Good morning folks.

1. Virgin Australia’s new owner appears to be fetching a parachute for CEO Paul Scurrah. He and Bain Capital have reportedly clashed over the new direction of Virgin Australia 2.0, with Scurrah now looking to pay the price and former Jetstar boss Jayne Hrdlicka to take his job. The Transport Union has suspended negotiations in the meantime, and with neither side denying the claim, the SMH says it has obtained confirmation from within the airline.

2. Australia is progressively opening up, but the music industry claims it needs more supports to continue. NSW is now allowing 500 people to attend outdoor seated music events — ‘a step in the right direction’ — but now organisers warn they are facing a $23.6 billion loss. unless the government listens to what they need.

3. There are now more than 29,000 stranded Australians who are trying to get home. Insisting they’re ‘not a threat to the community’, some residents say they’ve been repeatedly denied by the government in returning, with an assessment of their application sometimes taking as little as 25 minutes. ‘Hang out until this whole thing blows over’ appears to have now become official policy.

4. Business failures are again rising in Australia as owners take stock. The latest data shows a 24% jump in defaults in some states as JobKeeper and other key support measures get wound back. It shows Australians are beginning to “accept the reality of their situation”, CreditorWatch CEO Patrick Coghlan said. No two ways about it.

5. After plenty of hoo-ha at its big launch, the biggest Apple feature may have flown right under the radar. Both the new iPhone and the Homepod speaker are built with a powerful new U1 chip, a key building block for Apple’s vision of a fully interconnected ecosystem. Our American colleagues took a look at what it might mean for the Apple tech of the future.

6. Afterpay has been cleared by the financial crimes unit, putting another rocket under its share price. AUSTRAC concluded a 16-month investigation into whether the buy now pay later platform had breached the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act. It closed on Wednesday trading at more than $96 a share.

7. The man behind one of TikTok’s most viral videos is threatening to sue streetwear brand Culture Kings. Nathan Apodaca, of Fleetwood Mac skateboarding fame, is angry the Australian retailer used his image to flog shirts without his permission. @420doggface208 is obviously keen to protect it, considering he’s reportedly made around $60,000 himself from merch. For those who need a refresher, this is the viral vid.

8. Speaking of merch, Qantas is rolling out its own line of clothing. The athleisure collection was designed by Australian fashion designer Martin Grant, who was behind Qantas’s hot pink uniform back in 2013. Whatever keeps the carrier afloat I guess.

9. Elon Musk’s Boring Company has applied to build an entire network of tunnels underneath Las Vegas. While the mad genius says it’ll fix congestion, experts says they see little advantage to simply moving traffic underground. You know what will? Moving residents to a colony on Mars. Come on and focus, Elon.

10. Kayne West is celebrating fake election results. The 21-time Grammy winner told the White House to “get the West Wing ready” as he shared results showing he led both Biden and Trump in the state of Kentucky. The only problem is he doesn’t. Better luck in 2024, Mr West.

BONUS ITEM

Every year, Thai farmers use tens of thousands of ducks to clean their rice fields, removing pests and feeding some very happy waterfowl. Behold.

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