1. Australians have received $7 billion in tax cuts

There have been a total of $7 billion in tax cuts and low income concessions over the past six months according to a report by The Australian today citing unpublished ATO data. $5.9 billion was paid to 7.8 million Australians as the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset along with a further $1.1 billion in tax cuts brought forward from 2022.

2. Brisbane awaits lockdown update

The greater Brisbane region will this morning receive an update on the strict lockdown imposed on Friday that is currently scheduled to end at 6pm tonight. Zero COVID-19 cases were reported in testing updates from Queensland Health on both Saturday and Sunday, but authorities have not commented on whether the lockdown will be lifted.

3. Mike Pence to attend Joe Biden's inauguration

Vice President Mike Pence is set to attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration next week according to reports by the New York Times and other outlets, breaking rank with President Donald Trump who said he will not be attending. The inauguration will occur early next Thursday morning Australia time.

4. Cat spends 11 days lost in airport

Muji the six-year-old cat has been reunited with her owner after spending 11 days in the ceiling of LaGuardia Airport in New York. The cat escaped after its owner, Taylor Le, had to remove it from its carrier to pass through a metal detector at security, subsequently biting Taylor and running off.

5. Strong start to 2021

The Australian and US stock markets had a strong start to the year, with the first week bringing gains of more than 1% for the major indexes. Locally, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 2.59% for the week to 6,757.90, while the weekly gains in the US were 1.61% for the Dow Jones, 1.83% for the S&P 500 and 2.43% for the Nasdaq.