Hi there, it's Monday, May 23. Here's what you need to get going today.
One thing to know right now: Albo will officially become PM
And four other frontbenchers will also get their commissions. Here's what's happening today:
- Anthony Albanese will be sworn in as the 31st prime minister with his deputy, Richard Marles, and frontbenchers Penny Wong (who will be Foreign Minister), Jim Chalmers (who will be Treasurer) and Katy Gallagher (who will be Finance Minister)
- Why the rush for the swearing in? The (new) PM will be off to Tokyo later today for meetings with "the Quad" — aka Japan, the US, India and Australia
- And those five new ministerial office bearers will take on all the portfolios until the full cabinet is named.
One thing you’ll be hearing about today: More results *still* coming in
There's plenty left up in the air after this weekend's election, especially in the Senate. Here are a few to watch today:
- Tasmanian senator Eric Abetz looks likely to be out after 28 years in the job, with the Jacqui Lambie Network's Tammy Tyrell considered likely to be elected to the sixth Senate seat
- In Queensland, Pauline Hanson, Clive Palmer and former state premier Campbell Newman are also fighting for their spots in the Senate, after record votes for the Legalise Cannabis Australia party
- Legalise Cannabis Australia has so far garnered 74,972 Senate votes, a swing of nearly five per cent from their 2019 results, with only 34 per cent of the votes counted so far — and their candidate Bernard Bradley is within striking distance of the sixth Senate seat
- While in lower house seats, Michael Sukkar in Deakin, and the Liberal-held Menzies (both in Victoria) are still ones to watch
- And where can you keep up with the numbers? Right here, on our live results page
News while you snoozed
Let's get you up to speed.
- A colonel in the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guards has been shot dead in a rare assassination in Tehran. Colonel Sayad Khodaei was killed in broad daylight outside his home, the biggest security breach in Iran since 2020, when a leading nuclear scientist was killed. No one has claimed responsibility
- A senior US health official says he's confident a monkeypox outbreak can be contained, despite President Joe Biden warning that "everybody" should be concerned about its spread. The coordinator of the White House COVID-19 response, Asish Jha, says the disease not as contagious as COVID-19, and there are treatments
- Eminent Australian scientist Professor Ruth Bishop — who discovered the major cause of gastroenteritis in infants and children — has died at the age of 89. The discovery directly resulted in thousands of children's lives being saved around the world, especially in low-income countries
- Ariarne Titmus has broken Katie Ledecky's 400m freestyle world record, and Shayna Jack has capped a successful return from a two-year drug ban by winning the Women's 50-metre Freestyle final at the Australian Swimming Championships in Adelaide.
The news Australia is searching for
- Manchester City: In a bad few minutes for any Liverpool fans out there, Man City came from behind in a stunning win to claim the English Premier League. They were down 2-0 to Aston Villa (who they needed to beat to pip Liverpool and take home the trophy), before an incredible goal rush netted them three — and Ilkay Gundogan was the hero, with two:
One more thing: Some *big* departures for SNL
The US sketch institution Saturday Night Live has lost two of its (arguably) most-famous names: Kate McKinnon and Pete Davidson.
It's one of the biggest cast shake-ups in years on the show, with Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney also leaving.
McKinnon won two Emmys and was nominated for nine in her 10 seasons on the show, during which her impressions included Hillary Clinton.
Davidson was one of the youngest to join the cast in 2014, and he often took aim at his own celebrity life (he dated Ariana Grande and his current girlfriend is Kim Kardashian).
McKinnon's skill with characters such as alien abductee Miss Rafferty frequently drove castmates and guest hosts to lose it live on air.
And that's how she chose to open the show:
That's it for now
We'll be back later on with more.
ABC/wires
