RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
A GOLD Coast business has been accused of trivialising breast surgery as it tries to set a world record today for boob jobs.
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.
10am
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.
9.30am
A north Queensland mining executive has been found dead in a luxury apartment in Peru in mysterious circumstances.
According to the Townsville Bulletin, cocaine and marijuana were found near Jeff Hunter’s body, which was discovered after he spent the night in Lima with three women.
9.05am
The White House has faced a brief lockdown after a man, apparently dressed in Pokemon garb, tried to jump the fence on Friday.
A man entered the grounds and was immediately apprehended, law enforcement officials told CNN.
In White House news, a man dressed in Pokemon garb jumped the north lawn fence. #whitehouse #pikachu pic.twitter.com/lVb7X7EGuz
— Charlie Gile (@cwgile) September 11, 2014
8.45am
Cyclists could be permitted to run red lights and drivers be banned from entering bike lanes at all in a bid to get more riders on Victorian roads.
The measures are among reforms being considered to make the roads more bike-friendly and reduce conflict with motorists.
VicRoads has begun to examine results from a recent online survey of the state’s cycling road rules. A full report on a possible overhaul of the state’s road rules is due to be released by the end of this year.
8.30am
Tony Abbott’s hand-picked panel advising on a constitutional change to recognise Aborigines has paved the way for delaying a vote as late as the 50th anniversary of the highly successful 1967 “Aboriginal” referendum.
According to The Australian, the panel is concerned that the public is not nearly ready for a recognition referendum and has raised the possibility of delaying the vote until 2017 — after the next election.
The foremost recommendation that has gone to the government is that a “council of elders” — indigenous and non-indigenous — be established to oversee and crystallise the referendum model for constitutional change.
8.05am
The remains of nine Australian victims of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash have arrived in Melbourne.
According to ABC, nine hearses drove the bodies from the airport to the morgue at Southbank.
7.45am
The father of a man who police allege recruited another person to join the Islamic State has defended his son as a “peaceful” and “righteous” man.
Agim Kruezi, 21, was one of two men who fronted court yesterday on terror-related charges after being arrested in raids on Wednesday.
Kruezi is facing five terror and weapon-related charges, including being accused of obtaining funds in “preparation for incursions into a foreign state”.
His co-accused, Omar Succarieh, who ran an Islamic bookstore and is believed to be the brother of Australia’s first suicide bomber in Syria, is accused of helping Kruezi get funds to prepare for such incursions.
7.20am
Australians who may have been drugged and assaulted while staying at a backpackers’ lodge in New Zealand are being urged to come forward.
New Zealand police has charged the owner of Mainstreet Lodge in Kaitaia with 39 counts of stupefying, indecent assault and making and possessing intimate visual recordings.
Michael Harris, 56, is accused of assaulting 16 young men over the past two years.
Police are calling on any more victims to come forward. Anyone with information or concerns about the case can email operationsnap@police.govt.nz.
7am
Former 2Day-FM presenter Mel Greig is attending a London inquest into the death of the nurse who took her own life after receiving a prank call.
Greig was not required to appear as a witness but wanted to be present.
There have been several delays to the inquest with evidence gaps still to be filled in including further interviews with various staff from the 2Day FM radio network, her extended family and friends and hospital staff.
No formal cause of death has yet been ruled.
6.45am
A Gold Coast medical tourism company claims it will set a world record today for the number of boob jobs performed in one day.
The Breast Academy has “thrown down the challenge” to any clinic in the world to perform more than 23 breast augmentation procedures in one day.
They say they are yet to find a practice with that surgery capacity.
But Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Shaun Rudd said he could not support the concept because it took away from the importance of surgery.
“Quality and safety are very important aspects of any work we do and to somehow trivialise these procedures doesn’t sound like the appropriate thing to do,” Dr Rudd said.
“Surgery is not something that should be taken lightly.”
6.30am
Americans have paused to remember the 9/11 terrorist attacks on 2001.
In New York, the names of the nearly 3,000 killed when planes struck on September 11 were read aloud at the World Trade Center. The roll call of the dead stopped four times for memorial silence, when the first plane hit, when the second plane hit and twice more when each tower fell.
President Barack Obama attended ceremonies in Washington.
RELATED: 30 photos of 9/11 that show why we should never forget
6.20am
Oscar Pistorius has been found not guilty of the murder of his girlfriend but could still be convicted of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter.
The runner dubbed “Blade Runner” broke down and sobbed uncontrollably as a South African Judge began delivering her judgment. His final fate will not be known until later today.
We will have live coverage again from about 5pm.
6.15am
Queensland Health have confirmed the 27-year-old has tested negative to the Ebola virus.
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young has tonight confirmed tests taken from a Gold Coast man suspected of having Ebola virus have returned a negative result.
Dr Young called for calm after reports that people were cancelling Queensland holidays, checking out of hotels and even pulling children out of school.
ASX slips after Trump/Musk stoush
Australia’s sharemarket dropped during Friday trading, as cautious investors await the release of US economic data and Trump and Musk have a public spat.
Another council suspends e-scooter rentals
A day after the City of Perth suspended e-scooter hires another council has pulled the pin following the death of 51-year old father Thanh Phan.
Reason Aussies are working multiple jobs
A trend that started after the Covid pandemic is continuing, with a huge number of Australians taking on multiple roles to deal with the cost of living.