Hi there. It's Thursday, May 26, and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Let's start here: It's National Sorry Day
- Today is the National Day of Healing, or National Sorry Day, which remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, who we now know as The Stolen Generations
- Today also marks 25 years since the Bringing Them Home report was handed to the Australian government, highlighting the impact of decades of forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their families
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament an election promise, and some Indigenous groups want the government to put forward a time line for a referendum on it
- Tomorrow is the start of National Reconciliation Week, and this year's theme is "Be Brave. Make Change" — a call to action for all Australians to help the reconciliation process
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who delivered an official apology to Australia's Indigenous people in 2008, said today: "There is still much to do in the national challenge of closing the gap and the unfinished business of reconciliation."
We heard a lot of debate about gun control in the US
Following yesterday's mass shooting at a primary school in the US state of Texas which left 19 students and two teachers dead, there has been a lot of debate about America's gun situation.
Here's what you need to know:
- American states are pretty divided on gun control, even though mass shootings are on the rise
- Gun control measures are unlikely to reach the US Congress, and have become increasingly scarce in most US states
- Aside from several Democrat-controlled states, most haven't taken any action on gun control in recent years, or have actually expanded gun rights
- Texas has some of the most gun-friendly laws in the US and has been the site of some of the deadliest shootings in the country over the past five years
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott has repeatedly talked about mental health struggles among young people and said tougher gun laws in places such as New York and California are ineffective
- Democrat Beto O'Rourke, who is running against Mr Abbott, interrupted his news conference today, calling the tragedy "predictable". Pointing his finger at Mr Abbott, he said: "This is on you until you choose to do something different. This will continue to happen."
- US President Joe Biden has called for his nation to pass new laws and stand up to gun manufacturers which he said had "spent two decades aggressively marketing assault weapons which make them some of the biggest profits"
- Meanwhile, satirical news site The Onion has covered its front page with a bunch of stories it has published after previous shootings, but all with the same timeless headline: 'No Way To Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens
News you may have missed
- Today the Bureau of Meteorology dropped its winter outlook. It predicts much of central and eastern Australia will be in for more wet weather after an already damp start to the year in parts of Queensland and New South Wales. La Niña is stubbornly hanging around and it looks like a negative Indian Ocean dipole is on the way, so a wetter than average winter is expected for much of the country, which looks a bit like this …
- Former prime minister Scott Morrison has given his first interview since losing the election and resigning as leader of the Liberal Party. He said he was looking forward to supporting the next party leader, who is shaping up to be Peter Dutton who is running unopposed. Mr Morrison also told Nine Radio he had no plans to leave politics, but was looking forward to "going back to being a quiet Australian" in his local community in Sydney
Here's what Australia has been searching for online
- The Europa Conference League. An emotional Jose Mourinho — he's the manager of Italian soccer club AS Roma — has celebrated what he has called an historic achievement after becoming the second manager to win five major European titles. His side clinched the Europa Conference League title by beating Feyenoord 1-0 in Tirana for its first major European trophy. Mourinho, who has previously won the Champions League, Europa League and the UEFA Cup, has now completed a unique European trophy haul
- Kate Moss. There's still a lot of interest in the British model, who has denied actor Amber Heard's claim that her ex-husband Johnny Depp threw Moss down a flight of stairs. ICYMI: The bitter court case between Depp and Heard is entering its final days, and Moss, who was romantically involved with Depp between 1994 and 1998, has testified as a witness at the defamation trial
You're up to date!
Stay dry out there.
ABC/wires
