This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happens.
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Live updates
By Tom Williams
That's all for The Loop this morning!
You can keep up to date on the ABC News website, by watching the ABC News Channel, listening to local radio here or subscribing to our mobile alerts.
By Bridget Judd
Marge! The rains are here! And they're knocking down 200-year-old cacti...
It's a prickly situation, but a giant Saguaro cactus that had lived for some 200 years has been toppled by heavy rain in the south-western US state of Arizona.
"Powerful seasonal rains can quickly make an impact on the desert landscape. The loss of this huge, iconic ~200 year old Saguaro on the Romero Ruins trail overlooking the Sutherland wash at Catalina State Park in Tucson is one change regular park visitors can't miss," Arizona State Parks said on Facebook.
A photo accompanying the post showed the cactus's giant arms splayed on the ground, its trunk shattered.
The Saguaro cactus can reach more than 10 metres in height and weigh more than two tons when full of water.
By Tom Williams
Triangle of Sadness actor, model Charlbi Dean dies at 32
Charlbi Dean, a South African actor and model who had a breakout role in Triangle of Sadness, which won this year's top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, has died.
She was 32.
Dean died at a hospital in New York from a sudden unexpected illness, her representatives said.
In Triangle of Sadness, the first English-language film from Swedish director Ruben Östlund, Dean and Harris Dickinson play a celebrity fashion-model couple on a cruise for the ultra-rich that descends into chaos.
Dean also had a recurring role as the assassin Syonide on the DC Comics television series Black Lightning, which aired from 2018 to 2021.
By Tom Williams
NASA confirms Artemis 1 rocket will try to launch again this weekend
NASA says its highly anticipated Artemis 1 rocket launch to the Moon — which was postponed earlier this week due to an engine issue — will take place this weekend if conditions allow.
Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin said the team had agreed to implement some changes following the false start, including work to fix a leak.
The uncrewed rocket will now attempt to blast off from Florida this Saturday, September 3, when a two-hour launch window opens at 2:17pm local time (4:17am AEST Sunday, September 4).
It was previously scheduled to make its next attempt on Friday at the Kennedy Space Center.
NASA says there's still a chance that bad weather may delay the launch further, as some showers and thunderstorms are forecast.
The mission aims to push the brand new rocket and capsule to their limits, with the goal of eventually returning humans to the Moon.
By Bridget Judd
Health authorities confirm first US death linked to monkeypox
Texas authorities have confirmed the first US death linked to monkeypox, but say they are still determining what role the disease played in the demise of the "severely immunocompromised" patient.
So far, there have not been any other reports of monkeypox patient deaths in the US during the recent outbreak, and few who have died worldwide.
Texas health authorities said the case was "under investigation to determine what role monkeypox played in the death".
"I think that additional investigation is needed to know what role monkeypox may or may not have played in their death," Jennifer McQuiston of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at a press conference.
"It's important to emphasise that deaths due to monkeypox, while possible, remain very rare," she said, noting that only a "handful" of people had died from among more than 40,000 cases recorded in the current outbreak.
AFP
By Tom Williams
More political figures react to Mikhail Gorbachev's death
More political figures have shared their reactions to the death of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the age of 91.
Here are some of the latest:
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen:
Former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger:
UK Labor leader, Keir Starmer:
Leader of the UK Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey:
By Tom Williams
Australia's Deputy Prime Minister responds to Mikhail Gorbachev's death
Australia's Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, has responded to the death of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
"He will be forever remembered as one of the key architects of bringing an end to the Cold War … and the world is a much safer place as a result," he told RN Breakfast.
We're yet to hear a comment from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
By Bridget Judd
Joe Biden: 'It's sickening to see the new attacks on the FBI'
US President Joe Biden has condemned violent threats against FBI agents who searched his predecessor Donald Trump's home as "sickening".
Launching his first of three visits in a week to the political battleground of Pennsylvania, Mr Biden angrily denounced people who have lashed out at those involved in the search of the former president's Florida home earlier this month.
"It's sickening to see the new attacks on the FBI, threatening the life of law enforcement agents and their families for simply carrying out the law and doing their job," Mr Biden said.
"I want to say it as clearly as I can. There is no place in this country — no place — for endangering the lives of law enforcement. No place. None. Never. Period. I'm opposed to defunding the police. I'm also opposed to defunding the FBI."
Earlier this month, the FBI and US Department of Homeland Security warned of an increase in threats following the search of Mr Trump's residence at Mar-a-Lago, when agents removed what prosecutors described as 11 sets of classified documents, including some marked top secret, as part of a criminal investigation.
By Tom Williams
Vladimir Putin responds to news of Mikhail Gorbachev's death
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his deepest condolences on the death of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told Russia's Interfax news agency.
He said the President "will send a telegram of condolences" to Mr Gorbachev's family and friends.
By Bridget Judd
The world reacts to the death of Mikhail Gorbachev
Former politician Nigel Farage, the PM of Ireland Micheál Martin, American diplomat Richard Haass and UK politicians David Lammy and Tom Tugendhat are among those who have shared their thoughts on the death of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
By Bridget Judd
Webb telescope captures new detail of Phantom Galaxy
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed dazzling new detail of a slice of the cosmos 32 million light-years away.
The new picture was released by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The whirling celestial form, officially called M74, is located in the Pisces constellation 32 million light-years away from Earth.
"Webb's sharp vision has revealed delicate filaments of gas and dust in the grandiose spiral arms which wind outwards from the center of this image," NASA and the ESA said Monday.
"A lack of gas in the nuclear region also provides an unobscured view of the nuclear star cluster at the galaxy's center."
By Tom Williams
BREAKING: Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has died aged 91
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union before its dissolution, has died, according to Russian media.
He was 91.
"Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev died this evening after a severe and prolonged illness," the Central Clinical Hospital told local media.
Mr Gorbachev's office said earlier that he was undergoing treatment at the hospital.
By Tom Williams
One thing to know today: COVID-19 isolation rules could be about to change
The Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers will today discuss a proposal to cut the isolation period for Australians who test positive for COVID-19 from seven days to five.
National cabinet is meeting in Sydney this afternoon, and the issue is on the agenda after being floated by New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet.
"Instead of the six states and two territories going different ways we're trying to get everyone on the same page," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday.
But he also acknowledged the decision on isolation rules ultimately fell to premiers and chief ministers.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says the nation is moving into a phase where there would be shorter isolation periods.
"The arrangements otherwise that were in place at the height of COVID will start to unwind, and I think that's what the community expects," he said on Tuesday.
The US has already cut the isolation period for people infected with the virus from seven days to five.
By Tom Williams
Also happening today: Commuter chaos in Sydney amid rail and bus strikes
There is more chaos for commuters in Sydney this morning, where a 24-hour rail strike is going ahead.
Workers stopped operating foreign made trains from midnight — which make up around 70 per cent of the fleet
The state government warned this will lead to at least a 30 minute gap between services across the entire network and urged to avoid non-essential travel.
Negotiations are continuing between the rail union and the state government over saftey and pay concerns.
Bus drivers across part of Sydney's inner west and south are also planning to strike for six hours today, due to a dispute with a private bus operator.
By Tom Williams
News while you snoozed
- Australian golfers Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman have officially joined the sport's controversial LIV Tour, which is led by Australian great Greg Norman and backed by the Saudi government's Public Investment Fund. Smith told Golf Digest that his decision to join the tour was partially down to the financial benefits, but did not confirm reports he signed on for a figure in the vicinity of $145 million
- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Russian troops to flee for their lives as his forces launch an offensive near the southern city of Kherson, declaring Ukraine's military is taking back its territory. "If they want to survive it's time for the Russian military to run away. Go home," he said. "Ukraine is taking back its own."
- New research has found more than half of Australian women in their 20s have experienced sexual violence, with fears the rates of abuse across the population are far higher than previously thought
By Tom Williams
Here's the news Australia is searching for
- Nick Kyrgios. The Australian tennis player has beaten his friend and doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis to cruise into the US Open second round in straight sets, 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-4)
- Bournemouth. The English Premier League club has sacked manager Scott Parker just four games into the new season. The team began the season with an opening day win, but have lost their three most recent matches — including a 9-0 thumping at the hands of Liverpool on the weekend
By Tom Williams
One more thing: NASA is about to give an update on its postponed Artemis 1 launch
After postponing a scheduled launch earlier this week due to an engine issue, NASA is preparing to give an update on when its Artemis 1 mission will try to lift off for the Moon again.
The organisation will announce the mission's status at 8am AEST this morning, and we'll have all of the latest details.
Artemis I is a test flight to launch NASA's Space Launch System rocket and an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon.
The rocket was due to blast off on Monday evening (AEST) from the same launch pad used by the last Apollo mission 50 years ago.
The rocket will now attempt to blast off from the Kennedy Space Center at 2:48am this Saturday, September 3 (AEST) at the earliest.
