Hi there. It’s Tuesday, August 9 and you’re reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today’s news.
Let’s get you up to speed:
- Former US president Donald Trump released a statement saying his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, was being raided by FBI agents on Monday night, local time
- The circumstances of the raid are unclear, but Mr Trump’s son, Eric, told Fox News the raid concerned documents sought by the National Archives and Records Administration
- Armed police officers were filmed outside of his home, which was swamped with pro-Trump supporters shortly after he released his statement
- Mr Trump says he has been “working and cooperating with the relevant government agencies” and that “this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate”
- A person familiar with the matter — who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity — said agents were looking to see whether Mr Trump had additional presidential records or other classified documents at his estate
- This raid marks a dramatic escalation in law-enforcement scrutiny of Mr Trump, who has been laying the groundwork to make another presidential bid
- The Justice Department has not commented on the raid.
We heard about the life and legacy of Dame Olivia Newton-John
Tributes have been steadily flowing all day for the Australian screen and music icon who “passed away peacefully” in southern California, aged 73.
Stockard Channing — who starred opposite Newton-John as Rizzo in Grease — said she would “miss her enormously.”
“Olivia was the essence of summer — her sunniness, her warmth and her grace are what always come to mind when I think of her,” she said.
Grease director Randal Kleiser said Newton-John “exuded nothing but love to everyone she met” in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter.
“I’m heartbroken. She was one of a kind, and so very kind,” he said.
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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he would speak to Newton-John’s family about a state funeral.
You can look back at her remarkable life and career here.
News alerts you might have missed
- New South Wales Treasurer Matt Kean has been elected, unopposed, as the state’s Deputy Liberal Leader, after Stuart Ayres resigned last week amid the fallout from former deputy premier John Barilaro’s appointment to a US-based trade role that Mr Barilaro later declined to accept.
- Queensland police have charged a man with two counts of murder after the bodies of a mother and son were found in the south Brisbane suburb of Stretton on Monday.
- The family of American woman Gabby Petito — who is believed to have been killed by her boyfriend — is suing Utah police for $US50 million ($71 million), saying they failed to recognize she was in danger. Police stopped the 22-year-old “van life” traveler and her ella boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, in August 2021. The body of Laundrie was later found and the FBI said he had claimed responsibility for her death de ella before killing himself.
What Australia has been searching for online
- N95 masks: The Victorian government will hand out more than 3 million N95 and KN95 face masks at COVID-19 testing sites, public transport and community health services to help reduce transmission of the virus and other respiratory illnesses.
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- Ozzy Osbourne: The legendary Black Sabbath singer reunited with Tony Iommi in their hometown of Birmingham for a brief set to close out the Commonwealth Games.
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- Ezra Miller: The 29-year-old actor has been charged with a felony burglary in Vermont after allegedly taking several bottles of alcohol from a home in Stamford. It’s the latest legal woe for Miller, who was arrested twice earlier this year in Hawaii.
one more thing
If you thought you were the only one having issues with Google today, you weren’t alone — the search engine went offline for thousands of users earlier.
According to outage tracking website Downdetector.com, more than 30,000 outages were reported in the US alone around 11:30am AEST, with some social media users also reporting issues loading Gmail and Google Maps.
Google hasn’t commented on the outage, but the site is back up and running as usual.
You’re up to date
We’ll be back to do it all again tomorrow.
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