Good afternoon. The race was called while Iowa caucusgoers were still casting ballots – Donald Trump has easily fended off his Republican challengers to take the first primary.
As of writing, Trump had secured more than 50% of the vote with 93% counted. Ron DeSantis came in second place and Nikki Haley in third. The next primary will be held on 23 January in New Hampshire.
Top news
Iran missile strike hits Iraqi Kurdistan | Iran claims it has attacked the “espionage headquarters” of Israel in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and struck Islamic State targets in Syria, however those claims could not be verified. Explosions were heard in an area 40km (25 miles) north-east of Erbil in the Kurdistan region, three security sources said, in a neighbourhood near the US consulate as well as civilian residences. It’s the latest escalation fuelling fears of a regional spillover of the Israel-Gaza war.
Succession, Beef and The Bear win big at 2023 Emmy awards | Jesse Armstrong’s hit HBO drama Succession picked up six awards, including lead actress in a drama which went to Australia’s Sarah Snook. It also took the night’s biggest award for best drama series. Comedy series The Bear won six awards, while the limited series Beef took five.
Man charged after vandalism of Brisbane Woolies store | A 40-year-old Ormiston man was arrested in Fortitude Valley about 7.45pm last night and has been charged with one count each of wilful damage and wilful damage by graffiti. He is expected to appear at Brisbane magistrates court on 21 February.
Labor signs $37m deal for Australia to begin making missiles | Australia will start making missiles in 2025, the federal government has announced, after signing a contract with US defence contractor Lockheed Martin. The deal comes on top of a separate decision in August last year to spend $1.7bn on long-range Tomahawk missiles.
WA police raid property in child sexual abuse investigation | Child abuse detectives have searched a Broome property that was reportedly the temporary home of disgraced bishop emeritus Christopher Saunders. Saunders has denied accusations he sexually assaulted and groomed young Aboriginal men in Western Australia over his 50-year career. He stood aside in 2020 and Pope Francis accepted his resignation in 2021. WA police did not confirm whose house was searched, or whether they were questioning anyone. “Child abuse squad detectives are in Broome as part of an ongoing investigation into historic child sex offences,” the police said in a statement.
Five people killed on NSW roads in past day | Two teenage boys have been killed and another seriously injured in a crash in Sydney’s north-west, with three people also killed in crashes on regional New South Wales roads. NSW police acting assistant commissioner Anthony Boyd said all of the incidents over the past 24 hours were linked to driver behaviour and he urged people to take care on the roads.
King Charles portrait criticised | A new official portrait of the king has been unveiled, created to hang in public buildings across the UK under an £8m (A$15m) government-funded scheme that an anti-monarchy campaign group has described as a “shameful waste of money”.
Ukraine shoots down two Russian aircraft | Ukraine says it shot down two of Russia’s command planes flying above the Sea of Azov, in one of the most disastrous days for the Kremlin’s air power since the start of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.
In pictures
Emmys red carpet fashion
The cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race stole the show on the red carpet and walked away with Emmys in hand after taking out the award for outstanding competition program. Other winners included The White Lotus’s Jennifer Coolidge, The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Click here for the full list of winners and here for the red carpet gallery.
What they said …
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“Fire ants are more active before or after rainfall and can form large floating rafts which move with water currents to establish footholds in new areas,” Reece Pianta of the Invasive Species Council said, urging the community to be extra vigilant since red imported fire ants were filmed rafting on flood waters.
In numbers
The Public Fast Charger Network report found Australia had seen another 397 car-charging sites and 755 new charging points built during 2023.
Before bed read
Is couples therapy a waste of time?
“A big part of couples therapy, maybe even the biggest, is finding a space where you can learn to communicate properly again,” writes Stuart Heritage. “And that’s bound to be difficult when one half of the couple a) doesn’t want to do it in the first place and b) is determined not to get anything out of it.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: MATE. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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