This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happened.
Key events
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Live updates
That's it for The Loop today
By Felicity Ripper
Thanks for joining us for a later version of The Loop this morning.
If you're catching up, here's what has been happening (click the link to jump straight to the post):
- The NRL is introducing new rules around concussions
- A judge has overturned a jail sentence for an activist
- A cyclone in southern Africa has killed more than 200
- Oprah Winfrey has announced her 100th book club pick
- A NASA telescope has captured a spectacular image of a dying star
- Energy prices are set to surge
The NRL is set to introduce a mandatory recovery period for concussed players
By Felicity Ripper
The NRL will introduce a mandatory 11-day stand-down for any player who is concussed, which will ensure they miss at least one game.
Its move is similar to that of the AFL, which has a mandatory 12-day stand-down for concussed players.
The ABC understands NRL clubs would be able to apply for exemptions for players to come back early in exceptional circumstances.
You can read more from the Sport team below:
Cherry blossoms are blooming earlier in Japan due to warm weather
By Jessica Riga
Japan's famous cherry blossom trees have started blooming 10-days earlier than usual because of warm weather.
As our correspondent James Oaten reports, Japan's Meteorological Agency announced the season had officially begun after finding at least 11 trees blooming in central Tokyo.
It's the earliest start to the season since records began in 1953 – matching the previous records set in 2020 and 2021.
Experts say climate change is a factor.
The NSW Nurses union sues the NSW government
By Felicity Ripper
The NSW nurses' union has lodged a court case against the state government, alleging understaffing.
Biden meets families of mass shooting victims, toughens gun rules
By Jessica Riga
In the US, President Joe Biden has signed an executive order on gun control, in what the White House is promoting as the most comprehensive policy the president can enact without cooperation from Congress.
Among a number of measures, the order aims to increase the number of background checks to buy guns and promote more secure firearms storage.
In January, a gunman killed 11 people at a dance hall in Monterey Park, near Los Angeles.
After his speech, Biden met privately with families of the victims and first responders.
"I'm here on behalf of the American people to mourn with you, to pray with you, to let you know you are loved and not alone," Biden said.
Just in: An activist jailed for blocking the Sydney Harbour Bridge has had her sentence overturned
By Felicity Ripper
A judge has overturned a jail sentence handed to a climate change activist who blocked a lane of traffic on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Deanna “Violet” Coco was last year handed a 15-month sentence with a non-parole period of eight months by a magistrate in the Local Court.
In April, Ms Coco and fellow activist Alan Russell Glover climbed onto the roof of a small truck parked in the southbound Cahill Expressway lane of the bridge during peak hour.
The pair lit a flare as they live-streamed the stunt, which lasted around 30 minutes and was part of action by the group Fireproof Australia.
During a successful appeal, District Court Judge Mark Williams today rejected the Crown’s suggestion Ms Coco was a “danger to the community” due to her record of protest actions.
He set aside the sentence and placed Ms Coco on a 12-month conditional release order, while convictions for two of her charges will remain.
Rubbish is piling up in the streets of Paris
By Jessica Riga
The bins are overflowing in large areas of Paris a week into a strike by waste collectors.
Thousands of tonnes of rubbish are sitting abandoned on the streets of the French capital.
The workers are striking over the Macron government's proposals to raise the pension age from 62 to 64.
The grandson of the Iditarod co-founder has won the Alaska sled dog race
By Felicity Ripper
Ryan Redington has won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, bringing his six dogs off the Bering Sea ice to the finish line on Nome’s main street.
Redington, 40, is the grandson of Joe Redington Senior, who helped co-found the arduous race across Alaska that was first held in 1973 and is known as the “Father of the Iditarod".
“My grandpa, dad and Uncle Joee are all in the Mushing Hall of Fame. I got big footsteps to follow,” Ryan Redington wrote in his race biography.
Biden says Jimmy Carter has asked him to deliver his eulogy
By Felicity Ripper
President Joe Biden says he plans to deliver the eulogy at the funeral of former president Jimmy Carter, who remains under hospice care at his home in south Georgia.
Mr Biden told donors at a California fundraiser about his “recent” visit to see the 39th president, whom he has known since he was a young Delaware senator supporting Mr Carter's 1976 presidential campaign.
“He asked me to do his eulogy,” Mr Biden said, before stopping himself from saying more.
“Excuse me, I shouldn't say that.”
A Polish activist has been convicted for helping obtain abortion pills
By Felicity Ripper
A Warsaw court on Tuesday convicted a women's rights activist for helping a victim of domestic violence access abortion pills in Poland, and sentenced her to eight months of community service.
The case of Justyna Wydrzyńska has been closely watched by human rights activists, who believe it will set a precedent in a country with some of Europe's most restrictive abortion legislation.
They feared that the charges and a guilty verdict would create an atmosphere of repression that would intimidate women's rights activists and discourage them from assisting women seeking abortions.
United Nations responds to Alaska's Willow oil project
By Felicity Ripper
Any coverage on the Willow project?
- Mez
Hey Mez, I'll link to our coverage from yesterday.
Since it was announced that Joe Biden gave approval to the controversial project, the United Nations has criticised the move.
It had urged nations to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels,
"These are not projects that move us in the right direction," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters when asked about the Willow approval.
Cyclone death toll soars
By Felicity Ripper
The death toll after Tropical cyclone Freddy, which hit the coast of southern Africa for a second time over the weekend, has risen to more than 220 people in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar.
Many of the dead were killed by mudslides in hilly Blantyre, Malawi's second biggest city.
Bodies are still being brought out from the devastation.
Freddy first developed on February 6 and made its second landfall on the coast of Mozambique on March 11, 34 days later.
It may have broken the record for longest-lasting tropical cyclone according to the World Meteorological Organization.
The current record is held by a 31-day hurricane in 1994.
Oprah announces her 100th book club pick
By Felicity Ripper
Oprah Winfrey has announced that she had chosen Ann Napolitano’s Hello Beautiful, a modern-day homage to Little Women from the author of the bestselling Dear Edward.
The novel was published on Tuesday by Dial Press, a Penguin Random House imprint, and Winfrey believes its themes of family, resilience and perspective give Hello Beautiful a “universal appeal” that makes it a proper milestone.
NASA's Webb telescope has captured a star on the cusp of death
By Felicity Ripper
The Webb Space Telescope has captured the rare and fleeting phase.
NASA released the picture Tuesday at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas.
Electricity prices are set to surge
By Felicity Ripper
We heard from the business team this morning that the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has revealed draft electricity price increases of between 20 and 22 per cent over the coming financial year.
And Victorian consumers can expect a 30 per cent price surge.
Following the announcement, Chair of theAER Clare Savage told RN Breakfast's Patricia Karvelas the decision to increase the market offer was an "incredibly difficult decision", but is a considerably lower offer thanks to government intervention.
Ms Savage said those worried about their power prices should shop around.
"If you’re struggling to pay your bills, contact your retailer as soon as possible because under national energy laws they must assist you," she said.
You can read more in the business blog.
News Australia is searching for
By Felicity Ripper
- Meta. Facebook's parent company has announced it will cut 10,000 jobs in second round of layoffs
- A-League Men. The Australian Professional Leagues has confirmed it plans to introduce a men's team to partner Canberra United, as well as a second New Zealand club, ahead of the 2024-25 season.
One more thing
By Felicity Ripper
Lindsay Lohan has announced she's pregnant.
The Parent Trap star took to social media to announce she is becoming a parent herself, alongside husband Bader Shammas.
Let's set you up for the day
By Felicity Ripper
Good morning.
It's Wednesday, March 15 and you're reading The Loop — up late.
Here's what's happening.
- A cyclone in southern Africa has killed more than 200
- Oprah Winfrey has announced her 100th book club pick
- A NASA telescope has captured a spectacular image of a dying star
- Energy prices are set to surge
