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RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today

AWKWARD. A Sky News host has said she is “done tweeting at the newsdesk” after mistaking rocker Keith Richards for an alleged sex offender.

Matt YoungMatt Young
@MattYoung
6 min read
August 15, 2014 - 6:21AM
Wran sleeping rough and on the dole

GOOD morning, and welcome to our morning news coverage. We will be bringing you the best of what’s happening this morning, so you can get across the news quickly.

TODAY:

• Downton Abbey’s promotional mistake. Spot the epic error

• Awkward. Sky News reporter mistakes rocker for alleged sex abuser

• Alligator vs. alligator: the deadly end

• Paul Walker thief jailed for six months

• Robin Williams’ wife reveals star struggling to deal with Parkinson’s disease

• Seriously, Chris Pyne? Education Minister talks Joe Hockey, annoys everyone

• Gaza civilians tweet tear gas tips to American rioters

• Korean kids try sour Warheads for the first time. Hilarity ensues

• Freak wave engulfs hospital, workers flee

10:00am

That’s it for our live #RUSHHOUR news blog. You can get across the stories you need to know today below or go to news.com.au for the latest headlines. Happy Friday!

9:40am

Iraq Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has agreed to step down to end a political crisis , as US President Barack Obama says air strikes have ended a mountain seige by Islamists.

“I announce before you today... the withdrawal of my candidacy in favour of the brother Doctor Haidar al-Abadi,” he said in a televised address.

READ MORE ON THE IRAQI CRISIS

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has officially resigned. Picture: Sabah Arar
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has officially resigned. Picture: Sabah Arar

9:30am

A Malaysia Airlines cabin crew member has been detained in France over allegations that he sexually assaulted an Australian passenger who was scared of flying with the disaster-prone airline.

The airline said in a statement that French police had detained a crew member for questioning following allegations by a passenger of “inappropriate sexual behaviour” on flight MH20 from Kuala Lumpur on August 4.

The Australian passenger complained to authorities about the incident after touchdown at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, saying she had told crew at the beginning of the flight about her apprehension of flying with the airline.

The chief steward of the Paris-bound flight sat beside her and sexually assaulted her under the pretext of “comforting” her, she said, according to a source close to the French probe.

9:20am

This is the moment a freak 9-foot wave bursts through the doors of an American hospital.

Scary much?
Scary much?

CCTV footage shows workers fleeing up a flight of stairs as the water breaks through the Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska.

Floods were triggered after two thunderstorms belted the area, with more than four inches falling in just half an hour.

Waves reportedly crashed through homes and businneses in the small town, leaving a repair bill worth thousands of dollars.

8:45am

Here’s a Friday funny for you.

We’re all aware of the super sour Warhead candy, right?

Well, footage has captured a group of Korean kids tasted the lip-locking “sweets” for the first time, and it’s kind of awesome.

...neither was this one.
...neither was this one.
This kid clearly wasn’t expecting the sour hit.
This kid clearly wasn’t expecting the sour hit.

Thought one was bad? Try eating FOUR AT ONCE, like news.com.au’s brave Grace Koelma.

8:30am

Ah, the power of social media.

Civilians in Gaza have been tweeting rioters in Ferguson, educating them on how to protect themselves against tear gas.

The normally calm area, which is 70 per cent black, has been under seige this week after police shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old man, Michael Brown.

Want to know more? Read the incredible story by news.com.au’s Victoria Craw.

A demonstrator throws back a tear gas container in Ferguson. Picture: Robert Cohen
A demonstrator throws back a tear gas container in Ferguson. Picture: Robert Cohen

8:15am

Oh, Christopher Pyne...

According to the Education Minister, Treasurer Joe Hockey is doing an “inspirational job” and has been “standing up for low income workers”, despite drawing criticism over comments to do with the poor this week.

Hockey showed just how out of touch he is with working mums and dads by declaring poorer people won’t be affected by the fuel tax because they don’t own cars or drive very far — and he wouldn’t back down either.

MORE: WHAT HOCKEY ISN’T TELLING YOU ABOUT THE BUDGET

But typically, Mr Pyne had to go and put in his two cents. And as usual, he’s managed to cause a stir.

“Joe has been standing up for low-income workers; and middle income workers, he wholly supports,” he said.

“He is doing an inspirational job.”

Yet Labor’s Anthony Albanese claimed Mr Pyne was evading questions over whether he agreed with Mr Hockey. Anything for a headline, eh Pyne?

8:05am

Robin Williams’ wife has revealed the actor was struggling with the early stages of Parkinson’s disease as well as deep depression and maintaining his sobriety, reports the New York Post.

“Robin’s sobriety was intact and he was brave as he struggled with his own battles of depression, anxiety as well as early stages of Parkinson’s disease, which he was not yet ready to share publicly,” Susan Schneider said in a statement released by Williams’ publicist.

MORE: FAN’S AWESOME LEGO TRIBUTE TO ROBIN WILLIAMS

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that gradually affects a person’s nervous system and movements, causing those who struggle with it to lose control of everything but their mind.

“It is our hope in the wake of Robin’s tragic passing, that others will find the strength to seek the care and support they need to treat whatever battles they are facing so they may feel less afraid,” she added.

Robin Williams’ wife has revealed he was suffering from early stages of Parkinson’s disease.
Robin Williams’ wife has revealed he was suffering from early stages of Parkinson’s disease.

7:50am

One of the thieves who stole a panel from the roof of the Porsche that killed Paul Walker has been jailed for six months.

Jameson Witty and “another guy” - according to TMZ - stole a piece of the Porsche as a tow truck was transporting the wreckage.

Paul Walker with the Porsche Carrera GY that he was killed in when it crashed and burst into flames.
Paul Walker with the Porsche Carrera GY that he was killed in when it crashed and burst into flames.

A judge handed down the sentence to Witty overnight, while the sentence for the second offender - or “other guy” as TMZ likes to credit him - is expected to be the same when his sentence is handed down in October.

7:15am

Can you spot Downton Abbey’s epic error?

Either the show’s series finale involves a time-travel plot twist like never before, or a set dresser forgot to clean up before a photoshoot for its fifth series promotions.

Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) were pictured standing in front of a mantelpiece decorated with knick knacks from a common early 20th century house. Except for the plastic water bottle, that is.

How did this slip through the cracks?

7:05am

Drug addicted, on the dole and desperate for a hit, Harriet Wran’s descent into the darkness of ice abuse was complete as she knocked on the dirty green door of derelict apartment B30, police will allege.

Less than four months after she recited a Shakespearean sonnet at the service for her father, the late NSW premier Neville Wran, the 26-year-old is an accused murderer, charged over the stabbing of Redfern drug dealer Daniel John McNulty in an alleged $70 drug deal gone wrong.

FROM A-LIST TO ICE ADDICT: THE FALL OF A PREMIER’S DAUGHTER

Harriet Wran arrives at Liverpool Court after being arrested in relation to murder of Daniel McNulty. Picture: Cameron Richardson
Harriet Wran arrives at Liverpool Court after being arrested in relation to murder of Daniel McNulty. Picture: Cameron Richardson

6:50am

What happens when two alligators face off against each other?

Let’s just say it doesn’t end well..

Post by Neil A. Furlong - Photography.

Photographer Neil Furlong snapped this incredible image of the winning ‘gator after going head-to-head with his foe in a savage fight at a Florida nature reserve.

The victor ripped his rival in two and slammed the carcass into the river.

“My heart was pumping when I got through taking these photos,” Mr Furlong told the Huffington Post.

“I still didn’t know what I had captured. I looked on the LCD screen, and all I can tell you is when I actually saw it, it was one of those moments.

“I knew I had captured something you don’t see very often.”

6:45am

A man has died after being crushed against a wall by the vehicle he was repairing in Newcastle.

The 44-year-old was repairing the vehicle at a work site in Lambton on Thursday night, when it rolled forward and trapped him between the driver’s door and a wall. Police and Work Cover are both investigating the incident.

6:30am

An Australian Sky News reporter has said she is “done tweeting at the newsdesk” after mistaking Sir Cliff Richard for rocker Keith Richards.

As news broke over Richard’s allegations of a sexual assault on a boy in the 1980s overnight, Vanessa Trezise was reporting live from the Sky News desk and tweeted out the next segment.

But she made one slight boo-boo ...

The mistaken tweet.
The mistaken tweet.

Ehrm. real news, different person.

... and THIS is Cliff Richard. Picture: Carl De Souza
... and THIS is Cliff Richard. Picture: Carl De Souza
This is Keith Richards ... Picture: Max Nash
This is Keith Richards ... Picture: Max Nash

It wasn’t long before the error was spotted, with Trezise saying she was “mortified” by the error, blaming sleep deprivation. TGIF, eh Trezise?

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/national/rush-hour-the-stories-you-need-to-know-today/news-story/3a715d33d932aa54fcb1a99c8731518d