This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happens.
Key events
- BREAKING: Qantas reports $860 million loss as revenue jumps 54 per cent
- Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell are suing over alleged unpaid fees
- Ukraine's President says death toll from Independence Day attack is now 22
- Paul Newman's daughters are suing the late actor's charity foundation
- One more thing: There's been a weird Facebook glitch
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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'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 Tom Williams
Love US politics? Discuss the primaries with experts in our live Q&A blog
Can't get enough of the US primary elections? Or perhaps you're a bit confused by it all.
ABC News Breakfast host Michael Rowland and North America correspondent Carrington Clarke will take part in a live Q&A blog from 10am AEST today.
They'll help us unpack the key results in all the important races and analyse what it says about issues including abortion, COVID-19 and the cost of living.
Plus they'll weigh up what it all means for Joe Biden and the possible return of Donald Trump (and who might stand in his way).
Get involved here:
By Tom Williams
Uvalde school's police chief didn't attend a meeting about his possible firing
The police chief responsible for Robb Elementary School in the US city of Uvalde has declined to attend a meeting of the school board which was set to consider firing him over the response to the mass shooting which took place at the school in May, citing security concerns.
Nineteen children and two teachers died in the classroom shooting, which was one of the deadliest in US history.
An attorney for Chief Pete Arredondo has defended the response to the massacre in a defiant 17-page letter released just before the school board was set to meet.
Residents and families of the victims took part in a meeting in which Mr Arredondo was set to potentially become the first officer to lose his job over the hesitant response by hundreds of heavily armed police.
Mr Arredondo's attorney said the police chief was "a courageous officer" who should be "celebrated for the lives saved, instead of vilified for those they couldn't reach in time".
Families in Uvalde have called for his firing.
By Peta Fuller
US air strikes hit Syria, say they're a message to Iran
At least six Syrian and foreign militants were killed and the Pentagon says the strikes were a message to Tehran-backed militias that have targeted American troops over the past year.
Monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the US airstrikes targeted a camp run by Shia fighters and the city of Deir ez-Zor, the largest in eastern Syria, which borders Iraq and contains oil fields.
Iran has denied any links to the locations that were targeted.
By Peta Fuller
BREAKING: Qantas reports $860 million loss as revenue jumps 54 per cent
Qantas has roughly halved its full-year loss to $860 million, as revenue jumped 54 per cent from 2021, when state and international border closures affected air travel more severely.
The company’s preferred underlying number showed a slightly increased loss on last year of $1.86 billion before tax.
By Tom Williams
Lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell are suing over alleged unpaid fees
A law firm which helped defend British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell — who was sentenced to 20 years in jail for helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls — is suing over more than $US878,000 ($1.27 million) in fees it says were never paid.
The firm Haddon, Morgan and Foreman is suing Maxwell, her brother and her husband.
The lawsuit alleges that Maxwell put her brother Kevin Maxwell in charge of paying her legal fees after she was arrested in 2020, but that he only paid a fraction of the fees owed leading up to and during her trial.
The lawsuit claims Mr Maxwell urged the firm to keep working on appeal issues after she was convicted, despite the unpaid bills, and had blamed Maxwell's husband Scott Borgerson for getting in the way of making payments.
The law firm alleges that Mr Borgerson formed a company to buy real estate, in an attempt to shield his wife's assets from creditors.
Maxwell is serving her time at a low-security federal prison in Florida.
By Peta Fuller
Cameron Smith confirms he'll be back to play in Australia
One for golf fans this morning — Aussie world number two Cameron Smith has committed to two contests in his home country this year.
He'll headline the field at the Australian Open in Victoria in December and the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane in November.
It's the first time the 29-year-old will be playing in Melbourne since the 2019 Presidents Cup.
Other stars lining up at the Australian Open include fellow major winners Hannah Green, Ashleigh Buhai, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee.
By Tom Williams
Ukraine's President says death toll from Independence Day attack is now 22
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 22 deaths have been confirmed after Russian forces launched a rocket attack on a train station in central Ukraine during the embattled country's Independence Day.
The attack took place in Chaplyne, a town of about 3,500 people in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Mr Zelenskyy has released a video speaking in Ukrainian about the attack, in which he says:
"Chaplyne [is] our pain today. As of now, there are 22 [people] dead, five of them were burnt in the car. An 11-year-old teenager died, a Russian missile destroyed his house. Search and rescue operations at the railway station will continue.
"We will definitely make the occupiers pay for everything they have done. We will without any doubt evict the invaders from our land. No trace of this evil will remain in our free Ukraine. Let's make our way to victory! There will be [victory]!"
By Peta Fuller
Oracle is the latest building company to collapse. So what can people do?
If you missed it, Queensland builder Oracle Homes went into liquidation yesterday, impacting around 300 homeowners.
Oracle is among over a dozen builders to go under this year amid rising costs, supply disruption and extreme weather events.
But what do you do if you're caught up in a building company collapse?
Master Builders Queensland CEO Paul Bidwell says there's a Home Warranty Insurance scheme in the state, which he said should cover the extra costs:
"Consumers' interests are protected, and in Queensland I'd say that I'm quite confident that there will be some pain but ultimately their houses will be built," he said.
By Tom Williams
Sydney's train strikes are set to continue
Union officials say industrial action will continue on Sydney's rail network until an agreement is finalised with the state government.
Union negotiator Thomas Costa has told ABC Radio Sydney that a legally binding deed the government sent to the Rail, Bus and Tram Union addressing safety concerns over the New Intercity Fleet is close to what they've been asking for, but needs a few changes.
"I don't want to make any concessions around industrial action until I'm certain that this deed is resolved, the trains are safe for commuters and then we will be talking with our members about 'okay, what are we doing about industrial action?' and whether that includes deescalating," he said.
Trains will be running to a reduced timetable today, with services roughly every 15 minutes across the network.
By Peta Fuller
Trump memo reveals 'breathtakingly generous' view of facts around Russia probe
The US Justice Department has released a 2019 memo arguing against charging Donald Trump with obstruction, during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.
Two top department officials advised then-attorney general William Barr not to make the move.
Mr Barr's decision to clear Mr Trump of obstruction charges sparked criticism at the time by many Democrats as well as some former Justice Department attorneys, who accused the top US law enforcement official of protecting his boss.
The ruling came after the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), challenged the redactions in the memo:
"Among many other problems, it is premised on the fact that there was no underlying criminal conduct, which is not what [Special Counsel Robert] Mueller found, and waives its hand at there being no exact precedent to compare it to," the group said.
"The memo presents a breathtakingly generous view of the law and facts for Donald Trump."
By Tom Williams
Paul Newman's daughters are suing the late actor's charity foundation
Two of late American actor Paul Newman's daughters have alleged that the Newman's Own Foundation has improperly cut its mandated contributions to their own charities from $US400,000 ($580,000) apiece per year to $US200,000 ($290,000) each annually.
The charitable foundation is funded by profits from the Newman's Own line of food and drink products.
Susan Kendall Newman and Nell Newman have filed a lawsuit in state court in Stamford, Connecticut, seeking $2.3 million in damages to be donated to their foundations for charitable giving.
The daughters say their father allowed his foundation to use his name and likeness — but only on several conditions, including giving each of the two daughters' foundations the $580,000 per year.
They are also concerned the foundation is setting the stage to completely remove them from having any say in how some of profits from Newman's Own products are donated to charities, and accuse the foundation of "contradicting" their father's wishes and intentions for years.
By Shiloh Payne
Biden announces $4.33 billion Ukraine military aid package
US President Joe Biden has marked Ukraine's Independence Day with $US2.98 billion ($4.33 billion) in security assistance.
The Pentagon said the new package would include:
- Six additional surface-to-air missile systems
- 24 counter-artillery radars
- Puma drones
-
Counter-drone systems
The package is aimed at helping Ukraine defend itself in the long-term.
The aid announcement came as US officials warned that Russia appeared to be planning to launch fresh attacks in the coming days on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and government facilities.
By Tom Williams
Avril Lavigne is reportedly getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Variety is reporting that Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne (best known for her 2002 banger Sk8er Boi) will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
It will supposedly happen on August 31.
By Shiloh Payne
The new AFLW season kicks off tonight
The AFLW competition gets underway tonight in the first season where all 18 AFL clubs will be represented by a team in the women's league.
Essendon, Hawthorn, Port Adelaide and Sydney will be included for the first time this season.
The first round of games start tonight with Carlton hosting Collingwood at Princes Park.
By Tom Williams
One thing coming up today: A Robodebt royal commission announcement
The federal government is today expected to unveil details of a royal commission into the failed Robodebt scheme — the automated Centrelink debt recovery program rolled out by the former Coalition government, which wrongly accused many people of owing money to the government.
Here's what we know about the royal commission:
-
The announcement will be made in Sydney by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and three of his ministers
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The royal commission is expected to examine things such as who was responsible for the scheme, how complaints were handled, the total cost to taxpayers and the harm caused to victims
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In opposition, Labor estimated the inquiry would cost about $30 million
You can read more about this story here:
By Tom Williams
More news while you snoozed
- At least 15 people have been killed and dozens injured after Russian forces launched a rocket attack on a train station in central Ukraine during the embattled country's Independence Day. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned that Moscow might attempt "something particularly cruel" this week. The attack took place in Chaplyne, a town of about 3,500 people in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to local media. Mr Zelenskyy has thanked allies for their support during his country's Independence Day
- Australian Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo has confirmed he will leave McLaren at the end of the 2022 season. The 33-year-old, who leaves the team one season before his contract was due to end, said leaving early was "bittersweet"
- US President Joe Biden has detailed his plans to forgive $US10,000 ($14,000) in student debt for millions of Americans, and double that amount for those with the greatest financial need. Borrowers who earn less than $180,000 a year will be eligible
By Tom Williams
Here's the news Australia is searching for
- Plex. The media player and streaming service has sent a message to users warning them to reset their passwords, following a data breach. The company says it believes a third party was able to access "emails, usernames, and encrypted passwords"
- Oracle Homes. The Australian residential construction company has collapsed, owing about $14 million and leaving around 300 home owners with unfinished houses. About 70 employees lost their jobs at the company, which operated in Queensland and New South Wales
By Tom Williams
One more thing: There's been a weird Facebook glitch
Facebook suffered a weird bug last night, with many users' feeds becoming filled with numerous posts from celebrity accounts.
News feeds were also flooded with posts that had been sent to pages owned by musical artists such as Lady Gaga and The Beatles.
Some people took advantage by sending memes to popular artist pages, which many people ended up seeing.
Here's how it looked for some:
Alexandru Voica, a spokesperson for Facebook's parent company Meta, took to Twitter to say an unspecified "configuration change" caused the issue.
