This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happens.
Key events
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Live updates
That's it for The Loop this morning
By Peta Fuller
Thanks for joining us — if you're looking to catch up, here's some of what we covered this morning (click the link to jump straight to the post):
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Florida Senator Marco Rubio says China's sending a 'message' of US 'decline' with the spy balloon, as it's revealed three balloons crossed into US territory under Donald Trump's leadership;
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A devastating blaze gutted a Buddhist temple in Melbourne's Springvale overnight, with flames seen kilometres away;
- Parliament is back — and the Indigenous Voice is on the agenda;
- And we've got the Grammys up this morning — can Beyonce take a trick with the most wins in history?
You can keep up-to-date with other news on ABC's website, by subscribing to our mobile alerts, and by watching News Channel or listening to local radio here.
Coming up: Landmark trial for 16 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures
By Peta Fuller
Two years after a dawn raid saw 47 arrested, 16 who have pleaded not guilty will face trial this morning — from about 10:30am AEDT.
Those who have pleaded not guilty include former journalist Gwyneth Ho, activist Owen Chow, former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, and labour unionist Winnie Yu.
Eric Lai, a fellow at Georgetown Center for Asian Law in Washington, told Reuters:
"This trial is not simply a trial against the 47 opposition leaders but also a trial for the population who has been supporting the pro-democracy movement for decades."
It's expected to last for 90 days.
Hollingworth's three-day hearing begins
By Peta Fuller
Disgraced former governor-general Peter Hollingworth has arrived at the beginning of a hearing into whether he is fit to hold holy orders.
Here's more from the ABC's Ben Knight:
The 87-year-old former archbishop appeared frail and walked with the assistance of a cane as he arrived at the Victorian Bar Mediation Centre in Melbourne's CBD flanked by his legal team.
Also present is one of the complainants, Beth Heinrich, who was abused by an Anglican priest in the 1950s and accused Dr Hollingworth of victim-blaming her afterwards.
The hearing is not open to the public.
You can read more on this story here:
Albanese says he wants the Voice to help close the gap
By Peta Fuller
We heard a little bit more from the PM after the pre-parliament church service this morning.
He says he's "hopeful" legislation for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament will be finalised within this term of parliament if Australians support the referendum.
Mr Albanese says he wants the Voice to act as a long-term reform to help close the gap for First Nations people:
"This is a task which we need to, of course, get the detail right and there would be a process as well of that parliamentary debate about the legislation and I'd want to get as much agreement as possible."
The Liberal Party and Greens are yet to arrive at a position on the Voice, as federal parliament returns.
The Grammy red carpet is off and racing
By Peta Fuller
Let's just sprinkle a little red carpet dust before we go on to other things.
Black latex, long gloves and Versace for rapper Doja Cat:
And Bebe Rexha’s sizzling hot pink halter gown is Moschino:
And Anoushka Shankar (with sister and fellow nominee Norah Jones) was singing diversity's praises on the red carpet:
"I just keep thinking back to when I was 16, when I was 20, what would it have been for me if I had seen the kind of visibility that there is now?"
Thirsty for more? We'll be adding updated looks over here:
Beyonce is *halfway* to being Grammy GOAT with two early wins
By Peta Fuller
Yes we're on Bey-watch this morning — just to recap, the star needs four to have the most wins of all time.
She took her 29th and 30th career trophies for best dance electronic recording and best traditional R&B performance early in the Premiere Ceremony.
If she wins two more before the day is over, she’ll be the biggest Grammy winner of all time. She’s nominated for seven more.
Viola Davis gets the 'G' in EGOT with audiobook Grammy win
By Peta Fuller
Incredible moment for the actor this morning — she just won a Grammy for her reading of her memoir, Finding Me:
Davis has an Emmy for How to Get Away With Murder, an Oscar for Fences, a Tony for both King Hedley II and Fences.
And all this is just the "pre-show" — the main game is still a few hours away.
Wong: Don't let spy balloon situation spiral
By Peta Fuller
We've also heard from Penny Wong this morning — she's called for the US and China to keep communication lines open over the spy balloon dispute.
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already cancelled a trip to China but says he remains open to meeting with his counterparts in the future.
Senator Wong says it's important not to allow the situation to spiral:
"We don't want competition escalating, we want to ensure the region and the world remains peaceful and part of ensuring that is to have guardrails around competition, to have lines of communication, to have engagement."
Aussie-born basketball star Kyrie Irving traded
By Peta Fuller
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving has been traded to NBA rivals the Dallas Mavericks.
The Australian-born point-guard is being exchanged for two players and multiple draft picks.
According to ESPN and The Athletic, the Nets will receive Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and second-round draft picks in 2027 and 2029 and a 2029 first-round pick for Irving.
Irving joined the Nets in 2019 but has had a troubled tenure in Brooklyn.
Last season he missed most of their home games because he wasn't vaccinated against COVID-19, and earlier this season he was suspended after tweeting a link to an antisemitic documentary.
Republican senator says China sending message US a superpower 'in decline'
By Peta Fuller
Members of the US Republican Party are accusing President Joe Biden of a dereliction of duty for allowing a suspected Chinese spy balloon to traverse the country unhindered.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio has told the US ABC network:
"The message they (the Chinese) were trying to send is what they believe internally, and that is that the United States is a once great superpower that’s hollowed out, that’s in decline.
And the message they’re trying to send the world is, ‘Look, these guys can’t even do anything about a balloon flying over U.S. airspace. How can you possibly count on them if something were to happen in the Indo-Pacific region?’
Major blaze still 'very structurally unsound' as investigators determine cause
By Peta Fuller
A devastating blaze has gutted a Buddhist temple in Melbourne's Springvale overnight, with the flames seen kilometres away.
More than 80 firefighters were on the scene and townhouses nearby were evacuated last night.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Paul Foster told ABC's News Breakfast the building was still "very structurally unsound" so no investigators were inside yet.
"It's far too early to determine a cause. Specialist fire investigators have just arrived on scene, and they'll be undertaking some investigations throughout the day."
Death toll climbs in Chile as intense fires spread up the coast
By Peta Fuller
At least 24 people have been killed in wildfires in Chile, as firefighters continue to battle dozens of blazes.
The most intense fires are clustered around three regions near the middle of Chile's long Pacific coastline.
International help is set to arrive from a handful of countries — including the United States — that have pledged resources such as planes and expert firefighting teams.
Coming up: It's the first day back for our federal MPs
By Peta Fuller
It's very "first day of school" vibes in Canberra today, with pollies back in both houses for 2023.
Both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are at the traditional church service in Canberra now (and we'll let you know if they say much after).
So what's on the agenda?
The proposed Voice to Parliament dominated over the break, and should continue this morning — the ABC's political reporter Tom Lowrey says some in the federal government are expressing hope both the Liberals and Greens can be convinced to back it.
Poker machines in NSW will be cashless within five years
By Peta Fuller
Premier Dominic Perrottet will reveal details of his long-awaited gambling reform policy later today, after a snap cabinet meeting overnight.
Here's what the ABC's Mahnaz Angury said this morning:
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the proposal was presented at a Cabinet meeting late yesterday, and Premier Dominic Perrottet also promised a detailed plan ahead of the election next month.
What we know is that an independent implementation team will be appointed in April. They'll start working from early 2024 until late 2028 to remove cash from all machines. As part of this move, there'll also be no-interest loans for small and medium businesses, so they can buy these new machines that have this cashless technology.
Gambling reform has become a big election issue for the major parties, after a report by the NSW Crime Commission last year found money was being laundered through poker machines across the state.
The report recommended the introduction of mandatory cashless gaming.
Hacking attack on 'massive' scale targets US, European servers
By Peta Fuller
Thousands of computer servers around the world have been targeted by a ransomware hacking attack.
Italy's National Cybersecurity Agency issued the warning, saying organisations should take action to protect their systems — and its boss Roberto Baldoni told Reuters it was on a massive scale.
It says servers have been compromised in other European countries such as France and Finland as well as the United States and Canada.
The US cybersecurity agency says it's assessing the impact of the reported incidents.
Chinese spy balloon not the first to cross into US territory
By Peta Fuller
Three other Chinese surveillance balloons had transited the United States during Donald Trump's administration — a disclosure the Republican former president has denied.
The Chinese balloon was shot down by an F-22 a week after it was first detected in US airspace over islands off Alaska.
Republican Mike Turner, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, says the balloon should have been downed much sooner.
"Clearly the president taking it down over the Atlantic is sort of like tackling the quarterback after the game is over."
Joe Biden says the military deemed it too much of a risk to bring down the balloon over land — a Navy operation is now underway to recover the debris.
News Australia is searching for
By Peta Fuller
- Harry Kane has just become Tottenham's all-time record scorer, beating the great Jimmy Greaves. He secured the winner, 1-0 against Manchester City, denting City's title hopes (they're five points behind Arsenal)
One more thing: Can Beyonce crack a decades-old Grammy record?
By Peta Fuller
She's not Queen Bey for nothing — the superstar needs just four wins (out of nine noms) to be the GOAT of the Grammys, with the most wins of all time.
So who's been the GOAT since 1997? It's ahh *checks notes* Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti, on 31 wins.
Oh she's got this.
We're also covering the whole lot live — red carpet's on from 10am AEDT, so plenty of time to dust off your gown.
