This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happened.
Key events
Live updates
That's all for The Loop this morning
By Tom Williams
Thanks for joining us today. If you're catching up, here's a bit of what was covered (click the link to jump straight to the post):
-
PM responds to protests surrounding Indian prime minister's Australian visit
- Netflix's password sharing crackdown finally begins in Australia
-
Australian tourist found dead in Kazakhstan mountains
-
Trump criminal trial set for March 2024, in the heat of the presidential campaign
-
Will Republican Ron DeSantis announce his US presidential bid with Elon Musk?
- Meta sells GIF platform Giphy to Shutterstock for an apparent loss
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.
Man crashed hire truck into security barriers near White House, wanted to take over government
By Jonathan Hepburn
Authorities in the US say a Missouri man flew to Washington DC, rented a truck and drove straight to the White House, where he crashed the truck into a security barrier and began waving around a Nazi flag in the culmination of a six-month plan to "seize power" from the government.
Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, removed the flag from a backpack shortly after smashing the box truck into the barrier near the north side of Lafayette Square on Monday around 10pm, according to charging documents.
He was quickly arrested by a US Park Police officer who rushed to the scene of the crash and saw him take out the flag.
Kandula later told Secret Service agents he had flown from St. Louis on a one-way ticket that night after months of planning.
He wanted to "get to the White House, seize power, and be put in charge of the nation," and he said he would "kill the president, if that's what I have to do," charges state.
Kandula said he bought the flag online because he admires the Nazis' "great history" as well as their "authoritarian nature, eugenics, and their one world order".
No one was injured in the crash. No explosives or weapons were found in the truck or on Kandula.
Australian tourist found dead in Kazakhstan mountains
By Jonathan Hepburn
An Australian tourist who was missing for three days in mountains in Kazakhstan has been found dead, authorities in the Central Asian country said on Tuesday.
Police say they found the body of Jake Michael Herd, born in 1995, near Big Almaty Lake in the Tian Shan mountains at an altitude of around 2,500 metres.
Rescuers say he showed no signs of a violent death and that he was found with all personal belongings.
The rescue operation was carried out in wind, rain and snow, they added.
State news agency Kazinform reports that the man arrived in Almaty last weekend on holiday and was due to leave Monday, citing an acquaintance.
Kazakhstan has implemented a visa-free regime for short stays for citizens of over 50 countries.
PM responds to protests surrounding Indian prime minister's Australian visit
By Tom Williams
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has responded to protests which have popped up in Sydney, where he is set to host talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.
There's been a small protest outside Kirribilli House this morning, and there was a protest outside a major community event featuring both prime ministers last night.
Here's some of the exchange which just took place between Albanese and News Breakfast host Michael Rowland:
Michael Rowland: [Modi] is accused of repressing his political opponents, the media, he is accused of discriminating against Muslims. Does any of that trouble you?
Anthony Albanese: India is of couse the world's largest democracy. Here in Australia, of course people have a right to express their views in a peaceful way and — we all have different views about people in politics. Australia always stands up for human rights, wherever it occurs anywhere in the world.
MR: Will you raise those issues with Mr Modi?
AA: One of the things that I do is engage with people on a one on one basis. I do that consistently. What I don't do is leak text messages with other world leaders. I have a respectful relationship with Prime Minister Modi and with other leaders.
MR: Australia has been at the forefront of condemning outright Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. Does it trouble you that Narendra Modi refuses to criticise Russia over the invasion?
AA: India is responsible for its own international relations and I respect that. We have very different histories. India has been a leader of the nonaligned movement for such a long period of time. India is a great supporter of peace and security and stability in our region.
India participated in not just the G7 meeting that was held on the weekend but of course the Quad leaders meeting is very important in building up that support for security stability, peace and prosperity in our region and the world.
At the G20 meeting that will be hosted in India later this year, I am sure, hopefully it will be resolved by then and Russia will recognise its mistake and withdraw before then. If not I expect that there will be a similar statement to which there was at the G20 last year to which India participated.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis shares US presidential campaign video
By Tom Williams
DeSantis's wife Casey DeSantis has shared just shared this campaign video, and her husband has retweeted it.
The video has the tagline "America is worth the fight".
LeBron James questions retirement after Lakers are eliminated from NBA playoffs
By Tom Williams
LeBron James has questioned retirement after his Los Angeles Lakers were kicked out of the NBA playoffs after four consecutive defeats at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.
The 38-year-old James, who is the top scorer in NBA history, spoke about himself as part of the Lakers' next season after game four, but also said he hadn't made up his mind on retirement.
"We'll see what happens going forward," James said in the final answer of his postgame news conference.
"I don't know. I don't know. I've got a lot to think about, to be honest. Just for me personally going forward with the game of basketball, I've got a lot to think about."
James is under contract for $US46.9 million ($70.9 million) next season with the Lakers, but he is in charge of his future after surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career scoring record earlier this year.
Climate protesters dragged from Shell shareholder meeting in London
By Tom Williams
Climate change protesters have been dragged away as they tried to storm the stage at Shell's shareholder meeting in London.
Shell Chairman Andrew Mackenzie could not start the meeting for more than an hour as dozens of protesters stood up, chanting and singing "Shut down Shell" and "Go to hell, Shell".
Several who tried to run onto the stage were stopped and carried out of the room by security guards.
The activists, including members of Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion, say Shell and other fossil fuel firms are making record profits at the cost of the environment.
Shell reported a record $US39.9 billion ($60 billion) profit for 2022, and other fossil fuel companies have posted bumper earnings as global oil and natural gas prices soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Meta sells GIF platform Giphy to Shutterstock for an apparent loss
By Tom Williams
There's some shocking news in the world of GIFs this morning.
Photography platform Shutterstock says it's buying GIF-sharing platform Giphy from Facebook owner Meta for $US53 million ($79 million).
It's the final step to unwind a deal which had been blocked by British regulators, who prevented Meta from purchasing Giphy over competition concerns.
Shutterstock says it signed a deal to give Meta continued access to Giphy's content across Meta's platforms.
The transaction, set to close in next month, could potentially leave Meta with a big loss, though.
Meta purchased Giphy in 2020, in a deal reportedly worth $US400 million ($605 million).
Mayor says fire which killed 19 children in Guyana was lit by a student
By Tom Williams
The mayor of the town in which a school dormitory fire killed 19 children in the South American nation of Guyana says the blaze was allegedly set by a student.
The children, mostly Indigenous girls, died around midnight on Monday, most at the scene.
More than 20 other children were hospitalised because of the fire, which police said on Monday was being investigated as arson.
"I can confirm that the fire was started by a student," Mahdia's mayor David Adams told Reuters, adding the pupil was not injured in the fire.
He added he could not confirm whether the student was in government custody.
Guyana's education minister says allegations that the dormitory was not outfitted with a modern fire alarm system and that students were not trained in fire drills are being investigated.
Anthony Albanese to hold talks with Indian PM Narendra Modi today
By Tom Williams
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley are set to welcome his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to Admiralty House in Sydney today, ahead of official talks.
The prime ministers are expected to discuss trade, defence and renewable energy as both nations seek to strengthen relations.
Business leaders and delegates will also meet with Modi during his first visit to Australia in 10 years, and the two prime ministers' sixth meeting in 12 months.
It follows Tuesday's joint appearance at Sydney Olympic Park, where the leaders received a rapturous stadium welcome from a crowd of about 20,000.
Protesters also demonstrated outside of the area, where Modi delivered a speech.
Modi arrived in Australia from Papua New Guinea on Monday following last week's G7 summit in Japan.
Remember the football racism row in Spain I mentioned yesterday?
By Tom Williams
Well, police have now detained seven men over separate alleged racist incidents against Real Madrid footballer Vinícius Júnior.
A hate crime investigation has been opened after an inflatable effigy dressed in the No. 20 jersey of Vinícius was hung from a bridge in front of the club's training grounds.
Alongside it was a 16-metre red and white banner — the colours of rival team Atletico Madrid — that read "Madrid hates Real".
Four men were arrested in Madrid, police said, three of whom were members of "a radical group of fans of a Madrid club", who were previously flagged during matches as "high risk" to help curb violence during games.
Three men were also arrested in Valencia for racist conduct aimed at Vinícius in a match between Valencia and Real Madrid, police say.
Trump criminal trial set for March 2024, in the heat of the presidential campaign
By Tom Williams
Former US president Donald Trump will face a criminal trial in March next year, over charges he allegedly falsified business records to conceal hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Manhattan's state court announced the date during a hearing in which the former US president appeared remotely from Florida.
The date means Trump will face trial in the heat of the 2024 presidential election campaign, of which he's currently the Republican frontrunner.
He's pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Netflix's password sharing crackdown finally begins in Australia
By Tom Williams
We've been waiting for it for months, and now Netflix's controversial crackdown on password sharing is finally impacting Austrailan households.
The streaming giant says that starting today, Australian members who are sharing their Netflix account with people outside of their household will begin receiving an email (which you can read below) about what's going to change.
The gist of it is that if you want to share your Netflix account with someone who doesn't live with you, it's now going to cost $7.99 per month to add them to your account.
Otherwise, they can transfer their profile to an entirely new account.
The crackdown comes as the company says more than 100 million households have shared passwords with people they do not live with.
Netflix says the changes it's bringing into place will allow it to continue investing in new content.
You can read more about the crackdown and why it's happening in this earlier story.
Netflix's letter to Australian account sharers:
Has Wes Anderson seen all of those viral TikTok videos recreating his style?
By Tom Williams
Well, not exactly.
Have you seen the recent TikTok trend of videos recreating various situations in the unique style of acclaimed director Wes Anderson?
No?
Here's what they look like.
If you haven't seen them, don't worry — Anderson hasn't either.
Here's what he just told the Associated Press:
AP: Have you seen all the TikTok videos that have made in your style? They're everywhere.
ANDERSON: No, I haven't seen it. I've never seen any TikTok, actually. I've not seen the ones related to me or the ones not related to me. And I've not seen any of the AI-type stuff related to me.
AP: You could look at it as a new generation discovering your films.
ANDERSON: The only reason I don't look at the stuff is because it probably takes the things that I do the same again and again. We're forced to accept when I make a movie, it's got to be made by me.
But what I will say is anytime anyone's responding with enthusiasm to these movies I've made over these many years, that's a nice, lucky thing. So I'm happy to have it. But I have a feeling I would just feel like: Gosh, is that what I'm doing? So I protect myself.
News Australia is searching for: Rolf Harris
By Tom Williams
The disgraced former entertainer and convicted paedophile has died at the age of 93.
His family issued a statement late last night confirming his death.
"This is to confirm that Rolf Harris recently died peacefully surrounded by family and friends and has now been laid to rest," the statement reads.
"They ask that you respect their privacy. No further comment will be made."
Harris, who had neck cancer, had been receiving 24-hour care.
Once one of Australia's most famous celebrity exports — renowned as a television presenter, musician and painter — Harris was prosecuted in 2013 for indecent assault against girls and young women between 1968 and 1986.
A year later, convicted at London's Southwark Crown Court over 12 offences, he was sentenced to five years and nine months in jail, and was released in May 2017 on parole.
One more thing: Will Republican Ron DeSantis announce his US presidential bid with Elon Musk?
By Tom Williams
That's what US media are reporting this morning.
They're saying the Florida governor will announce his 2024 presidential campaign in a live Twitter event with the company's new CEO, Elon Musk.
"Reportedly."
DeSantis has long been seen as Donald Trump's leading rival for the Republican nomination.
Musk, speaking at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Summit event in London on Tuesday, seemed to confirm the news, saying DeSantis would be making "quite an announcement" on Twitter soon.
"The first time something like this is happening on social media," with real time questions and answers, he said.
But Musk added that he was not endorsing any particular candidate at this time.
