This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happens.
Key events
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Live updates
That's all for The Loop today
By Felicity Ripper
Thanks for joining us, if you're catching up, here's a little of what we've covered this morning:
- Queensland's police commissioner says the surviving officers from Monday's shooting siege are doing 'as well as expected' and are 'grateful' to be alive
- Former prime minister Scott Morrison is expected to appear before the Robodebt royal commission today
- And US prosecutors have charged Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX
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.
Scott Morrison is about to front the Robodebt royal commission
By Felicity Ripper
Former prime minister Scott Morrison is set to appear before the Robodebt royal commission.
The inquiry is looking into the former federal government program that wrongly accused thousands of welfare recipients of owing Centrelink money.
Follow the latest updates in our live blog.
Woman found dead after falling from cruise ship
By Felicity Ripper
The body of a 23-year-old woman who fell off a cruise ship last night has been found off South Australia's south-east coast.
Carnival Australia said the woman, who was travelling with a family member, fell overboard around 11:30pm.
The cruise ship Pacific Explorer remained onsite to help emergency services with a search-and-rescue operation throughout the night.
The cruise had been heading for Kangaroo Island.
The royals have released a new Christmas pic
By Felicity Ripper
The Prince and Princess of Wales have released a new family photo for their annual Christmas card.
It shows the couple and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, walking through a park on a sunny day.
The image was taken by the photographer Matt Porteous earlier this year.
Vladimir Putin ditches annual news conference amid 'anti-war feeling in Russia'
By Bridget Judd
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ditched his annual marathon news conference following a series of battlefield setbacks in Ukraine.
Putin typically uses the year-end ritual to polish his image, answering a wide range of questions on domestic and foreign policy.
But this year, with his troops on the back foot in Ukraine, it could be impossible to avoid uncomfortable questions about the Russian military’s blunders.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin wouldn’t hold the news conference this month without explaining why.
“Although questions are almost certainly usually vetted in advance, the cancellation is likely due to increasing concerns about the prevalence of anti-war feeling in Russia,” the UK Defense Ministry wrote in a commentary on Twitter.
Elon Musk has been knocked off the top of the Forbes rich list
By Felicity Ripper
Twitter owner and Tesla boss Elon Musk has been knocked off the top of the Forbes billionaire list after a $US4.7 billion ($6.86 billion) drop in his net worth, according to Forbes.
Louis Vuitton boss Bernard Arnault and his family now claim the title as the world's richest with Forbes plotting a personal wealth of $US188.6 billion.
Mr Musk, who had until recently consistently held the top spot on the Forbes list since taking the title from Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos in September 2021, still has a net worth of $US176.5 billion according to the media company.
Comedian and actor Adam Sandler to get 2023 Mark Twain Prize
By Bridget Judd
The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced that Adam Sandler will receive the The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
The award has previous gone to luminaries like Richard Pryor, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, George Carlin and Ellen DeGeneres.
“Adam Sandler has entertained audiences for over three decades with his films, music, and his tenure as a fan favorite cast member on ‘SNL,’” said Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter in a statement.
“Adam has created characters that have made us laugh, cry, and cry from laughing.”
The 56-year-old actor-comedian will receive the prestigious award at a gala on March 19.
Ukraine's president has asked New Zealand to help restore the environment
By Felicity Ripper
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the environmental harm from Russia's war will affect millions of people for years.
Speaking to the New Zealand parliament - just the second foreign leader to do so - Mr Zelenskyy this morning urged the country to take leadership to address the damage.
Speaking over video link, he said Russian attacks had contaminated the country's oceans and three million hectares of forest.
"Dozens of rivers are polluted, hundreds of coal mines are flooded, dozens of the most dangerous enterprises, including chemical ones have been destroyed by Russian strikes," he said.
"All this ... will have a direct impact on millions of people."
Mr Zelenskyy urged New Zealand to lead efforts at the United Nations and elsewhere to restore Ukraine's environmental security.
New ZealandPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern today announced a further $NZ3 million ($AU2.8 million) in humanitarian support and told Zelenskyy his was "not a forgotten war".
Joe Biden signs historic same-sex marriage bill
By Felicity Ripper
President Joe Biden has signed gay marriage legislation into law before a crowd of thousands.
The new law is intended to safeguard gay marriages if the US Supreme Court ever reverses the decision of Obergefell v Hodges.
“This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms," Mr Biden said at the White House.
"And that’s why this law matters to every single American.”
Politicians from both parties were present as well as first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff.
Singers Sam Smith and Cyndi Lauper performed.
Two volcanoes in Hawaii have finally stopped erupting
By Bridget Judd
Scientists in the US say that two active Hawaii volcanoes — one of which destroyed hundreds of homes in 2018 — have finally stopped erupting.
“Kilauea is no longer erupting,” the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement Tuesday, followed by a separate one saying, “Mauna Loa is no longer erupting.”
Alert levels for both volcanoes were reduced from watch to advisory.
Mauna Loa began spewing molten rock on November 27, after being quiet for 38 years. It didn't pose any threat to communities, but got within 3 kilometres of a major highway connecting the island.
Lava-viewers in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park also enjoyed the added rare marvel of being able to see Mauna Loa’s smaller neighbor, Kilauea, erupting at the same time.
Kilauea had been erupting since September 2021, and an eruption in 2018 destroyed more than 700 residences.
'Harry & Meghan' has ranked as Netflix's biggest documentary debut
By Felicity Ripper
The new Netflix documentary about Prince Harry and his wife Meghan has racked up more viewing time on the streaming service than any other documentary during its first week.
Since its debut last Thursday, the first three episodes of "Harry & Meghan" has recorded 81.55 million viewing hours.
It was the second-most watched English-language series on Netflix globally between December 5 and 11, behind only Addams Family drama "Wednesday."
Wednesday has already crossed 1 billion hours viewed.
A search is underway for a woman who fell off a cruise ship
By Felicity Ripper
A young woman fell overboard from a cruise ship late last night and a search operation has begun off South Australia's south-east coast.
Carnival Australia said the woman fell overboard at around 11:30pm.
The ship is assisting emergency services and is expected to remain about 70 kilometres off the coast of Cape Jaffa to continue searching throughout the morning.
Western Downs Mayor describes a 'very tough day' after QLD shooting rampage
By Felicity Ripper
Western Downs mayor Paul McVeigh has been speaking with the residents of his region as they come to terms with the tragic shootout at a remote property in Wieambilla.
He told ABC News this morning that the community has experienced the "very lowest" after the senseless loss of two young officers and a resident.
"It was a very, very tough day in our community and just listening to the Commissioner speak, a very tough day for our police officers aswell," Cr McVeigh said.
"But also, yesterday, I'm absolutely amazed at the resilience of our community and the compassion and the capacity of our community to rally together, to support the victims."
He said residents were rallying to support the families of the young officers involved, and a funding page was set up to support the wife of the neighbour who was killed when he went to investigate following the shootout.
The surviving officers in a rural QLD shooting rampage are 'doing as well as expected'
By Felicity Ripper
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has given an update on the condition of the surviving officers as she spoke to the ABC from Chinchilla.
Commissioner Carroll said she met with Constable Keely Brough, who had only been working in the force for eight weeks when she took cover in the grass of a Chinchilla property on Monday after three of her colleagues were shot.
Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, and neighbour Alan Dare died.
Constable Randall Kirk, 28, was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound.
"I spoke to Randall in hospital and we are hoping he is released today," Commissioner Carroll said on Wednesday morning.
"They [Keely and Randall] are doing as well as can be expected.
"They are grateful they are alive but for them it is very difficult as well because they were there when their partners were killed.
"So difficult days for them as well."
Health figures show doctors are bulk-billing less
By Felicity Ripper
You might not be surprised to learn that it's getting harder for Australians to find a bulk-billed doctor's appointment.
The latest Medicare figures show the bulk-billing rate dropped from 87 per cent to 83.4 per cent between July and September this year.
It was 88.4 per cent late last year.
GPs say the Medicare rebate doesn't allow them to charge fees that would keep their businesses afloat.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been charged with financial crimes
By Felicity Ripper
US prosecutors have charged Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, with a host of financial crimes and campaign finance violations, alleging he played a central role in the rapid collapse of FTX and hid its problems from the public and investors.
The indictment says that Mr Bankman-Fried intentionally devised "a scheme and artifice to defraud" FTX's customers and investors.
The 30-year-old filed for bankruptcy in November and has been arrested in the Bahamas.
A nuclear fusion breakthrough has given hope to curbing climate change
By Felicity Ripper
Scientists have announced that, for the first time, they have produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it — a major breakthrough in the decades-long quest to harness the process that powers the sun.
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California achieved the result, which is called net energy gain.
Officials believe the breakthrough will pave the way for the future of clean power.
Scott Morrison is expected to give evidence at the Robodebt royal commission today
By Tom Williams
Former prime minister Scott Morrison is expected to appear before the Robodebt royal commission today to answer questions about his time as social services minister and treasurer.
The commission has been holding hearings in Brisbane, and you'll be able to stream today's hearing via its website from 10am AEST (11am AEDT).
Former Liberal minister for human services, Marise Payne, fronted the inquiry on Tuesday, and said she did not know when the need for policy and law changes for the Robodebt scheme "dropped off the radar".
Her comments came after several public servants admitted to playing down the scheme's risks.
You can read up the details from yesterday's sitting here:
News Australia is searching for
By Felicity Ripper
- Nuclear fusion energy breakthrough : US scientists have revealed a breakthrough on fusion energy that could one day help curb climate change if companies can scale up the technology to a commercial level in the coming decades.
- Paxlovid: Drugmaker Pfizer says it is working to improve supply of its COVID-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid in China in order to ensure adequate access as cases rise in the country.
- Triple J Jottest 100: Voting for Australia’s fiercely contested music poll opened yesterday, and will remain open until Monday, January 23rd at 12pm AEDT.
One more thing: the weird way Italians are lighting up their Christmas tree
By Felicity Ripper
Photos have emerged of the Christmas tree outside the city hall buildings in Italy's capital.
The lights on the tree are connected to six parked bikes and a generator, with people invited to "pedal with us to light up Christmas".
