This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happened.
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 main stories from this morning (click the link to jump straight to the post):
- Hamburg shooting at Jehovah's Witness hall leaves several dead
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Biden's new budget plan earmarks billions to help Indo-Pacific hold off China
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Evacuations ramp up amid floods in north Queensland and the NT
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US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell hospitalised
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Ex-NBA star Shawn Kemp arrested in drive-by shooting
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.
Prosecutors reportedly tell Donald Trump's lawyers he could face criminal charges
By Tom Williams
The New York Times is reporting that prosecutors in Manhattan recently told former US president Donald Trump's lawyers that he could face criminal charges for his role in the payment of hush money to a porn star.
The report says it is the "strongest indication yet that prosecutors are nearing an indictment of the former president".
If that does happen, it would be the first indictment of a former American president, and could have a huge impact on the 2024 presidential race.
Prosecutors have reportedly offered Trump the chance to testify next week before a grand jury which has been hearing evidence in the potential case.
Here's what the New York Times says about that:
"In New York, potential defendants have the right to answer questions in the grand jury before they are indicted, but they rarely testify, and Mr. Trump is likely to decline the offer. His lawyers could also meet privately with the prosecutors in hopes of fending off criminal charges."
Vision from the scene of the Hamburg shooting
By Tom Williams
Where in Hamburg was the fatal shooting?
By Tom Williams
Police say that according to initial findings, a shot was fired in a church on Deelböge street in the Gross Borstel district.
The area is north of the downtown area of Hamburg, which is Germany's second-largest city.
The shooting happened at around 9pm local time, with local media reporting rescue services had removed people from a building used by Jehovah's Witnesses.
Police said they were alerted to the shooting about 9:15pm and heard a shot from an upper floor after they arrived
German officials say shots were fired in a Hamburg church
By Tom Williams
Authorities in Germany say one or more people opened fire in a church in the northern city of Hamburg, which has left several people dead.
The Hamburg city government said the shooting took place in the Gross Borstel district.
German news agency dpa reported seeing rescue services taking people out of a building used by Jehovah's Witnesses.
Early reports suggest seven people have died, and others are injured.
German police say they have no information on a motive at this stage.
Reports of several dead in a shooting in the German city of Hamburg
By Tom Williams
Several people have been killed in a shooting in the northern German city of Hamburg, according to local media reports.
The German news agency dpa said “several” people were dead and some injured, but didn't give precise figures.
Other local media said there were at least six people dead.
Police said on Twitter that a large operation was under way in the city's Alsterdorf district.
Local media are also reporting that ambulances are at the scene and German police are searching for the attackers.
Government tries to ease concerns over submarine capabilities
By Tom Williams
Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles has sought to ease concerns about a capability gap, as Australia waits to begin acquiring nuclear submarines.
Details of the new AUKUS submarine deal with the United States and United Kingdom are expected to be announced in the US early next week.
But there are reports that Australia will acquire up to five American-made Virginia-class submarines in the early 2030s, while working on a new Australian-built submarine based on a new UK design.
Marles has told Nine that Australia's existing Collins-class fleet is capable of serving the country until new boats arrive.
Meanwhile on ABC News Breakfast, Minister for Industry Ed Husic said the government's first concern was current and future national security.
"We had this deal coming into government that we now have responsibility for into the long term. We want to make sure that that capability is right," he said.
"We have key partners in the US and the UK that we are working with on those things, and we want to make sure that with that investment too and with the capability we have got industrial capability — we have got to contribute to that."
It's Friday, so it's news quiz time!
By Tom Williams
Test your knowledge of the week below, and let me know your score in the comments.
(^‿^)
Donald Trump's former lawyer censured over 2020 election claims
By Tom Williams
A high-profile member of former US president Donald Trump's legal team has agreed to be censured by a Colorado court after admitting to making false claims about voter fraud following Trump's 2020 election loss.
Lawyer Jenna Ellis has acknowledged that she made 10 "misrepresentations" on television and Twitter about the 2020 election result.
You can keep reading this breaking story here:
Railway company Norfolk Southern apologises before US Congress over fiery derailment
By Tom Williams
Norfolk Southern's CEO has apologised before the US Congress and pledged millions of dollars to help the village of East Palestine, Ohio recover from last month's fiery derailment of a hazardous materials train.
CEO Alan Shaw said his railroad supported the goal of improving rail safety, but defended the company's record and stopped short of fully endorsing a Senate bill to toughen safety regulations.
"I'm terribly sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the folks of that community," Shaw said.
"We're going to be there for as long as it takes to help East Palestine thrive and recover."
Shaw did back proposals to tighten standards for tank cars that the railroads don't own, expand hazardous materials training for first responders, and establish standards for the trackside detectors railroads use to spot problems.
He pointed to a $US20 million ($30 million) commitment so far to help the community recover. Norfolk Southern's final financial responsibility is expected to run far beyond that after legal proceedings.
Despite the evidence, Mexico's president claims his country doesn't produce fentanyl
By Tom Williams
Mexico's president says his country does not produce or consume the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl, despite a large amount of evidence to the contrary.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has appeared to suggest the opioid epidemic was largely a problem in the United States.
"Here, we do not produce fentanyl, and we do not have consumption of fentanyl," López Obrador said.
"Why don't they (the US) take care of their problem of social decay?"
His statement came during a visit to Mexico by White House Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall, to discuss the fentanyl crisis.
It also comes amid calls by US Republicans to use the US military to attack drug labs in Mexico, where the government has previously acknowledged that fentanyl is produced at labs using precursor chemicals imported from China.
The drug is blamed for about 70,000 opioid deaths per year in the US.
You can read our story below about three New Yorkers who ordered cocaine from the same drug delivery service, then died on the same day in March 2021 after unknowingly ingesting fatal doses of fentanyl.
Biden's new budget plan earmarks billions to help Indo-Pacific hold off China
By Tom Williams
A new budget plan from US President Joe Biden's administration includes a request for $US2 billion ($3 billion) to strengthen Indo-Pacific economies and help them push back against China, a representative for the US State Department said.
The administration's budget plan also includes things like:
- $US6.5 billion ($9.9 billion) over 20 years to Pacific Island nations Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau
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$US842 billion ($1.3 trillion) for the Pentagon, including money to modernise the US nuclear arsenal
- A proposed 5.2 per cent pay increase for troops
John Bass, the Acting Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, said:
"Our competition with the People's Republic of China is unusually broad and complex, which requires a different approach than traditional budgeting."
Bass said the plan would help to address a "generational challenge" posed by China.
With Republicans in control of the House though, there's no chance that Biden's new budget plan will become law as it stands.
Instead, it is seen as more of a political talking point as he prepares to run for reelection in 2024.
Evacuations ramp up amid floods in north Queensland and the NT
By Tom Williams
The number of evacuations and isolations are increasing across northwest Queensland as flooding blankets parts of the state and the neighbouring Northern Territory.
Fears of further flooding has towns on edge with ongoing thunderstorms and possible heavy rainfall forecast across northwestern, central and southern districts today.
A flood watch was issued for the Gulf Country and parts of the Lake Eyre Basin Rivers, which includes the Flinders and Cloncurry River catchments.
A major flood warning was in place for the lower Flinders Rivers and a minor warning issued for Cloncurry River which was expected to reach a minor flood level of three metres overnight.
"Several flood peaks continue to move along the Cloncurry and Flinders Rivers, and further rises are likely at Walkers Bend over the next few days," the Bureau of Meteorology said in a statement.
For more information, visit the ABC Emergency website.
US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell hospitalised
By Tom Williams
In the US, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has suffered a concussion after a fall at a hotel and will be hospitalised "for a few days of observation and treatmen", a spokesperson said.
The 81-year-old Kentucky senator was at a dinner on Wednesday night when he is said to have tripped and fallen.
Spokesman David Popp said McConnell was being treated for a concussion and was "grateful to the medical professionals for their care and to his colleagues for their warm wishes".
US President Joe Biden tweeted that he wished McConnell a "speedy recovery" and looked forward to seeing him back on the Senate floor.
Ex-NBA star Shawn Kemp arrested in drive-by shooting
By Tom Williams
Basketball fans might remember Shawn Kemp, who played in the NBA until the early noughties.
Now 53, Kemp has been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting in the city of Tacoma, Washington, in which no one was injured.
Video posted online appeared to show Kemp firing a gun, but no charges had been filed as of Thursday morning, local time.
Kemp, who has two licenced cannabis stores in Seattle, was a six-time NBA all-star and played for the Seattle SuperSonics from 1989 to 1997. He also played for Cleveland, Portland and Orlando.
News Australia is searching for: Chaim Topol
By Tom Williams
Chaim Topol, a leading Israeli actor who charmed generations of movie- and theatre-watchers with his portrayal of Tevye, the long-suffering milkman in Fiddler on the Roof, has died in Tel Aviv aged 87.
His cause of death was not immediately released.
A recipient of two Golden Globe awards and nominee for both an Academy Award and a Tony, Topol long has ranked among Israel's most decorated actors.
More recently in 2015, he was celebrated for his contributions to film and culture with the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement, his country's most prestigious honour.
