Friday's news in under 5 minutes.

We’ve rounded up all the latest stories from Australia and around the world – so you don’t have to go searching.

1. The couple behind the latest American mass shooting could have terrorism link.

More details are emerging about the couple behind the deadly mass shooting in the US that killed 14 people and left 17 injured as police try to find a motive for the attack.

Police have identified the shooters as Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and Tashfeen Malik, 27.

The couple, who have a six-month old daughter met in Saudi Arabia. Farook was born and raised in the US.

He was a food hygiene inspector for the city’s public health department where he had worked for five years.

Tashfeen Malik, 27, is from Saudi Arabia.

The couple, who reportedly met online, lived with Farook’s mother in the Redlands district, a working-class suburb of San Bernardino.

Farhan Khan, who is married to Farook’s sister, said he last saw Farook about a week ago and had “no idea why he would do something like this.”

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said Farook had been at the office party with colleagues. He said Farook left early in “angry circumstances” and went home to his wife. There they dropped their baby at his mother’s house and Farook and Malik returned to the Christmas party with an arsenal of weapons.

Police Chief Burguan said that the shooting spree had clearly been planned in advance and that the suspects left several explosive devices, which appeared to be pipe bombs, at the scene of the massacre.

Police said extensive amounts of ammunition was found in their home including 12 pipe bombs and hundreds of tools that “could be used to construct IEDs or pipe bombs,” the chief said.

Burguan said “we still don’t have a motive,” but speculated that the couple may have been planning more carnage.

It is unclear what the precise target was and if the attack was a case of workplace violence but terrorism has not been ruled out.

CNN reports that Farook had communicated by phone and via social media with more than one person being investigated for terrorism.

The pair, who were operating with a third shooter, were killed in a highway shoot-out.

2. Father and daughter couple protest as their newborn is taken into care.

An incestuous father and daughter have gone public to appeal for their newborn to be returned to them after it was taken into care by authorities.

The father Cris, 36, and daughter Sara, 18, from Mallorca, insist they are in a loving relationship and should be allowed to bring up the girl, who is also the man’s granddaughter.

The Spanish couple are appealing after a judge awarded temporary custody of their child to the state pending a full investigation.

Cris insists that he is in a “unique and loving relationship” with his 18-year-old daughter Sara and claims that they should be allowed to keep their newborn baby girl, who is also his granddaughter.

Cris told local newspaper Cronica Baler, that his ex-wife, Sara’s mother, reported him for abuse because she was jealous of the relationship.

“My ex-wife is jealous and cannot understand the relationship. So she is trying to destroy it,”

Cris’s daughter and partner Sara said she was given two choice by social services; to give her infant daughter/sister up for adoption or to move to a centre and raise the child alone.

“When I fell pregnant I knew I wanted to keep it, I have always wanted to be a mother.”

“My relationship may be unusual but it would be worse for a child to be given up for adoption or grow up in a centre,” she said.

“People say (the relationship) is wrong, well I respect their opinion but I do not care.

“The easiest option would have been to have an abortion but we decided to have our baby because we don’t care what people think.”

Cris said the relationship started like all others.”Our relationship started like they all do, with flirting, getting along and then trust.

“And everything was going very well until people found out about it.

“We may be father and daughter but she has never seen me as a parent because I am much more like a friend than a father figure,” he said.

Incest is legal in Spain provided the couple are consenting adults over the age of 16.

3. Reeva Steenkamp’s family say their ordeal is now over.

As last night’s news that Oscar Pistorius has been reconvicted of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by South Africa’s Supreme Court broke the family of Reeva Steenkamp watched the verdict come through.

The 28-year-old athlete was originally convicted and jailed for manslaughter following a trial last year but the state appealed, arguing he should have been found guilty of murder by negligence.

Her father Barry Steenkamp said both families could now get on with their lives. I’ve been watching since 7am,” he said live on television.

“If you took note of what I’ve said right from the beginning, it’s not over yet, it’s not over yet… it’s over now.

“For us as a family, we can get on with our lives now and I hope his family can get on with their lives now,” he told the News24 site.

In a statement to media outlets, he added: “I am sure that Reeva is up there watching it and now she’s saying ‘justice was done’. I am sure she’ll be able to rest well now.”

Pistorius will be sentenced next year.

4. Tony Abbott snubbed by the Queen.

Poor Tony.

Fairfax Media reports that when in London last month Tony Abbott sought an audience with the Queen but the request was declined.

Mr Abbott a former executive director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, was told that the Queen’s schedule would not permit a meeting.

According to the report Mr Abbott consulted the Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove, before approaching the Palace to make sure he was not breaching etiquette, and was encouraged to go ahead.

But alas Her Majesty did not wish to see the former Prime Minister.

5. North Melbourne footballer Majak Daw found not guilty of rape.

North Melbourne footballer Majak Daw has been found not guilty of raping a teenage girl eight years ago.

The 24-year old was cleared of three rape charges after an eight-day trial in the County Court.

Daw had always maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to the offences.

Daw had been accused of orally, digitally and vaginally raping a 15-year old girl when he was 16 in a reserve behind a house party in Altona Meadows in March 2007, after they left the party together.

The complainant last week alleged Mr Daw restrained her, put a hand over her mouth and stroked her face and said: “It’s going to be OK.”

Mr Daw on Monday told the jury some sexual activity took place, but that what occurred was consensual. He denied vaginal intercourse occurred. In pleading not guilty to the charges, Mr Daw maintained the complainant did not cry or scream and was “in control” when she initiated the activity.

Daw claimed it was the girl who was the instigator.

He was asked, when he gave evidence why he had such a vivid memory of a night eight years ago.

“I’ve been accused of being a rapist since I was 16 so of course I’m going to remember,” he said.

For help: Lifeline 13 11 14. Kid’s Helpline: 1800 55 1800. DV and Sexual Abuse hotline 27/4: 1800 737 732

6. Ricky Nixon arrested over Facebook post.

Football agent and author of controversial tell-all ”My Side“ Ricky Nixon, has been arrested over alleged offensive posts on social media.

Nixon allegedly posted a photo of a two-year old girl with the comment: “Next f—”.

The girl was related to a man he had been having a Facebook spat with.

The grandmother of the little girl told The Herald Sun “It’s very bizarre,”

“I want people to see what he’s done … Being in the public eye, he can’t do this.

“I just don’t think it should have happened … I’m just like, what the hell?”

She said her daughter, the two-year-old’s mother, was “very upset”.

Victoria Police spokeswoman Kelly Grindley said: “A 52-year-old Port Melbourne man was arrested at an address on Bay St in relation to ­alleged telecommunications offences.

“He has been released pending further investigation.”

7. Police hunt man who cut woman’s hair in Melbourne CBD.

Police are investigating a bizarre incident in Melbourne CBD last month where a bearded man grabbed a woman from behind and cut her hair against her will with scissors.

The woman was walking along Little Lonsdale Street in Melbourne’s CBD early in the morning last month when she was grabbed from behind.

The man held onto her and told her he was not going to hurt her, he was going to cut her hair.

As the woman began screaming two passerbys came to her aid as the man fled the scene.

Police have released an image of the man.

He is described as being Caucasian in appearance, with shoulder-length brown or gold hair and a bushy beard.

He was wearing a black t-shirt and dark tracksuit pants at the time of the assault.

  Anyone with information is urged to call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

8. Mouldy breast implants nearly kill a woman in the US.

A woman from the US has nearly died after her breast implants became mouldy making her and her breastfeeding son severely ill.

Anne Ziegenhorn, from Florida says she was sick for years before a doctor noticed one of her breasts had changed shape.

Ms Ziegenhorn’s health problems began in 1998, six months after she switched from silicone to saline implants. Over the next decade she suffered with fatigue, weight gain, sores on her body and loss of vision and short-term memory loss.

Ms Ziegenhorn’s young son became critically ill while she was breastfeeding him, a direct result, she claims, of the toxic implants.

“My breastfeeding caused my kids to be ill,” she told The Daily Mail.

“My son, at 19 months old, had a severe kidney infection. He almost died.”

Finally a specialist advised Ms Ziegenhorn to take antibiotics as her left implant was covered in mould and bacteria.

A mammogram also revealed that her right implant had ruptured, which is what was causing the silicone sickness.

The specialist Dr Kolb believes that health complications are an inevitability when it comes to breast implants.

“My experience in doing this for 30 years is old said. that eventually everybody will become ill from their breast implants, unless they die sooner from something else,”

9. Woman’s advent calendar idea goes viral.

A woman who has the idea of making her own advent calendar for the homeless by adding an item a day to a box has been overwhelmed by support for the idea.

Louise Scott, 33, from South Shields in the UK shared an image on her Facebook page a picture of a tin of tomato soup inside a box with the message: “Let’s share this idea and make someone else’s Christmas special.”

Louise said it was the first year she hadn’t had an advent calendar and instead was going to donate an item a day to the box and then give it to a homeless charity.

Her post has now been shared by 70,000 people.

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