This is The Loop: your quick catch-up for this morning's news, as it happens.
Key events
- That's it for The Loop this morning
- Rob Stokes to retire from NSW politics next year
- First coin featuring King Charles's image unveiled
- ADF support in aged care to end
- AMA says push to scrap COVID isolation puts 'the public at risk'
- Putin recognises Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as independent territories
- Hurricane Ian strengthens to category one storm near North Carolina
- Voice to Parliament referendum to be held next financial year
- Coming up today: National cabinet to discuss COVID isolation
- Joe Biden warns of 'substantial' deaths from Hurricane Ian
- The Queen's cause of death has been confirmed
- One thing to know now: Russia is preparing to annex four Ukrainian territories
- More news while you snoozed: Reports of sexual harassment at Australia's Antarctic stations
- News Australia is searching for: Brad Scott
- One more thing: Hubble and JWST capture the aftermath of NASA's DART mission
- Let's set you up for the day
Live updates
By Kate Ainsworth
That's it for The Loop this morning
If you're just joining us, here's what you need to know today:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree recognising another two Ukrainian regions as independent territories, making annexation a step closer
- National cabinet is likely to discuss changes to mandatory COVID isolation periods at its meeting this morning
- Hurricane Ian has strengthened off the coast of North Carolina to be a category one storm and is expected to hit the coast of South Carolina on Friday, local time
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will be held between July 2023 and June 2024
- The Queen's death certificate says the late monarch died of "old age"
- The James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Telescope have captured the moments before and after NASA's DART collided with an asteroid earlier this week
By Kate Ainsworth
Artist behind 'Gangsta's Paradise' chorus pays tribute to Coolio
The artist who provided the chorus to the Coolio song "Gangsta's Paradise" says he knew straight away that it would become a global hit.
Coolio — who died in Los Angeles yesterday aged 59 — was among hip hop's biggest names of the 1990s.
"Gangsta's Paradise" was the biggest-selling single of 1995, and went to number one in at least 19 countries.
Larry "LV" Sanders told RN Breakfast that he remembers putting the song together with Coolio and producer Doug Rasheed.
"I started writing the chorus of the song: We've been spending most of our lives living in a gangsta's paradise," he said.
"And so it came about like that and Coolio, he got right on the song like you know I guess all three of us we were like a marriage like, you know because the song was meant to be."
By Kate Ainsworth
Rob Stokes to retire from NSW politics next year
New South Wales Minister for Infrastructure Rob Stokes will retire from politics ahead of next year’s March state election.
Mr Stokes has served as the Member for Pittwater for 16 years and has confirmed he will not nominate for preselection in his northern beaches seat.
The retiring senior Liberal said it's been a privilege to serve his electorate, and it's now time to give others the opportunity to represent the Liberal Party.
Mr Stokes nominated for party leadership in 2021 after the resignation of Gladys Berejiklian but lost to current Premier Dominic Perrottet.
By Kate Ainsworth
The cleanup after Hurricane Ian hits Florida begins
Kirsten Hartman is out sweeping her Fort Myers street.
Palm tree branches and a layer of mud still cover the section closest to the Caloosahatchee River.
She’s fighting back tears as she rakes away the leaves dressed in gum boots, shorts and a t-shirt with an American flag.
Kristen hasn’t been able to contact her dad and his brother since the storm hit.
The two men live on Sanibel, a barrier island just off the coast.
They last spoke at 11.30pm yesterday, a few hours before the storm’s peak.
"They had said they had water close to their knees," she said.
Kristen urged the brothers to head for a neighbour’s home which stands on stilts, but the 78 and 80 year-old were reluctant because the neighbours weren’t home.
She urged them to break in, telling them the neighbours would understand, but she doesn’t know what happened next.
"We don’t know if they ever made it,” she said.
"If someone knows where Larry and Bill Noon are, please contact the Hartmans on Rio Vista!”
Sanibel is now cut off by road.
Part of the causeway connecting the island to the mainland has collapsed into the sea.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Sanibel was hit by a “biblical storm surge”.
Kristen Hartman is praying for a miracle.
Reporting by North America correspondent Barbara Miller in Fort Myers.
By Kate Ainsworth
First coin featuring King Charles's image unveiled
The Royal Mint has revealed the first image of King Charles on the 50 pence coin.
The new monarch's portrait faces the opposite direction to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, in keeping with tradition.
The coin will enter circulation in the coming months, along with a commemorative 5 pound coin, featuring two new portraits of Elizabeth on its reverse side.
By Kate Ainsworth
ADF support in aged care to end
The federal government has announced ADF support in aged care will come to an end from today.
Defence personnel have played an active role supporting aged care facilities both in controlling outbreaks and helping with the vaccine rollout since the first year of the pandemic.
Defence Minister Richard Marles and Aged Care Minister Annika Wells said in a joint statement that the support was always meant to be temporary, and aged care was in a position now where it no longer needed the support.
"The deployment of ADF personnel was an important emergency response and was extended in August to ensure residential aged care homes had continuity of support throughout the winter period," they said.
"With the winter peak now behind us, and fewer outbreaks in homes, this is an appropriate time to conclude ADF support in aged care."
By Kate Ainsworth
Moscow prepares for Ukraine annexation ceremony
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to formally announce the annexation of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk with a Kremlin ceremony on Friday, local time.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would sign accession documents in an ornate Kremlin hall and deliver a speech.
Meanwhile a pop concert is planned on Red Square, with banners already appearing around Moscow.
By Kate Ainsworth
AMA says push to scrap COVID isolation puts 'the public at risk'
President of the Australian Medical Association, Steve Robson was speaking to ABC News Breakfast a short time ago when he was asked about the push to scrap isolation periods for COVID-19.
He told host Madeleine Morris that any push to remove isolation periods were "putting the public at risk".
Here's some of that exchange:
Madeleine Morris: "Just [on] National Cabinet, if we can move on to the subject of COVID isolation periods as well. [There's a] big push to cut them all together from Dominic Perrottet, also the Tasmanian Premier, what's the AMA's take?"
Steve Robson: "I think people who are pushing for the isolation periods to be cut are not scientifically literate and are putting the public at risk and they need to understand that."
MM: "So what will be the consequences in your view for argument's sake if National Cabinet did remove that period today?"
SR: "We're seeing overseas a huge upswing in the numbers of COVID cases again. It's coming into holiday season when people would be travelling around the world. We think it's a period of significant risk and we're urging caution because we need to protect the health system and we need to protect vulnerable people like those in aged care and people with a disability."
MM: "The argument, of course, put forward by Dominic Perrottet and others that there is no other mandatory isolation period for other illnesses. The flu which can be extremely serious for people, it'sup to you to stay home if you're sick. Why is that not a valid argument?"
SR: "If you think the flu is COVID, you're living in fantasy land. COVID is a long-term infectious, we're already seeing a massive effect of long COVID on the workforce and the community. You don't have it with long flu or long cold. It's fantasy."
By Kate Ainsworth
British PM Liz Truss breaks her silence on her government's 'urgent' economic policy
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has defended her government's economic plans that's sent financial markets into a spin, but admits they were "controversial and difficult" decisions.
Earlier this week the pound sunk against the US dollar, after her government announced sweeping tax cuts in a 'mini-budget' to try and jump-start the country's sluggish economy.
But Ms Truss says she believes the country is now on a better footing.
"We had to take urgent action to get our economy growing, get Britain moving, and also deal with inflation, and of course, that means taking controversial and difficult decisions," she said.
By Kate Ainsworth
Putin recognises Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as independent territories
Russian President Vladimir Putin has paved the way for Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be formally annexed into Russia by signing decrees in Moscow.
The decrees have been made public by the Kremlin, which said Putin has recognised the two regions as independent territories.
It's an intermediary step that needs to happen before Putin can go ahead and formally announce that the regions are part of Russia, which is expected to happen tonight, Australian time.
The regions of Luhansk and Donetsk were already recognised by Russia as independent territories before the war in Ukraine started in February.
By Kate Ainsworth
Hurricane Ian strengthens to category one storm near North Carolina
After crossing to the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Ian has strengthened to a category one hurricane off the coast of North Carolina.
In its latest advisory, the National Hurricane Center says Ian is forecast to approach the coast of South Carolina on Friday (local time).
Currently Hurricane Ian is about 540 kilometres south-southwest of Cape Fear in North Carolina, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 120 kilometres per hour.
The forecaster says it could bring with it more life-threatening flooding and strong winds, similar to what was seen in Florida in the past day or so.
"Ian could slightly strengthen before landfall tomorrow, and is forecast to rapidly weaken over the southeastern United States late Friday into Saturday," the forecaster said.
By Kate Ainsworth
Voice to Parliament referendum to be held next financial year
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will be held in the next financial year — between July 2023 and June 2024.
But he told a working group of more than 60 prominent Indigenous voices yesterday that his government is yet to settle on a date.
"I genuinely haven't. At the end of the day, as the prime minister, that will be a decision that I'll have to advance. But I will be taking advice, including the very strong advice of this group," he said.
"The time frame will be some time in that financial year — that's where the window will be open — from July next year through to the next financial year."
By Kate Ainsworth
Coming up today: National cabinet to discuss COVID isolation
State and territory leaders will meet in Canberra this morning for a national cabinet meeting, with COVID-19 isolation periods on the agenda.
Last month national cabinet agreed to cut COVID isolation periods from seven days down to five, calling it a "proportionate response".
But it's back on the agenda again, with some leaders — including NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet — calling for them to be scrapped altogether.
The leaders will also be briefed by the new National Emergency Management Agency on the risk of floods and storms as we head into another La Nina summer.
By Kate Ainsworth
Joe Biden warns of 'substantial' deaths from Hurricane Ian
US President Joe Biden says Hurricane Ian, which slammed into Florida's Gulf Coast yesterday could be the state's deadliest hurricane in history.
The category four hurricane tore through the area with howling winds up to 241 kilometres per hour, torrential rains and raging surf, causing massive power outages.
"This could be the deadliest hurricane in Florida's history. The numbers are still unclear but we're hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life," Biden said.
More than 2.6 million homes and businesses in Florida remain without power, with the state's south-western shoreline transformed into a disaster zone.
Residents have also begun searching for missing people, while local authorities respond to hundreds of calls for help.
By Kate Ainsworth
The Queen's cause of death has been confirmed
Queen Elizabeth II's death certificate was published overnight, which said the late monarch died of old age.
The certificate also records her time of death as 3:10pm local time on September 8 — less than three hours after Buckingham Palace released a statement saying doctors were concerned about her health.
Her death was officially announced to the world at 6:30pm.
The certificate, published by the National Records of Scotland, showed her death was registered by her daughter, Princess Anne, on September 16.
The 96-year-old had been suffering from what Buckingham Palace described as "episodic mobility problems" since the end of 2021, which forced her to withdraw from nearly all her public engagements.
By Kate Ainsworth
One thing to know now: Russia is preparing to annex four Ukrainian territories
Russian President Vladimir Putin will begin annexing four Ukrainian regions on Friday (local time) after illegal sham referendums were held in the occupied areas.
Moscow is planning to annex four regions:
- The self-styled Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republics (LPR) in Ukraine's east
- The Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in Ukraine's south
Russia doesn't outright control any of these four regions though — but together they make up about 15 per cent of Ukrainian territory.
The UN has warned the annexation would mark a "dangerous escalation" and jeopardise prospects for peace.
"Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned," United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said.
Ukraine has warned the annexation would elicit a harsh response.
Confused about what it all means? We've got you covered with this handy explainer.
By Kate Ainsworth
More news while you snoozed: Reports of sexual harassment at Australia's Antarctic stations
A report into the culture at Antarctic research stations commissioned by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) has detailed a widespread and predatory culture of sexual harassment.
The external review found some women felt compelled to hide their periods while on field missions because they feared men may judge them as incompetent.
Other behaviours, including unwelcome requests for sex, taunting, displays of offensive pornography and homophobia were also reported.
The report's author, Professor Meredith Nash, said some women don't believe the Antarctic stations are safe and it may be unethical to continue sending women to them until their safety can be assured.
You can continue reading this exclusive story by political reporter Henry Belot below.
By Kate Ainsworth
News Australia is searching for: Brad Scott
- Brad Scott: He's been named as Essendon's new coach, replacing Ben Rutten who was sacked last month. Scott has previously coached North Melbourne, but resigned midway through the 2019 season.
By Kate Ainsworth
One more thing: Hubble and JWST capture the aftermath of NASA's DART mission
We already had a POV shot of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (or DART for short) slamming into an asteroid earlier in this week — but the moment of impact has been captured by none other than Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescopes.
Both telescopes captured images of the asteroid in the hours before and after the impact, capturing huge plumes of dust and debris.
It's also the first time both telescopes have looked at the same object at the same time.
They'll continue to monitor the asteroid in the coming weeks to help NASA understand the best way to push an asteroid off a potential collision course with Earth.
By Kate Ainsworth
Let's set you up for the day
From the rescue effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, to Russia's impending annexation of seized Ukrainian land, and images of *that* space collision with an asteroid earlier this week, here's what you need to know this morning.
