This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happens.
Key events
Live updates
That's it for The Loop this morning
By Kate Ainsworth
Thanks for joining us today. If you're catching up, here's a bit of what we've covered (click the link to jump straight to the post):
- Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have reached a defamation settlement stemming from a 2018 op-ed published in the Washington Post
- Jeremy Clarkson says he's 'horrified' over the backlash to his column about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
- Queensland's Police Union says its in talks with the Queensland government to buy the Wieambilla property where three people, including two police officers, were killed last week
- A woman has been arrested for stealing gifts from under Robert De Niro's Christmas tree in New York City
- A protester has been charged for egging King Charles last month
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.
Missing Victorian teens found alive on Swan Island
By Kate Ainsworth
If you're just catching up, four teenagers who went missing while paddleboarding off Rosebud on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria have been found alive on Swan Island, on the opposite side of Port Phillip Bay.
All four teens have been taken to Geelong Hospital for assessment.
Elon Musk is still head of Twitter... for now
By Kate Ainsworth
Earlier we discussed Twitter CEO Elon Musk's poll about whether he should stand aside as head of the social media (with 57.5% of the votes saying "yes").
But it's been radio silence on the tweeting front from Camp Musk since his poll resolved 12 hours ago.
The usually prolific tweeter hasn't tweeted for more than 20 hours at the time of me posting this — but he has retweeted Michael Shellenberger, who has posted a series of tweets titled "The Twitter Files: Part 7".
He's also retweeted a post by SpaceX about Starlink reaching 1 million active subscribers.
And if you're not as acutely on MuskWatch like I am, the plot thickens when you take a look at his likes — he's been liking posts that are only a couple of hours old.
As for whether he will abide by his poll result like he said he would? Only time will tell.
Shirley Watts, widow of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, dies at 84
By Kate Ainsworth
Shirley Ann Watts, the widow of late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has died at the age of 84.
"Shirley died peacefully on Friday 16th December in Devon after a short illness surrounded by her family," her family announced Monday.
The Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood was among those mourning her.
“We will miss you so much, but take comfort that you are reunited with your beloved Charlie,” Wood wrote on Facebook.
Shirley Watts was an artist and prominent breeder of Arabian horses, and was one half of one of rock's most enduring marriages — the pair were together for more than 50 years until Charlie died in 2021.
Argentina to celebrate World Cup win with fans at the Obelisk
By Kate Ainsworth
Argentina is still firmly in the thick of celebrating winning the World Cup (can you blame them) but that will be dialled up to 11 when the team arrives in Buenos Aires to share the win with fans at the Obelisk later today.
The Obelisk is the traditional centre of sporting celebrations in Argentina, and is where hundreds of thousands of supporters gathered to watch the team progress through the tournament.
The team will arrive later today, meanwhile Tuesday is a bank holiday in Argentina so the celebrations can kick on (and on, and on).
Protester charged for egging King Charles
By Kate Ainsworth
Speaking of King Charles — a man has been charged for allegedly throwing eggs at King Charles III during a visit to the English city of York last month.
The 23-year-old university student is set to appear in court next month, charged with a public order offence.
He's accused of having thrown four eggs as the King arrived to unveil a statue in honour of the late Queen.
All of the eggs missed the King and Queen Consort Camilla — but the incident was shared widely on social media.
Another egg was also thrown towards the King earlier this month when he visited Luton — the 28-year-old man has also been charged with a public order offence.
Six people have died in an apartment mass shooting near Toronto
By Kate Ainsworth
Six people, including the suspect, have died in a mass shooting at a high-rise apartment building near Toronto on Sunday when a 73-year-old gunman is alleged to have killed his neighbours before being shot dead by police.
Police rushed to the Ontario city of Vaughan, about 50 km north of downtown Toronto, after receiving a call about an active shooter late on Sunday night, York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween said.
MacSween said police found the suspect, identified as building resident Francesco Villi, before fatally shooting him in a hallway of the 16-story building.
The officer who killed the suspect "very likely saved lives by his actions last night," MacSween said.
The victims — three men and two women — all lived in the building, while a 66-year-old woman is in hospital with serious injuries.
The Royal Mint is getting into memes, it seems
By Kate Ainsworth
Or maybe they're joining in on a Christmas trend, I don't know.
Anyway — yesterday the Royal Mint tweeted this brainteaser, which promptly sent the comments into a spin (read at your own risk).
But the Mint has since shared what the correct answer *actually was*.
Need some time to think? Or some inspiration?
Feel free to pinch my guesses: King on a shiny thing.
And another that just came to me: Ruler on the moolah.
OK, got your guess handy?
(If you don't want it spoiled for you, stop scrolling!)
(Seriously, stop.)
(This is your final warning.)
If you guessed sovereign on a sovereign, you'd be right (and probably in the minority).
Second woman dies after crush at London concert
By Kate Ainsworth
A second woman has died from injuries suffered last week during a crush at a music concert at London's Brixton Academy.
23-year-old Gabrielle Hutchinson was working as a security guard at the event but died in hospital in the early hours of Monday (local time), police said.
Hutchinson was one of three people critically injured before a performance by the Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter Asake on Thursday night.
London's police said a large number of people were attempting to force their way into the venue. Officers are reviewing CCTV, phone footage and speaking to witnesses to try to understand what happened.
On Saturday, police said another person at the venue, Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, had died from her injuries in hospital.
"It is devastating news that a second person has lost their life following the events on Thursday," Colin Wingrove, a chief superintendent in London's Metropolitan Police Service, said in a statement.
Both Asake and Brixton Academy posted messages of condolences to Ikumelo's family and friends on their Twitter accounts after the announcement of her death.
A third woman, aged 21, still remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Woman arrested for stealing gifts from under Robert De Niro's Christmas tree
By Kate Ainsworth
Yeah, you read that correctly.
Police in New York City have arrested a woman who was allegedly caught red handed stealing presents from beneath Robert De Niro's Christmas tree after breaking into his apartment on the Upper East Side.
Police officers say they saw the woman enter the basement of the building on East 65th Street at around 2:45am local time and found signs of forced entry, according to Arthur Tsui, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department.
The 30-year-old woman was known to police for a string of previous burglary arrests and officers caught her inside the apartment stealing items, Tsui said.
ABC News (the US version) reported that she was stuffing presents from beneath a Christmas tree into a bag, and that De Niro, was home at the time and came downstairs at the commotion.
The woman is in custody but hasn't yet been charged, Tsui said.
Good news alert: Orange-bellied parrots return to Melaleuca
By Kate Ainsworth
In good news that we all need (and an excuse for me to lean into my pro-Tasmanian bias), more than 70 critically endangered orange-bellied parrots have returned to south-west Tasmania to breed this year — making it the largest number of birds returning in more than a decade.
If you're unacquainted with the OBP, they're one of the world's rarest parrots. They exclusively breed in Tassie's south-west, and migrate to spend the winter on Australia's south-eastern coast.
There are currently 74 parrots at Melaleuca, with 44 of them wild-born, while the number of captive-bred birds returning has increased from 22 to 30.
Paul Black from Orange Bellied Parrot Tasmania Program says it was an unexpected and exciting result for the team, after a number of birds appeared to go missing during last year's breeding season.
"It's very pleasing to sort of see that some of the management actions and slight change in direction has made a big increase, and at least got the population growing again," he said.
"You wouldn't say it's stable at this point but it's heading in the right direction."
Coming up: Penny Wong heads to Beijing
By Kate Ainsworth
Foreign Minister Penny Wong will touch down in China tonight, making her the first Australian minister to visit since Beijing put diplomatic relations into a deep freeze.
Senator Wong will hold talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during the visit, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Whitlam government establishing diplomatic ties with Beijing.
The last time an Australian minister travelled to China was when then-trade minister Simon Birmingham visited in November 2019.
Senator Wong's visit comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at last month's G20 summit.
Senator Wong will fly out of Canberra later this morning.
Queensland Police Union in talks to buy Wieambilla property
By Kate Ainsworth
The Queensland Police Union says it's in talks with the Queensland government to purchase the Wieambilla property where three people, including two police officers, were killed last week.
QPU President Ian Leavers says the property would be used for "good purposes, which could very well be a retreat or a training centre, but will also be in memory of Matthew [Arnold] and Rachel [McCrow]".
Mr Leavers said both families of the police officers are "really pleased" at the prospect of the property being purchased by the police union.
"They [the families] do have some comfort knowing that if we're able to achieve this, that it will never fall into the hands of those anti-vaxxing, pro-gun, cosnpiracy theorist people who will want it for other purposes," he said.
A state memorial service for Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow will be held at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre tomorrow.
Emergency services searching for missing teens off Port Phillip Bay
By Kate Ainsworth
A search is underway for four people who failed to return home from the beach at Rosebud, on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula last night.
Two men and two women, aged 18 and 19, are believed to have been using inflatable paddle boards at the beach just off Point Nepean Road.
Police were alerted to their disappearance when locals reported unattended belongings on the beach around 8pm yesterday.
The search was paused around 4am due to poor conditions and is yet to resume.
Happening now: Jan. 6 committee refers Trump for criminal charges
By Kate Ainsworth
The January 6 committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol has voted to refer Donald Trump to the Justice Department for his role in inciting the riot.
A short time ago the committee voted unanimously to refer the former US president for criminal charges, saying there was "overriding" evidence that he was "the central cause" of the attack.
Want to follow all the action live? My colleague Bridget Judd has got you covered — she's been dutifully blogging the highs, lows, and the fallout of the hearing since the very early hours of the morning.
News while you snoozed: Jeremy Clarkson 'horrified' over Meghan column backlash
By Kate Ainsworth
UK broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson says he's horrified a newspaper column he wrote about the Duchess of Sussex has caused "so much hurt".
The Sun has received more than 12,000 complaints, after Clarkson wrote that he hated Meghan on a cellular level and referenced a scene in the TV series "Game of Thrones" in which a woman is publicly humiliated.
Clarkson wrote the column days after the final episodes of Harry and Meghan's Netflix series was aired.
The column has now been removed from the Sun's website, and Clarkson says he will be "more careful in future".
What Australia is searching for: Amber Heard and Johnny Depp
By Kate Ainsworth
US actor Amber Heard will pay Johnny Depp $1.4 million dollars in a settlement of their defamation lawsuit.
It comes after a high-profile trial earlier this year in which the former couple accused each other of physical and verbal abuse.
In a post on her Instagram, Heard said the decision to settle with Depp was "very difficult" and followed "a great deal of deliberation", but was "not an act of concession".
Depp had sued his ex-wife for defamation based on an op-ed written by her in 2018 that was published in the Washington Post, in which Heard described herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse".
Representatives for Depp say he will donate the settlement money to charity.
One last thing: Twitter users want Elon Musk to step down
By Kate Ainsworth
In case you missed it yesterday, Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk posted a poll on asking whether he should step down as the boss of the social media site (and promised that he would abide by the results).
The results came in overnight, with well over half of the 17.5 million users who voted saying he should step down.
Whether he actually steps down though — he hasn't said yet.
(For what it's worth, he also hasn't tweeted in over 17 hours, which is... unusual... for him.)
