This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happens.
Key events
Live updates
That's all for The Loop this morning
By Tom Williams
Thanks for joining me today. If you're catching up, here are some of the bigger stories covered this morning (click the link to jump straight to the post):
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Victoria announces TikTok ban on government devices, amid reports of a federal ban
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Donald Trump has arrived in New York ahead of his scheduled arraignment
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NASA names the astronauts for Artemis II, its first Moon mission in 50 years
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WWE and UFC will combine to form sports entertainment giant
You can keep up-to-date with other news on the ABC's website, by subscribing to our mobile alerts, and by watching News Channel or listening to local radio here.
Coming up: RBA to decide whether to raise rates again
By Tom Williams
At 2.30pm AEST this afternoon, the Reserve Bank of Australia will decide whether it wants to raise interest rates for an 11th consecutive time.
The cash rate is currently 3.6 per cent (its highest level in over a decade) as the RBA tries to bring down inflation.
Here are some thoughts from Business reporter David Chau in our markets blog:
The Reserve Bank's board is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold when it meets later today.
Money markets are pricing in an 86% chance of a 'rate pause'.
However, economists from the major banks are split on what the RBA might decide today.
Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are predicting there will be a 'pause', while ANZ and NAB are expecting rates will rise by 0.25 percentage points.
ABC News will have news of the RBA's decision as soon as it happens.
Former UK Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson dies at the age of 91
By Tom Williams
A former British finance minister, Nigel Lawson, has died at the age of 91.
Lawson served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer under former prime minister Margaret Thatcher between 1983 and 1989.
He was credited with spearheading a number of economic reforms that saw unions lose power and inflation soar.
Lawson ultimately fell out with Thatcher over her anti-EU policies.
336 kilograms of heroin seized in Brisbane, the largest ever Queensland detection
By Tom Williams
More than 330 kilograms of heroin has been seized at the Port of Brisbane, in an international drug bust.
It's the largest heroin shipment ever detected in Queensland, and the second largest ever detected in Australia.
Australian Federal Police say the drugs were discovered inside two concrete blocks in a shipping container that arrived in Brisbane from Malaysia last month.
Police say the haul was bound for an industrial lot in Brendale, north of Brisbane.
It's estimated the drugs have a street value of almost $270 million.
A Sydney man has been charged with offences including importing and possessing a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs, namely heroin.
He faced court on Saturday and is due to re-appear in court tomorrow.
Victoria announces TikTok ban on government devices, amid reports of a federal ban
By Tom Williams
The Victorian government has announced it will ban Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok from its government devices.
In a statement, the Victorian government says it is working to adopt "the federal government's new restrictions on using TikTok on all government devices" — despite no federal ban being officially announced yet.
"We’ve always said we’ll follow the Commonwealth’s guidance when it comes to cybersecurity – and we’ll now work on implementing these changes across the public service as soon as possible," the Victorian government says.
"We agree with a nationally consistent approach on these policy settings and that's what we'll get on and deliver."
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus was asked about the Victorian ban on ABC News Breakfast, and refrained from confirming reports of a federal government ban.
"We've been considering advice from the security agencies. When we're ready to make an announcement, we will," he said.
New Zealand announced last month that it would ban TikTok on parliamentary devices, citing cybersecurity concerns.
The move came a day after British authorities said they were banning TikTok from government mobile phones on security grounds, following similar moves by the United States.
Did you watch Succession last night? Check out our recap and power rankings
By Tom Williams
Episode two of Succession's fourth (and final 😥) season dropped yesterday, centred around a rehearsal for Connor Roy's wedding which ended in a weird karaoke session.
My esteemed colleague Jessica Riga is doing weekly recaps and power rankings, unpacking the big moments from each episode.
Read up on episode four, below:
Here are some thoughts from Donald Trump supporters (and protesters) in New York
By Tom Williams
Floridians can carry concealed guns without a permit from July
By Tom Williams
More wild news out of Florids this morning, with Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signing a bill which will allow Floridians to carry concealed guns without a permit from July.
The move has been criticised by gun safety advocates and some Democrats.
DeSantis, who is preparing for a presidential campaign, has said he thinks Florida should go even further and allow people to openly carry guns.
Nearly three million Floridians have a concealed weapons permit.
While a background check and three-day waiting period will still be required to purchase a gun from a licensed dealer, they are not required for private transactions or exchanges of weapons.
Donald Trump has arrived in New York ahead of his scheduled arraignment
By Tom Williams
Former US president Donald Trump has arrived at Trump Tower in New York City, where he is expected to spend the night before a scheduled arraignment in court tomorrow.
He arrived from Florida on a private plane to a modest crowd of supporters and a pack of media and security.
Trump and his legal team are yet to learn of the extent of the charges he is facing, which remain sealed, but he will be the first current or former president to face criminal charges in the history of the US.
NASA names the astronauts for Artemis II, its first Moon mission in 50 years
By Tom Williams
NASA has named the four astronauts who will fly around the moon late next year, including the first woman and the first African American assigned to a lunar mission.
The first moon crew in 50 years — consisting of three Americans and one Canadian — was introduced during a ceremony in Houston, Texas.
The mission's commander, Reid Wiseman, will be joined by Victor Glover, an African American naval aviator; Christina Koch, who holds the world record for the longest spaceflight by a woman; and Canada's Jeremy Hansen, a former fighter pilot and the crew's lone space rookie.
All four are in their 40s, and Wiseman, Glover and Koch have all lived on the International Space Station at some point.
The group will be the first to fly NASA's Orion capsule, launching no earlier than late 2024.
They won't land or even go into lunar orbit, but will fly around the moon and head straight back to Earth, before a lunar landing by two others a year later.
"This is a big day. We have a lot to celebrate and it's so much more than the four names that have been announced," Victor Glover said.
WWE and UFC will combine to form sports entertainment giant
By Tom Williams
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is merging with the company which runs Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to create a $US21.4 billion ($31.5 billion) sports entertainment giant.
A new publicly traded company will be formed with the UFC and WWE brands, and Endeavor Group Holdings Inc — the current owner of the UFC — will take a 51 per cent controlling interest in the new company. Existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49 per cent stake.
The deal is seen as a major shift for WWE, which has spent decades under the control of the McMahon family.
Vince McMahon, who purchased Capitol Wrestling from his father in 1982, addressed doubts among some WWE fans and industry experts that he would ever make a deal for the business, in an interview with CNBSC.
"It's the right time to do the right thing. And it's the next evolution of WWE," he said.
WWE and Endeavor said their fan bases consist of more than 700 million UFC fans and 1.2 billion WWE fans worldwide.
Hundreds of cases of beer have been spilled after a train derailed in the US
By Tom Williams
If you were reading The Loop yesterday morning — do you remember the train derailment I mentioned in the US state of Montana?
If not, about 25 train cars derailed near the town of Paradise along the Clark Fork River, with no injuries or evacuations reported.
This morning we've heard that after some of the cars fell into the river, locals noticed that some of them contained cases of beer.
A group of fisherman even managed to claim some of the beer from the water.
The cause of the derailment is still under investigation.
News Australia is searching for: Malka Leifer
By Tom Williams
The former Melbourne school principal was found guilty of child sexual abuse and rape charges yesterday afternoon, following a trial in Victoria's County Court.
The jury found Leifer guilty of 18 sexual offences, including rape, indecent assault and sexual penetration of a 16 or 17-year-old. She was found not guilty of nine charges.
Court reporter Kristian Silva has written a detailed odyssey piece about the case, which you can read at the link below:
One more thing: Doge has taken over from Twitter's blue bird (for now)
By Tom Williams
If Twitter looks a little different to you this morning, that's because it is.
The social media platform's new owner, Elon Musk, appears to have requested the Twitter bird logo at the top of the website's desktop page be replaced with the doge meme, which is synonymous with the dogecoin cryptocurrency Musk has spruiked in the past.
The doge doesn't seem to appear on the Twitter mobile app for me, but let me know in the comments if you are seeing it on your app.
Musk has also shared a meme about the whole thing — because of course he has.
Just another day in the Twittersphere.
