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By Kelsie Iorio
Thanks for joining our live wrap of today's key headlines.
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SA's former shadow road safety spokesperson speaks after 'voluntarily relinquishing' licence
By Kelsie Iorio
South Australian Liberal MP Tim Whetstone says he regrets not telling party leader David Spiers about losing his licence until his suspension was lifted.
Mr Whetstone stepped down last week as shadow road safety minister.
He says he voluntarily relinquished his drivers licence for three months after accumulating too many demerit points for speeding, saying his busy workload was a factor.
"I was seriously focused on what I had to do on a day-to-day basis," Mr Whetstone said.
"When it when it dawned on me that I had to make him aware of that, the actions were taken, I lost my road safety portfolio, and I continue to do my other portfolios in the best manner possible with a licence."
Government to consider carbon tariffs for countries with weak climate laws
By Kelsie Iorio
The federal government will consider introducing European-style carbon tariffs on some imported goods to ensure Australian manufacturers remain competitive under its proposed carbon rules.
The government yesterday announced plans to force Australia's heaviest polluting companies to reduce their emissions by roughly 30 per cent by 2030.
The EU has imposed tariffs on imported goods like steel, cement and fertiliser to prevent European industries being undercut by competitors with weaker climate laws.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says it's under consideration.
"We've taken on board that feedback and said yes, this is something we should look at alongside all the other options available to government to ensure that now that Australia has a decent climate policy, Australian industry is guided on that," he said.
"Just as Europe has gone down this road, Australia will consider its options alongside other options."
Reporting by Georgia Hitch
Damar Hamlin to leave hospital within the next couple of days
By Kelsie Iorio
Another update! And it's a good one!
Damar Hamlin is expected to be released from hospital in the next day or two, just one day after he was deemed well enough to be transported from Cincinnati to Buffalo.
Michael Hughes, senior vice president and chief administrative officer at Kaleida Health, which operates the Buffalo General Medical Center, told CNN that Hamlin is healthy enough to leave the facility within 48 hours.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott says he saw the 24-year-old briefly on Tuesday.
"(He's) just very tired but he seems happy and happy to be back in Buffalo and around a familiar area to him," he said.
"Just incredible progress that he's made and incredible care that he's been under, both in Cincinnati and now here. So we're just very thankful for that."
Life-saving procedures performed by Bills trainers on the field in Cincinnati during the first quarter of last Monday's NFL match-up against the Bengals helped Hamlin reach intensive care at UCMC last week, after he went into cardiac arrest following what appeared to be a pretty standard play.
He required CPR and use of a defibrillator moments after making a tackle with 5:58 left in the first quarter.
Reporting with Reuters
Last King of Greece dies aged 82
By Kelsie Iorio
Constantine, the former and last King of Greece, has died aged 82.
Doctors announced the news and it was first reported by local Greek media.
His nine-year reign coincided with one of the most turbulent periods in the country's political history.
Constantine reportedly had a stroke recently, and had been in hospital for several days.
Men to face court over allegedly stealing car with toddler inside
By Kelsie Iorio
Two men will face court today over the alleged theft of a car with a toddler inside in Melbourne's south.
The 18-year-old and 20-year-old were arrested in a Frankston shopping centre yesterday.
They've been charged with multiple charges including car theft, aggravated burglary, bail offences and resisting police.
It's alleged they stole a car after a man left his child in it with the engine running while he went inside a Chelsea shop on Sunday afternoon.
The two-year-old was found wandering a nearby street.
'From now, we all move on as one': Melbourne Victory accepts pitch invasion penalty
By Kelsie Iorio
Melbourne Victory says the financial penalties imposed on the club in response to last month's violent pitch invasion are significant, but the club will manage.
Football Australia yesterday handed down $550,000 in fines after 150 Victory fans stormed the field last month, injuring a player, referee and camera operator and forcing the game to be called off.
The fine sits alongside a suspended 10-point deduction for the club, which may be triggered for any fan misconduct over the next three seasons.
Victory's managing director Caroline Carnegie says it's no small penalty, but the club can now get on with the game.
"$550,000 to anyone or any club off the back of COVID is significant, and that's the intent of it," she says.
"The intent is for the people that have done the wrong thing for them to understand the impact of that on our club.
"We've got our final determination, we've accepted what's been handed down to us, and from now, we all move on as one. That's with our members and fans supporting us, that's with the players doing the best that they can do."
The Coachella lineup is out
By Kelsie Iorio
And yes, I'm crying into my coffee because I will probably never get to go.
Canada will buy surface-to-air missiles for Ukraine
By Kelsie Iorio
Justin Trudeau's office says Canada will buy a US-made National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) for Ukraine.
Trudeau and US President Joe Biden are being hosted by Mexico for a North American leaders' meeting, and Trudeau told Biden about the purchase during separate discussions the two had on supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said on social media that it's the first Canadian donation of an air defence system to Ukraine, which her counterpart Oleksii Reznikov told her is a top priority.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had this to say after the deal was announced:
US justice department looking into classified documents found in Biden's old office
By Kelsie Iorio
Republicans are demanding answers after classified documents were discovered in a private office previously used by Joe Biden.
Here's North America correspondent Jade Macmillan, who spoke to the team at ABC News Breakfast a short time ago:
"We still don't have really any information as to what those documents contained, but CNN is reporting they included intelligence memos and briefing materials on topics including Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom.
"The top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee has written to officials requesting an urgent review and a damage assessment, and other Republicans are arguing there's a sense of double standards here, given the former president Donald Trump is being investigated by the Department of Justice for his handling of classified documents at this Mar-a-Lago property in Florida after he left the White House.
"Now, there are some significant differences between these two cases including the scale, the number of documents in question, and the Department of Justice has also previously suggested that Mr Trump is being investigated for possible obstruction, whereas Joe Biden's lawyers insist they immediately notified authorities.
"But there's very serious questions for the president to answer, including as to why the public wasn't notified at the time that these documents were found just before the mid-term elections."
Will you be watching the Golden Globes today?
By Kelsie Iorio
We'll be bringing all the action (and fashion, obviously) to you live from around midday AEDT, so be sure to pop back and join us then (not in this blog though — head to the ABC News home page and you'll find the team there).
Rules for love with... *checks notes* Jacqui Lambie
By Kelsie Iorio
Tune into ABC News Breakfast now if you want to catch the full story on this:
Romanian court upholds arrest of ~ influencer ~ Andrew Tate
By Kelsie Iorio
A Romanian court has upheld the 30-day arrest of divisive social media personality and self-described misogynist Andrew Tate on charges of organized crime, human trafficking and rape.
A spokesperson for Romanian anti-organized crime agency DIICOT, Ramona Bolla, says the court rejected an appeal by Tate against a judge’s earlier decision to extend the 36-year-old's arrest from 24 hours to 30 days.
Tate, a British-US citizen who has 4.5 million followers on Twitter, was initially detained on December 29 for 24 hours along with his brother Tristan, who was charged in the same case, and two Romanian women.
Late on Tuesday local time, the court rejected all four appeals against a judge's December 30 decision to grant prosecutors' request to extend the arrest period.
A document explaining the judge’s reasoning said "the possibility of them evading investigations cannot be ignored" and that they could "leave Romania and settle in countries that do not allow extradition".
Reporting with AP
Long-time Trump Organization CFO sentenced to five months' jail in tax fraud case
By Kelsie Iorio
Allen Weisselberg, a longtime executive for Donald Trump, has been sentenced to five months behind bars for helping engineer a 15-year tax fraud scheme at the Trump Organization.
The Trump Organization's former chief financial officer pleaded guilty in August, admitting that from 2005 to 2017 he and other executives received bonuses and perks that saved the company and themselves money.
Though no longer CFO, the 75-year-old remains on paid leave from the Trump Organization.
Weisselberg, who also has paid about $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest as part of his punishment, will likely serve 100 days in jail with time off for good behavior.
The 75-year-old is expected to be sent to New York's notorious Rikers Island jail — the facility is known for violence, drugs and corruption, and 19 inmates there died last year.
Reporting with Reuters
Bills give a (brief) new update on Damar Hamlin
By Kelsie Iorio
It was just yesterday the 24-year-old NFL player was released from a Cincinnati hospital, where he'd been receiving treatment for a week after going into cardiac arrest on the field.
He was able to be transferred back to his home state of Buffalo, where he'll continue his recovery.
Coming up today: The Golden Globe Awards are back
By Tom Williams
Big names in film and television are preparing for the 80th Golden Globe Awards, which are taking place in Beverly Hills today after boycotts knocked the annual award show off TV last year.
Here's how things will work this time around:
- Red carpet arrivals begin at 11am AEDT
- Winners will be announced from noon AEDT
Comedian Jerrod Carmichael will host, and the Australian nominees include Cate Blanchett, Hugh Jackman, Baz Luhrmann, Elizabeth Debicki and Margot Robbie.
We'll be blogging the ceremony on ABC News and will have all of the biggest looks from the red carpet.
For more details on what to look out for, keep reading here:
Publisher says Prince Harry's memoir broke UK sales record on first day of release
By Kelsie Iorio
Prince Harry's book publishers say his memoir Spare has become the UK's fastest-selling non-fiction book ever.
Citing British sales figures, the publisher said it had sold 400,000 copies so far across hardback, e-book and audio formats.
"We always knew this book would fly but it is exceeding even our most bullish expectations," Transworld Penguin Random House Managing Director Larry Finlay said in a statement.
"As far as we know, the only books to have sold more in their first day are those starring the other Harry (Potter)."
Despite a lack of queues, Waterstone's said there had been strong pre-orders for the memoir which is ranking as the best-seller on Amazon's UK, US, Australian, German and Canadian websites.
Reporting with Reuters
Man accused of Toyah Cordingley's murder tells court he wants to fight charge in Australia
By Kelsie Iorio
In case you missed it overnight, the man accused of the murder of Queensland woman Toyah Cordingley has told an Indian Court he wants to fight the charge against him in Australia.
Former Queensland nurse Rajwinder Singh made his first official statement to the Delhi District Court on Tuesday, saying he wants to be extradited as soon as possible to contest the charge.
Mr Singh, 38, is facing the extradition case from Australia to India over the killing of Ms Cordingley in 2018.
The judge will now consider Mr Singh's statement and if she approves his extradition, the application will be passed up to the Indian government.
Here's the full story:
Rudy Giuliani reportedly subpoenaed by US prosecutors
By Kelsie Iorio
Rudy Giuliani has reportedly been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors seeking documents about payments he received from former US presiednt Donald Trump or his presidential campaign.
A person familiar with the matter, but who isn't authorised to speak publicly so asked not to be identified, told Reuters on Monday that the subpoena also asks Giuliani to testify.
The source said the subpoena sought, among other things, copies of any retainer agreements between Trump and Giuliani, or the Trump campaign and Giuliani, and records of payments and who made those payments.
In December, a District of Columbia attorney ethics committee said Giuliani violated at least one attorney ethics rule in his work on a failed lawsuit by Trump challenging the 2020 election results.
Giuliani's New York state law license was suspended in June 2021 after a state appeals court found he had made "demonstrably false and misleading" statements that widespread voter fraud undermined the 2020 election.
Reporting with Reuters
