This is The Loop: your quick catch-up for this morning's news, as it happens.
Key events
- BREAKING: Federal ICAC legislation has been tabled in parliament
- Dam failure warning in South Australia
- Moscow claims majority of occupied Ukraine wants to join Russia
- One thing to know now: Hurricane Ian has Florida in its sights
- More news while you snoozed: Explosions 'deliberate' sabotage on gas pipeline
- News Australia is searching for:
- One more thing: A *big* price for Bowie lyrics
- Let’s set you up for the day
To leave a comment on the blog, please log in or sign up for an ABC account.
Live updates
By Peta Fuller
That's it for The Loop this morning
We'll have more analysis on the new, federal anti-corruption commission throughout the day — you can read more on that here for now.
You can keep up-to-date on other news the ABC's website, by watching News Channel or listening to local radio here, and by subscribing to our mobile alerts.
We'll be back tomorrow morning to cover the latest updates.
By Peta Fuller
Some of your thoughts on public investigations under the federal ICAC plan
Steggall's warning is absolutely appropriate and timely. Ok, if any investigation of alleged corruption has the potential to impact national security then sure, it must be done out of the public gaze. However, if an ICAC investigation is required to investigate alleged corrupt behaviour of politicians or public servants on the public payroll then for an ICAC to have any credibility, such an investigation MUST be held in the public eye.
- Mike
By Peta Fuller
BREAKING: Federal ICAC legislation has been tabled in parliament
The highly anticipated legislation is in — and attorney-general Mark Dreyfus spoke about it this morning, including on the public vs private hearings debate:
"The commission will be able to hold public hearings in exceptional circumstances and if satisfied it is in the public interest to do so. The default position is that hearings will be held in private."
He also listed some of the factors to determine "public interest" for a public hearing:
"These factors include any unfair prejudice to a person's reputation, privacy, safety or well being if the hearing were to be held in public, and this includes the benefit of making the public aware of corruption."
By Peta Fuller
Twitter lawyer tells court Musk has not backed up claims of fake accounts
A lawyer for Twitter hastold a judge that Elon Musk's advisers didn't back up the billionaire's allegation that fake users on the site were "wildly higher" than 5 per cent.
Documents obtained from two data scientists employed by Musk showed they estimated in early July that the number of fake accounts on the platform at 5.3 per cent and 11 per cent, the Twitter lawyer said.
Musk agreed in April to buy Twitter for $44 billion but within weeks was complaining the number of bot accounts was much higher than Twitter's estimate of less than 5 per cent of users.
On July 8, Musk said the actual figure was "wildly higher" and that Twitter had misled him, allowing him to walk away without penalty from the deal.
The trial is scheduled for October 17.
By Peta Fuller
Shakira to stand trial for income tax accusations, could get eight year prison term
A Spanish court has formally ordered Colombian superstar Shakira to stand trial on accusations she failed to pay more than $22 million in income taxes.
The 45-year-old singer rejected a deal to settle the case in July, which meant she would have to stand trial in a case that could see her sent to prison.
The trial date is yet to be announced.
The prosecutor is seeking an eight-year prison term for the singer, who is accused of failing to pay taxes between 2012 and 2014.
By Peta Fuller
Steggall's warning about 'high bar' for public hearings under a federal ICAC
We'll finally see the detail of the federal ICAC plan when it's tabled in parliament this monring.
Independent MP Zali Steggall says the federal government needs to be 'incredibly cautious' about setting a high bar for public hearings as part of its National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Ms Steggall says she's concerned the flagged exceptional circumstances won't be met by the commissioner.
"It is at the discrection of the commissioner but there's a legal test imposed, that it must first meet exceptional circumstances and be in the public interest. That is a bit of a red flag, because that means public hearings will be the exception and potentially rare," she said.
By Peta Fuller
Dam failure 'imminent' in South Australia
SA police Senior Constable Kylie Simpson says the dam is about to burst —and up to 20 homes have been identified in the "high risk" area, but all residents have been notified.
"It's imminent that's why this Emergency Message has come out so we're just asking people to follow the directions of the message... relocate to family or friends outside the warning area or if they can't the Echunga Football Club."
And here's a bit more detail from Nate Byrne on ABC's News Breakfast, who says the water is about the same as four Olympic-sized pools:
"South Australian Police are saying that 15 to 20 homes are in a high risk situation at the moment with perhaps 80 homes at risk of flooding."
By Shiloh Payne
The Prince and Princess of Wales pay their first Welsh visit with new titles
British royals William and Kate have carried out their first Welsh visit since being made Prince and Princess of Wales after the death of Queen Elizabeth.
The royal couple visited a redeveloped church and foodbank in Swansea, west of the capital Cardiff.
The Prince and Princess met local children, including a girl named Charlotte dressed in traditional Welsh clothing.
By Peta Fuller
Dam failure warning in South Australia
A Dam Failure emergency warning for the Adelaide Hills has been issued for the Echunga community.
SES State Duty Officer, David O'Shannessy, says the dam holds about 10 megalitres of water:
"The speed of the water could potentially cause some damage to home, cars and of course if people were in the path of that may sweep them off their feet. It would be fast moving water, that's why we're asking that people leave the area so if the unexpected failure does occur we just want to make sure people are safe."
The dam is located on farming land between Marianna St and Church Hill Road and those affected are being urged to relocate to the Echunga Football Club.
By Peta Fuller
Moscow claims majority of occupied Ukraine wants to join Russia
The Kremlin has paved the way to annex part of Ukraine and escalate the war, as Pro-Moscow officials said three of the four occupied regions of Ukraine voted to join Russia.
Russian state media has announced preliminary results, saying 97 to 98 per cent of voters want to be part of Russia.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the UN Russia’s attempts to annex Ukrainian territory will mean "there is nothing to talk about with this president of Russia."
"This farce in the occupied territories cannot even be called an imitation of a referendum," he said.
And here's the ABC's Europe correspondent Steve Cannane in eastern Ukraine:
"The ballots have been widely dismissed in Ukraine and the west as a sham designed to help Russia annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – areas that make up 15 per cent of the country. There have been reports of armed troops going door to door trying to force citizens to vote. The so-called referendums are illegal under international and Ukrainian law."
By Peta Fuller
Alec Baldwin could face criminal charges over Rust shooting
Actor Alec Baldwin is among up to four people who may face charges in October for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of Rust in 2021, a New Mexico prosecutor said.
The final police report is expected next month, when prosecutors will file criminal charges if warranted, district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told the state's finance board.
By Peta Fuller
One thing to know now: Hurricane Ian has Florida in its sights
Cuba has already been hit by the storm — and on Wednesday night (US time), the storm is expected to tear into Florida, where 2.5 million people are under evacuation orders or warnings.
The Category 3 hurricane will hit somewhere along the Gulf Coast, and could have winds up to 208 km per hour.
The US National Hurricane Center said Cuba suffered "significant wind and storm surge impacts" when the hurricane struck, with sustained top winds of 205 kmh.
Around 50,000 people were evacuated there.
By Peta Fuller
More news while you snoozed: Explosions 'deliberate' sabotage on gas pipeline
Explosions rattled the Baltic Sea before unusual leaks were discovered on the two Nord Stream natural gas pipelines running underwater from Russia to Germany.
Sweden's PM says it's likely sabotage, but not an act of war against Sweden.
Bjorn Lund (a seismologist who's part of Sweden’s national seismic network) said the first explosion was recorded in the early hours southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm. The latter and stronger blast that night was northeast of the island and equivalent to a magnitude-2.3 earthquake.
The Danish PM says her government views it as "deliberate actions".
The Danish military posted videos of the suspected leak:
And if you're keen on US politics, this morning's (likely) final Capitol Riots hearing has been postponed as Hurricane Ian hits Florida:
By Peta Fuller
News Australia is searching for:
- Netflix Studio: That's the news that the streaming company is launching its own games studio. VP of Game Studios Amir Rahimi said: "This will be a games studio that we build from scratch."
By Peta Fuller
One more thing: A *big* price for Bowie lyrics
David Bowie's original handwritten lyrics for the pop classic Starman sold for a massive £203,500 ($338,000)
And the winning bidder has an Australian link — Olivier Varenne, director of acquisitions and alliances and collections at the MONA in Tasmania, was successful on behalf of a private collector.
The handwritten lyrics sold for five times as much as the £40,000 estimate.
