building more "strategic military muscle"
News Australia is searching for online
- #OhMyGod — That's because UK singer Adele has dropped a new music video for her song titled Oh My God
- ServiceWA —The new ServiceWA app is set to become an everyday tool to check in to venues and events, verify your COVID-19 vaccination status, check the latest related health information and apply for G2G passes
One more thing: Australian actors have dominated this year's Screen Actors Guild Award nominations
Nicole Kidman is up for outstanding performance by a female actor for her leading role in biographical drama Being the Ricardos and Cate Blanchett is nominated for her supporting role in the Guillermo del Toro-directed neo-noir thriller Nightmare Alley.
Sarah Snook is up for her performance in the critically acclaimed worldwide hit Succession.
And actor Kodi Smit-McPhee has been nominated for his role in the western drama film The Power of the Dog.
Check out the full list of nominees here.
That's it for now
We'll be back later on with a wrap of today's biggest news.
ABC/wires
