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! For more breaking news, stay tuned to our other live blogs:
- The Met Gala, fashion's biggest night, is taking place in New York City
- The Reserve Bank is tipped to pause interest rates again today
And if you're catching up, here's a bit of what was covered on The Loop this morning (click the link to jump straight to the post):
- Ban on non-prescription vapes to be announced today
- US says 20,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine war since December
- Treasurer doesn't rule out JobSeeker lift for people over 55
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US police say at least six people have died after dust storm highway crashes
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Aerosmith announce farewell tour, but no Australian dates
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.
Seven bodies found during search for two missing American teens
By Tom Williams
Authorities in the US say they have discovered the bodies of seven people while searching a rural Oklahoma property for two missing teenagers.
The bodies were found near Henryetta, a small town east of Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesman Gerald Davidson said the state medical examiner will have to identify the victims, but authorities were no longer searching for the missing teens or a man they may have been with.
"We've had our share of troubles and woes, but this one is pretty bad," Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice told reporters.
"We believe there's no other threat to the community," he added.
A missing endangered person advisory for 14-year-old Ivy Webster and 16-year-old Brittany Brewer has since been cancelled.
The advisory for the pair said they were reportedly seen traveling with Jesse McFadden, who was on the state's sex offender registry.
US Treasury Secretary says country could default on its debt as early as June 1
By Tom Williams
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has notified that country's Congress that it could default on its debt as early as June 1, if legislators do not raise or suspend the nation's borrowing authority before then and avert what could potentially become a global financial crisis.
In a letter to House and Senate leaders, Yellen urges congressional leaders "to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible" to address the $US31.4 trillion ($47.4 trillion) limit on its legal borrowing authority.
She says it is impossible to predict with certainty the exact date of when the US will run out of cash.
"We have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States," Yellen says in her letter.
In January, Yellen sent a letter to congressional leaders stating that her department had begun resorting to "extraordinary measures" to avoid a federal government default.
The US plans to borrow $1 trillion during the April to June quarter. That's more than projected in January, due to a lower beginning-of-quarter cash balance and projections of lower-than-expected income tax receipts and higher spending.
US police say at least six people have died after dust storm highway crashes
By Tom Williams
Police in the US state of Illinois have provided an update on a series of crashes on a local highway during a duststorm, in which around 70-100 vehicles are said to have been hit.
Illinois State Police say there are reports of six fatalities, with more than 30 people being transported to hospital for injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening.
Those people in hospital range from two years old to 80 years old.
"The cause of the crash is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, leading to zero visibility," police say.
Around 30 commercial vehicles and 40 to 60 passenger cars are said to be involved in the accidents, including two semi-trailer trucks which caught fire.
Royals release new photo of Princess Charlotte
By Tom Williams
Prince William and his wife Kate have released a new photo of Princess Charlotte, the day before her eighth birthday.
Kensington Palace says Kate took the photo in Windsor last weekend.
Charlotte's birthday celebration this year falls just days before King Charles's coronation on Saturday.
Treasurer doesn't rule out JobSeeker lift for people over 55
By Tom Williams
Here's the latest on JobSeeker payments from political reporter Jake Evans, after some media outlets reported the payment would be lifted for people over 55 in next week's federal budget.
The federal treasurer has refused to confirm whether JobSeeker payments for people over 55 will be lifted for the first time in a decade.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said unemployed women over 55 were the most vulnerable cohort in Australian society and the government wanted to introduce specific measures to help them.
But he did not rule out the change, saying instead those details would be confirmed next week.
The federal government has been under pressure to lift JobSeeker, including from its own backbench.
You can keep reading Jake's story below:
The Met Gala has begun!
By Tom Williams
New York City's Met Gala, which I mentioned, earlier has now kicked off.
This year's fashion night-of-nights will be hosted by actor Penélope Cruz, writer and actor Michaela Coel, tennis legend Roger Federer, and singer Dua Lipa.
You can follow all of the latest looks and news in my colleague Jess's live blog, below:
Minister says new messaging system will make sure Australians get emergency alerts
By Tom Williams
The federal government is set to roll out a state-of the-art National Messaging System that can send emergency warnings straight to your mobile phone, as part of next week's budget.
A further $10.1 million will be put towards improving the communications network used by first responders.
Emergency Services Minister Murray Watt tells ABC News Breakfast that people in disaster areas say they hadn't received emergency messages quickly enough in the past.
"In some case they're sent to the wrong area. They might have the wrong phone provider and then not receive a message," he says.
"So that's what this national messaging system is all about — having one system across the country that can effectively override a mobile phone system and deliver people very targetted, very quick messages."
The government says the emergency messages will be easy to tell apart from scam messages.
You can read more about the plan for the National Messaging System, below.
Fatalities reported after multiple car crashes during US dust storm
By Tom Williams
Police in the US state of Illinois say a number of people have been killed and dozens of others have been injured in car crashes along a highway during a dust storm.
Illinois State Police says about 40 to 60 passenger cars and several trucks were involved in the crashes.
It says about 30 people have been transported to local hospitals with injuries.
ADF reportedly promised $400m for retention bonuses
By Tom Williams
The Australian Associated Press (AAP) reports that Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel could be up for a $50,000 cash bonus under a federal government push to expand the size of the nation's military.
The AAP says the Albanese government will announce it has set aside $400 million for retention bonuses to help reduce the thousands of personnel leaving the armed forces.
Permanent ADF members will supposedly be eligible to receive a $50,000 bonus payment near the end of their initial mandatory period of service, if they commit to the military for another three years.
Under the scheme, 3,400 personnel will be able to benefit within the first three years.
The government has identified recruitment and retention of personnel as an immediate priority in response to the defence strategic review.
Coming up: The RBA will make its latest rate decision
By Tom Williams
The Reserve Bank will weigh up later today whether to resume interest rate rises or continue its recent pause in the official cash rate.
The RBA kept the cash rate at 3.6 per cent in April after 10 hikes in a row to tame inflation.
Consumer prices rose 7 per cent over the year to March, down from 7.8 per cent — but that's still higher than the RBA's 2 to 3 per cent target.
RBA Governor Philip Lowe has not ruled out further rate hikes.
The market is predicting that rates will likely remain on hold when the RBA board makes its announcement at 2:30pm today, but it's not official until it's official.
Twitter is having issues again, and keeps logging people out
By Tom Williams
If you're noticing anything strange on Twitter this morning — don't worry, you're not alone.
Many users (myself included) appear to have been logged out of their accounts on desktop, and can't log back in.
Others appear to be able to briefly log in, before being kicked out again.
"Twitter keeps logging me out on the web immediately after I sign in. I have tried using my three accounts on different browsers and the result is the same," one user writes on Reddit.
Here's how reports of Twitter issues have looked over the past 24 hours, according to Downdetector:
Twitter and its CEO Elon Musk are yet to comment on the apparent glitch.
The social media platform appears to be working as normal for most people on their mobile devices, luckily.
Are you having any issues with Twitter? Let me know in the comments.
US says 20,000 Russians have been killed in Ukraine war since December
By Tom Williams
The White House says it now estimates that since December more than 20,000 Russians have been killed as Ukraine rebuffs a heavy assault by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says the US estimate is based on newly declassified American intelligence.
US General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in November that Russia had suffered well over 100,000 killed or wounded in the first eight months of the war.
The new figures suggest that Russian losses have dramatically accelerated in recent months.
The fiercest recent battles in Ukraine have been in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut.
Aerosmith announce farewell tour, but no Australian dates
By Tom Williams
US rockers Aerosmith have announced their farewell tour after 50-plus years together, but Australia has missed out (so far).
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band have announced the dates for their Peace Out farewell tour, which begins in September and includes 40 shows across the US and Canada.
"I think it's about time," guitarist Joe Perry said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Perry believes the time to say goodbye is now, especially with every founding band member over the age of 70.
Frontman Steven Tyler, 75, is the oldest in the group.
"It's kind of a chance to celebrate the 50 years we've been out here," Perry said.
"You never know how much longer everybody's going to be healthy to do this. … It's been a while since we've actually done a real tour. We did that run in Vegas, which was great. It was fun, but (we're) kind of anxious to get back on the road."
Ban on non-prescription vapes to be announced today
By Tom Williams
Health Minister Mark Butler is expected to today unveil a plan to stamp out the growing black market for illegal vaping.
The Government will allocate $234 million in next week's budget to reduce harm caused by tobacco and vaping products, including to stop the importation of non-prescription vapes.
Under the changes, all general practitioners will be able to prescribe flavour-free, plain packaged vapes to patients working to quit smoking.
Speaking on Q&A last night, Butler said easy access to vapes had created a new generation of nicotine addicts.
"This is now the number one behavioural issue in high schools and it's rapidly becoming a serious behavioural issue in primary schools," he said.
"This is a very serious problem we're facing and it has exploded over the last few years. While we were focused on the pandemic, it has utterly exploded and we've got to deal with it now."
Butler is expected to further detail the government's plans during a speech at the National Press Club from 12:30pm today.
Search for Texas gunman who killed five neighbours enters third day
By Tom Williams
The search for a gunman who fatally shot five neighbours with an AR-style rifle in the US state of Texas has entered a third day, after authorities expanded their search over the weekend while acknowledging they had little sense of the killer's possible whereabouts.
On Monday, a heavy presence of police converged in an area where police had reported a possible sighting of the suspect, but later 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza wasn't found despite a search by officers, scent-tracking dogs and aerial police.
The false alarm was one of the first times since Friday's shooting in the rural town of Cleveland that authorities had announced a possible sighting of Oropeza.
By Sunday evening, authorities said more than 250 officers from multiple jurisdictions had joined the search, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott put up $US50,000 ($75,000) in reward money for tips leading to Oropeza's capture.
"I can tell you right now, we have zero leads," said James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge.
News Australia is searching for: Met Gala 2023
By Tom Williams
Celebrities are hitting up New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art today for the annual charity night and fashion event known as the Met Gala.
This year's theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, paying tribute to the German fashion designer who died in 2019 — a theme which has proven to be controversial.
Today's red carpet is expected to start live streaming at 8am AEST on Vogue's social media accounts.
We will also be live blogging the event in a separate blog, so keep an eye out for that.
You can read more about this year's Met Gala at the link below.
One more thing: Props from shows like Breaking Bad, Cheers and I Dream of Jeannie are up for auction
By Tom Williams
If you've ever wanted to own a piece of television history, keep your eye out for a major auction coming up in the US from collector James Comisar.
A number of props, sets and costumes from beloved television shows will be sold in early June — from the bar where Sam Malone greeted customers on Cheers, to the pink outfit Barbara Eden wore in I Dream of Jeannie, to props used on the set of Breaking Bad.
Other items up for auction include a tunic worn by Superman in the 1950s TV series, barware from Mad Men, and costumes from Star Trek.
Comisar had dreamed of creating a museum to house his collection, but when that failed to come together, he decided it was time the items leave the temperature-controlled warehouses where he's been caring for them.
"I just decided these pieces should go back to the fans and let them enjoy them and then when that good day comes when a TV museum is effectuated, these pieces will be well cared for in the hands of passionate fans and collectors," he said.
