RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
THE most powerful rocket NASA has ever developed will be built and may one day take astronauts to Mars.
TODAY
• Friendship looks to have turned to love for former cricketer Shane Warne who is reportedly in a “committed couple”.
• Former US vice president Al Gore has delivered a message to Tony Abbott: “change or get out of the way”.
• NASA has finalised a $2.8 billion contract for what is expected to be the most powerful rocket it has ever developed.
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.
9.55am
The Gruen Transfer will not return to ABC television this year with its creators tied up with other projects.
According to Guardian Australia, host Wil Anderson wants to pursue his standup comedy career and has international tour dates while other key figures were also busy with other projects.
9.50am
Americans have rated Barack Obama as the worst president since World War II.
In a Quinnipiac University poll of 1,446 voters, Mr Obama was rated the worst president by 33 per cent of respondents, beating predecessor George W Bush on 28 per cent.
By comparison Richard Nixon, who was forced from office during the Watergate scandal, got 13 per cent.
However, 8 per cent did vote for Obama as best president, compared to Bush on 1 per cent.
The best president was Ronald Reagan on 35 per cent, followed by Bill Clinton on 18 per cent and John F Kennedy on 15 per cent.
9.30am
A UK woman dubbed the “Angel of Woolwich” for confronting the killers of soldier Lee Rigby has been detained under the Mental Health Act.
Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, 49, was praised by Prime Minister David Cameron for talking calmly to Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale after they murdered Lee Rigby in the street outside a barracks in Woolwich, London, in May last year.
But it is understood she was detained on Monday after police were called to an address in Cornwall over concerns for the welfare of a woman.
9.10am
NASA has finalised a $2.8 billion contract for what is expected to be the most powerful rocket it has ever developed, which may one day take astronauts to Mars.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the space agency has reached an agreement with Boeing Co for the development of the Space Launch System, which will now allow full production to begin. A test flight is scheduled for 2017.
8.50am
The mystery surrounding the shooting death of an Australian Commando in Afghanistan deepened when it emerged no weapon had been found in the room at Kabul airport where the elite soldier was fatally injured by a single gunshot.
Earlier reports from NATO Military Police investigators said that three weapons were being examined in what was regarded as a suspected suicide.
However a follow-up report stated that no weapon had been recovered from the scene.
8.40am
The Notebook director Nick Cassavetes has revealed that Ryan Gosling tried to get Rachel McAdams fired from the hit film because he felt the pair had no chemistry.
Cassavetes said he held an impromptu therapy session in his trailer between the pair.
“They started screaming and yelling at each other ... it got better after that, you know?” he said.
8.30am
A young Perth woman who was shot in the face during a New Orleans gunfight says the terror of her near-death experience only dawned on her when broken teeth and blood gushed from her mouth.
Amy Matthews, 21, was on a dream US holiday with a friend when she was caught in the middle of the shooting on New Orleans’ main tourist strip Bourbon Street.
Ms Matthews was one of 10 bystanders injured in the shooting on Sunday.
8.20am
The Palestinian leadership says it holds Israel responsible for the murder of an east Jerusalem teenager, in a suspected revenge attack for the killing of three Israelis.
In a statement, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas demanded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemn the murder and punish those who carried it out.
8am
Looks like report about John Travolta is NOT TRUE.
7.55am
Reports that actor John Travolta has been charged for being drunk in charge of an aircraft.
The Grease star was arrested at John Lennon Airport.
7.40am
The transfer of as many as 50 Sri Lankan asylum seekers is expected to take place in international waters.
The Australian is reporting that an Australian customs vessel is expecting to rendezvous with a Sri Lankan navy cutter and a transfer of asylum seekers could take place as early as today.
7.20am
Former US vice president Al Gore has delivered a message to Tony Abbott: “Please either change or get out of the way”.
Mr Gore told Vice that giving money to business and then asking them to voluntarily do something, which is what Mr Abbott’s Direct Action climate change policy proposed, has never worked.
“It may be cloaked in a political camouflage that makes it seem like it’s a real policy, it’s not, it’s just a dodge, it’s silly.”
Mr Gore, who rose to prominence after the release of his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, also defended his decision to stand by mining magnate Clive Palmer, saying “I like him”.
He said Mr Palmer had saved most of the important elements of Australia’s climate change policy, which Mr Abbott wanted to get rid of.
7am
Ricky Muir has begun his political career, arriving at Parliament House yesterday in a chauffeur-driven commonwealth car. His first appointment: Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
The Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Senator drove himself to Canberra from the tiny Gippsland town of Denison with his five kids and wife in the car before opting for a more official mode of transport to land at the Senate doors.
He remains a man of few words, saying only: “It feels very good to be here, very happy.’’
Today Senator Muir joins 11 other new senators at Parliament House for a two-day orientation.
6.45am
A surfer who died at a Sydney beach on Wednesday was a well-known publisher from the UK.
According to Fairfax, Matthew Richell had moved to Australia with his wife and two children aged six and three. He died after being swept onto rocks at Tamarama while surfing.
The 41-year-old was the chief executive of Hachette Australia and his wife is an author who wrote Secrets of the Tides and The Shadow Year.
6.30am
Nick Kyrgios’s excellent Wimbledon adventure is over — for now.
The Australian teenager, tired from the physical and mental toll of upsetting world No 1 Rafael Nadal 24 hours earlier, has lost to the huge-serving Canadian Milos Raonic.
The eighth seed beat Kyrgios 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 to a semi-final meeting with seven-time champion Roger Federer.
6.15am
Friendship looks to have turned to love for former cricketer Shane Warne who is reportedly in a “committed couple” with Emily Scott.
Sources close to the pair told Confidential they have taken the “next step”, going out on dates.
Warne and Scott snapped pictures of themselves in London on Tuesday, going to a Coldplay gig and watching Aussie tennis ace Nick Kyrgios’s fantastic win against Rafael Nadal.
They were first pictured together at Jeff Fenech’s 50th birthday last month, at the time he publicly gave the age-old adage that the two were “just friends”.
6am
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.
PM dodges $3m super tax question
Anthony Albanese sidestepped a question on whether he’ll be immediately hit with Labor’s proposed tax of super balances above $3m.
Dad’s funeral refusal ‘discrimination’: court
A man has claimed he was subject to religious discrimination after the government refused to pay for his deceased father’s Greek Orthodox funeral when he could not afford it.
Dire warning for Aussie favourite getaway
A major warning has been issued for travellers planning to head to a favourite Aussie tourist getaway – urging them to “exercise a high degree of caution”.