Hi there. It's Monday, August 29 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Let's start here: The arrest of a bikie boss
ICYMI, Comanchero boss Tarek Zahed has been arrested and charged with murder by police in New South Wales. Here are the main details:
- Mr Zahed was arrested by police about 4:50pm on Sunday after he returned to Sydney from Melbourne over the weekend
- Tactical police were allegedly forced to shoot out the windows of a luxury car in the city's eastern suburbs
- Police say officers fired bean-bag rounds into the vehicle and dragged him out of the vehicle
- Mr Zahed was charged over the alleged murder and kidnapping of Youssef Assoum in 2014, which police say the 42-year-old "actively participated" in
- Mr Zahed narrowly survived a shooting at an Auburn gym in May (he was shot 10 times) that killed his brother Omar
- He's set to apply for bail next week, and the matter is due to return to court in October
We heard a lot about NASA's Moon launch
We're *still* waiting for the rocket to blast off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida (that won't happen until around 10:30pm AEST), but here's what you need to know about the mission.
- Artemis 1 is NASA's first mission to the Moon since Apollo 50 years ago
- The flight won't be crewed but will have a crash-test dummy called Commander Moonikin Campos captaining the mission
- The rocket is the biggest and most powerful ever built and designed to send humans into deep space
- The 42-day journey will test a new orbit of the Moon, and will also release 10 shoe-box-sized satellites to scout the Moon and explore conditions for future deep-space missions
- NASA plans to send Artemis 2, the first crewed mission into space in 2024, before sending the first woman and first person of colour to the Moon on Artemis 3 in 2025
- The weather has proven challenging for the mission though — so if NASA misses the window tonight, its next scheduled launch dates are September 2 and 5
If you're a night owl and want to watch the rocket launch live, NASA have you sorted with a webstream here.
News alerts you might have missed
- Anthony Albanese addressed the National Press Club for the first time as PM, where he outlined his government's achievements in their first 100 days in office, and reaffirmed his party's commitment to keep stage 3 tax cuts for high-income earners, despite growing calls for them to be delayed or scrapped
- A teenage girl has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a 16-year-old girl at a high school in Orange in regional NSW. The 16-year-old suffered injuries to her arms and chest but was in a stable condition
- Chinese-owned company Landbridge, which holds the 99-year lease of Darwin Port says it's been the target of unwarranted concerns, and hit back "mistruths", saying the Chinese government has no influence over its operations
What Australia has been searching for online
- Hamilton. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda told ABC News Breakfast the smash-hit Broadway musical will be heading to Brisbane for its next run of shows from January 2023.
- John Farnham. The 73-year-old artist is "awake and responding well" after undergoing major surgery last week for a cancerous tumour in his mouth.
One more thing
We couldn't let you go without discussing the MTV Video Music Awards that have wrapped up in the US (missed it? Catch up here).
Bad Bunny took out Artist of the Year, Album of the Year went to Harry Styles for Harry's House, and Taylor Swift won the Video of the Year award for her self-directed All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version).
While accepting the award, Swift teased that she would be releasing a new album later this year but would have more to say "at midnight".
The cryptic singer-songwriter then posted on her Twitter that her tenth studio album Midnights would be dropping on October 21 (that's 53 days away for those counting).
You're up to date
We'll be back with more news tomorrow.
ABC/wires
