PM backs away from Matildas public holiday push. Catch up with The Loop (2023)

Thanks for joining us. If you're catching up, here were some of the top stories we covered (hit the link to jump straight to the post):

• PM backs down from Matildas public holiday discussions

• Matildas fans are being urged to be wary of scammers ahead of tonight's game

• As national cabinet meets today, there's growing pressure to fix Australia's housing crisis

• Pauline Hanson has $250K defamation payout to Brian Burston overturned

• North Korea claims detained US soldier 'disillusioned at the inequality of American society'

• Ex-FBI official pleads guilty to conspiracy charge for helping sanctioned Russian oligarch

• Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin exchange letters promising to strengthen ties

You can keep up-to-date on theABC News websiteand bysubscribing to our mobile news alerts.

Christopher Jordan, the man accused of murdering teenager Shyanne-Lee Tatnell, has made a brief court appearance and is facing morecharges — over a cannabis plant and the storage of ammunition.

Shyanne-Lee, 14, went missing in April in Launceston. Last month police found her remains off a dirt track near Nabowla, a 50-minute drive north-east of the city.

Police arrested 36-year-old Scottsdale man Christopher Mark Jordan the next day.

He will face court again on November 29, which is when it is expected he will enter a plea to the murder charge.

Full story here:

Two men, 19 and 20, have been charged over their role in the alleged importation of methylamphetamine with a street value of $3.5 million in the Hunter region of NSW.

Earlier this month, Australian Border Force officers intercepted two parcels from the United States, which police allegecontained 1.8 kilogramsand 2.2kg of methylamphetamine, respectively.

The men have been charged with trafficking in a commercial quantity of a controlled drugand taking part inthe supply of a prohibited drug.

Read more here:

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The mother of a six-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Virginia has pleaded guilty to a charge of felony child neglect, seven months after he used her handgun to critically wound the educator in a classroom full of students.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors said they would not seek a sentence that is longer than state sentencing guidelines, which call for six months in prison.

You can read more on this story here:

Australia will co-host a six-country Pacific post-season rugby league tournament for the next two years.

The inaugural Pacific Rugby League Championship will feature men's and women's teams from Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea and Cook Islands.

It will be played in Australia, New Zealand and PNG between October 13 and November 4.

The federal government is providing $7 million in funding, in a "football diplomacy" move seen as boosting Australia's soft power amid competition for influence with China.

If you missed it this morning on News Breakfast, the ABC's Tony Armstrong and Rani Hayman caught up with a group of girls (and one rabbit) named Matilda, to chat about tonight's game:

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Later on in the show Tony was brave enough to take on some waltzing lessons with the Matildas, live on TV.

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One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has successfully appealed the verdict of a defamation lawsuit brought by former senator Brian Burston in which he was awarded$250,000 in damages.

Mr Burston sued Ms Hanson in the Federal Courtclaiming she accused himof sexual harassment on social media, in a text message to his wife and in a television interview.

The Federal Court on Wednesday ordered Mr Burston to pay costs.

Full story here:

A report by the Washington Post claims Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, slowed down access to content on the Reuters and New York Times websites as well as rivals like Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram.

Clicking a link on X to one of the affected websites resulted in a delay of about five seconds before the webpage loaded, the Washington Post reported, citing tests it conducted.

Reuters has also reported a similar delay in tests it ran, before seeing an improvement on Tuesday.

X confirmed with Reuters that the delay was removed, but did not elaborate.

Musk has previously lashed out at news organisations and journalists who have reported critically on his companies, which include Tesla and SpaceX.

X has also previously prevented users from posting links to competing social media platforms.

It's a massive week for music fans with line-ups dropping for some of the nation's biggest music festivals.

American new wave rockers Devo have announced they will be coming to Australia to end their Farewell Tour, ending a 50-year career.

Devo will be joining Fall Out Boy andLimp Bizkit at rock festival Good Things which is headed to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne this December.

Meanwhile, four-day festival Beyond The Valleyhas announcedGrammy Award-winning trio RÜFÜS DU SOL will headline the event joined byCentral Cee and Peggy Gou.That event heads to Barunah Plains in Victoria from December 28 to January 1.

This morning Bluesfest announced the first round of artists for their 35th festival in Byron Bay in 2024.

This line-up features Jack Johnson, Tom Jones andMatt Corby and will happen over the Easter long weekend next year.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has sent a message out to UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Instagram.

"This is a message to my mate, James Cleverly, the UK Foreign Secretary: If the Lionesses win, I'll wear Lionneses kit for the final. But if the Matildas win — how about you get into our kit and cheer us on! Go the Tillies!" Wong said.

Cleverly replied: "I accept the challenge. Come on Lionnesses, do us proud!"

… and the UK embassy has hit back (kinda):

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Enjoy!

Matildas midfielder Katrina Gorry might be preparing for tonight's game against England, but she's also celebrating her daughter Harper's second birthday.

She's just shared this cute photo on Instagram, telling her daughter:

"Enjoy your day bubba, I have a feeling it’s going to be a special one."

Let's hope they both have a great day. 🤞

If you haven't already made plans on where to watch the girls tonight there are a stack of venues being opened to the public for the game against England.

If you're keen on being part of a stadium crowd live site, get in early because it'sfirst in, best dressedfor each city, with no allocated seating.

• Adelaide/Tarndanya:Memorial Drive and Festival Plaza
• Melbourne/Naarm:Melbourne Rectangular Stadium and Federation Square
• Perth/Boorloo:Perth Rectangular Stadium and Forrest Place
• Sydney/Gadigal:Sydney Football Stadium, Western Sydney Stadium and Tumbalong Park
• Brisbane/Meanjin:Riverstage, Riverside Green, South Bank Parklands and King George Square
• Canberra/Ngunnawal Country:Garema Place
• Darwin/Garramilla:Darwin Waterfront and Festival Park
• Hobart/nipaluna:Princes Wharf No. 1 forecourt

If you're wondering where Anthony Albanese will be watching, the prime minister confirmed onTriple M this morning he will be at the match in Sydney.

Where will you be watching tonight? At home? At the pub? At a live site? Let us know in the comments using the blue button at the top of the page!

By political reporter Stephanie Borys

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is backing away from his push for a public holiday if the Matildas win the Women's World Cup.

The final decision rests with state and territory leaders, and while some are on board with the idea, others aren't convinced due to the costs on small businesses.

Albanese had previously declared the matter would be discussed at today's national cabinet meeting. But speaking on Triple M Hobart, he now says that's not the case.

"We won't actually be discussing it today, we are discussing housing and other issues," he says.

"It's up to the states and territories what they do. But when the public holiday was held for the memorial day for the Queen, what happened was that a whole range of small businesses went gang busters on that day."

Yesterday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called the PM's push for a public holiday a "stunt" and an "ego trip".

North Korea has claimed a US soldier who bolted into the North across the Korean border last month did so after being "disillusioned at the inequality of American society".

Private 2nd Class Travis King entered North Korea while on a tour of the Joint Security Area on the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas, becoming the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said King told investigators he had decided to enter North Korea because he "harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army".

The Pentagon on Tuesday said it could not verify alleged comments made by King that North Korean state media reported, but that Washington remained focused on his safe return.

"The department's priority is to bring Private King home, and that we are working through all available channels to achieve that outcome," a Pentagon spokesperson said.

You can read more on this story here:

The Georgia court which handled Donald Trump's latest indictment has acknowledged it did release a document about the former US president being criminally charged before the grand jury's official vote yesterday.

A statement form the Fulton County court clerk says its website system was being tested before the grand jury voted later in the day on whether to indict Trump on charges of trying to overturn his election defeat.

Reuters reported on the documents after seeing them on the court's public website, but the court released a statement saying the media outlet had obtained a "fictitious" document.

However, the court clerk has released a statement saying the documents were not official because they lacked certain markings.

You can keep reading this story here:

The food delivery platform Doordash has been hit with a large fine after it bombarded customers and drivers with over a million spam texts and emails.

National Consumer Affairs reporter Michael Atkin tells ABC Radio:

"Doordash is a multi-national giant that runs a platform where take away meals are home delivered. Customers and new delivery drivers complained they were being bombarded with unwanted texts and emails.

"An investigation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority found for most of last year more than half a million promotional emails were sent to customers who had unsubscribed.

"New drivers were also inundated with text messages. Doordash has been fined more than $2 million."

The national anti-scam centre is warning fraudsters are targeting fans on social media, offering fake ticket sales and fake live-stream links to matches.

The consumer watchdog, the ACCC, is reminding consumers to only buy from authorised ticket sellers, and to double-check a streaming site before entering any payment details to watch the game.

"We are already seeing initial reports of scam activity, particularly on Facebook, where scammers are responding to posts from people looking for tickets and using compromised accounts to sell non-existent tickets," ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe says.

"There have also been reports of scammers claiming there is a problem with the payment and asking for it to be made again."