This is The Loop, your quick look at this morning's news as it happens.
Key events
Live updates
Stay in The Loop
By Kelsie Iorio
Thanks for joining us for today's morning news wrap.
You can stay up to date on the ABC News website and by subscribing to our mobile alerts.
If you're just joining us, here's what you need to know:
- Donald Trump's company has been convicted of tax fraud in New York. The former president wasn't individually charged in the case
- Australia and the US have announced plans to boost military cooperation, including an increased presence of US troops in Australia
- The chair of the House committee investigating the January 6 attacks says criminal referrals will be made to the Justice Department
-
Abbott Elementary has led the Critics Choice Awards television nominations with six nods, followed by Better Call Saul with five nominations
-
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced emergency power shutdowns across much of the country after a wave of Russian missile attacks
Did you know: It's been 19 years today since Daniel Morcombe was abducted
By Kelsie Iorio
Just in: Which of these will be nominated for an Oscar?
By Kelsie Iorio
Awards season! It's our favourite time of year.
The Academy has just released a little pre-nominees-list teaser — all the films that are eligible to be nominated for Best Animated Feature Film, Best Documentary Feature Film and Best International Feature Film.
There are 92 contenders for Best International Feature and a whopping 144 that could be nominated for Best Documentary — so I won't list them all — but you can take a deep dive into the list here.
There are 27 movies that could be shortlisted for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, but the Academy says some of those "have not yet had their required qualifying release and must fulfill that requirement and comply with all the category’s other qualifying rules to advance in the voting process".
For all you animation lovers, here are all the productions that could be nominated for that Oscar category:
- Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood
- The Bad Guys
- The Bob’s Burgers Movie
- Charlotte
- DC League of Super-Pets
- Drifting Home
- Eternal Spring
- Goodbye, Don Glees!
- Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
- Inu-Oh” “Lamya’s Poem
- Lightyear
- Little Nicholas, Happy as Can Be
- Luck
- Mad God
- Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
- Minions: The Rise of Gru
- My Father’s Dragon
- New Gods: Yang Jian
- Oink
- Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
- Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
- Run, Tiger Run!
- The Sea Beast
- Strange World
- Turning Red
- Wendell & Wild
Which ones have you seen? Tell us in the comments.
Just in: US and Australia to work together more on defence
By Kelsie Iorio
Australia and the US have agreed to increase defence cooperation after ministerial talks between the two counties in Washington, with more US forces to be rotated through Australia.
North America correspondent Barbara Miller says the announcement was made "against the backdrop of what US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin called China's dangerous and coercive actions throughout the Indo-Pacific":
"At the AUSMIN talks in Washington, Australia and US Defence and Foreign Ministers have also agreed to invite Japan to participate in force posture initiatives in Australia."
Just in: Treasurer says full impact of rate rise yet to be seen
By Kelsie Iorio
The Federal Treasurer says it will still be some time before the full impact of interest rate rises are seen across the country.
The RBA yesterday lifted interest rates to their highest level in 10 years, with the cash rate now sitting at 3.1 per cent.
"The thing about these interest rate rises is that the impact of them are felt immediately on people's mortgages and on their repayments. But the impact on the economy takes a little bit longer to flow through," Jim Chalmers said.
Mr Chalmers also avoided criticising RBA Governor Philip Lowe, after claims he mismanaged the central banks’ response to COVID.
Governor Lowe has apologised to borrowers who took out home loans during the pandemic, suggesting he could've been more clear in his comments about the prospect of rate rises not starting until 2024.
Mr Chalmers says Mr Lowe has opened himself up for scrutiny, but wouldn't comment on whether he should go.
"He has come out a few times now and given an account of why he said what he said, and when he said it," Mr Chalmers said.
"This is an independent institution. The Reserve Bank and its Governor does its work independent of commentary and pressure from the government."
Reporting by Georgia Hitch
Just in: Double J's 50 best albums of the year
By Kelsie Iorio
'Tis the season of reflection — and there's nothing better than reflecting on the year in music, particularly as the industry comes back to life post-COVID.
Double J has just released its list of the 50 best albums of 2022, and what an absolute cracker of a list we have this year.
I won't spoil it for you but you can read the full list here.
Tell us in the comments — what was your album of 2022 and why? We love sharing your thoughts here in The Loop so let us know ☝️
Coming up: New GDP figures
By Tom Williams
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is set to release its latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures today, providing an update on the country's economic growth.
At 11:30am AEDT, the ABS will release its figures for the September quarter, which will also include data on consumption, investment, income and saving.
Analysts will be looking at whether interest rate rises have hit consumption, and what the future might hold for the December quarter.
Australia's national output, as measured by GDP, grew by 0.9% in the June quarter and 3.6% through the year, according to ABS statistics released in September.
Coming up: Runoff election in Georgia to settle last Senate seat
By Shiloh Payne
The final seat in the US Senate will be decided as polls close in the Georgia runoff election today.
Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican football legend Herschel Walker have been locked in a four-week runoff blitz that has drawn a flood of outside spending to an increasingly personal fight.
The outcome will determine whether Democrats have an outright 51-49 Senate majority or control a 50-50 chamber based on Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote.
Reporting with AP
Just in: Trump's company convicted of scheme to defraud tax authorities
By Kelsie Iorio
Donald Trump's company has been found guilty of criminal tax fraud in New York.
The Trump Organization was accused of carrying out a 15-year-long criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities, including paying personal expenses like free rent and car leases for top executives including former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg without reporting the income, and paying them bonuses as if they were independent contractors, prosecutors said.
The company, which operates hotels, golf courses and other real estate around the world, now faces fines over the conviction but the exact amount is still to be determined.
The former US president was not personally charged in the case but has called the prosecution politically motivated.
Reporting with Reuters
Just in: What Australians were searching for in 2022
By Shiloh Payne
The death of Shane Warne was one of ten topics that Australians searched for most in 2022, according to Google.
But it didn't take out the top spot. Here's a look at the top 10 searches overall, according to Google:
- 1.Wordle
- 2.Australian Open
- 3.World Cup
- 4.Shane Warne
- 5.Ukraine
- 6.Novak Djokovic
- 7.Ashes
- 8.Ash Barty
- 9.Olivia Newton-John
- 10.Betty White
Developing story: Ukrainians warned of mass blackouts
By Kelsie Iorio
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced emergency power shutdowns across much of the country after a wave of Russian missile attacks yesterday.
ABC News reporter Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop is in southern Ukraine, and says residents across about half of the Kyiv region have been warned they'll have no power for several days:
"The missile strikes came after fatal Ukrainian drone attacks on two Russian air bases, hitting deeper within Russia than ever during this war.
"Today, a third Russian air base was ablaze after a drone strike in the Kursk region.
"The attacks have caused alarm among Russian media commentators who are questioning how the country's air defence system failed to stop the drones."
Here's more from Sean:
Overnight: US Justice Department subpoenas election officials in states Trump disputed
By Kelsie Iorio
Local election officials in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania have been subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith, asking for communications with or involving former President Donald Trump, his 2020 campaign aides and a list of allies involved in his efforts to try to overturn the results of the election.
Smith, who was named special counsel last month by Attorney General Merrick Garland, is overseeing the Justice Department's investigation into the presence of classified documents at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the violent January 6 storming of the Capitol and Trump's frantic efforts to remain in power.
The subpoenas, some of which were first reported by The Washington Post, are the clearest indication yet that Smith's work will include an examination of the fake electors that were part of Trump's efforts to subvert the election count and certification.
All of the states where requests were sent are states that Trump and his allies targeted as they tried to overturn the democratic vote.
Reporting with AP
Overnight: King Charles almost got egged again
By Kelsie Iorio
A man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of common assault after it was alleged an egg was thrown in the direction of King Charles III (it didn't hit him though).
It's the second incident of a similar nature within a couple of months.
Just in: Maryland bans TikTok use within government
By Kelsie Iorio
Maryland is banning the use of TikTok and some other Chinese and Russian-based platforms in the US state's executive branch of government.
Governor Larry Hogan cited an unacceptable cybersecurity risk to the state when announcing the ban.
Under the directive, state agencies must remove the products from state networks and agencies also are required to implement measures to prevent installation, as well as put in place network-based restrictions to prevent the use of, or access to, prohibited services.
Hogan, a Republican, announced an emergency cybersecurity directive to prohibit the use of the platforms, saying they may be involved in cyber-espionage, surveillance of government entities and inappropriate collection of sensitive personal information.
TikTok chief operating officer Vanessa Pappas has previously said the company protects all data of American users and that Chinese government officials have no access to it.
Reporting with AP
Just in: Critics Choice Awards TV nominees announced
By Kelsie Iorio
The Critics Choice Association has revealed the nominees in the television for next year's Critics Choice Awards, with Abbott Elementary notching up a leading six nods.
Better Call Saul was nominated five times, including for Best Drama Series and Best Actor in a Drama Series for Bob Odenkirk.
"Clearly, the industry has rebounded in a big way," Critics Choice Association TV Branch co-president Ed Martin says.
"We are amazed by the wealth of remarkable television programs that were considered to become this year’s nominees."
The Critics Choice Awards will be held on January 15 LA time.
Update: Yep, the Moroccan fans are pretty pumped
By Kelsie Iorio
Overnight: Jan 6 committee chairman says criminal referrals will be issued
By Kelsie Iorio
Bennie Thompson, the chair of the US house committee investigating the Capitol riots, says criminal referrals will be made to the justice department as the probe into the January 6 attacks wraps up.
A final report is expected to be published by the end of the year.
Mr Thompson told reporters the committee had decided to issue the referrals recommending criminal prosecution, but did not disclose who the targets would be or if former US president Donald Trump would be among them.
"At this point, there’ll be a separate document coming from me to DOJ," he said, adding that the committee was set to meet on Tuesday local time to discuss it all further.
"The committee has determined that referrals to outside entities should be considered as a final part of its work," a spokesperson for the select committee told The Associated Press.
"The committee will make decisions about specifics in the days ahead."
Reporting with AP
Live now: Portugal vs Switzerland
By Kelsie Iorio
If you want to get in on the World Cup action this morning, our live coverage of Portugal taking on Switzerland for a spot in the quarter-finals is right here.
ICYMI earlier, Morocco eliminated Spain from the competition in a penalty shootout — it's the first time the Moroccans have advanced this far in the competition.
In case you're wondering how much that means to them:
Happening now: Heatwave warning remains in place for much of Queensland
By Kelsie Iorio
A heatwave warning remains current for large parts of central and northern Queensland with temperatures forecast to rise into the 40s in some areas.
The BOM says temps will continue to rise throughout the week.
It recommends:
- Seeking a place to keep cool, such as your home, a library, community centre or shopping centre
- Closing your windows and draw blinds, curtains or awnings early in the day to keep the heat out of your home
- If available, using fans or air-conditioners to keep cool
Don't forget to stay hydrated, no matter where in the country you are today!
