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):
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Reports of 'sextortion' have tripled, says eSafety Commissioner
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Electricity prices to rise for around 600,000 customers again in July
- Ron DeSantis confirms he's running against Trump for US president
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Rapper Fetty Wap handed prison sentence over drug trafficking scheme
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ICYMI: Music legend Tina Turner has died
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.
Schitt’s Creek star Noah Reid on reimagining a Tina Turner song for the hit show
By Lara Smit
Canadian actor and musician Noah Reid is best known by many as Patrick from the hit comedy series, Schitt's Creek.
One of the show's most emotional moments comes in season four, where he sings a stripped-back version of Tina Turner's (Simply) The Best to Dan Levy's character, David.
"I get goosebumps today. I owe a lot to Tina. I owe a lot to Dan, and to that entire cast and show," he tells ABC News Breakfast.
"That song really brought something new to that show and the audience, a new feeling. Such an incredible tune.
"She obviously rocked it out pretty hard… a total power icon, and very sad to hear of her passing today."
Reid is heading to Australia for a tour later this year – and he's hinted that he might even add the tune to his setlist for those shows.
"Hopefully we'll get to rock out a little bit and pay homage to the great Tina Turner along the way."
Australia joins intelligence partners to blame China for US infrastructure cyber attack
By Tom Williams
Australia has joined the United States and other Five Eyes cyber agencies to identify China as the culprit behind recent cyber attacks targeting "critical infrastructure" in the US.
Here's more from political reporter Jake Evans:
A joint Cybersecurity Advisory was issued following a "recently discovered cluster of activity of interest" associated with China's state sponsored hacking group Volt Typhoon.
The advisory warned Volt Typhoon had used a "living off the land" attack — a tactic that exploits legitimate tools within the system rather than malware.
Using that technique hackers were able to evade detection by "blending in with normal Windows system and network activities".
In a statement Microsoft said Volt Typhoon's activity had used compromised credentials to access critical infrastructure organisations, and that the group's typical aim was espionage and information gathering.
You can keep reading this story here:
This Tina Turner fan is part of the reason the singer is all over the US town of Nutbush
By Lara Smit
Reporting by Emilie Gramenz in Washington DC
Nutbush City Limits is about a real place – the tiny, unincorporated community of Nutbush in Haywood County, Tennessee, where Tina Turner spent her early childhood.
Keith Gambill is also from Haywood County. He's a Tina Turner superfan and part of the reason there's signs and signifiers around Nutbush today that herald their superstar export.
"It's just like this one little flower growing up through the concrete," he says, describing how inspirational he finds her journey from Nutbush to the heights of superstardom.
"There's no other story like it, I can't think of anything like it. And when you see where she came from, what she had to overcome to get there, it becomes even more inspiring.
"It's very, very small. She describes it quite well in her song, back then. The speed limit… of course a few things have changed, but not much."
Keith says the Nutbush dance phenomenon is "uniquely Australian".
"It's totally amazing and fun and energetic and a great tribute to her," he says.
Keith posted a clip of Tina Turner performing Nutbush on his social media this morning on his way to work, with the caption "take me to Nutbush, one more time".
It is meant as a message for the school where he works, which is about to break up for the summer. It was hours before he heard the news of her death.
"I wasn't really going to Nutbush. But I work at the end of Highway 19, which intersects with a US highway, so it was like, 'Take me there again,' he says.
"And as it turns out, I kind of feel like, take her there again. I had her with me in the car playing again.
"We're going to miss her, but you can rest assured, we have her way deep in our hearts."
Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh indicted for financial fraud
By Lara Smit
Alex Murdaugh, who is serving a life sentence for murdering his wife and son, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on 22 counts of financial fraud, including charges involving his housekeeper's death.
The disbarred lawyer, who had a prominent role in a Netflix documentary on the murders in South Carolina, is accused of defrauding more than $US3.4 million ($5.2 million) from an insurance settlement meant for the family of his housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.
US attorney's statements also say that Murdaugh is accused of siphoning off disbursements from personal injury settlements to bank accounts controlled by him, as well as wire fraud and collecting fees on non-existent annuities.
Murdaugh's attorneys, Jim Griffin and Richard Harpootlian, say:
"Alex has been cooperating with the United States Attorneys’ Office and federal agencies in their investigation of a broad range of activities. We anticipate that the charges brought today will be quickly resolved without a trial."
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the passing of Tina Turner
By Tom Williams
Without doubt the greatest live act in the history of music in any generation
- Gaye
White House responds after poem written for Biden's inauguration banned at Florida school
By Tom Williams
A poem written for US President Joe Biden's inauguration has been placed on a restricted list at a South Florida school after one parent's complaint.
Amanda Gorman, who wrote the poem The Hill We Climb, has vowed to fight back.
"I'm gutted," she says. "Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Americans should all stand against banning books, as some municipalities move to ban books they see as containing objectionable material.
While book bans are not new, they are happening much more frequently, especially in Florida — where Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is running for US presidnet, has championed policies that allow the censorship of books some have deemed inappropriate for children in schools, causing national uproar.
The American Library Association reported in March that efforts to ban books doubled in 2022 over the year before.
Reports of 'sextortion' have tripled, says eSafety Commissioner
By Lara Smit
Reports of "sextortion" to the eSafety Commissioner have tripled in the first quarter of 2023, with victims most likely to be young men.
Sextortion involves criminals soliciting sexual images and videos from victims to use to blackmail them and extort money.
Most of the incidents reported occurred on Snapchat and Instagram.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant tells ABC News Breakfast that the typical victim is changing.
"Image-based abuse, so the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and videos has always been gendered in terms of women and girls," she says.
"But now what we're seeing is 90 per cent of the targets or the victims are young men between the ages of 18 and 24."
Grant says that eSafety is able to help people that are being blackmailed as they have the power to take images down online.
"We have a 90 per cent success rate in terms of doing that."
You can keep reading about this story here:
Music journalist Bernard Zuel remembers Tina Turner’s influence on Australia
By Tom Williams
Tina Turner’s passing at the age of 83 is being felt deeply around the world, including here in Australia.
The beloved musician leaves a large legacy not just in music, but in sport, too.
Music journalist Bernard Zuel tells ABC News Breakfast there are two major memories Australians would have of the Queen of Rock’n’Roll.
"One of them is the fact that she helped resurrect rugby league with two songs," he says.
"'What You Get Is What You See, the first ad she did for rugby league … and The Best, which was titled as (Simply) The Best for Australia.”
“But the other highlight for Australia is possibly the fact that she sang a song that was formative in everybody's teen years and pre-teen years, dancing the Nutbush.”
Electricity prices to rise for around 600,000 customers again in July
By Tom Williams
Australia's energy regulator says electricity prices will rise by up to 24 per cent from July 1, for around 600,000 customers in South Australia, New South Wales and South-East Queensland.
The increase is higher than the draft offer put forward by the regulator in March, which suggested increases of between 20 and 22 per cent.
You can read more on this breaking story here:
Outrage in New Zealand over visibly agitated kiwi in US zoo
By Lara Smit
A zoo in the US has apologised for mistreating a kiwi, after footage of visitors patting the nocturnal bird under bright lights caused outrage in New Zealand.
The videos went viral on social media, showing the kiwi looking visibly agitated as guests patted it under the lights.
Considered a national icon in New Zealand, the flightless kiwi bird is symbolic of the country's unique natural heritage and the basis for the nickname applied to its people.
Coroner to hand down Melissa Caddick findings today
By Tom Williams
More than two years after conwoman Melissa Caddick mysteriously vanished, a coroner is set to hand down her inquest findings this morning.
The long-running coronial examination delved into the circumstances leading to the 49-year-old Sydney fraudster's disappearance in November 2020 and her mindset at the time.
Caddick's badly decomposed right foot in a running shoe washed up on a beach on the south coast of New South Wales three months after her disappearance, leading authorities to presume she was dead.
Police and investigators raided her home on November 11, 2020.
Two days later she was reported missing by her husband Anthony Kolleti.
The inquest has heard from a number of key witnesses including Koletti, a part-time hairdresser and DJ, who told the court he had no knowledge of Caddick's Ponzi scheme.
My NSW colleagues are live blogging the handing down of the inquest findings, which you can follow along here:
ICYMI: Music legend Tina Turner has died
By Tom Williams
In case you missed it earlier this morning — Tina Turner, the American-born singer dubbed the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", has died aged 83.
Known for hits such as What's Love Got to Do with It and (Simply) The Best, Turner is said to have died peacefully after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland.
"With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model," publicist Bernard Doherty says in a statement.
What are you memories of Tina Turner? Let me know in the comments by hitting the blue button near the top of this page.
Ron DeSantis confirms he's running against Trump for US president
By Tom Williams
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has officially entered the 2024 US presidential race.
He's stepping into a crowded Republican primary contest which will test his national appeal as an outspoken cultural conservative and the GOP's willingness to move on from former president Donald Trump — who is also running for presidnet.
The 44-year-old DeSantis revealed his decision in a Federal Election Commission filing before an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, which is expected to take place around 8am AEST this morning.
DeSantis is considered to be Trump's strongest Republican rival even as the governor faces questions about his readiness for the national stage.
Rapper Fetty Wap handed prison sentence over drug trafficking scheme
By Tom Williams
American rapper Fetty Wap has been sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a New York-based drug trafficking scheme.
The artist, whose legal name is Willie Maxwell, apologised for his actions and told a court he was "exactly where I'm supposed to be" before the sentencing.
The Trap Queen rapper pleaded guilty in August 2022 to a conspiracy drug charge that carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years.
Maxwell told US District Judge Joanna Seybert, "Me being selfish in my pride put me in this position today."
His lawyers had suggested he turned to selling drugs because of financial hardship brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maxwell was arrested in October 2021 on charges of participating in a conspiracy to smuggle large amounts of heroin, fentanyl and other drugs into the New York City area.
News Australia is searching for: The Big Mango
By Tom Williams
One of Australia's premier 'big things' and road trip spots, the Big Mango in the Queensland town of Bowen, celebrates its 21st birthday today.
To mark the occasion, its juicy image has been splashed across the Google homepage as today's Google Doodle.
Here's what it looks like:
"In 2002, the town of Bowen, in North Queensland, built a hefty tribute to their world-famous mangoes and prosperous fruit orchards," Google says in a blog post about the Doodle.
"The Big Mango is on the Bruce Highway, just 5km south of the town of Bowen. The town is also known as the 'salad bowl of the north' as they also grow tomatoes, capsicums and other vegetables."
The Big Mango weighs more than five tonnes and stands 10 metres tall.
Happy birthday, you big beautiful bastard.
One more thing: A paralysed man has walked again by using only his thoughts
By Tom Williams
Now THIS is amazing.
Swiss researchers have developed a way to make a paralysed man walk using revolutionary brain implants.
The team created implants that wirelessly transmit thoughts from the brain to another device in the lower back.
Their patient — a 40-year-old Dutch man — has been able to stand, walk, and climb stairs for the first time in 12 years.
The team say the research is still in its very early stages.
You can read more about their work at the link below:
